BT today announced it has expanded its Carbon Network Dashboard to give business customers visibility of electricity consumption and carbon emissions at an individual workload and application level. The insight will allow them to optimise their data-centre and network infrastructure to manage emissions as they adopt AI applications at scale.

AI can have significantly different impacts on networks and data-centres than other application types. It can cause sharp, unpredictable increases in bandwidth demand, which in turn cause spikes in power use by infrastructure traditionally designed for predictable workloads. If spikes in demand overload individual network devices or servers, this will not only impact performance but cause them to overheat, wasting electricity. This creates additional challenges for customers aiming to reduce emissions.

The Carbon Network Dashboard already offers a single, end-to-end, near real-time view of how much electricity a customer’s network and data-centre infrastructure is using. It can now tie this consumption to traffic patterns caused by individual applications, including AI.

As part of its sustainable network design and refresh service, BT can use this insight to help customers adapt, either by changing network design, capacity and management or optimising applications and AI workloads. BT can also help customers develop distributed architectures, which bring components of AI closer to users, devices and machines. 

The capabilities are part of the latest NetFlow plug-in for the Carbon Network Dashboard. In future, the Dashboard will be able to identify traffic going to colocation or public cloud services and prioritise what to focus on for optimisation, including re-designing for extra or flexible capacity. This will ensure network devices are running within their design limits, efficiently and with flexibility to accommodate growth of AI workloads.

In addition, the Dashboard now incorporates electricity consumption data from a wider range of world-leading network equipment vendors and types of devices. This includes SD-WAN equipment, servers and WAN and LAN devices.

The Dashboard’s energy optimisation tools have also been expanded. They now include: V-App IoT builder integration for energy management of wireless access points; zero-touch automation to enable/disable power over ethernet (PoE) ports when not in use for energy management and carbon savings; and sustainable device refresh recommendations for end-of-life devices.

“AI has incredible potential but if not deployed thoughtfully could place unpredictable demands on customers’ digital infrastructure causing surges in electricity use and carbon emissions,” said Sarwar Khan, sustainability director, Business, BT. “BT is committed to helping customers innovate to achieve sustainable growth. With our Carbon Network Dashboard, we can help them adopt AI at scale while optimising their infrastructure to achieve their decarbonisation goals. It’s a great example of how BT has their back.”

ENDS

The global leaders in their respective fields will build on their extensive expertise in sustainable building management and global networking to make it easier for customers to reduce emissions from buildings around the world.

Sarwar Khan, global head of digital sustainability, Business, BT, said: “Our collaboration with Johnson Controls will help BT deliver on its pledge to help customers avoid 60 million tonnes of CO2 by the end of March 2030. Customers will benefit from better visibility and management of energy data from connected buildings, helping them reduce Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, and reach Net Zero faster.”

According to the World Green Building Council, buildings are responsible for almost 40 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions and the IEA finds they consume at least 30 per cent of energy globally. Smart and sustainable buildings are on the rise as they represent a key opportunity in helping to meet climate targets. At the same time, the number of subsystems, IoT devices and data is increasing exponentially, driving demand for secure and reliable networks. Connectivity to the cloud is now needed in areas within buildings that may have been poorly served by legacy networking solutions. 

The two parties are offering solutions that leverage smart building technology and Johnson Controls’ OpenBlue digital platform connected by secure and resilient networks that can improve data capture, enhance security, and provide effective management of connected buildings at scale.

Katie McGinty, vice president and chief sustainability and external relations officer, Johnson Controls, said: “With the powerful combination of technology and partnerships, coupled with government incentives, there has never been a more opportune time to drive sustainability leadership and action. The collaboration between Johnson Controls and BT will unlock new potential for customers to further reduce emissions, cut costs and energize employees with their sustainability mission.”

Using the combined technologies BT and Johnson Controls will be running a live demo at BT’s research facilities in Adastral Park.

ENDS

About Johnson Controls

At Johnson Controls (NYSE:JCI), we transform the environments where people live, work, learn and play. As the global leader in smart, healthy and sustainable buildings, our mission is to reimagine the performance of buildings to serve people, places and the planet.

Building on a proud history of nearly 140 years of innovation, we deliver the blueprint of the future for industries such as healthcare, schools, data centers, airports, stadiums, manufacturing and beyond through OpenBlue, our comprehensive digital offering.

Today, with a global team of 100,000 experts in more than 150 countries, Johnson Controls offers the world`s largest portfolio of building technology and software as well as service solutions from some of the most trusted names in the industry.

Visit www.johnsoncontrols.com for more information and follow @Johnson Controls on social platforms.

SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) and BT  today announce a visionary new partnership to show how carbon accounting could be standardised for business customers by piloting the recently launched SAP Sustainability Data Exchange (SDX).

SAP SDX enables BT to collect, trace and share carbon data across its own supplier base, providing unparalleled visibility into the carbon footprint of its business products and services. BT can then share this information directly with customers when they purchase products through SAP Business Network. Furthermore, BT can complement this with data-driven insights from its Digital Carbon Calculator and Carbon Network Dashboard to help customers optimise their own IT for both carbon and energy.

Key to the decision to select SAP SDX was its adherence to the carbon data interoperability standards set by the Partnership for Carbon Transparency (PACT), hosted by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). This means that global and UK business customers do not have to implement their own carbon accounting platforms to calculate, collate and share emissions data. Instead, they simply request it through SAP SDX for their BT products and services.

BT is sending a strong signal of intent to standardise sustainability reporting  across global business customers' value chains to help them tackle Scope 3 emissions and drive environmental progress. This will also contribute to the delivery of the BT Group Manifesto pledge to help customers avoid 60 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions by 2030. 

Sarwar Khan, global head of digital sustainability, Business, BT, said: “Typically, value chain emissions represent a greater proportion of a business’ carbon footprint than operational emissions. Tracking, measuring and acting on these and bringing more suppliers and partners on the journey will not just accelerate net-zero targets, but set a new precedent for sustainability reporting. Collaboration fuels progress and access to data is fundamental to getting it right.”

“The lack of standardisation in sustainability reporting has been a roadblock to progress for too long,” commented Ryan Poggi, managing director of SAP UKI. “This creates confusion and an inability to validate real change. Our partnership with BT gives us an opportunity to refresh the guidelines and offers a blueprint for a universal standard in sustainability reporting. The aim is to create an environment for organisations to transparently tackle global challenges together.”

SAP SDX merges granular and accurate carbon data with financial transactions on the SAP Green Ledger. It provides businesses with unmatched insights into their environmental footprint and standardises how to communicate learnings and action across value chains. In adopting SAP SDX, BT can request product-level carbon data from key suppliers for its business customer services, support smaller partners to calculate their carbon footprint and securely share and standardise this information across its value chain. To build scale, BT is working with key partner Cisco to deploy SDX to receive product carbon data for core network devices, simplify and secure data exchange with business customers backed by its global connectivity services, and boost traceability.

ENDS

About SAP

SAP’s strategy is to help every business run as an intelligent enterprise. As a market leader in enterprise application software, we help companies of all sizes and in all industries run at their best: SAP customers generate 87% of total global commerce. Our machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT), and advanced analytics technologies help turn customers’ businesses into intelligent enterprises. SAP helps give people and organizations deep business insight and fosters collaboration that helps them stay ahead of their competition. We simplify technology for companies so they can consume our software the way they want – without disruption. Our end-to-end suite of applications and services enables business and public customers across 25 industries globally to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and make a difference. With a global network of customers, partners, employees, and thought leaders, SAP helps the world run better and improve people’s lives. For more information, visit www.sap.com.  

The award recognises BT’s sustainability and Net Zero contribution from among 35,000 suppliers to the world-leading technology and services company, headquartered in Germany.

“I’m thrilled to receive this recognition on behalf of BT as it’s been awarded by one of our long-standing customers that places the environment at the core of its business purpose,” said Sarwar Khan, head of digital sustainability, BT. “It’s a great endorsement of BT’s sustainability credentials and our commitment to become a Net Zero carbon emissions company by 2031. It also helps build momentum for our range of digital sustainability solutions that help our customers on their own journeys to Net Zero as part of BT’s commitment to help customers avoid 60 million tonnes of CO₂.”

Dr. Arne Flemming, head of supply chain management at Bosch, said, “Sustainable supply chains strengthen global prosperity and benefit society. We especially honour our suppliers’ commitment to climate action with an award in the special ‘Sustainability’ category.”

About the Bosch Supplier Awards

Every two years, Bosch honours the pick of its suppliers from around the world with the Bosch Global Supplier Award. The technology and services company rewards outstanding performance in the manufacture and supply of raw materials, products, and services. Based on a range of criteria, award-winners are selected in the categories “Purchasing of indirect materials and services,” and “Raw materials and components”. Bosch has been presenting these awards to honour supplier excellence since 1987. The awards are highly regarded in the industry. In the special “Sustainability” category, an interdisciplinary jury evaluates suppliers’ achievements with respect to sustainability. The finalists in this category have a rating of at least A- in the prestigious Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and are exemplary in their commitment to climate neutrality.

BT today announced an expansion of its digital sustainability tools to help customers monitor and optimise energy use across their full IT estate, from the network to servers running their apps and workloads in data centres and elsewhere.

The company is integrating data on servers’ energy use into its AI-powered sustainability tools. It means BT’s digital dashboards can now offer a single, end-to-end picture of how much energy customers’ IT infrastructure is using and present actionable insights on what to do to optimise devices, apps and workloads to help meet their net zero goals. BT then offers to help deliver this as part of its sustainable network design and refresh service. 

For example, the dashboard can look at network traffic over a 24-hour period and processor telemetry to identify opportunities for server devices to be placed into deep sleep depending on the way the workloads and apps are run.

