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Carbon emissions
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100% renewable electricity
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Fossil fuel free management cars
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100% renewable energy
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Net zero emissions (in line with SBTi)
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Circularity
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90% waste recycled
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Truly circular
Zero waste (100%) |
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Reducing our CO₂ footprint
Breakdown of Proximus CO2 footprint in 2021 (Scope 1 – 2 – 3)
(the figures are rounded)
Breakdown of Proximus CO2 footprint in 2020 (Scope 1 – 2 – 3)
Scope 1: 6% - 27% Ktons Direct emissions from fossil fuel combustion and refrigerant gases
Scope 2: 0% - 0 Kton Own indirect emissions from affiliates electricity usage
Scope 3: 94% - 433 Ktons Proximus' indirect emissions in the value chain
Scope 3 includes:
Procurement 79% ,Goods & services, Upstream transportation and distribution
Proximus’ operations4%: Fuel & energy (excl 1 & 2), Waste, Business travel, Employee commuting
Customer use of products 17%, Leased assets, Downstream transportation and distribution, Use of sold products, End-of-Life treatment of sold devices
Scopes 1 and 2: Our direct and indirect emissions
Looking at our carbon footprint, we are managing our own emissions quite effectively. Since 2016, we are carbon neutral for the activities that lie within our direct control. Albeit by supporting certified Gold Standard climate projects that reduce or absorb emissions in developing countries.
To date, 26.6 Ktons of our own emissions remain to be reduced in order to reach zero by 2030. As such, we have focused on electricity sourcing and electricity consumption. In 2019, we made the switch to 100% renewable electricity. Additionally, we are working on creating a more energy-efficient network by focusing on our technical buildings, mobile network, fixed access network and data centers, and have invested in more sustainable transportation.
Scope 3: Indirect emissions resulting from our value chain
Our indirect emissions, which are highly concentrated within our procurement activities, are 16 times the amount generated by our own operations. They account for about 94% of our indirect emissions.
Of the emissions generated by our value chain, more than half are concentrated among our top 18 suppliers and the other half is generated by a long tail of over 4,000 vendors: a combination of large global enterprises and smaller, local players who often lack the resources needed to manage their carbon footprints.
Reducing these indirect emissions is our main challenge; it requires our suppliers to commit to reducing their carbon footprints and engaging more sustainable supply chains.
Network
We have simplified our network by using an innovative concept of compact units, phasing out old equipment, and reducing the number of street cabinets thanks to the accelerated roll-out of fiber.
Transportation
In December 2021, Proximus teamed up with companies like Danone, Delhaize, Schoenen Torfs, and Telenet to launch a project for the efficient and sustainable delivery of parcels to consumers and stores using cargo bikes and electric delivery vans across Antwerp. This complements the sustainable deliveries by cargo-bikes organised for our stores in Brussels, Ghent, and Liège.
Buildings
In June 2021, the Proximus distribution centre in Courcelles was awarded the ‘Lean & Green 2 stars’ label for its environmental efforts. This recognizes our efforts to reduce CO₂ emissions by 30% since 2015.
Sourcing
We signed a short-term power purchase agreement for our electricity sourcing.
Suppliers
We have entered into engagements with our suppliers and asked them to sign Circular Manifestos.
On the road to true circularity
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The 5 Circular Business Models
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Devices
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Network & Data Centers
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Real Estate & Facilities
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1
Circular Inflow |
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Network design assessment
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New circular headquarter building
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2
Sharing Platforms |
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Mobile network sharing
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3
Product-as-a-Service (e.g. Lease model) |
CPE-as-a-Service model (residential segment). Smartphone-as-a-Service model (enterprise segment)
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4
Product Use Extension |
Repair & refurbishment of devices
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Resell of network equipment
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Refurbished offers for furniture and assets
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5
Resource Recovery (End of life recycling) |
Collection program for CPE & smartphones
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Recycling upon network phase out
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For circularity, we have identified the relevant circular domains for telecommunication providers as:
- Devices
- Network & data centres
- Real estate & facilities
Several initiatives are in place across all 5 commonly accepted circular business models. For example, we have refurbished phones in our catalogue, we design the devices we put in the market so they are easy to refurbish. We also do this for our network, where we recover both copper & network equipment and are sharing our mobile network with Orange.
