Orange Goes Green
The Orange Goes Green programme consists of three priority blocks:
#1. A responsibility to reduce our CO2 emissions and the resources we consume
Orange Polska’s negative impact on the environment is primarily due to greenhouse gas emissions. Energy is a particularly important contributor: we need it to offer services and products and customers need it to use them. Therefore, having reached the intermediate targets related directly to our activity in 2023 (scopes 1 and 2 of the GHG Protocol), we aim to reduce our negative impact on the environment and climate across the entire value chain (adding scope 3).
Our mid-term goal of reducing emissions by 45% within the decade from 2020–2030 and our ambition to reach net zero carbon by 2040 cover the entire value chain. That means they include our emissions, but also those of our suppliers and employees (when resulting from Orange Polska’s operations), and those of customers use of our services.
The goal of reducing emissions across the value chain by 45% between 2020 and 2030 will be achieved through the following actions:
- A consistent increase and stabilisation of the share of renewable energy in our energy mix, towards it becoming the dominant share, based on long-term procurement agreements made directly with renewable energy producers (PPAs);
- Further optimisation of energy use in both infrastructure and administration;
- Deployment of new, more energy-efficient technologies such as fibre and 5G;
- Co-operation with our key suppliers in order to reduce the carbon footprint related to the production, installation and use of resources required in our business activities;
- Promotion of circular economy and eco-design principles to both our suppliers and our residential or business customers.
While secondary to our key goal of achieving net zero emissions, optimising other resources consumed by Orange Polska (e.g. paper, plastic) is also included in this priority. We are responsible for what we put into circulation. In particular, we aim to reduce the consumption of such resources through simplification and digitisation of processes or revision and improvement of customer service practices (e.g. invoicing, delivery) combined with promoting options that are more friendly to the environment and climate in our offers addressed to customers.
#2. Value for our customers and all stakeholders
We believe that responsibility for the natural environment and climate creates value for all: our business and shareholders, our customers, communities and our world. This is why we are taking the following actions:
- Developing and selling services that support our B2C and B2B customers in reducing their negative impact on the environment and climate (in particular, solutions allowing a reduction in GHG emissions or more efficient use of resources);
- Reinforcing end-to-end management of green concerns in the experience of Orange Polska customers, including accurate and honest fact-based communication and greenwashing prevention;
- Implementing circular economy initiatives in our business practice:
- Extending the life cycle of mobile phones through repair, collection (through buy-back or recycling), and having refurbished devices on offer in the RE umbrella programme launched in April 2022;
- Refurbishing CPEs (customer premises equipment: modems, TV set-top boxes, etc.);
- Using refurbished equipment in Orange Polska’s network.
#3. Impact on the green and digital transformation of the Polish economy
We leverage a variety of internal and external actions:
- We educate and build commitment of our employees to make them ambassadors of green transformation;
- We co-operate with suppliers, encouraging them and presenting tools to determine and manage their climate footprint; we have included a responsible approach to the climate and environmental impact into the procurement criteria;
- We show our customers that their informed choices matter and we provide them with tools helping them to reduce their own carbon footprint;
- We engage in initiatives for system transformation, supporting market and regulatory changes beneficial to the environment and climate.
Issues relevant to the impact on climate
Greenhouse gas emissions (own emissions) / energy management
Energy consumption, especially for the ICT infrastructure operation, is the main source of own emissions by telecommunications operators (scopes 1 and 2 of the GHG Protocol – direct and indirect own emissions). Therefore, the initiatives for both the optimisation of energy consumption and an increase of the share of renewable energy in the energy mix are of key importance for Orange Polska.
