DALLAS, Aug. 31,
2021 /PRNewswire/ -- What's the news?
AT&T* has set an industry-leading target to help businesses
collectively reduce a gigaton of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions —1
billion metric tons — by 2035, an effort which will contribute to a
better, more sustainable world.
A gigaton is equal to approximately 15% of U.S. greenhouse gas
emissions** and nearly 3% of global energy-related emissions in
2020 *** — or 1.6 billion flights from Los Angeles to New
York. ****
The company will work with businesses including Microsoft,
Equinix, and Duke Energy, along with research universities, and a
range of other organizations to deliver broadband-enabled climate
solutions at global scale. This collaborative builds on AT&T's
standing commitment to aggressively reduce our own emissions, while
enabling the transition to a net-zero economy.
Why is this important? Fifty-five percent of
Fortune Global 200 companies have established targets for
the partial or total elimination of GHG emissions, and 23% of these
businesses have set dates for reaching carbon neutrality*****.
AT&T has identified a critical need to help businesses
drive emissions reduction to scale. Whether it's adoption of smart
IoT (Internet of Things) solutions for commercial and manufacturing
facilities or innovative AI management and monitoring solutions for
transportation and energy, broadband technologies, including 5G,
can help deliver more efficiencies.
"As businesses embrace climate change as a priority, our
connectivity solutions can help them make progress to reach their
goals," said Anne Chow, CEO,
AT&T Business. "AT&T has a track record of delivering
sustainability results within our own large-scale operations and
for our business customers across industries. The time is now to
expand our impact by developing and deploying more
capabilities and solutions that enable companies to reduce their
environmental footprint. This is a collective imperative
across all business that also benefits the planet and society as a
whole."
Between 2018 and 2020, AT&T worked with the Carbon Trust and
a selection of business customers to calculate the reduction of
emissions enabled by AT&T connectivity. The result was a
reduction of more than 72 million metric tons of CO2e through the
enablement of smart IoT and edge-computing technologies for the
manufacturing, agriculture and commercial sectors. Gigaton is a new
goal, spanning emissions reductions from 2018 to 2035, that
continues our efforts in this space.
By 2030, the information, communications and technology industry
could generate emission savings of more than a third of all global
energy-related emissions in 2020 – according to GeSI.
How we'll do it: With our newly formed Connected Climate
Initiative, we plan to convene the brightest minds from leading
technology companies, AT&T Business customers, universities,
and nonprofits to identify best practices, develop innovative new
products and use cases, and scale the innovations of startup
partners building tomorrow's 5G- and other broadband-enabled
climate solutions.
Key collaborators include:
- Microsoft , who is working with us in areas like 5G, AI,
IoT and the cloud to further enhance our development of products,
such as the AT&T Guardian device with Azure Sphere: It enables
businesses to securely collect and analyze data to identify
efficiencies and reduce sources of carbon emissions. Use cases
range from connected kitchens to fully digitalized spaces,
transportation and supply chains. Azure Sphere is built on the
Azure cloud which is 98% more carbon efficient than common
on-premises solutions.
- Equinix , a digital infrastructure leader, will work
with us to provide highly secure access to energy-efficient digital
infrastructure, helping corporate customers accelerate their
digital transformations and lower emissions. Shared customers are
working with AT&T and Equinix to accelerate progress on their
sustainability commitments.
- Duke Energy , one of America's largest energy holding
companies, intends to work with AT&T to explore how broadband
technologies may help both accelerate the transition to renewable
energy as well as support achieving Duke Energy's goal of net-zero
carbon emissions by 2050.
- The Texas A&M University
System's RELLIS Campus , will research how AT&T 5G could
help speed emissions reduction in industries with high emissions
such as transportation.
- The University of Missouri ,
will explore how AT&T 5G may help reduce energy consumption and
emissions from buildings.
Additional collaborators include SunPower, Badger Meter,
IndustLabs, Traxen, BSR, RMI, Third Derivative and the Carbon
Trust. Click here to learn more about each of the participating
organizations.
"Ubiquitous connectivity — nationwide broadband, which includes
5G access, for businesses everywhere — has the power to help scale
technologies, dramatically accelerating business efforts to reach
their climate goals," said Charlene
Lake, chief sustainability officer, AT&T. "As
AT&T advocates for universal broadband, we see an opportunity
to support even more businesses in the transition to a net-zero
economy through our global reach, advanced network capabilities and
collaborations with industry and NGO partners."
More information about our environmental sustainability efforts
and goals can be found in our ESG Summary.
Read more about our broadband-enabled climate solutions
here.
*About AT&T Communications
We help family, friends
and neighbors connect in meaningful ways every day. From the first
phone call 140+ years ago to mobile video streaming, we @ATT
innovate to improve lives. AT&T Communications is part of
AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T). For more information, please visit us
at att.com.
** Environmental Protection Agency
https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/inventory-us-greenhouse-gas-emissions-and-sinks
*** As of 2020.
https://www.iea.org/articles/global-energy-review-co2-emissions-in-2020
**** UK Government Department for Business, Energy & Industrial
Strategy (BEIS)
***** Forrester. The State of Environmental Sustainability in the
Fortune Global 200. Stephanie
Balaouras and Salvatore
Schiano. January 15, 2021
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SOURCE AT&T Communications