Last month, ZTE pledged its support to the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi), underlining its commitment to meeting science-based emission reduction targets in the near term as well as achieving net-zero emissions in the long term.
Across the next five to ten years, the vendor aims to cut its greenhouse gas emissions in line with the globally recognised 1.5°C temperature rise limitation target, and to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 at the latest.
ZTE joining the SBTi is the latest move that reflects its deep-rooted green company culture, no matter the cost. Indeed, achieving its SBTi commitments will require a higher price from ZTE than for vendors in developed markets, as its main production and R&D base is in China, where there is a significantly lower proportion of green electricity in the existing power grid compared to developed countries. This challenge scales across ZTE’s install base, as a large proportion of its products have been deployed in developing countries. These markets are often leading the charge towards reducing emissions, and therefore ZTE’s commitment to carbon emission reduction throughout the life cycle of its products will face greater challenges in terms of technology and cost in these regions.
The vendor has long been dedicated to reducing its operational and value chain emissions, striving to enhance the energy efficiency of its products and solutions through continuous technological innovation, as well as maximising its impact across other industries by enabling them to achieve energy savings and carbon reduction through its Green ICT infrastructure.
The vendor’s commitment to its Environmental Sustainability Goals is further demonstrated by its voluntary publication of its annual Sustainability Report. The release of the 2022 edition marks the report’s fifteenth consecutive year, and the report itself outlines the vendor’s achievements and future plans as it pursues its "Driver of Digital Economy" strategy. Underlining its values of transparency and accountability, the report details how ZTE fulfils its corporate social responsibilities, supports society's digital transformation, advocates sustainable development, contributes to global communities, and advances corporate governance.
In 2022, the global political and economic landscape remained complex, but within the telecoms sector, digitization has emerged as a crucial element, and ZTE has sought to capitalize on this significance by further enhancing its technological innovation capabilities to support global digital transformation.
Xu Ziyang, Executive Director and CEO of ZTE, emphasized in the report, "ZTE will stick to its role as a driver of digital economy and strive for excellence while tackling the hardest challenges. With greater determination, we will join hands with partners across the industry to break new ground, and ultimately contribute to high-quality economic growth and make the planet a better place for all.”
One of the greatest challenges facing the world is the transition to a decarbonized economy, and ZTE is committed to helping achieve this goal via green development and a low-carbon approach. Through the use of energy-saving and emission reduction technology, the vendor seeks to help companies across many industries pivot towards green development and carbon reduction.
In the report, Xie Junshi, Executive Vice President and COO of ZTE, stated, "Sticking to the low-carbon strategy, ZTE keeps moving forward on a green path to digital economy. With our established carbon neutrality target, we have set up a corporate-level team and systematically advanced ten major carbon reduction initiatives."
The claim is supported by the statistics: across 2022, ZTE was able to achieve a substantial 7.48% year-on-year decrease in greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 1&2&3), and reduced the energy consumption of its products per unit sold by 14% - along with a 4.9% decrease in total emissions for all products sold and used. In the field of 5G products, ZTE was able to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 9.3% per unit through initiatives such as dark factories and and Intelligent Manufacturing Powered by 5G - all while maintaining revenue growth.
Changing from within helps ZTE to drive change across other sectors; by actively developing digital energy solutions such as AI energy cloud, green power generation, and intelligent energy storage, ZTE is leading the charge towards carbon neutrality. The vendor is collaborating with more than 500 industry partners to help empower industries via energy-saving, emission reduction, and operational efficiency improvements, thereby facilitating accelerated digital transformation. ZTE advocates green development, actively promoting energy-saving and emission reduction programmes and partnering with like-minded organisations to implement green and low-carbon initiatives. Through these efforts, ZTE aims to drive the entire industry chain towards achieving carbon neutrality targets, contributing to a sustainable future.
ZTE’s efforts in the field of green development have received international recognition, with the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) – a global environmental information research organization – awarding the vendor an “A-“ rating for its efforts to combat climate change. In 2022, ZTE became one of the first companies in the Chinese telecommunications industry to adopt and implement the ISO 14604-1:2018 Greenhouse Gas Verification Statement from SGS, and it received the CDP China 2022 "Environmental Leadership Award" in recognition of its achievements.
As a global enterprise, ZTE has long upheld the principles of sustainable development and actively fulfilled its corporate social responsibility, and has pledged to remain committed to promoting the concept of sustainable development worldwide. By fostering collaboration with industry partners, ZTE will actively explore new opportunities and pave the way towards a sustainable future.