Globally, data centres and associated networks that underpin digitalisation account for 0.9 per cent of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions. The EU has already introduced new policies and regulations for reducing energy use and decarbonising data centres. Organisations will be required to demonstrate their data centres meet the EU’s Assessment Framework for Data Centres as part of the upcoming Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which will impact up to 50,000 companies.

BT continues to evolve its digital sustainability tools to help organisations meet these challenges. The tools already help customers monitor and benchmark energy consumption of their network devices in internet of things (IoT) operational environments such as factories and ports; local area networks (LANs) that provide connectivity within offices; and wide area networks (WANs) that link sites globally.

They are the latest step in the delivery of a BT Group Manifesto pledge to help customers avoid 60 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions by 2030.

Sarwar Khan, head of digital sustainability, Business, BT Group, said: “More and more customers are setting science-based net zero targets and face increasing regulatory pressures to improve efficiency in their data centres. By integrating data from leading IT vendor partners such as Cisco and INTEL, we’re giving customers end-to-end visibility of energy use across their full IT estate as well as the insight and support needed to optimise devices and workloads.”

ENDS

About BT’s digital sustainability tools

BT’s Carbon Network Dashboard gives a real-time view of power consumption across the network and datacentres. It uses AI and machine learning to detect and predict anomalies based on historic usage. This includes which network devices are consuming the most power. Customers can also forecast total energy use based on their network inventory and historic utilisation.

To help understand how electricity consumption translates into carbon emissions, the Dashboard includes data from regional power grids showing their carbon intensity.

The Digital Carbon Calculator helps customers estimate their network and data centre’s carbon footprint. It scans the customer’s network and data centre inventory to estimate their carbon footprint and can track how this responds to changes and upgrades over time. It includes lifecycle management, highlighting devices at the end of service to prioritise for replacement. Customers can also choose to use the calculator by uploading an inventory of their IT infrastructure equipment for analysis.

BT today has launched a new proposition to help multinational customers evolve their networks for net zero carbon emissions and deliver circularity in a measurable way.

Sustainability is now a major factor in decision-making for almost all customers globally. Carbon reduction and circularity targets are cascading throughout organisations, including to CIOs and IT teams. However, with networks and digital assets dispersed around the world, many CIOs struggle to effectively measure energy consumption and carbon emissions as well as put in place processes for managing end-of-life equipment.

BT’s new sustainability proposition combines the company’s digital carbon measurement tools, network design services, in-life support and recycling and re-use schemes with strategic partners to deliver a comprehensive managed service for customers.

BT experts can support a full range of network refresh, re-design or transformation plans across customers’ local area networks (LAN) or operational technology (OT) infrastructure. Using BT’s new Digital Carbon Calculator, designs can be assessed for their potential carbon footprint and optimised for the best results. 

The Calculator shows designers details of each network device’s power consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. This gives them the information needed to balance performance, energy consumption, emissions and cost. Once the optimal design is agreed, BT can order equipment, configure and implement it, supporting customers throughout their full network evolution journey.

BT’s Carbon Network Dashboard then provides customers with real-time, detailed data and reports on their devices' energy performance in-life across both LAN and OT infrastructure.

The new service also helps customers to reduce the amount of old equipment heading to landfill. According to WEF, e-waste will be the fastest growing waste stream in the world. If, during a re-design, redundant or poorly performing equipment is identified, BT can help customers return it to vendors for recycling or re-use, with potential discounts applicable depending on the items and vendors. This improves the business case supporting customers’ circularity goals.

“With networks and digital assets spanning multiple sites globally, CIOs face unique challenges when attempting to deliver and measure sustainability improvements,” said Sarwar Khan, head of digital sustainability, Business, BT. “Our new proposition combines cutting-edge digital carbon measurement tools, expert network design services and a sustainable route for upgrading infrastructure. It empowers CIOs to demonstrate achievements and contribute measurably to their organisation’s net zero and circularity goals.”

BT today announced a new programme aimed at reducing business customers’ e-waste by recycling end-of-life equipment and helping them achieve their targets for a circular economy.

It is the latest step in BT Group’s Manifesto pledge to move to circular products, networks and operations by 2030, and then extend this across its supply chain by 2040.

The new programme comes as organisations around the world are transforming their network and IT infrastructure to support the latest multi-cloud deployments. As part of this transformation, BT environmental specialists will work with customers to better understand and map the role of sustainability in a digital world.

Replaced or decommissioned electronic equipment from a customer’s network will be shipped back to Cisco to be responsibly re-used or recycled through its takeback and reuse programme. Up to 99.9 per cent of what is returned will be re-used or recycled.

BT has Cisco-certified environmental specialists in the UK, US, Italy, Ireland, Switzerland and Singapore to manage the process. Further countries will be added by end of 2022.

The programme adds to BT’s existing take-back and reuse services for smartphones providing an easy way to upgrade, securely dispose and recycle the devices using a single, complete solution that handles everything.

According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), 57.4 million tonnes of e-waste was generated during 2021 with only 20 per cent recycled. If left unchecked, this could rise to 120 million tonnes each year. WEF also reported that 70 per cent of hazardous waste deposited in landfills is from e-waste. 

“E-waste is a growing concern and according to WEF now the fastest-growing waste stream in the world. Our customers and partners have made commitments to report on and improve performance in this critical area,” said Hriday Ravindranath, chief product & digital officer at BT’s Global unit. “Creating a more sustainable, circular economy, where we prioritise dematerialisation and avoid equipment going to landfill, is vital. It builds on our leadership in sustainability and will help deliver on our BT Group Manifesto commitments and ambition to connect for good.”

London, 21 June 2022: Households who make small but sustainable lifestyle changes around the home point to smart tech as the key driver of reducing emissions and energy usage, according to recent findings from BT Group.

The new findings have been released a year on from BT’s Smarter Living Challenge, which saw the company team up with environmental charity Hubbub, with the aim of exploring how the sustainable actions introduced during the challenge have impacted homes in the last 12 months. 

To reduce energy consumption and tackle the climate crisis, BT Group found that many households have introduced smart technology, such as smart plugs, voice-activated devices, and smart meters, giving them more control over their energy consumption. Almost half (45%) also said technology that monitors or tracks energy makes it easier to see the difference they can make.

Participating households commented: 

Lisa, from Wales: “We’re facing a financial crisis and people are choosing between eating and heating at the moment. Small tweaks, like using a smart meter can help you save money and be more aware [of your energy use]. I panicked when my energy usage shot up, but this motivated me to pay attention to my smart meter and after two weeks it went back to normal.”

"I've started using a voice-activated device more because you can tune it in with other [devices]. It reminds us of things - to turn things off etc, which I wasn't doing. We've [bought] a few smart light appliances… and we can tell the device [to] turn them off." 

Rebecca, from Glasgow: “I love smart tech - it really helps me [reduce my energy consumption]. I used to leave plugs on because they were really difficult to access - behind bookshelves or behind beds - so I'd just leave them on all the time. Now I can turn them off with my phone."

Tristram, from London: "I have a smart speaker installed in four rooms, which means I can control different devices by voice to make life easier. I have switches set up on devices like the TV that have a standby function - the switch kills power completely so the TV doesn't sit in standby." 

BT Group found that almost two thirds (62%) of the households have since reintroduced one or more of the sustainable living actions they tried during the original Smarter Living Challenge, due to the rising cost of living. The same percentage of households (62%) also said that the changes they made during and since the challenge have helped them feel more in control of their household's energy consumption during the current cost of living crisis. A third (31%) of the Smarter Living Challenge revisited households said that their energy bills had not risen as much as they might have done, as a result of the actions they have implemented. 

In 2021, The Smarter Living Challenge found that an average household in the UK could save £938 on their bills and up to 1.7 tonnes of CO2e per year by adopting seven high-impact actions. These actions include turning devices from 'standby' to 'off’ and turning the thermostat down by one degree. This would help to support the carbon reduction required of households in line with the UK Government's commitment for the country to become net-zero on carbon emissions by 2050.

The Smarter Living Challenge households' top energy-saving tips:

1. Monitor and understand your energy use at different times of the day and week. You can make smarter decisions if you know exactly how energy is used in your household.
2. Start simple when it comes to smart tech. Try buying one smart plug to start with that you can control through an app and develop your confidence from there.
3. Install a smart meter. Installation is free, and the technology will give a much clearer view of your household's energy use.
4. Use voice-activated tech that can help you by turning off all your devices when you leave the house. 
5. Be open-minded. There are lots of small changes that can make a difference to your household - if one doesn't work for you, try another.

Gabrielle Ginér, Head of Environmental Sustainability at BT Group, commented: "Since we launched our Smarter Living Challenge, reducing energy use is now high on the agenda for many people. Having revisited the participants this year, it's clear that some of the sustainable actions taken on from the original challenge are helping households make a difference on this topic.

"It's great to see how many participants see the value technology can bring when tracking their energy use, particularly given its impact on household bill rises. Whether or not they have access to smart technology, there are many ways in which households can be more energy efficient. Helping households make more sustainable choices forms part of our plans to help customers avoid 60 million tonnes of CO2 by 2030." 

BT Group has led on climate action for 30 years and plans to be net zero by 2030 for its operational emissions and 2040 for its supply chain and customer emissions. The target is part of BT Group's mission to build a bright, sustainable future through technology which is responsible, inclusive, and sustainable. 

For more information on tips and tricks to help reduce emissions in the home, click here.

