The Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance (NGMN) released new guidance to support more effective carbon emissions reduction in the mobile industry.
The publication, “Green Future Networks: Environmental Sustainability and Reporting”, offers practical recommendations for addressing Scope 3 emissions – those generated across the broader value chain – which represent approximately 90% of total emissions for mobile network operators (MNOs).
NGMN advocates for a shift toward using primary (unit-based) emissions factors rather than traditional financial (price-based) ones to enhance reporting accuracy. The guidance also emphasises the need for greater collaboration and industry-wide alignment of calculation methods.
“Tackling Scope 3 emissions is one of the greatest challenges for our industry — and it can only be done through stronger collaboration across the value chain,” said Laurent Leboucher, Chairman of the NGMN Alliance Board and Orange Group CTO and EVP Networks.
The publication assesses the current state of sustainability reporting across MNO value chains and outlines challenges faced by operators and infrastructure suppliers in addressing Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions. It highlights key issues such as data availability, accuracy, and inconsistent estimation approaches, all of which impact carbon emissions reporting.
The guidance calls for emissions reporting based on unit-based emission factors – calculated by multiplying a specific factor per unit of product or category by the number of units used – which provide greater accuracy than spend-based methods. This shift will require closer collaboration among value chain partners to improve data sharing and align calculation methods.
“Reducing emissions across the value chain requires close collaboration with our supply chain partners to identify the main sources of emissions,” said Saima Ansari, GFN Project Lead and CR Segment Lead, Technology & Innovation at Deutsche Telekom.
“By working together to ensure we all have access to accurate data on emissions factors and energy mix, we can better assess our carbon footprints and take targeted action to meet our reduction goals,” she added.
