Energy efficiency and sustainability have moved from being specialist environmental topics to strategic priorities for telecom operators. Energy typically represents around 3% to 5% of operators’ operating expenditure, and sometimes considerably more. Electricity prices can also change rapidly because of geopolitical conflict, extreme weather, grid constraints and competition for renewable energy from data centres.
The scale of the challenge is significant. According to the Telecom Energy & Sustainability (TES) research from MTN Consulting and Téral Research, telecom operators consumed 340.6 TWh of energy in 2024. Only around 23% came from renewable sources, although this was an improvement from 10% in 2019. When Scope 3 emissions from equipment, suppliers and the wider value chain are included, the sector generated approximately 342 million metric tonnes of CO₂-equivalent emissions.
The TES study analyses 66 telecom operators representing approximately 85% of the global market. One of its rankings compares market-based Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions against company revenue. This is important because it measures the total reported carbon footprint relative to the size of the business, rather than simply rewarding the largest purchaser of renewable electricity.
On this measure, the five leading European telecom groups in 2024 were:
A note on acquisitions and reporting boundaries: The ranking is based on 2024 reported data and therefore reflects each group’s reporting perimeter during that period. Acquisitions, disposals and infrastructure spin-outs can materially change subsequent energy and emissions profiles. Swisscom’s figures, for example, reflect the reporting perimeter before Vodafone Italia is incorporated into the TES analysis on a fully consolidated basis.
For comparison, the average across European operators was approximately 105 MT CO₂e per $1 million of revenue, while the global average was around 192. Seven of the worldwide top ten were European groups, with Deutsche Telekom and Tele2 also making the list.
These figures should not be treated as a perfect comparison. Group structure, geography, network ownership, leased infrastructure and the quality of Scope 3 reporting can all affect the results. Nevertheless, the leading companies provide some useful lessons about how sustainability can be embedded into telecom strategy.
Swisscom leads today, but Vodafone Italia changes the future picture
Swisscom has the strongest overall TES position among the operators assessed, receiving a five-star Leader rating. Its 2024 energy intensity was 43.2 MWh per $1 million of revenue, while its market-based Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions intensity was only 0.87 tonnes of CO₂-equivalent per $1 million. Renewables accounted for 90.4% of reported energy use.
What distinguishes Swisscom is not only its energy performance. The company has integrated financial and environmental reporting, placing sustainability alongside revenue, investment and other measures used to evaluate the business.
However, there is an important qualification. Swisscom completed its acquisition of Vodafone Italia in December 2024, and the current TES figures largely reflect the earlier reporting perimeter of Swisscom and Fastweb. The enlarged group will have a different energy and emissions profile.
Vodafone Italia’s energy sourcing includes a greater contribution from conventional and nuclear generation. Although nuclear electricity is low-carbon, it is not classified as renewable under the TES methodology. When the TES analysis is updated to reflect the fully consolidated group, Swisscom’s reported renewable share is therefore expected to decline and its emissions intensity could increase unless the acquired operations are brought into alignment with the group’s existing renewable-energy strategy.
The Italian operation may consequently become the biggest test of Swisscom’s sustainability leadership. Extending Fastweb’s renewable procurement programmes across the combined Fastweb and Vodafone Italia footprint could help the group defend its position.
This illustrates a wider lesson about sustainability rankings. A company can improve through network modernisation and renewable procurement, but its reported profile can also change abruptly following an acquisition. The same effect can happen in reverse when operators sell energy-intensive assets such as tower portfolios.
Telefónica connects sustainability with financing and network investment
Telefónica’s approach demonstrates how environmental commitments can be incorporated into corporate financing. In early 2026, the group raised €1.75 billion through a green hybrid bond. The funds were intended to support network transformation, energy-efficient modernisation, renewable-energy projects and digital services that help customers lower their energy consumption.
This matters because telecom networks require continuous investment. Attaching environmental criteria to financing can influence which programmes receive funding and how their outcomes are measured.
Telefónica is also incorporating energy efficiency into major technology procurement. Telefónica Germany highlighted energy efficiency when announcing a five-year agreement to deploy Nokia’s AirScale radio platform. Its operations outside Europe are following a similar direction. Movistar Chile entered a long-term renewable-energy agreement, while Telefónica Mexico arranged to obtain part of its electricity from a solar project.
Approximately 86% of Telefónica’s energy was classified as renewable in the TES data. More importantly, the group is applying its sustainability priorities across multiple operating companies rather than limiting them to its European headquarters.
Proximus is turning energy management into a software capability
Proximus shows that sustainability is not only about buying renewable electricity. It is also about understanding where, when and why energy is being consumed.
The Belgian group has developed an application called Energy Box, which combines data analytics, real-time energy-market information and artificial intelligence. The platform is intended to improve energy planning across buildings and mobile sites while making better use of intermittent renewable sources such as solar and wind.
This is an increasingly important capability. Networks cannot simply switch everything off when electricity becomes expensive or renewable generation falls. Operators must understand traffic patterns, service requirements, battery capacity, equipment performance and local energy conditions before making changes.
AI and automation could eventually allow sites, data centres and other facilities to adjust energy use dynamically. The same capabilities could help operators participate in electricity demand-response programmes or use network batteries as part of virtual power plants.