Technology solutions that can help control energy use include: 

• Smart meters: Self-reading gas and electricity meters that show how much energy you're using in pounds and pence. They have no upfront or installation cost. If your home is eligible, you can request one from your energy supplier or wait for the rollout to reach you. Speak to your energy supplier for more information. 
• Smart plugs: At their most basic, smart plugs allow you to turn your devices on and off from your smartphone but you can also set up timers and some can show much energy individual devices are using. Prices often start from around £12, sold by various retailers including Currys PC World and Amazon.
• Smart thermostats: Designed to work with your existing boiler, enabling you to control your heating remotely. They can be installed through your energy supplier or independently, but they won’t work with very old boilers. Price typical start from £112 and options include Hive, Google Nest, Honeywell and Tado. 
• Smart assistant devices: These voice activated devices can link up to your appliances and enable you to control them using your voice from around the home. Prices can start from around £49, and options include Google Nest, Amazon Echo and Apple HomePod.
• Free energy saving apps: apps like Energy Cost Calculator can show you which of your appliances are using the most energy, while Joulebug helps users develop more sustainable habits with features similar to a game. Other app benefits can include optimising heating settings to save money and energy; linking to outside temperature; setting up rules to turn off appliances when you leave the house. Downloadable for free from Apple and Android App Stores.

ENDS

Notes to editor

*Methodology: https://www.hubbub.org.uk/bt-smarter-living-challenge 

About the Smarter Living Challenge 

The Smarter Living Challenge took place between December 2020 and February 2021, inviting 61 households to trial different tech and non-tech approaches to living more sustainably at home. The households broadly reflected the UK population in terms of demographics, living circumstances, location, and attitudes to sustainability, as well as technology. Just under half, 30, of the households were BT colleagues and 31 were from the general public, the majority BT customers. Full details of the study can be found in the report here. 

BT’s purpose

BT’s purpose is to connect for good, and we recognise that we will only succeed if we create products and services that directly address the challenges faced by the communities and customers we serve. BT has a long-standing history of being a responsible business. As well as providing essential communications services, we have led on climate action for almost three decades and supported people with their digital skills, most recently through BT Skills for Tomorrow.

In December 2021 BT Group launched its new Manifesto, BT’s agenda for growth. It outlines our ambitious goals for change: our net zero carbon and circular economy pathways; our targets to help build our customers digital skills; our ambition to energise a more diverse digital talent movement. It also includes requirements for bold policy changes to enable this journey.

The BT Group Manifesto incorporates BT’s core beliefs and is split into three beliefs – to act more responsibly, create a more inclusive society and be more sustainable. By forming the Manifesto, BT is creating a movement to inspire businesses to commit to doing better; enabling the nation to take action on responsible technology, climate change and improving their digital skills.

Find out more about our beliefs here

As head of environmental sustainability at BT for the last 13 years, I’ve been lucky enough to represent the company on the world stage. As we look ahead to World Environment Day on Sunday, I’m reminded of two things; the need to talk about climate change and the need to act.

I attended my first UN climate summit in Paris in 2015. On my return, I realised the importance of setting science-based targets and the need to limit global temperature increases to below 1.5 degrees. And in 2017, BT was one of the first companies in the world to set a 1.5 degree target, with approval from the Science Based Targets initiative.

Climate action has been on BTs agenda for thirty years. We set our first carbon reduction target in 1992 and in in 2008, we set our first science-based target to reduce the carbon emissions intensity of our business by 80% by 2020. After meeting that target four years ahead of time, we decided to be even more ambitious.

In September 2021, we announced plans to accelerate our net zero plan, pledging to be net zero for our own operations by 2031, and for our supply chain/customer emissions by 2041. To achieve this, we are focusing on three areas: purchasing renewable electricity, decarbonising our estate, and decarbonising our fleet. Any residual emissions will be covered by investment in high quality carbon offsets.

We’re now using 100% renewable electricity worldwide; we’re transforming our workplaces with a move to fewer, more sustainable and efficient buildings and we’re aiming to transition the majority of our 33,000 strong fleet to electric or zero carbon vehicles by 2030.

In December 2021, we launched the BT Group Manifesto – our plan to grow BT in ways that help secure a bright, sustainable future; demonstrate how we connect for good and underpins BT’s leadership as a stakeholder business. 

Today, we publish our BT Group Manifesto Report, which charts our progress over the last 12 months.

Working with others

As with many companies in the telecoms industry, only a small percentage (5%) of BT’s end-to-end carbon emissions come from our own operations. Around 71% comes from our upstream supply chain and 24% from customers using our products and services. It is clear to us that working with suppliers to reduce their own carbon emissions is key if we want to reach our net zero targets.

To achieve supply chain visibility, we have worked with the UK Government, trade associations, NGOs, policy makers and other organisations such as techUK, 1.5°C Supply Chain Leaders and the SME Climate Hub to help drive progress on Scope 3 emissions.

As a business, we are also undertaking three initiatives which focus on reducing our supply chain emissions.

1. We’re using our purchasing power, with 15% of our adjudication criteria being linked to responsible and sustainable procurement standards. All suppliers undergo assessment with regards to sustainability before they are on-boarded.
2. We ask suppliers with a contract value over £25m to have a net zero science-based target in place or agree to introduce one within six months, in addition to building a carbon reduction clause into key contracts. We encourage suppliers to switch to 100% renewable electricity, set net zero targets, engage with their suppliers and to disclose to CDP - a not-for-profit charity that runs the global disclosure system.
3. We drive innovation through our Game Changing Challenge competition on innovative solutions to environmental challenges.

Collective climate action has helped us make progress faster and inspire others. That’s why in 2020, we joined forces with Openreach and the Climate Group to launch the UK Electric Fleets Coalition. 30 companies are now part of the coalition, and they’re all advocating for the faster adoption of electric vehicles in the UK and for the kind of supportive policies that will help speed up the transition, such as grants and availability of nationwide charging infrastructure.

Why are net zero targets important?

Customers, policy makers, investors and key stakeholders are increasingly interested in our sustainability credentials. Positive climate action can help companies to win business, attract and retain talent, and offers positive brand and reputational benefits. It’s also good for our bottom-line. 

Targets also drive innovation, both with our suppliers who are incentivised to be more sustainable, and for BT’s product and service innovation. Innovative ICT products and services are key to enabling the low carbon economy. Our solutions help other sectors reduce their carbon emissions, for example by reducing travel and being more efficient through smart solutions. We aim to help our customers avoid 60m tonnes of carbon by 2030.

Through our ‘Smarter Living Challenge’ we showed that technology and small lifestyle changes around the home could save an average household save 1.7 tonnes of CO2e and £938 a year.

What we know

Climate change is real and as a business we have a duty to speak out and to lead.

Actions speak louder than words.

Targets drive performance. Measurement and monitoring are critical to understanding and driving change. If you don’t know where you are going, it’s hard to get there. Companies need to be transparent about their targets, understand how they are going to achieve them and share what progress they are making and the challenges they face along the way. If we don’t share our challenges, we can’t collaborate to overcome them.

So while there is much to be celebrated, there’s so much more to do. The message is clear: it’s time to take action on climate. Not Tomorrow. Today.

Powered by AI technology within Foresight Optima^TM from QiO Technologies, it combines the latest in machine learning with BT Edge Compute devices. Customers can also benefit from BT’s wider digital industries capabilities, including IoT, cloud and secure connectivity, in a single managed solution.

The new solution brings together real-time data from IoT sensors, machinery control settings, databases, external data and energy sources to identify the variables that can be optimised to reduce energy consumption, and can also help improve quality, productivity, and other relevant factors.

The resulting energy efficiency index (EEI) looks at past configurations of the process and compares them to see which were most energy efficient and why. It can also compare sites and equipment to look for best practices.

The solution is hosted on a BT Edge Compute device, which ensures data can be securely processed by the AI close to where it is created. BT securely connects the device to all relevant systems, hardware and assets to give total visibility of the process being measured. Connectivity options include private 5G.

QiO’s AI has been successfully deployed across a wide range of industries, including glass, steel, cement, automotive and others, delivering energy savings between 5-15 per cent. For example, QIO’s deployment at a leading glass manufacturer reduced energy consumption by six per cent and carbon emissions by 21,600 tonnes.

“I believe we have a very important role to play in addressing the climate crisis. By partnering with customers, we can help them achieve net zero carbon emissions,” said Hriday Ravindranath, Chief Product & Digital Officer, Global, BT.

“Data is key,” he added. “Too many organisations still gather carbon data manually, making reporting difficult and limiting its usefulness in improving operations. Our solution collects data securely, and by using QiO’s AI, recommends steps to optimise processes. Moreover, customers can use this data to report on their performance in a standardised way. It’s a great example of how we’re delivering on our Manifesto commitments and connecting for good.”

“Our partnership with BT will deliver the benefit of QiO Foresight Optima^TM to asset heavy and energy intensive industry to help meet sustainability and net zero goals,” said Rick Haythornthwaite, Chairman & Co-Founder, QiO Technologies. “Combined with BT’s industry knowledge and connectivity expertise, we can accelerate delivery of energy efficiency, carbon emissions reduction and cost savings for organisations globally.”

ENDS

About QiO

QiO Technologies is a Gartner Magic Quadrant Industrial IoT AI Software products company delivering Sustainability and Industry4.0 solutions for the industrial sector.

Since 2015, QiO has built a global track record with leading industrial companies by optimising their operations, reducing their energy costs and carbon emissions, delivering 5-15 per cent efficiency improvement, and expediting their sustainability agenda.

QiO’s solutions are available across multiple industries, including aerospace, automotive, steel, glass, cement, oil and gas, healthcare, data centers and shipping

For more information, visit www.qio.io

BT today announced it is building a flexible, resilient and secure network for Deutsche Post DHL Group to support the global logistics powerhouse in its drive to digitalise supply chains in a sustainable way.

The new eight-year agreement continues the long-standing relationship between the firms. It will see BT deploy the latest technology to transform connectivity for DPDHL Group in 27 countries across Europe, including the UK.

Deutsche Post DHL Group is the world’s leading logistics company. It focuses on delivering exceptional customer service and innovative sustainable transport solutions for increasingly digitalised supply chains.

