Shields CEO, Daniel Jones, shares how MarketPlace can help the telecommunications industry close the emissions gap and reach the critical 2030 targets.
In November of this year, I attended a Circular Economy workshop alongside over 100 delegates from major players in the telecommunications industry, including Orange, Telefonica, MTN and Nokia. During the event, attendees were asked about reducing the telecom industry’s carbon footprint and an enormous 98% of respondents stated that the circular economy was a key solution.
As highlighted at COP27, reducing Scope 3 emissions is critical if we are to meet the 2030 reduction targets and limit global warming to 1.5°C. However, research shows that there is a significant gap between businesses’ pledges and the 2030 targets that were laid out in the Paris Agreement. This means that many industries will need to accelerate their emission reduction efforts if we are to avoid further escalating the climate crisis.
Cutting the industry’s Scope 3 emissions
At Shields, we have long understood the benefits of the circular economy and our revolutionary MarketPlace platform helps clients minimise their carbon footprint by investing in repaired, recycled and reused equipment. As such, MarketPlace has the potential to dramatically reduce the telecommunication industry’s Scope 3 emissions.
According to previous research by Zevero and Shields, 20% of the current annual global spend for telecom network operators could be facilitated through MarketPlace. This means that circa 118 million assets could be purchased from existing equipment each year, rather than relying on new resources, overseas shipping and manufacturing.
As such, if every network operator pledged to source 20% of their annual demand for network assets from the circular economy, there would be a 13,684,108Mt reduction in the industry’s emissions each year. This is equal to a circa 5% reduction in Scope 3 emissions which would significantly contribute to the sector’s net-zero targets.
The Circular Economy Pledge
Join the Shields MarketPlace Circular Economy Pledge and begin your journey towards a more sustainable procurement strategy.
For more information on how MarketPlace can help you reduce your business’s carbon footprint, contact the team today.