Three reasons why we publish annual sustainability data

30 July 2025: Twelve months ago, I wrote about Vodafone UK’s 2024 Carbon Reduction Plan, in which we set out our ongoing progress against baseline emissions data from FY20.

Just as they were then, the headlines from this year’s iteration are extremely positive. For instance, we have reduced our operational emissions by 94% compared to our baseline year, equating to a reduction of 87,849 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e).

This has been helped by: powering our operations with 100% renewable electricity; electrifying 60% (886 vehicles) of our corporate fleet; and reusing, reselling, or sending for recycling, 100% of our decommissioned network equipment – to name just a few of the steps we have taken.

Despite these impressive figures, however, this will be the last time Vodafone UK publishes its Carbon Reduction Plan. Because, from next year, we will be aligning goals between Vodafone UK and Three UK, before reporting our overarching progress as VodafoneThree.

With that in mind, here are three of the main reasons why measuring and publishing this data will continue to play such an important role for VodafoneThree moving forward.

1. Strategy

First of all, it’s important to realise that Carbon Reduction Plans aren’t just compliance documents, they are also strategic tools.

By including detailed emissions data, we can demonstrate our leadership in the sustainability space – not only to stakeholders and regulators but, crucially, to customers as well.

After all, it is these same customers that ultimately dictate our success as a business. It’s our job, therefore, to ensure we are keeping up with changing customer habits and sentiment in order to provide products and services that people need, want and value.

A recent survey by McKinsey & Company, for example, found that 45% of retail customers now value sustainability from their telecom providers. Perhaps more striking still is the finding that respondents also viewed certain operators as “up to twice as sustainable as others in the same markets”.

As a result, strong sustainability credentials, therefore, are no longer a ‘nice to have’ – they’re a business imperative. Which is why both Vodafone UK and Three UK have both made reaching net zero operational emissions by 2027 a key part of our strategy.

2. Responsibility

Just as important is the responsibility that telcos like VodafoneThree have to accurately report progress as part of the wider industry’s effort to reduce environmental impact.

This is especially pertinent when you consider that the information and communication technology (ICT) sector is estimated to account for at least 1.7% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Our accountability also feeds into one of the biggest environmental challenges facing telcos today: reducing Scope 3 emissions, which currently makes up 98.8% of Vodafone UK’s total emissions footprint.

These are the emissions released into the atmosphere as an indirect result of our activities or business model. As such, they are difficult to control in the same way that we can Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions.

Nonetheless, we recognise that VodafoneThree can play a role in influencing our value chain partners to reduce their GHG emissions, as well as continuing to invest in the quality, accessibility and availability of carbon footprint data.

All of this will allow us to better measure and reduce Scope 3, as we work towards our aim of halving these value chain emissions by 2030.

3. Transparency

On the topic of working together, many companies – including VodafoneThree – provide services to other organisations across both the private and public sectors. But, to win this business in the first place, the company in question often has to enter a procurement process.

It’s here where transparency becomes paramount as, increasingly, environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles hold a significant weighting within the evaluation.

Some public sectors tenders, in fact, are beginning to raise the mandatory minimum weighting for social value. This is where a certain percentage of the scoring has to deliver additional positive benefits to society and the environment, such as aiding digital inclusion or reducing energy usage.

This weighting can be anything from a standard 10% to as high as 30%, including contractual commitments based on granular environmental data. All of which means thorough and transparent environmental reporting can make or break a business tender.

During my time at Vodafone, I’ve seen firsthand the impact this can have during the bidding process, having previously received positive feedback on our ESG performance from the likes of the Cabinet Office.

Making the right kind of impact

While VodafoneThree may be a new organisation, our existing brands’ ongoing commitment to reducing environmental impact will certainly remain – as will our goal of reaching net zero operational emissions by 2027.

Not only since it is an important part of our business strategy, but because – in a world where we are seeing the global impact of climate change every single day – it is also simply the right thing to do.

For more information on how we’re taking these necessary steps, read Vodafone UK’s full Carbon Reduction Plan. And look out for our first report as VodafoneThree in 2026, which will reflect our new, merged footprint and reduction plan.