The new network will be a key enabler of Deutsche Post DHL Group’s strategy, helping the company digitalise and automate its business in a sustainable way.

It will be based on the latest technologies that combine the scale and flexibility of the internet with security and resilience to deliver trusted performance. It will be optimised for the cloud, where Deutsche Post DHL Group increasingly hosts its applications and digital services used by 350,000 employees at 1500 sites across the regions.

Sustainability is a fundamental part of the network transformation. BT will audit Deutsche Post DHL Group’s existing network to identify and remove copper cables wherever possible, replacing them with fibre connections to optimise energy consumption.

BT’s networks use 100 per cent renewable electricity and the company employs science-based emission reduction targets across its business.

Anna Spinelli, Chief Procurement Officer, Deutsche Post DHL Group, said: “Our relationship with BT builds on strong foundations and a common purpose to connecting people and improving lives. Thanks to this new long-term agreement, both companies have strategically committed to work closely together to enable the best performing, flexible and sustainable network, globally.” 

Bas Burger, CEO, Global, BT, said: “We are proud to work with Deutsche Post DHL Group, a globally respected logistic company driven by a purpose that mirrors our own. Like BT, it places customer service, the power of technology and sustainability at the heart of its corporate strategy. Our new partnership gives us the opportunity to achieve our respective growth ambitions and contribute towards common goals.”

The Green Tech Innovation Platform, launched in 2020, was awarded the Responsible Business Alliance Innovation Award at COP26 last year and has already fostered a series of successful green innovation partnerships. These are focused on developing solutions to help public sector organisations in reaching their net zero carbon emissions targets.

BT is already supporting Glasgow based scale-up iOpt on using its Internet of Things (IoT) platform which enables real-time information and alerts on the condition of properties for social housing providers like housing associations and local councils. BT is also working with scale-up Everimpact to deploy environment monitoring solutions for local authorities to help reach their sustainability goals, with a proof of concept to be rolled out via BT’s new digital Street Hub units this spring.  

The second phase will develop new digital solutions to support Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) manufacturing businesses as they seek to adopt more sustainable manufacturing processes. The Manufacturing Technology Centre is collaborating with BT on the new phase of the project, bringing its sector experience and expertise to the ongoing development of the Green Tech Innovation Platform. BT is also continuing its work with Plug and Play, the world’s leading innovation platform headquartered in Silicon Valley, to support the selection of scale-ups.

The FMCG sector is currently the largest manufacturing market in the UK, accounting for 14% of all goods manufactured in the country. A recent report commissioned by BT and developed by Accenture has forecast that ICT, including 5G, can help reduce global carbon emissions from the manufacturing sector by 13% by 2030 which is equivalent to1.3 gigatons of CO2e. The Green Tech Innovation Platform aims to explore how advanced digital technologies such as IoT, Edge, Data, AI and 5G can play a critical role in helping manufacturing customers in their transition to Net Zero.

The platform will focus on addressing three main areas within FMCG manufacturing:

• Circularity and supply chain: Uncovering new digital solutions to help track the flow of products, components, and materials to provide improved resource management and decision making across all stages of the production cycle, and empowering consumers to make better choices. This will support the sector to address the depletion of finite resources and how to embed circularity into production processes.
• Production Resource Optimisation: Exploring digital solutions that either modify existing production processes or introduce completely new breakthrough methods in order to become more energy and resource efficient. This could be through supporting waste reduction in production processes or harnessing additional outputs from the shop floor such as water, heat, energy.
•  Operation Design and Planning: Developing solutions that use data and digital technology to improve modelling, visualisation, scenario analyses and planning, with the aim to make it simpler to redesign legacy manufacturing processes with a sustainability focus.

Dean Terry, MD Corporate and Public Sector at BT, said: “Through expanding our innovative approach to green technology we’re accelerating action to address climate change, while supporting start-ups and scale-ups as they look to take their new solutions to market.

“In line with the BT Group Manifesto announced last year, this further demonstrates how we’re committed to creating  future digital services that will support our customers in driving quicker progress towards a circular world with net zero emissions.”

Joseph Darlington, Director of Technology Sectors at Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC), said: “We recognise manufacturing has a vital role in driving down carbon emissions. Being part of BT’s Green Tech Innovation Platform initiative is an excellent opportunity for the MTC to contribute to the development of digital green technology and the technology supply chain we believe will be transformational to the manufacturing sector.  We invite the FMCG industry to engage with us and become part of this mission of delivering smarter factories and positive impact on the environment.”

 Kieran Borrett, Director UK at Plug and Play, said: “We are proud to partner with BT Group, helping them to engage and partner with the start-ups and scale-ups that are crucial to the transition to Net Zero. As a partner of Plug and Play Sustainability, BT Group will combine their knowledge and scale with the most promising technologies and business models to build a more sustainable future.”  

Successful scale-ups will have the opportunity to partner and work collaboratively with BT and its customers. The scope of the partnerships will range from BT using its expertise to find a cheaper, faster initial route to market through to new revenue share models. BT aims to announce the successful scale-up partners in late spring and start developing proof of concepts with customers in the summer.  

The Green Tech Innovation Platform aligns with BT’s wider commitment to accelerate responsible, inclusive, and sustainable growth over the next decade. As part of the BT Group Manifesto, the company has outlined plans to drive faster progress towards a circular world with net zero emissions.

To support tech start-ups and small businesses, BT is an active member of the SME Climate Hub which aims to motivate SMEs to halve their greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and reach net zero emissions by 2050.

From today, scale-ups can apply to participate in the Green Tech Innovation Platform.

Ends

About BT’s climate commitment

• BT has led on climate action for more than 30 years and in September 2021 the company announced plans to curb its carbon emissions sooner than planned, by bringing forward its net zero target from 2045 to 2030 for its own operational emissions and 2040 for its supply chain and customer emissions.
• Since 2016 BT has reduced the carbon emissions intensity of its operations by 57% and has reduced supply chain emissions by 19% over the same timeframe.
• In 2020, BT announced that it had completed the switch to 100% renewable electricity worldwide and pledged to transition the majority of its 33,000 strong commercial fleet to electric or zero carbon emissions vehicles by 2030.
• As part of BT’s Manifesto for responsible, inclusive, and sustainable growth, the company announced new goals to help its customers reduce their own carbon emissions by 60m tonnes by 2030, helping build towards a circular BT by 2030
• The full BT Group Manifesto, can be found here: www.bt.com/btmanifesto
• To find out more about what BT is doing to help fight climate change, visit: https://www.bt.com/about/digital-impact-and-sustainability 
• Green Tech Innovation Platform launched, June 2020: BT pledges support for a green recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic
• BT announces partnerships with first scale-ups, January 2021: BT partners with scale-ups on breakthrough green tech

By John Davies, Chief Researcher, BT                                                                                                                                                                                        

While the concept of a digital twin is no longer new, the technology has been steadily generating growing interest over the last few years, particularly as it is increasingly being seen as a key enabler of Industry 4.0. For people unfamiliar with the technology, a digital twin is a digital representation of a product, process, service, or ecosystem – for instance, a network simulator can be the digital twin of an actual network, a virtual machine can be the digital twin of a server etc. The digital twin representation of a resource can be used to test changes to its configuration, behaviour, and use in business processes in ways that are less destructive or intrusive than their real-life physical equivalent. Digital twins can therefore be used to run stress tests that would be too complex or costly to run in real life – they allow us to see what might happen when certain adjustments are made to a resource or process. Essentially, it can execute simulation models to test and predict process changes when under different and varied ‘what if’ scenarios.

Of course, this ability to test hypotheses without the need to disrupt the real-world environment has made digital twin technology a very attractive proposition for a number of sectors, including manufacturing, healthcare, transport, energy, and infrastructure. For many enterprises, a digital twin is seen as the means to realize significant commercial benefits, including improved operations, product and service innovation, as well as faster time to market. Gartner predicts that by 2023, one-third of mid-to-large-size companies that implemented IoT will have implemented at least one digital twin that is active and delivering tangible business benefits. And with Industry 4.0 in its nascent stages, digital twins are an integral part of the ecosystem that also includes IoT, robotics, AI, and automation.

Today BT is exploring the potential advantages that this concept offers, particularly with a view to sustainability and tackling the climate emergency. Optimization is an essential driver of sustainability, and this is where digital twins can make a decisive difference. Currently there are a number of new and innovative use cases which illustrate the benefits of the technology. One example is BT’s partnership with major utilities providers to develop a utilities digital twin that aims to increase climate resilience in the face of changing and unpredictable weather patterns. With our partners Anglian Water and UK Power Networks, and with the help of the National Digital Twin programme, the collaboration is helping to build a digital twin across energy, water, and telecoms networks. Each vertical knows that flooding events affect their operations, and the ability to predict where and how severely those events will happen would allow them to plan accordingly and to be able to optimize service delivery. A digital twin can therefore be fed with weather data and flood event predictions. The digital twin environment will then provide a view of how the service network would respond to such disruption. The processes that are in place to maintain and restore service delivery can be tested and optimized with a view of how to respond to those incidents.

In a further example, BT took part in a project exploring the optimization of energy consumption patterns associated with the use of air conditioning in buildings.in the Middle East.  As temperatures frequently soar to 45 degrees, air conditioning represents a huge running cost to keep acceptable temperatures within buildings and office spaces. The ability to reduce energy consumption provides commercial and environmental benefits. The creation of a digital twin for the buildings, along with the deployment of in-building sensors connected to the digital twin augmented with weather data and simulations of space occupancy and utilization, allows for the minimisation of power consumption while achieving the required temperature and humidity through the optimal use of the air conditioning system.