Proximus also illustrates the green-enablement opportunity. The skills and platforms developed to manage its own facilities can potentially be offered to enterprise customers facing similar energy-management challenges.
Liberty Global is investing directly in energy generation
Most operators purchase electricity from utilities, sign power purchase agreements or buy renewable-energy certificates. Liberty Global is going further by investing directly in renewable-energy development.
Its clean-energy business, egg Power, raised £400 million in debt financing in January 2026 to support large-scale renewable projects across Europe. At the time, around 250 MW of solar and wind capacity was under construction or development, with plans to expand the portfolio.
This approach can provide more than environmental benefits. Direct investment in generation can offer greater certainty over long-term energy supply and cost, particularly as data centres and other large electricity users compete for renewable capacity.
Liberty Global obtained approximately 81.5% of its energy from renewable sources in 2024. It was also among the most energy-efficient operators in the wider TES analysis.
Some of this performance may reflect Liberty Global’s corporate and asset structure, so it should not be compared directly with a traditional integrated operator without qualification. Even so, its willingness to act as an energy investor rather than only an energy customer is significant.
Telia combines renewable electricity with transparency about Scope 3
Telia had the highest renewable-energy ratio among these five groups, at approximately 94.6%. It procures fossil-free electricity across its operating markets and has also emphasised the use of energy-efficient network equipment.
The company has given sustainability unusual prominence in its financial communications. Its results presentations and annual reporting discuss environmental performance alongside traditional financial and operational metrics.
Perhaps more importantly, Telia has been willing to acknowledge where it is falling short. It disclosed that it had not achieved one of its targets relating to the proportion of suppliers with emissions targets validated by the Science Based Targets initiative.
That is an important admission because renewable electricity mainly reduces Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions. For many leading European operators, the majority of the remaining footprint is now in Scope 3. This includes network equipment, handsets, construction, logistics, leased infrastructure and other supply-chain activities.
Telia’s recent network decisions also highlight the connection between sustainability and modernisation. When announcing the deployment of a cloud-native 5G Standalone core and additional RAN capacity across its Nordic and Baltic operations, the company identified energy efficiency as one of the drivers.
Corporate restructuring can change the numbers
Energy and emissions rankings are influenced not only by operational improvements but also by changes in corporate structure.
An acquisition can bring a large network with a different electricity mix, equipment base and emissions profile into the group. Conversely, selling towers, data centres or other energy-intensive infrastructure can make an operator’s direct Scope 1 and Scope 2 figures appear significantly better.
The environmental impact does not necessarily disappear. When an operator sells towers and leases them back, some or much of the associated footprint may shift from its direct emissions into Scope 3, depending on the reporting boundary and lease arrangements. In principle, the operator remains connected to those emissions even though it no longer owns the infrastructure.
This makes Scope 3 reporting especially important. A ranking focused only on direct emissions may reward asset disposal rather than genuine decarbonisation. Investors and customers therefore need to examine reporting boundaries, acquisitions, disposals and leased infrastructure alongside headline emissions reductions.
Concluding Lessons
The five groups are not following exactly the same strategy, but several common themes emerge.
First, they are treating sustainability as a senior-management and financial issue. It appears in annual reports, earnings presentations, financing decisions and investment priorities.
Second, they are moving beyond the simplest form of renewable-energy purchasing. Long-term power purchase agreements, direct generation, batteries and investment in new renewable projects can provide greater additionality and more predictable energy costs than certificates alone.
Third, network modernisation remains essential. More efficient radio equipment, fibre replacing copper, cloud-native platforms, intelligent sleep modes and the retirement of legacy networks can all reduce energy consumption. Buying green electricity does not remove the need to lower the amount of electricity consumed.
Fourth, procurement is becoming one of the most important sustainability tools. Scope 3 accounts for most of the telecom sector’s carbon footprint, and a large part of it comes from purchased equipment and services. Operators therefore need credible environmental information from vendors and must make emissions performance part of supplier selection.
Finally, some operators are looking beyond their own footprint. Green-enablement services can help customers manage buildings, transport, energy systems and industrial processes more efficiently. This could turn sustainability from a cost and compliance requirement into a source of new revenue.
Europe benefits from mature renewable-energy markets, stronger disclosure requirements and growing pressure from investors and regulators. Those advantages cannot always be reproduced in other regions. Operators with large numbers of off-grid sites, unreliable electricity supplies or limited access to renewable generation face very different challenges.
However, most operators participate in the same global equipment and technology supply chains. They can select more efficient infrastructure, demand credible emissions data, use energy performance in procurement, modernise legacy networks and give sustainability greater management attention.
The key lesson from Europe’s five leading groups is that environmental performance is not being delivered through one flagship project. It comes from combining reporting, financing, procurement, network design, energy sourcing, automation and supplier engagement.
Sustainability is becoming part of how these companies operate, rather than simply something they report once a year.
The data and examples in this post are based on the Telecom Energy & Sustainability research service, a collaboration between MTN Consulting and Téral Research. The ranking uses 2024 market-based Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions divided by company revenue. Figures apply to operator groups and should not be interpreted as rankings of individual national networks.
For more details, get in touch at TES(at)3g4g.co.uk
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