Since 2014, the Company has carried out comprehensive activities to reduce its energy consumption within the energy optimisation programme. More than 270 initiatives have been implemented in various network areas so far, generating total energy savings of over 1.4 TWh between 2015 and 2023. All initiatives carried out in the programme have been divided into four areas:
Initiatives related to legacy fixed-line technologies, i.e. PSTN or ATM
Customers are switched to newer and more energy-efficient technologies. In addition, older devices are optimised by increasing the ‘density’ of customer accesses on cards and disabling redundant cards. In 2023, Orange Polska initiated the process of switching off its 3G network, which will lead to customer migration to the newer, more energy-efficient technologies: 4G LTE and 5G;
RAN network efficiency improvement
Measures to reduce energy consumption in the mobile radio access network. During periods of low subscriber activity, e.g. at night, selected radio resources are temporarily switched off, reducing energy consumption;
Modernisation of the technical environment
Ensuring the optimal conditions for the operation of telecommunications equipment through modern air conditioning systems, power supply solutions, heating systems, etc. The key initiatives include replacing older A/C systems with more effective ones and retrofitting of technical compartments with ventilation-based cooling systems (free cooling);
Big data
energy
The available energy data are collected, processed and analysed using a business intelligence tool. As a result, it is possible to detect anomalies and optimise energy costs and consumption. An example is the cyclic selection of energy tariffs for each facility on Orange Polska’s network on an individual basis
The network-needs account for a great majority (over 90%) of energy consumption by Orange Polska, but we also implement optimisation initiatives in other areas. The Company optimises its real estate portfolio and consolidates its teams, moving them to new, more energy-efficient locations. We also take measures to save energy used for real estate heating and cooling and to reduce energy consumption in our sales outlets. Furthermore, we strive for the electrification of our car fleet, while continuing its optimisation.
We steadily increase the share of energy from renewable sources in our energy mix. Orange Polska was the first operator in Poland to conclude a power purchase agreement (PPA), using this tool to reduce emissions from electricity generation by contracting renewable energy directly from its producers. Owing to PPAs, the share of renewable energy in our energy mix reached 74% in 2023 (up 62 pp. vs. 2022). As a result, Orange Polska achieved its 2025 climate goals two years ahead of plan, in 2023. (That goal being a minimum 60% share of energy from renewable sources in the energy mix.)
Owing to the aforementioned initiatives, and despite growing volume of data traffic on our networks, in 2023 Orange Polska achieved a 79% reduction in its own emissions versus 2015 (the Orange Group’s base year for scope 1 and 2 emissions) and a 64% reduction year-on-year
Scope 3 Greenhouse Gas Emissions (Value Chain Emissions)
Orange Polska determines scope 3 GHG emissions by accounting for the total emissions related to its activity throughout the supply chain, including emissions by suppliers, employees and customers.
Scope 3 emissions have been estimated in line with the GHG Protocol guidelines and the process has been co-ordinated by the Orange Group’s headquarters based on local data from individual countries. Due to the complex methodology (particularly the need to gather, aggregate and convert diverse data for a broad range of entities in the value chain), scope 3 emissions are currently determined with a year’s delay. Consequently, this report presents the latest available data, which summarise the year 2022. The methodology for determining scope 3 emissions is under constant improvement, particularly in terms of the maximisation of physical data input instead of estimates based on financial data. The Orange Group’s global, science-based scope 3 objective is a 45% reduction in scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions by 2030 versus 2020 (our scope 3 and total emissions base year).
Orange Polska’s Scope 3 emissions (excluding Orange Energia, for which data are presented separately below) totalled 669,000 tonnes of CO2e. The biggest sources of emissions included:
- purchased goods and services (particularly equipment provided to customers to enable them to use digital services),
- capital goods (particularly infrastructural investments), and
- use of Orange Polska’s products and services by customers (particularly related to energy consumption).
Versus the base year 2020, when total emissions (scopes 1, 2 and 3) totalled 1,069,000 tonnes of CO2 e, we achieved a reduction of 6% in 2022.
Emissions related to the activity of Orange Energia, a subsidiary involved mainly in electricity trading in Poland, constitute a separate category of our scope 3 emissions. According to the GHG Protocol, energy trading is a part of scope 3. However, in consultation with the Orange Group, Orange Energia’s emissions are presented separately, as they are not related to the telecommunications and digital industry, which is the core area of activities for both Orange Polska and the Orange Group as a whole. Due to the very high dependence of the Polish power generation sector on fossil fuels, energy traded in the Polish market has a high carbon footprint, which translates into high emissions of Orange Energia. Consequently, adding them to the emissions of Orange Polska from its core activities would obscure the picture and hinder the analysis of the presented data. Both the Orange Polska Group and Orange Energia constantly undertake actions to increase the share of renewable energy in their energy mix.