In a digital twin application delivered to Hyperbat, one of the UK’s largest vehicle battery manufacturers, BT together with Ericsson and NVIDIA, enabled dispersed teams across design, engineering, and manufacturing to collaborate more efficiently using a virtual 3D engineering model showing how the technology is set to accelerate the pace of innovation in the UK manufacturing sector. This caters for greater energy efficiency by reducing the need for travel and its associated impacts.

There is no doubt that digital twins have the power to enable enterprises to improve innovation and performance, particularly when it comes to monitoring and identifying ways to become more efficient, prevent downtimes and plan for future events. This clearly has positive implications for environmental sustainability and is especially timely when seen against the backdrop of the recent COP26 summit which reinforced the urgent need to find more radical solutions to the threat of climate breakdown. That’s why BT – with the guidance of Tim Whitley, Research and Innovation MD and chair of the UK government’s UKRI advisory group on digital twins – are advising the government on policy and initiatives encouraging the adoption of digital twin technology across UK industries to help the UK meet its long-term sustainability targets.   

BT today announced it is working with ABB to elevate its internationally managed communications infrastructure to new levels of performance, choice and agility to support the company’s new operating model. It follows the signing of a new contract between the two companies.

The new contract builds on an existing agreement, signed in 2014, under which BT consolidated and optimised the leading global technology company’s international communications infrastructure. Working with ABB’s Information Systems team, BT will now transform the network infrastructure to create a sustainable, resilient and secure core platform featuring a highly automated and data-driven managed service.

Security is a top priority for ABB as it executes its cloud strategy, which includes consolidating data centres and moving more applications and data into the cloud. BT will enable ABB’s cloud-first ambitions with an end-to-end, compliant, multi-layered cyber security environment. It will deploy, manage and monitor over 1,100 end-point devices, continuously verifying every device, user and application accessing the network.

The communications infrastructure will reliably and securely connect people, devices and machines at over 600 facilities in 60 countries. Using the latest software-defined networking technology, it will offer ABB a choice of connectivity options for each site, including 5G access.

It will also provide ABB with a new software-driven platform delivered over Wifi 6 to enable mobility and digital manufacturing concepts, such as robotics, Internet of Things (IoT) and Big Data technologies at production sites. Both companies have committed to a co-innovation fund as part of the contract.

By choosing BT, ABB is ensuring its network is delivered by a provider using 100 per cent renewable electricity globally with a commitment to achieving net zero emissions across all its operations by 2030.

“ABB’s world-class technology and digital capabilities are deeply embedded in our DNA. Maintaining and improving our innovation, technology and digital leadership is a strategic priority across the company,” said Alec Joannou, Group CIO, ABB. “BT is a great fit for our Information Systems function. As our trusted partner, it has helped us keep pace with a dynamic digital landscape and is now evolving our communications infrastructure to support our digital ambitions.”

“The cloud-first network and digital managed services we’re delivering will further enhance agility across ABB’s businesses,” said Bas Burger, CEO, Global, BT. “The unique trust between our two companies empowers us to push ahead as we connect ABB’s people, devices and machines in a sustainable and responsible way.” 

BT has today launched The BT Big Sofa Summit in a bid to get the UK talking about the environment and to demonstrate how small lifestyle changes and smart tech can be used to help aid the fight against climate change at home.

The BT Big Sofa Summit will provide the nation with free, practical advice, tips and resources on the small steps everyone can take to cut household emissions, showing that you don’t need to be a world leader to play your part in the fight against climate change. The campaign invites people from across the county to host their own Big Sofa Summit and spark the conversation about how they and their home could be greener with the help of technology, while encouraging households to make small climate change resolutions that will make a big difference.

To launch The BT Big Sofa Summit, BT has teamed up with presenter, actress and singer Kimberley Walsh and Diversity duo Jordan Banjo and Perri Kiely, who have held their own summits to talk about what they can do to be greener at home, from saving energy through shorter showers to installing LED smart lighting. This content will sit alongside other expert-led tools and resources suitable for renters, homeowners and even those still living at home. Furthermore, Walsh, as owner of clothing brand Kimba Kids, will also offer advice to small businesses on how they can be greener and more sustainable.

Check out the celebrities’ Big Sofa Summits, and find out more about The BT Big Sofa Summit, here: www.bt.com/BigSofaSummit.

Research of UK parents conducted by BT has shown that it is their children taking the lead in the fight against climate change, with 52% admitting that their children care more about climate change than they do. Furthermore, more than half (55%) of parents have been taught something about sustainability by their children while a similar number (51%) has been called out by their children for doing something harmful to the environment, such as leaving appliances on standby or leaving lights turned on.

This is, in no small part, thanks to the recent rise-to-fame of young environmentalists like Greta Thunberg: 64% of those surveyed would like their children to follow in the footsteps of Thunberg and be passionate about the environment, with 70% seeing her as a positive role model.

Presenter, actress and singer, Kimberley Walsh, said: “Every time you turn on the news, there’s always a story about the doom and gloom of climate change so it can be very easy to get overwhelmed by it all. That’s why it’s great BT has given us an easy way to start talking about the problem and is showing us how helpful tech can be for the environment. The BT Big Sofa Summit is a simple, positive way of figuring out the small steps you can take as a family to make your home greener. My kids absolutely loved it: they want us to install a smart thermostat so that they can turn the heating down when I have it too high!”

Diversity dancer, TV presenter and Kiss FM Breakfast presenter, Jordan Banjo, added: “It can be very easy to forget that the small things add up to make a big difference when fighting climate change and that we all have a part to play. The BT Big Sofa Summit will get the country talking about the small steps we can all take to help the environment. It really makes you re-evaluate what you do on a daily basis and helps you come up with new ways of addressing the problem that you’d probably never thought about before, all from the comfort of your living room.”

Diversity Dancer and Kiss FM Breakfast presenter, Perri Kiley, said: “We’re past the point of sitting back and hoping someone else will fight climate change for us: it’s not all up to world leaders and politicians! That’s why The BT Big Sofa Summit is so important – talking to each other and encouraging those around us to do the same and look at the small things you can do is a big first step towards being greener. For me, it’s making sure I turn the lights off!”

BT has led on climate action for three decades and recently announced plans to bring forward its net zero target from 2045 to 2030 for its own operational emissions and 2040 for its supply chain and customer emissions.

In 2020, BT completed the switch to 100% renewable electricity worldwide, which means that anyone who buys mobile or broadband from EE, BT or Plusnet are now supplied by networks that are powered by 100% clean power. The company also pledged to move the majority of its 33,000 vehicles over to electric or zero carbon emissions by 2030.

Andy Wales, Chief Digital Impact & Sustainability Officer at BT Group, said: “BT is committed to fighting climate change, that’s why we’re upping our game and setting more ambitious net zero targets. We want to go further though, by showing people up and down the country that it’s not just world leaders and large corporations who can make a difference in the fight against Climate Change: everyone has a part to play.

“With a customer base of 30 million households and over a million small businesses, BT is well placed to get the nation talking about climate change. We want to use our reach and expertise through the BT Big Sofa Summit to inspire everyone to make those small sustainable steps and to embrace those technologies available to help them become greener at home.”

BT’s commitment to reducing emissions will help the UK Government meet its target of net zero emissions by 2050. The company is calling on other businesses to take similar steps by setting their own net zero targets and by engaging with their customers, colleagues and supply chains about climate change, what it means for them and what they can do to make a difference.

To find out more about the BT Big Sofa Summit and to see how you can host your own visit: www.bt.com/BigSofaSummit

You can share your Big Sofa Summit resolutions on social media using #BTBigSofaSummit.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

Hero PR edit - https://youtu.be/ib7U9JxuwYU

Jordan and Perri - https://youtu.be/t1krZG6flDI

Jordan and Perri short - https://youtu.be/uq589hLhN48

Kimberley Walsh - https://youtu.be/V6Sgp2c34z4

Kimberley Walsh short - https://youtu.be/i2LDee4-hVo

Jordan and Perri – Tech Tips - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T73VJ4P_C-w

The BT Big Sofa Summit for SMEs with Kimberley Walsh - https://youtu.be/sxUwm_2X4vA

The research was commissioned by BT and carried out online by OnePoll. All surveys were conducted between 27^th August and 6^th September 2021. The sample comprised 2000 UK parents of children aged 5-16. OnePoll are members of ESOMAR and employ members of the MRS.

20 September 2021 – BT Group has today announced plans to curb its carbon emissions sooner than planned, by bringing forward its net zero target from 2045 to 2030 for its own operational emissions and 2040 for its supply chain and customer emissions.

The new target comes as a landmark UN climate report has warned that global heating is irreversible, with its starkest warning yet that urgent action is needed to reduce emissions.

The company which has led on climate action for 30 years has pledged to cut the emissions intensity of its business by 87% by the end of March 2031 and has set targets in line with the most ambitious aim of the COP21 Paris Agreement - linking its targets to limit global warming to 1.5°C.

Since 2016 BT has reduced the carbon emissions intensity of its operations by 57% and has reduced supply chain emissions by 19% over the same timeframe.

In 2020, the company announced that it had completed the switch to 100% renewable electricity worldwide and pledged to transition the majority of its 33,000 strong commercial fleet to electric or zero carbon emissions vehicles by 2030.

To meet these new ambitious targets, BT will work closely with its customers and suppliers, and will press ahead with plans to retire legacy networks such as the 3G mobile network by 2023 and the public switched telephone network (PSTN) by the end of 2025. Any residual emissions will be covered by high quality carbon offsets, which the company will invest in.

The company believes that continued innovation in products and services alongside the roll out of full fibre broadband to 25 million homes and businesses by December 2026 and the offer of high performance 5G solutions across the entire UK by 2028 will help underpin many of the innovative solutions needed to achieve a net zero carbon economy.

