Earlier than Singtel moved ahead its net-zero emissions goal to 2045 from 2050, its sustainability staff carried out a worldwide sweep of different telecommunications corporations’ inexperienced ambitions.
It noticed the Western standouts – Vodafone gunning for 2040; Verizon and AT&T by 2035 – and the relative dearth of comparable targets in Asia.
Final 12 months, Singapore’s largest telecommunications firm selected 2045 to realize net-zero, probably the most bold goal to this point amongst its Asian friends. Since then, it has upgraded its interim emissions and renewable vitality procurement objectives, and have become the primary Southeast Asian telco to make the A-Listing of local weather disclosure group CDP.
Group folks and sustainability chief Aileen Tan mentioned 2045 was half aspiration, half enterprise crucial.
Aileen Tan is group chief folks and sustainability officer at Singtel. Picture: Singtel.
“My prospects embrace Singapore’s public service. A few of my world prospects have already accelerated their net-zero goal to 2045, 2040. If I need to proceed to do enterprise with them, I can’t keep at 2050, proper?” Tan mentioned. The Singapore authorities has set its personal sights on net-zero 2045, 5 years forward of the nationwide goal.
“We take a really pragmatic method – with what makes good enterprise sense,” Tan mentioned, in an interview with Eco-Enterprise.
Final month, Singtel launched its mid-term progress plan, which targeted closely on synthetic intelligence (AI). It’s also slated to launch its annual sustainability report on 1 July.
Its final report had detailed a drop of over 11 p.c, year-on-year in operational emissions, together with a bigger 56 per cent drop in “Scope 3” worth chain emissions, although closely influenced by methodology edits.
Globally, the web and communications sector contributes anyplace between 1.5 to 4 per cent of carbon emissions – placing it within the vary of economic flying (2.5 per cent) and delivery (3 per cent). The sector’s carbon footprint might additional intensify, particularly in rising markets, as extra folks search cell and knowledge connectivity.
{Dollars} and specs
After weathering Covid-19 and shedding some loss-making models, Singtel has mentioned it needs to speed up enterprise progress – presumably into low double digit percentages – within the subsequent few years. Its mid-term technique, launched final month, extensively options the usage of synthetic intelligence, each in its core telecommunications enterprise and infocomm phase below Singapore subsidiary NCS.
The group’s knowledge centre arm, Nxera, can also be constructing three “AI-ready” services in Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand. The subsidiary goals to succeed in 200 megawatts within the subsequent three years, over 3 times the present capability of knowledge centres.
Each AI and knowledge centres are conventional vitality guzzlers within the tech house, due to the quantities of pc processing and cooling concerned. So Singtel’s accelerated net-zero plan will “in fact” have an effect on future growth plans, Tan mentioned.
The problem, she mentioned, is to maintain emissions in test whereas pursuing the expansion alternatives. Shedding legacy gear is a key a part of the sport plan. One other is the deployment of what’s primarily an inner carbon tax on its enterprise models.
An idea first floated final 12 months, Singtel is about to impose a S$50 (US$37)-per-tonne carbon price on its departments’ new developments that exceed 100 tonnes of lifetime CO2 output, which is prone to cowl new community and infocomm know-how gear. The emissions threshold has been broadened from a beforehand introduced 1,000-tonne restrict used for shadow carbon pricing trials.
Whereas shadow carbon pricing – for long-term planning functions – are more and more widespread in boardrooms, really making use of such an inner tax inside corporations stays uncommon. Excessive-profile proponents of the technique embrace tech large Microsoft and insurer Swiss Re – the latter charging US$100 a tonne, rising to US$200 by 2030. Singtel management has mentioned it’s seemingly the primary in Singapore to pursue an inner carbon price.
Singtel’s method will seemingly take a carrot-and-stick method, with the cost waived for tasks that undertake greener options. Tan mentioned extra particulars are anticipated in its upcoming sustainability report.
A part of the motivation for the inner carbon price stems from avoiding asset stranding danger – ought to governments impose extra stringent local weather laws – by preemptively lightening their carbon footprint first.
“Carbon taxes will solely get dearer, not cheaper,” Tan mentioned. Singapore itself has set S$50, Singtel’s present asking carbon value, because the lowest nationwide cost come 2030. Australia – the group’s different key market by way of possession of native telco heavyweight Optus – at present doesn’t have a nationwide carbon value.
