The biggest opportunity for mobile operators to reduce their carbon footprint is through decreasing their supply chain emissions.
That's according to a new report by the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA), which found that network operators in Europe collectively cut their emissions by 50 per cent between 2019 and 2022, driven by energy efficiency improvements and a switch to using renewable energy to power networks.
However, the Mobile Net Zero Report has also concluded that if MNOs are to halve their emissions by 2030, they need to target improvements in areas beyond their direct control, including its supply chain, known as Scope 3 emissions.
Scope 3 represents the largest share of an operator's carbon footprint: around three-quarters of the mobile industry’s emissions, with the majority coming from the manufacturing of devices and network equipment.
The report said that manufacturing of network equipment, including materials extraction and processing, and the construction of network sites and mobile masts accounts for more than 30 million tonnes of CO2 per year.
Likewise, it found that mining of the more than 50 different materials can be found in an average smartphone, including gold, cobalt, rare earths, copper and silicon, can cause negative environmental and social impacts.
Added to that, the report surmised that, with more than 5 million mobile phones have been discarded, more needs to be done to extend their life, whether through repair and re-use or by recycling precious materials.
Currently, GSMA said that, of the 1.4 billion mobile phones sold annually, 85 per cent aren't formally recycled, creating an unsustainable model of mining, making, using and storing or disposing of devices and equipment.
By extending the lifetime of all smartphones in the world by one year, the report said that around 20 million tonnes of CO2 emissions could potentially be saved annually by 2030.
To tackle the problem, GSMA, alongside industry partners, has launched two major initiatives in the past year. The first is the GSMA Equipment Marketplace, a global digital marketplace to source, reuse resell, and recycle pre-owned telecommunications network equipment, enabling operators and equipment manufacturers to achieve financial and environmental sustainability.
Early adopters, such as Vodafone, have successfully used the platform, which has provided them with new revenue and cost savings, while also helping reduce their carbon footprint. The service was launched in February 2024 and it is used by eight operators.
GSMA's second initiative is in the mobile device circularity. Sixteen operators representing more than 1 billion mobile connections have signed up to reduce their environmental impact by increasing the take-back of mobile phones and ensuring they are reused or responsibly recycled.
GSMA said that governments must also play their part through better customs procedures to make it logistically simpler to import and export re-usable network equipment and devices. It said that online device resellers can also reduce transport emissions by checking the ownership status and trade-in value of a re-usable device before shipping it to a new customer.