Sparking a conversation

With a customer base of 30 million households and one million SMEs, BT believes that it is well placed to help its customers and the wider general public cut emissions.

A recent study carried out by the company found that despite climate change being the third most important issue for people after mental and physical health, almost half believed that they were incapable of tackling climate change.

However, BTs Smarter Living Challenge found that when households were given the tools and techniques to tackle their own emissions, they could make a huge difference. In some cases saving up to £938 and up to 1.7 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e) if actions were sustained over a year.

The BT Big Sofa Summit

In a bid to get the UK talking about the environment and to demonstrate how small lifestyle changes and smart tech can be used to help aid the fight against climate change, BT is launching its Big Sofa Summit.

The company will provide free practical advice, tips and resources on the small steps everyone can take to cut household emissions. To help, BT has teamed up with some familiar faces including presenter, actress and singer Kimberley Walsh plus Jordan Banjo and Perri Kiely from Bafta award winning dance troupe Diversity, who will hold their own sofa summit. To find out more visit www.bt.com/BigSofaSummit

Andy Wales, Chief Digital Impact & Sustainability Officer at BT Group said: “As the world looks to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, we must remember that the global climate emergency hasn’t gone away. BT is committed to climate action and today’s announcement will see us not just deliver on our public commitments to date but exceed them.

“Getting our own ‘BT’ house in order isn’t enough though. We must broaden the conversation around climate change by getting households up and down the country talking about it and helping them understand what they can do to help. That’s why I’d encourage all of our customers, colleagues and communities to get involved, by holding their own Sofa Summit, looking at the small, sustainable changes they can make.”

The company also announced today that it had joined The Climate Pledge - a commitment, co-founded by Amazon and Global Optimism in 2019 on the conviction that global businesses are responsible, accountable, and able to act on the climate crisis. Signatories of The Climate Pledge agree to three principal areas of action including; regular reporting, carbon elimination and neutralising any remaining emissions with real, permanent and socially-beneficial offsets to achieve net-zero emissions by 2040.

BT’s commitment to reducing its carbon intensity will help the UK Government meet its target of net zero emissions by 2050. The company is also calling on companies to take similar steps, setting their own ambitious but realistic net zero targets for 2050 at the latest and by engaging with their customers, colleagues and supply chains about climate change, what it means for them and what they can do to make a difference.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

• Visit www.bt.com/BigSofaSummit to find out more.
• To find out more about what BT is doing to help fight climate change, visit: https://www.bt.com/about/digital-impact-and-sustainability
• In 2020, around 25% of BTs revenue came from carbon-cutting solutions such as teleconferencing and cloud storage, helping customers avoid 13m tonnes of CO2 emissions.
• To find out more about The Climate Pledge, please visit https://sustainability.aboutamazon.com/about/the-climate-pledge

31^st August 2021, London. New research from BT has revealed that almost half all of Brits (41%) say they have cupboards, drawers or bags full of unwanted electrical waste as nearly a third (31%) don’t know how to recycle it. The news comes as BT reveals it has recycled nearly a million pieces of BT equipment since the start of 2020, preventing nearly 170 tonnes of electrical waste from going to landfill, equivalent to the weight of 13 double-decker buses¹.

The research found that the most common items Brits don’t know how to recycle are printers (31%), cables (30%) and hair dryers (29%), all of which can be recycled. Nearly three quarters (74%) admit to having chucked electronics into black bin liners, committing the goods to landfill rather than taking them to be recycled. More than half (55%) engaged in ‘wishful recycling’ – throwing unwanted electronics into the recycling bin in the hope they’ll reach a recycling centre.

When it comes to good intentions, younger people are getting in a tangle over unwanted electronics, with nearly twice as many 16 to 24 year olds (40%) unsure what to do when it comes to recycling e-waste, compared to those over 55 (21%). The vast majority of 16 to 24 year olds (85%) have thrown electronics in regular bins compared to 51% of those 55 and over. Two thirds (68%) of 16 to 24 year olds have also placed electronics amongst other recycling, compared to 32% of those 55 and over.

Matthew Hughes, Director of Broadband at BT, said, “We made some changes in 2019 that make it compulsory to return broadband routers to us after use, which has really boosted our recycling efforts. Thanks to these changes and the commitment of our customers, we’ve prevented the release of 11,430 tonnes of carbon dioxide, the equivalent of 6,000 flights from London to Tokyo¹.”

Andie Stevens, Associate Director at the Carbon Trust Advisory, ICT sector lead said, “BT makes it easy for customers to return unwanted and unneeded equipment, preventing tonnes of electrical waste and plastic from going to landfill. The recycling and refurbishment programme is a great initiative, demonstrating the commitment to circularity and achieving long-term sustainability goals by reducing the carbon intensity of products.”

BT estimates hundreds of thousands of items of unused electronic equipment in customers' homes could be refurbished and recycled. 

​

It's easy for customers to return their equipment to BT: more information is here.

Notes to editors

Research based on nationally representative sample of c.3,600 GB adults – August 2021.

¹ Figures provided by the Carbon Trust

The top 10 old electrical items the nation stores unused at home:

• Cables (44%)

• Remote controls (41%)

• Hair dryers (39%)

• Wired headphones (38%)

• Printers (35%)

• Games consoles (32%)

• Broadband hub (29%)

• TV set-top boxes (27%)

• Smart speakers (26%)

• Wi-Fi extenders (21%)

For general information on how to recycle electrical items; contact your local authority or for details of local Household Waste Recycling Centres where small electrical items can be recycled visit Recycle Now for England

http://www.recycleforscotland.com

https://www.recyclenow.com/ni

https://walesrecycles.org.uk/

BT’s commitment to climate action:

• As part of the transition to a low carbon business model, BT has pledged to become a net zero carbon emissions business by 2045

• Since 2016/17, BT has reduced the carbon emissions intensity of its operations by 57% and has reduced supply chain emissions by 19% over the same timeframe.

• BT is now using 100% renewable electricity worldwide, which means consumers who buy mobile or broadband from EE, BT or Plusnet are supplied by networks that are powered by 100% clean power.

• With the second largest commercial fleet in the UK, the company has also outlined plans to transition the majority of its 33,000 vehicles to electric or zero carbon models by 2030.

• For more information about BT's work on Digital Impact and Sustainability please visit: Digital impact & sustainability | BT Plc

About the Carbon Trust:

Established in 2001, the Carbon Trust works with businesses, governments and institutions around the world, helping them contribute to, and benefit from, a more sustainable future through carbon reduction, resource efficiency strategies, and commercialising low carbon businesses, systems and technologies.

Leaving the lights on, switching the heating on unnecessarily and putting recycling in with general waste topped a list of things that shocked UK adults about their partner when they moved in together, research has revealed. The survey, commissioned by BT, showed that these more environmentally friendly concerns trumped the more traditional gripes, such as snoring, not tidying up after themselves and chewing loudly.

The findings suggest a trend of couples becoming more environmentally conscious: a third of those questioned believe they and their partner are doing more to live a greener life at home when compared to twelve months ago, prior to the Coronavirus pandemic, while more than half (54%) encourage each other to be more sustainable. Living a greener life has also brought more than a quarter (27%) of couples closer together. However, it is not always smooth sailing: 60% of those questioned admitted that they have had a disagreement with their other half about the environment.

While couples appear to be becoming more aware of environmental issues at home, the majority still think there is room for improvement, as just 38% believe they and/or their partner are sufficiently eco-conscious. When asked which ‘climate change resolution’ they would make to live a greener life, switching to an electric vehicle emerged as the top choice (15%). Recycling as much as possible (13%) and only using the heating while necessary (9%) completed the top three, closely followed by switching to a renewable energy provider (8%).

As part of efforts to combat climate change, BT is helping to equip the nation with the digital skills needed to be more sustainable at home. The company aims to provide households with the knowledge and motivation needed to make small but sustainable lifestyle changes and is highlighting the important role technology has in making the household shift to sustainable living easier.

Just under half of UK adults (47%) already have a smart technology appliance in their home, with more than two thirds (69%) believing that advances in smart tech are helping their household to be more environmentally friendly. Among the most popular appliances were a smart meter (64%), smart lighting (34%) and smart thermostats (33%). Among those that don’t use smart tech, cost (40%), the belief that it can’t make a substantial difference (21%) and a perceived lack of understanding on how it works (18%) were among the top barriers to installing it at home.

BT recently announced the results of its Smarter Living Challenge, a partnership with environmental charity, Hubbub which highlighted the powerful impact UK households can have on their carbon emissions by using technology to support simple sustainable lifestyle changes.

The project found that when seven small, but sustainable actions were combined with technology, an average household could save £938 on their bills and up to 1.7 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO₂e) per year if adopted on a sustained basis.

Switching to smart LED lighting, for example, could save 65kg of CO₂ emissions per household, while changing to a renewable energy tariff can save the average household around £270 on bills.

Andy Wales, Chief Digital Impact & Sustainability Officer at BT, said: “In the run up to the COP26 climate talks later this year, we want to show people up and down the country that it’s not just politicians and corporations who can make a difference in the fight against Climate Change, everyone has a part to play.

“At BT, we connect for good. Our technology, networks and products will underpin many of the solutions needed to become a net zero carbon economy and will act as a catalyst for a smarter, greener future. That’s why we would encourage all of our customers, colleagues and communities to make their own ‘climate resolutions’ because we know when small sustainable steps are supported by technology, they can make a huge impact.”

BT has led on climate action for three decades and has pledged to become a net zero carbon emissions business by 2045. In 2020, BT completed the switch to 100% renewable electricity worldwide, which means citizens who buy mobile or broadband from EE, BT or Plusnet are now supplied by networks that are powered by 100% clean power.

