Telstra CEO David Thodey has announced new targets to reduce the company’s carbon emissions intensity by at least 10 per cent by 2015.
“We are setting a realistic and achievable target for carbon intensity because we are serious about reducing our impact on the environment,” he said. “Our customers, employees and the community increasingly expect us to act, and as the owner of infrastructure that is vulnerable to harsher climatic conditions it is in our interests to do so.”
Telstra emitted 1.52 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent or 64 tonnes per million dollars of domestic revenue in 2008/09. To reach the new target, the company needs to reduce this to at least 58 tonnes per million dollars of domestic revenue.
Thodey highlighted that this will be a major challenge, especially when factoring in the exponential growth of the company.
“Traffic on Telstra’s Next G wireless broadband network is doubling every eight months while traffic on the Next IP network is doubling every 20 months,” he said. “This means Telstra has to manage its environmental footprint at the same time as meeting our customers’ rapidly expanding demand for energy-intensive technology like data capacity and network storage.”
“It is important that Telstra manage its own energy efficiency, but we recognise that the greater contribution we can make is to provide services that enable our customers to reduce their own impact on the environment.”
Thodey discussed the responsibilities Telstra has to its customers and the impact of the company’s actions.
“As a company that has the privilege of touching the lives of millions of Australians every day, we have an important responsibility to act ethically and responsibly in all that we do,” he said.
“Every single action we take has an impact on our company, our customers, our shareholders and the nation, and we want to make sure that our efforts help make Australia a better place to live and work.”