Furthermore, we have a zero-waste ambition by 2030. We currently convert 12% of our residual waste into electricity & heat energy in waste treatment facilities and recycle, reuse, or reprocess the remaining 88%.
We are constantly improving the circularity of our own devices (WiFi boosters, internet boxes, and TV boxes) to reduce their environmental impact. This includes reducing the amount of plastics and other raw materials needed, designing to facilitate eventual recycling, and improving the energy efficiency. Our newest TV box V7 will be made from 100% recycled ABS plastics. At our Proximus distribution centre in Courcelles, we perform the on-site refurbishment of internet boxes, TV boxes, power supplies, Wi-Fi boosters and smartphones. Since the start of the initiative in 2014 until end 2021, we have refurbished about 2.714.000 internet boxes and TV boxes.
With our Don't Miss the Call initiative we collect old mobile phones for refurbishment or recycling. Devices that are no longer suitable for reuse are recycled by our partner Umicore, allowing the valuable raw materials from the devices to be reused. Our ambition for 2021 was to collect 150,000 phones. Despite the impact of COVID-19, we were happy with our progress.
Since September 2021, our Proximus shops and online web shop offer customers refurbished smartphones as an alternative to new devices. These devices are 30 to 50% cheaper and come with a two-year warranty, just like new mobile phones. In addition to offering these devices, we make information on refurbishing and recycling available to our customers online.
The Engaged pack for enterprise customers makes it possible to lease smartphones and tablets following the ‘device-as-a-service’ model. At the end of a contract, depending on their condition, devices are recycled or sold on the second-hand market. In 2021, we entered into agreements for another 12,500 active packs (for a total of 17,000 packs).
Packaging: we work with industry experts to develop new ways to improve our packaging. Some recent changes include more compact packaging so less material and transportation space is needed per item and printing the manual on the inside of the slipcase instead of a separate booklet.
Thanks to our mobile access network sharing agreement with Orange Belgium (MWingz), less mobile network equipment is needed, allowing us to dismantle more than 30% of our mobile sites and realise an annual electricity consumption gain of +/- 20%. The redundant end-of-life materials such as antennas, pylons, and RAN equipment will be recycled or resold to give them a second life.
We used strict criteria relating to environmental sustainability to choose companies for the renovation of our new headquarters in Brussels.
Initiatives for reaching our ambitions
Our future initiatives can be found in 3 main action domains:
Energy, circularity & supply chain are the main areas to achieve our net zero & truly circular ambitions
Energy, circularity & supply chain are the main areas to achieve our net zero & truly circular ambitions
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Ambition
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100% renewable energy
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Truly circular
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Net Zero Emissions
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Action domains
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Energy
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Circularity Filling the gap accross the 5 circular business models with focus on:
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Supply chain
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Energy
To achieve 100% renewable energy by 2030, we will stop using fossil fuel in our buildings and fleet and ensure that our suppliers and partners follow our lead. We will also focus on efficiency programs that mitigate the high energy use associated with telecom infrastructure to maintain a flat electrical consumption. Plus, we will continue to phase out our technical buildings and renovate our headquarters in Brussels to have zero emission by 2027. Our other office buildings will get alternative heating technologies.
Furthermore, we want to implement a completely green, local electrical supply for our company. We already use 100% green electricity. And by 2026, we will work with more local energy sources, through our own investments and long-term partnerships with Belgian wind and solar plants.
Circular
Across the 3 relevant telco domains, we will become truly circular by 2030 by:
- Implementing a further circular push for mobile devices by addressing our mobile business models, increasing recycling habits, and more conscious buying.
- Promoting refurbishment in the enterprise sector by deploying an effective return flow of B2B devices.
- Continuing to enhance our circular network and set circularity targets for the equipment in our customers’ homes and offices.
- Developing a roadmap detailing the clear steps to be taken to fulfil our zero-waste ambitions by 2030.
Value Chain
We will continue to work closely with our suppliers to encourage them to reduce their carbon footprints and achieve more sustainable supply chains. In addition to our Circular Manifesto, we will be implementing clear and binding commitments, with detailed expectations and KPIs for our suppliers.
