Environmental sustainability in telecommunications: Exploring direct impacts of EU-headquartered telecom operators
(2024) In IIIEE Master Thesis IMEM01 20241The International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics
- Abstract
- The relevance of the ICT sector and telecom operators is predicted to grow rapidly within the next decade, mainly around their direct environmental impacts because of the ongoing expansion of mobile and fixed networks and increasing data traffic. Therefore, it is necessary to explore telecom operators' direct environmental impacts, considering the currently available information in sustainability reports and different reporting standards and frameworks applicable to them. This study, using a mixed methods approach, elicits the direct environmental impacts from the direct environmental of telecom operators by analyzing the sustainability reports of five EU-headquartered telecom operators over a four-year period and considering applicable... (More)
- The relevance of the ICT sector and telecom operators is predicted to grow rapidly within the next decade, mainly around their direct environmental impacts because of the ongoing expansion of mobile and fixed networks and increasing data traffic. Therefore, it is necessary to explore telecom operators' direct environmental impacts, considering the currently available information in sustainability reports and different reporting standards and frameworks applicable to them. This study, using a mixed methods approach, elicits the direct environmental impacts from the direct environmental of telecom operators by analyzing the sustainability reports of five EU-headquartered telecom operators over a four-year period and considering applicable environmental sustainability reporting frameworks. Insights from practitioners were collected via interviews to determine ongoing trends and challenges in the industry. The results indicate that greenhouse gas emissions, energy, and circularity are the most relevant and addressed topics among the selected telecom operators, with Scope 3 emissions being the most pressing issue for telecom operators. Moreover, trends and challenges around the operator’s environmental performance and reporting include data quality issues, lack of standardization for environmental disclosures, and lack of supplier engagement. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9172447
- author
- Pacheco Portilla, Mario Gustavo LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- IMEM01 20241
- year
- 2024
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- environmental sustainability, sustainability reporting, telecommunications
- publication/series
- IIIEE Master Thesis
- report number
- 19
- ISSN
- 1401-9191
- language
- English
- id
- 9172447
- date added to LUP
- 2024-09-09 13:14:04
- date last changed
- 2024-09-09 13:14:04
@misc{9172447, abstract = {{The relevance of the ICT sector and telecom operators is predicted to grow rapidly within the next decade, mainly around their direct environmental impacts because of the ongoing expansion of mobile and fixed networks and increasing data traffic. Therefore, it is necessary to explore telecom operators' direct environmental impacts, considering the currently available information in sustainability reports and different reporting standards and frameworks applicable to them. This study, using a mixed methods approach, elicits the direct environmental impacts from the direct environmental of telecom operators by analyzing the sustainability reports of five EU-headquartered telecom operators over a four-year period and considering applicable environmental sustainability reporting frameworks. Insights from practitioners were collected via interviews to determine ongoing trends and challenges in the industry. The results indicate that greenhouse gas emissions, energy, and circularity are the most relevant and addressed topics among the selected telecom operators, with Scope 3 emissions being the most pressing issue for telecom operators. Moreover, trends and challenges around the operator’s environmental performance and reporting include data quality issues, lack of standardization for environmental disclosures, and lack of supplier engagement.}}, author = {{Pacheco Portilla, Mario Gustavo}}, issn = {{1401-9191}}, language = {{eng}}, note = {{Student Paper}}, series = {{IIIEE Master Thesis}}, title = {{Environmental sustainability in telecommunications: Exploring direct impacts of EU-headquartered telecom operators}}, year = {{2024}}, }