{"id":11556,"date":"2026-09-24T09:52:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-24T08:52:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/squire-technologies.co.uk\/blog\/?p=11556"},"modified":"2026-09-24T09:52:21","modified_gmt":"2026-09-24T08:52:21","slug":"european-telecoms-decarbonisation-sustainability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/squire-technologies.co.uk\/blog\/european-telecoms-decarbonisation-sustainability","title":{"rendered":"How are European telecoms companies addressing concerns over decarbonisation and sustainability?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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How are European telecoms companies addressing concerns over decarbonisation and sustainability?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/h1>\n

\"Decarbonisation

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With wildfires raging across Europe and temperatures in southern regions hitting all-time highs this summer, the issue of decarbonisation and sustainability within the telecoms industry has never been more prevalent.<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Unlike, some other continents, the European Union actively enforces decarbonisation and sustainability within the telecommunications sector. This is achieved through\u00a0broader climate directives, circular economy regulations, and telecom-specific policy frameworks. The regulatory landscape consists of mandatory laws, industry-specific standards, and circular supply-chain requirements.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The European Green Deal<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/h2>\n

The European Green Deal is the European Union’s long-term strategy to transform how Europe produces energy, manufactures goods, transports people and products, and uses natural resources.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Key Objectives<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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  • Climate neutrality by 2050<\/span><\/strong>: Reduce net greenhouse gas emissions to zero by balancing remaining emissions with carbon removals.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Cut net greenhouse gas emissions by\u00a0at least 55%<\/strong>\u00a0compared with 1990 levels.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Sustainable economic growth<\/span><\/strong>: Decouple economic growth from resource use while maintaining competitiveness.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Circular economy<\/span><\/strong>: Promote reuse, repair, recycling, and waste reduction.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Protect biodiversity<\/span><\/strong>: Restore ecosystems and halt biodiversity loss.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Ensure a just transition<\/span><\/strong>: Support regions and workers most affected by the shift to a low-carbon economy.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n

    How does this impact on the telecom sector?<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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    For European telecom companies, the Green Deal has accelerated efforts to:<\/p>\n

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    • Increase the use of renewable electricity for networks and data centres.<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Improve the energy efficiency of mobile and fixed-line infrastructure.<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Reduce emissions across supply chains.<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Replace copper networks with more energy-efficient fibre.<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Extend the lifespan of devices through repair, refurbishment, and recycling.<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Enhance climate-related reporting under sustainability disclosure requirements.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n

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      What are the targets?<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n<\/h4>\n
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      To comply with the European Green Deal and the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), European telecom assets must achieve steep, binding carbon footprint cuts by 2030. These include:<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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      62% reduction
      <\/span><\/strong>in total emissions required for fixed network operators between 2020 and 2030.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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      53% reduction
      <\/span><\/strong>in emissions mandated for telecom data centres.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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      45% reduction
      <\/span><\/strong>in emissions enforced for mobile network operators.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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      11.7% final energy reduction
      <\/span><\/strong>overall across EU member states by 2030 (Energy Efficiency Directive).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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      What regulations and standards apply to the Telecoms industry?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/h2>\n

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      The EU has refocussed its environmental expectations, there are now target-driven rules designed specifically for digital infrastructure.<\/p>\n

      The specific laws include:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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      EU Code of Conduct for Sustainable Telecom Networks (2026)
      <\/span><\/strong>The code mandates a standardised framework to measure and report network environmental impacts. Telcos subscribing to this framework must publish auditable data. <\/span>It targets eight critical performance metrics:<\/p>\n

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      • Energy Consumption<\/span><\/li>\n
      • Energy Efficiency<\/span><\/li>\n
      • GHG Scopes 1, 2, and 3<\/span><\/li>\n
      • Renewable Energy<\/span><\/li>\n
      • E-waste, and the use of refurbished products<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n
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        Digital Networks Act (DNA)
        <\/span><\/strong>The\u00a0Digital Networks Act\u00a0integrates environmental transparency directly into core telecoms policy. It leverages the Code of Conduct data to classify qualifying networks as green economic activities. This prepares operators for upcoming alignments with the\u00a0EU Taxonomy<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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        BEREC Sustainability Strategy
        <\/span><\/strong>The Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) enforces rigorous tracking mechanisms across national regulators. They aim to curb the network “rebound effect” (where increased 5G capacity boosts data demand and subsequent raw power usage).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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        Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)
        <\/span><\/b>The CSRD mandates strict compliance with the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS)<\/b>. Telecom operators are required to map out detailed, auditable reporting of their entire environmental footprint. This includes direct operational emissions and full global supply chain data.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
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        Energy Efficiency Directive (EED)<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
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        Article 8 of the EED subjects telecom providers to mandatory energy audits<\/b>\u00a0across their corporate portfolios, covering massive retail store footprints, physical offices, and base stations.<\/span><\/div>\n
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        EU Data Centre Rating Scheme
        <\/span><\/strong>As telecom networks rely heavily on cloud capabilities, a dedicated EU rating scheme evaluates the sustainability of data centres. This legislation forces operators to report energy use, transition to renewable power, and optimize cooling water consumption. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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        New Circular Economy Act & Ecodesign Regulation
        <\/span><\/strong>This legal architecture forces hardware manufacturers supplying European telcos to design network gear and mobile devices for\u00a0longevity, easy disassembly, and repairability<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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        WEEE Directive Revision<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
        \u00a0The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive directly targets the rising wave of telecom e-waste.\u00a0It mandates aggressive consumer electronic collection and recycling metrics.<\/span><\/div>\n
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        Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA)
        <\/span><\/strong>The CRMA establishes secure, sustainable recycling and recovery targets. Telecoms components rely on lithium, cobalt, and rare earth elements. The EU wants to reduce the reliance on carbon-intensive raw extractions from outside the EU.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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        How effective have the laws been so far?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/h2>\n

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        Despite the electricity consumed by the telecommunications industry going up by 0.5% to 1.5% and data centres comprising an estimated total of 3% of the overall total consumed in the EU, there are some encouraging signs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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        • There was a 13% drop<\/strong> in the reduction in global mobile operational emissions (Scopes 1 & 2) between 2019 and 2024, despite data traffic more than quadrupling.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n
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          • The average annual drop in energy intensity per gigabyte of data transmitted across modern networks went from 10% to 20%<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n
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            • The energy efficiency premium (lower Power Usage Effectiveness) achieved by Northern and Central European data centres compared to warmer Southern European facilities went from 10% to 15%<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n
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              • European telecom operators now source 70%<\/strong> of their electricity from renewable contracts, leading global regions (compared to 50%<\/strong> in North America).\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n
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                • There was a 10%<\/strong> reduction in the total emissions cut achieved via infrastructure network sharing agreements, which avoids up to 3 million<\/strong> tonnes of CO2 annually in Europe.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n
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                  • Legislation has now demanded that the minimum duration required by EU regulations for software support and hardware components is 5 years.<\/strong> This availability significantly extends device lifecycles.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n
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                    There still remain major challenges in the carbon footprints produced in the supply chains, specifically product manufacturing and network hardware procurement.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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                    What penalties exist to enforce regulations?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/h2>\n

                    The requirements vary depending on the size of the operator, whether it operates data centres, and the Member State in which it is established.<\/div>\n

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                    Key EU laws affecting telecom operators<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/h4>\n

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