Other than pricing emissions, Tan mentioned Singtel will hold a watch out for the best-in-class inexperienced applied sciences for its future progress. The group incorporates sustainability metrics into procurement selections, and is in a tie-up with gear supplier Ericsson to area Singapore’s most vitality environment friendly radio cell for its 5G knowledge community.
Inexperienced energy sans greenwashing
In March, Singtel mentioned it was working to develop its use of renewables-backed vitality to 50 per cent by 2030 in Singapore and Australia, up from simply over 7 per cent in its final annual audit.
It has been making progress since. In Singapore, Singtel signed a 10-year energy buy settlement (PPA) with native utility Sembcorp, that comes with the chance to acquire inexperienced energy. The intention is to safe 30,000 megawatt-hours yearly.
In Australia, about one other 600,000 megawatt-hours is being secured for till 2029, Tan mentioned. Optus has dedicated to have all its electrical energy necessities backed by renewables by the tip of 2025.
The FY2024 figures for renewables-backed vitality use will seemingly be increased than the 12 months earlier than, within the 20-odd per cent vary, she added.
Photo voltaic panels on one in every of Singtel’s buildings in Singapore. The telco main says it’s maximising its photo voltaic vitality use, whereas making its operations extra environment friendly, to succeed in its sustainability targets. Picture: Singtel.
However procuring inexperienced energy within the area comes with its personal challenges. The group has maxed out photo voltaic panel installations at its services in dense city Singapore, however energy output is lower than one p.c of annual wants. Output in Australia is even decrease. Market and grid limitations means long-term renewables offtake agreements may also be laborious to return by.
“I don’t assume anybody can completely declare to make use of 100 per cent energy from on-site renewables. No person can do it. Particularly in Singapore – completely not possible,” Tan mentioned.
What this implies, is that Singtel’s clear energy contracts will all the time contain a component of certificate-trading not paired with the bodily supply of renewable electrical energy. Tan didn’t present the precise breakdowns.
To maximise environmental influence, the group has mentioned it is going to prioritise on-site renewables era and long-term energy contracts, earlier than dipping into the renewable vitality certificates (RECs) market.
Singtel can also be holding its RECs sourcing native, a recognised best-practice within the commerce – regardless of sky-high costs in each Australia and Singapore in comparison with markets in Southeast Asia.
“We don’t know concerning the high quality of [regional] RECs…we solely undertake gold requirements, world requirements. We won’t contact any RECs which we don’t know how it’s pumped into the grid, and can’t be assured of its high quality,” Tan mentioned.
“We’re very cautious. The very last thing I would like is to go near greenwashing,” she mentioned, although including that the credentials of regional RECs might enhance sooner or later when Singapore begins the bodily import of inexperienced electrical energy from its neighbours.
The Asian manner
Singtel additionally needs in on Asia Pacific’s progress alternatives. Other than Optus, the group has minority stakes in India’s Airtel, Thailand’s AIS, Philippines’ Globe and Indonesia’s Telkomsel.
Airtel, AIS and Globe have in recent times set net-zero 2050 targets; Telkomsel has not.
Their decarbonisation is vital to Singtel, which needs to slash its Scope 3 worth chain emissions by 40 per cent within the subsequent six years. Out of 15 classes of oblique emissions; its regional investments alone contribute over a 3rd of the pie.
Tan mentioned Singtel’s function is akin to a steward, and has been sharing greatest practices in local weather governance with its companions whereas discussing expectations on their sustainability trajectory.
She additionally recognises that regional markets current a “very totally different working regime” than within the West, the place laws drive company decarbonisation. Western companies face extra local weather activism and generally selections are made primarily based on such public strain, Tan famous.
“This a part of the world isn’t about that,” she mentioned.
Nonetheless, world sentiments in the direction of sustainability have shifted backwards amid geopolitical headwinds. Consultancy Ernst & Younger just lately reported that almost 1 / 4 of worldwide chief executives are pushing sustainability down their to-do record. In Singapore, the determine was over 50 per cent.
Tan mentioned she had been championing a long-term view that sustainability planning – and workers coaching – has to proceed amid downturns.
“It’s a query of utilizing our creativity – how do we predict otherwise, and ship on the identical outcomes and aims with different strategies which might be less expensive,” she mentioned.
Tan insisted she isn’t the loudest proponent of a long-term view throughout the management staff, saying that group chief government Yuen Kuan Moon and Singapore chief Ng Tian Chong would have answered equally on sustainability points.
“It’s a tradition, a perception,” Tan mentioned.