To find out more about BT’s Smarter Living Challenge and the changes you can make to help fight climate change visit: https://www.hubbub.org.uk/bt-smarter-living-challenge

To find out more about what BT is doing to help fight climate change, visit: https://www.bt.com/about/digital-impact-and-sustainability

ENDS

Notes to Editors

Top 10 things that shocked UK adults about their partner when they moved in together:

• Leaving lights on when not in the room – 27%
• Snoring – 23%
• Leaving appliances plugged in when not in use – 19%
• Puts recycling in the black bin waste – 17%
• Not tidying up after themselves – 17%
• Leaving the heating on unnecessarily – 16%
• Wastes food – 16%
• Opens the window with the heating on – 14%
• Leaves the TV on when not in the room – 13%
• Wastes water – 12%

Top 5 climate change resolutions for UK adults:

• Switching to an electric vehicle – 15%
• Recycling as much as possible – 13%
• Only using the heating when necessary – 9%
• Switching to a renewable energy provider – 8%
• Eating more plant-based meals – 7%

The research was commissioned by BT and carried out online by OnePoll. All surveys were conducted between 10^th June 2021 and 14^th June 2021. The sample comprised 2000 UK adults who live with their partner/spouse.

London, 1 July 2021 – BT today announced the results of its Smarter Living Challenge, which highlights the powerful impact UK households can have on their carbon emissions by using technology to support simple sustainable lifestyle changes.

Run in partnership with environmental charity Hubbub, the Smarter Living Challenge invited consumers and BT colleagues from 61 diverse households to take part in a three-month pilot to trial different approaches to living more sustainably at home.

Participants were set regular challenges and supported with help and advice from experts³ to help them reduce their heating and hot water usage; manage their power and lighting; and to reduce food waste. The project also looked to identify where technology could be used to improve these actions or make them easier to carry out.

55 households completed the challenge, taking a total of 448 actions to reduce their environmental impact, including switching to new renewable energy providers, turning the thermostat down one degree and repairing old technology items.

Based on the participants’ progress, seven high-impact actions were identified which included

1. Switching to a renewable energy provider/ tariff
2. Turning thermostat down one degree
3. Turning appliances you don’t use from ‘standby’ to ‘off’
4. Cycling or walking for shorter journeys
5. Reducing food waste
6. Repairing old tech items
7. Having shorter showers

If these seven actions were adopted on a sustained basis, an average household could save £938¹ on their bills and up to 1.7 tonnes of CO₂e per year¹, helping to support the carbon reduction required of households in line with the UK Government’s commitment for the country to become net-zero on carbon emissions by 2050².

As part of plans to reach net zero by 2045, BT is already using 100% renewable electricity worldwide, which means consumers who buy mobile or broadband from EE, BT or Plusnet are already supplied by networks that are powered by 100% clean power.

Andy Wales, Chief Digital Impact & Sustainability Officer at BT said: “With a customer base of 30 million households, BT is well placed to help consumers cut their carbon footprint, and through our technology and networks, we’ll help to underpin the innovative solutions needed to become a net zero carbon economy.

“The Smarter Living Challenge has shown that UK households have an important part to play in fighting climate change, and when combined, small sustainable lifestyle changes can make a big difference.

“Over the coming months we’ll be stepping up our efforts to help support, educate and empower our customers to take action.”

The results of the Smarter Living Challenge revealed the important role technology has in making the household shift to sustainability easier. The study found technology helped participants to better visualise and cut energy usage and costs; prompted them to manage their food and water use, and online forums helped households to share tips, ask questions and celebrate one another’s successes.

Gavin Ellis, Director and Co-Founder of Hubbub, said: “The trial showed that tech alone isn’t the silver bullet to household carbon emissions, but when applied alongside more conventional non-tech actions and behaviours it proved to be highly effective and more than three quarters of participants say they plan to stick with the changes they’ve made.

“Technology was often the enabler for people to make changes, and while some of the available technology is expensive, we found many free or entry-level options which every household could benefit from. Taking part helped households to save time and money, as well as gaining greater control of their homes.”

In the run up to climate talks later this year, BT is calling on other companies to meaningfully engage with their customers, colleagues and suppliers about climate change and has developed a seven step guide⁴ to help steer the conversation.

A full report on the Smarter Living Challenge can be found online here. It provides a detailed overview of the project’s activities and findings, including the most impactful actions observed, participant case studies, and analysis of the role of technology.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

The Smarter Living Challenge took place between December 2020 and February 2021, inviting 61 households to trial different tech and non-tech approaches to living more sustainably at home. The households broadly reflected the UK population in terms of demographics, living circumstances, location and attitudes to sustainability, as well as technology. Just under half, 30, of the households were BT colleagues and 31 were from the general public, the majority BT customers. Full details of the study can be found in the report here.

• ¹ An average household could save up to £938 on their bills and 1.7 tonnes CO2e by adopting and sustaining these seven actions. Please refer to the appendices of the report for a list of the most common actions and assumptions and calculations for the carbon and financial savings.
• Carbon calculations were independently reviewed and validated by Giki, specialists in personal carbon footprint calculations.
• ² If one average household were to take each of these actions, they would save around 1.7 tonnes of CO2e over a year. Put in context, if every UK household took these actions, it would achieve 6.6% of the carbon reduction UK households need to make to play their part in achieving net zero by 2050.
• Using DEFRA 2018 household carbon footprint data and Office for National Statistics data for the number of households in the UK. See appendix 3 of the impact report for calculations and assumptions.
• ³ Smart home technology expertise was provided by The Eco Experts. 17 other visiting experts offered advice to participants through virtual events on a range of topics.
• ⁴ The seven steps to help businesses engage with their customers in a more meaningful way are:

1. Practice what you preach to motivate and inspire employees and customers
2. Support while selling and make it easy for customers to take actions
3. Spell out the benefits, making clear the environmental and financial gains
4. Use the power of peer to peer because meaningful change happens when people support one another
5. Offer structure and guidance to help turn actions into behaviours and habits
6. Make it fun so that participants enjoy meeting a challenge and making a difference
7. Be inclusive and make change achievable, so that people can take action no matter their circumstances

• Further information on how BT is supporting its customers to cut their carbon emissions is available here.
• For more information about BT's work on Digital Impact and Sustainability please visit: Digital impact & sustainability | BT Plc

London, 10 June 2021 – A new study from BT and creative business and youth specialists Livity, has found that despite listing climate change as a key societal problem, many people don’t know how to actively make a difference.

In a poll of over 2,000 adults, 20% admitted to not engaging with the climate change agenda, despite 32% stating that they worry more about the state of the environment than they do about violent crime.

Almost one-fifth of those surveyed stated that feeling ‘alone’ in making a difference was one of the main reasons they had not attempted to tackle the issue of climate change. Others noted the lack of a collective movement to help them drive the cause.

As a result, one in four adults want better support from existing authorities to help guide their engagement with the climate change movement. More than a third also want businesses and manufacturers to make their sustainable products more affordable to help encourage greater adoption.

Ways in which some individuals are already attempting to make a change, include reducing waste (54%), shopping more locally (33%), and raising awareness of the issues around climate change (14%).

Gabrielle Ginér, Head of Environmental Sustainability at BT said: “Climate change is an issue that we all face and at BT we want more people to feel united in action. Where we live, our ethnicity and our socio-economic status all play a key role in defining our connection with climate change. No one person or organisation can tackle climate change alone which is why we want people to feel inspired to make a contribution of their own, however large or small. It’s the combination of everybody pulling together that will make the difference.”

Alan Bryant, Strategy Partner at Livity said: “For those who feel they can have an impact, climate change is seen as something that everyone can play their part in. They believe in the cumulative impact of every individual’s actions.

“However, for those who don’t believe they can drive change, the opposite is true - they feel instead that the climate emergency is a bigger issue than the individual, a bigger issue than they can solve alone. Many believe it should be the responsibility of government and industry to enact change, but the truth lies, as ever, somewhere in the middle – with individuals and large groups both working together.”

With a customer base of 30 million households, BT is well placed to help households cut their carbon footprint, and has recently partnered with environmental charity Hubbub to carry out a three-month ‘Smarter Living Challenge’ looking at the ways technology can help cut household emissions.

The company believes that its technology and networks will underpin many of the innovative solutions needed to achieve a net zero carbon economy - supporting everything from home-working through to the development of smart cities and enabling the Internet of things.

As part of plans to become a net zero carbon emissions business by 2045, BT is using 100% renewable electricity worldwide. Consumers who buy mobile or broadband from EE, BT or Plusnet are already supplied by networks that are powered by 100% clean power. The company has also outlined plans to electrify up to 28,000 of its 33,000 vehicles by 2030.

In the run up to climate talks later this year, BT is calling on other companies to get involved by setting their own ambitious net zero targets and by engaging with their customers, colleagues and suppliers about climate change and the difference they can make.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

• We surveyed 2000 of the general population aged 18-70+ from across England, Scotland and Wales, ensuring we heard from those from a range of locations, genders, ethnicities and social groups. We then held a series of qualitative online workshops with 19 young men nationwide: whom 10 of the group ranked the interest in climate change as strong interest and 9 of the group ranked it as not very strong.
• You can view the Livity report in full here.
• Further information on how BT is supporting its customers to cut their carbon emissions is available here.
• For more information about BT's work Sustainability please visit: Digital impact & sustainability | BT Plc

• BT Skills for Tomorrow has helped 10 million people across the UK improve their digital knowledge and confidence, a goal that has been reached five years ahead of schedule

• BT offers a wide range of free courses, webinars and advice to help people make the most of life in the digital world through BT Skills for Tomorrow

• BT Skills for Tomorrow has been integral in providing the nation critical support during the pandemic

BT is proud to announce that it has reached its original goal of helping 10 million people across the UK to improve their digital skills, five years ahead of schedule. Key to achieving this milestone was the success of BT’s Top Tips on Tech campaign in partnership with ITV, which helped 5.7 million people learn vital new digital skills required during lockdown.