Circular economy
The Company takes measures to reduce emissions in all of our priority areas. When it comes to circular economy, one aspect of this is collecting and buying back used handsets and offering refurbished devices or repair services to customers. These initiatives are covered by the RE umbrella programme – a communication and education platform promoting principles of circular economy with respect to smartphones and customer premises equipment (CPE). In 2023, Orange Polska, as the first operator in Poland, carried out a campaign encouraging people to extend the life of equipment they use and consciously dispose of it. In addition, every year the Company retrieves from customers, refurbishes and relaunches over 90% of CPEs (modems and set-top-boxes).
Last year, almost every second modem or set-top box provided to customers had been refurbished.
The Company also implements energy-efficient options in network equipment, promoting them among customers. A 2023 upgrade of software for one model of set-top boxes, which featured an improved and more comfortable energy-saving mode, enabled annual energy savings of approximately 5 GWh. Furthermore, Orange Polska participates in the international initiatives of the Orange Group regarding circular economy with respect to network infrastructure.
Waste management
The Company’s operations produce industrial waste, such as waste electronic and electrical equipment, batteries and storage cells, iron, cables, concrete and wooden poles, etc. This waste is disposed of under strict control in compliance with the relevant regulations.
We apply uniform principles of waste classification in line with the Regulation of the Minister of Climate of 2 January 2020 on the catalogue of waste and we apply uniform principles of keeping waste records in line with the Regulation of the Minister of Environment on specimens of documents for waste records.
We co-operate exclusively with waste disposal companies that take full responsibility for further waste management (collection, transport, recycling or neutralisation) and can document the subsequent stages of waste treatment from a waste producer to a waste manager. Under the Act on waste electronic and electrical equipment (WEEE), such equipment which is redundant and unfit for further usage shall be considered waste and transferred to collectors that hold a waste management licence and are registered in the Database on Packaging, Products and Waste Management (BDO).
Delivery of emissions reduction in 2023
- Ongoing process of electrification of Orange Polska’s car fleet and its further optimisation;
- Continued real estate portfolio optimisation and moving employees to a smaller number of office locations which are more energy- and resource-efficient;
- Reduced heating of buildings in wintertime, particularly with respect to technical facilities or buildings which are not used for current operations, as well as reduced air-conditioning of rooms in summertime, which led to a significant decrease in fuel consumption for these purposes;
- Use of a dedicated fund, Green CAPEX, for investments in refrigeration and fire suppression systems, which significantly reduced emissions related to leaks from such systems.
- Conclusion of a further long-term corporate power purchase agreement (cPPA) directly with a renewable energy producer: the first contract to guarantee solar energy supply to Orange Polska, which will enable a more balanced share of renewable energy in the energy mix throughout the year; the PPAs in force now achieve our goals of a 65% emission reduction versus 2015 and on track towards a minimum-60% share of renewable sources in the energy mix by 2030;
- Over 1.4 TWh of energy savings since 2015 thanks to the energy optimisation programme;
- Optimisation of energy consumption in real estate, including sales outlets (for heating, cooling and lighting).
- Work on the refinement of the GHG emission calculation method in scope 3;
- Introduction of a ‘green questionnaire’ regarding efforts to mitigate their climate impact as one of the stages of supplier verification in procurement procedures;
- First in Poland to initiate a widespread communication campaign promoting circular economy principles with respect to smartphones, as part of the RE programme (repair, refurbishment, reselling, recycling);
- Promotion of energy-saving modes in fixed equipment, particularly implementation of a new energy-saving mode in one model of set-top boxes, which enables annual energy savings of up to 5 GWh (94% of users of this model use this solution);
- Continued initiatives for collecting and refurbishing fixed network equipment;
- Support for the carbon footprint calculator developed by Climate Strategies Poland;
- Organising the first Suppliers Forum, an event dedicated to Orange Polska’s business partners and devoted to companies’ impact on climate as well as climate-impact calculation and management, including issues related to renewable energy and EU co-financing of projects in this area;
- Completion of the second, and launch of the third, edition of Green Academy, a unique post-graduate programme in sustainable development provided together with Collegium Civitas, as well as expansion of the programme’s availability by also recruiting employees of other companies.