Today BT is setting an ambitious new goal that extends the target to reach 25 million people by the end of March 2026 through its BT Skills for Tomorrow programme – helping to tackle the digital divide and supporting the UK’s economic recovery. In line with BT’s purpose to Connect for Good, the new ambition aims to help more people across the UK have the skills they need to stay connected and make the most of life in the digital world.

The digital divide, which has been accelerated by the pandemic, has significantly impacted people’s lives at home and work. Through its ambitious new target, BT is committed to continuing to help a variety of people including children and their parents, older and more vulnerable people, to job seekers and small businesses.

The programme is completely free and offers a wide range of courses, webinars and advice. Anyone can access the programme which aims to boost people’s confidence and understanding of digital tools and technology to make daily life better and help them realise their long-term ambitions.

Through BT Skills for Tomorrow, Florence Mabel Clough, 91, received support to use the internet for the first time this year, “I do get a little bit down sometimes. But just being able to talk to my family has helped a great deal. To be able to talk to and see them – it’s like a miracle to me.”

Older people, many of whom can be more isolated, often lack the skills, confidence or motivation to get online. With BT’s renewed commitment, more people like Maggie will be given the resources they need to get online.

BT has supported 278,000 small business owners and their employees learn new skills and its Small Business Support Scheme continues to help thousands of struggling small businesses boost connectivity, cash flow and confidence.

BT’s Stand Out Skills campaign helped over 468,000 jobseekers develop their confidence and skills to stand out in their job search. Through Work Ready BT has helped more than 3,000 young people who are not in employment, education or training prepare for the world of work.

Andy Wales, Chief Digital Impact & Sustainability Officer, BT, said: “Connectivity is playing a role like never before; whether that’s allowing you to work from home, keeping your kids entertained or staying in touch with friends and loved ones. It’s amazing that millions of people have been inspired by BT Skills for Tomorrow and are embracing technology to get through this really challenging time.

“Through our digital skills initiative, we are committed to continuing to tackle these problems. That’s why we have set an ambitious new target to help people across the UK develop the skills they need to make the most of life in the digital world. At BT we want to lead the way in making sure technology helps people, ensuring we continue to build better digital lives.”

Notes to Editors

The methodology used to measure the number of people BT Skills for Tomorrow reached includes attendance numbers and video views for physical and virtual events, as well as online learning resources and video content. For advertising campaigns, BT carries out dedicated independent research on a national representative sample of people, to understand how many people’s digital knowledge or confidence was improved as a result of these campaigns.

Case study quotes:

Sally House, parent of eight-year-old Alice who used BT Skills for Tomorrow learning games: “Alice played Code Cracking, The Diamond, Barefoot Zoo and Sorting It Out. She enjoyed the games and I love that she’s practising maths skills in a fun and different way and not realising she’s actually doing maths!”

Elaine Townshend, Department for Work and Pensions on JobCentres Plus: “I would like to thank Work Ready for developing and delivering this bespoke webinar for the Department for Work and Pensions. A huge void was created during Covid-19 restrictions and our customers were missing out on mentoring and jobseeker skills. Over 850 claimants have now participated in 30 districts and the feedback continues to be really positive.”

Montana Japaul, Work Ready graduate and BT colleague: “The placement gives valuable skills to learn and take on, whatever job you go on to do. It helped me learn to stand out – you want to shine! It really boosted my confidence, I wasn’t scared to approach people, I just felt comfortable. I connected with lots of people and that led me to getting my current job at BT. Work Ready gave me confidence to try something new.”

London, UK - 4^th November 2020 – Speaking today at a Digital Impact & Sustainability Business Briefing for analysts and investors, BT Group announced that its network, offices and shops worldwide are now powered with 100% renewable electricity. The company also announced that its ground breaking Top Tips on Tech campaign has helped 5.7 million people across the UK to learn and stay connected during the Covid-19 global pandemic.

Switching to renewables

BT, the joint-largest private purchaser of electricity in the UK will run its global operations on renewable electricity where markets allow^[1] and will purchase the remainder from neighbouring markets until local solutions can be found.

While challenges remain in sourcing renewable electricity in some countries, collaboration with members of the RE100 initiative is helping to make improvements in supplies.

BT’s transition to renewable electricity has been delivered through supporting the development of local renewable energy markets, with 16% of its electricity supplied through corporate Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) and the remainder from high quality green tariffs or in a small number of markets, renewable certificates^[2].

Making the switch to 100% renewable electricity will help BT reduce its carbon emissions in the year to March 2021 by an estimated 54,000 tonnes compared to last financial year. This is the equivalent of taking around 21,000 combustion engine vehicles off the road for a year.

Cyril Pourrat, Chief Procurement Officer at BT, said: "As an organisation that consumes nearly 1% of the UK’s electricity, it is important for BT to demonstrate its commitment to a green recovery. Our team has worked hard to secure renewable electricity contracts for our sites globally, a crucial step towards the Paris agreement’s 1.5°c target.”

Welcoming the news, Sam Kimmins, Head of RE100, the Climate Group, said: “We congratulate BT on their tremendous work to switch entirely to renewable electricity. BT was an early pioneer in setting a 100% goal, and has made impressive progress. Now, by transparently sharing not only their successes but also the challenges they face in a few remaining markets, BT is helping to accelerate local solutions and unlock clean energy use around the world.”

Top Tips on Tech

Back in April, BT teamed up with some of the nation’s best-loved talent to teach the nation a range of vital digital skills including; getting to grips with the popular messaging service WhatsApp, help with home schooling, tips for getting your business online and how to use online services to help with physical and mental wellbeing.

The three-week campaign, in partnership with ITV saw Clare Balding, Rylan Clark-Neal, Peter Jones, Marcus Rashford and David Walliams, amongst others feature in 12 bitesize lessons delivered twice a day during ITV ad break takeovers.

The campaign also advised viewers on how they could access further free resources from a range of organisations – including advice and support – from BT’s Skills for Tomorrow programme*.

Independent research by Ipsos MORI* found that 64% of UK adults saw at least one advert, with 68% of people who saw the ads recall seeing an average of four ads each. 5.7 million people learnt or did something new as a result of the campaign and 2.1 million people who saw the advert continued to put the knowledge they learnt into practice.

Andy Wales, Chief Digital Impact and Sustainability Officer at BT commented: “Connectivity is playing a role like never before; whether that’s allowing you to work from home, keeping your kids entertained or staying in touch with friends and loved ones. It’s amazing that millions of people have been inspired by our campaign and are embracing technology to get through this really challenging time.”

Transitioning to a low carbon fleet

In a bid to drive emissions down, Openreach which has the second largest commercial fleet in the UK is aiming to switch out a third of its 27,000 combustion engine vehicles to electric by 2025. With 33,000 vehicles, the entire BT Group fleet accounts for two thirds of its operational emissions.

In June 2020, BT Group including Openreach joined forces with the Climate Group to launch the UK Electric Fleets Coalition. The coalition of 27 companies has taken a leading role in communicating the benefits of switching from combustion engine vehicles to electric vehicles (EVs) and has called for supportive policy measures which target 100% electric car and van sales by 2030; extend grants for electric vehicles and charging points through to at least 2023 and speed up the rollout of public charge-points across the country.

Commitment to climate action

BT has led on climate action for over 28 years and was one of the first companies in the world to adopt science-based targets, directly linking its own goals to the overall level of reductions in emissions needed to limit the most harmful impacts of the climate crisis.

As part of the transition to a low carbon business model, BT has pledged to become a net zero carbon emissions business by 2045 and has set targets in line with the most ambitious aim of the COP21 Paris Agreement - linking its targets to limit global warming to 1.5°C.

Since 2016/17, BT has reduced the carbon emissions intensity of its operations by 42% and has reduced carbon emissions by 8% in its supply chain over the same timeframe.

Last year, BT helped its customers save 13m tonnes of carbon – three times as much carbon as its own end-to-end carbon emissions – achieving its 3:1 carbon abatement target one year early. For every tonne of CO2 emitted by BT – three tonnes of customer emissions were saved.

BT’s commitment to reducing its carbon intensity will help the UK Government meet its target of net zero emissions by 2050 and is calling on other companies to take similar measures and make similar commitments.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

• RE100 is a global initiative bringing together the world’s most influential businesses committed to 100% renewable power. Led by the Climate Group in partnership with CDP, the group have a total revenue of over US$6.6 trillion and operate in a diverse range of sectors. Together, they send a powerful signal to policymakers and investors to accelerate the transition to a clean economy. 
• *BT’s Skills for Tomorrow programme launched in 2019 with the aim of helping 10 million people, families and businesses across the UK boost their digital know-how. Since the pandemic started, BT has ramped up the service by adding a wealth of new content aimed at providing support and helping people tackle specific difficulties they’re facing during lockdown.
• * This research carried out by Ipsos MORI used a nationally representative sample and was independently verified by social impact research agency Chrysalis Research.
• In June 2020, BT pledged its support for a green recovery launching two new initiatives; the Green Tech Innovation Platform and the UK Electric Fleets Coalition.
• For more information about BT's work on Digital Impact and Sustainability please visit: https://www.bt.com/about/digital-impact-and-sustainability
• Our Digital Impact and Sustainability report for 2019/20 can be found here: http://www.bt.com/annualreview

For further information:

Adam Emberson 07740 008408

• [1] 99.9% of the global electricity BT sources will be renewable. The remaining 0.1% represents where markets don’t allow due to non-availability of renewable electricity (this represents 8 countries from the 85 BT Group operates in).
• [2] Precluded markets: Where a renewable supply is not available either within the country or from the source market for the country, BT purchases renewable certificates in a market or country interconnected to our operations or in an adjacent market or country.