By Telecom Lead Team: Indian mobile services provider
Bharti Airtel has been ranked at the seventh spot in Greenpeace assessment of
two criteria – Energy Impact and Energy Advocacy. Airtel has scored 6/60, while
NTT is at bottom.
Softbank (35 /60) scores the highest for its clean energy
advocacy in Japan, post-Fukushima nuclear disaster, followed by Alcatel-Lucent
(25/60) and Vodafone (24/60).
Bharti Airtel sets the trend when it comes to market
innovation but sadly it fails to take a leadership role when it comes to wise
energy choices. It is not a question of technical feasibility or economic
viability. It is question of corporate leadership in driving clean and
sustainable business future,” said Greenpeace Climate & Energy Campaigner
Mrinmoy Chattarraj.
Alcatel-lucent scores top points for its emission
reduction plan and for setting ambitious reduction target of 50 percent by the
year 2020. Vodafone recently set an energy intensity target of 20 percent
reduction in CO2 per network node from 2010/11 baseline by 2015 in
emerging markets like India and South Africa.
Bharti-Airtel scores zero for failing to disclose its
carbon emissions publicly. The company has some minimal renewable energy use
and energy efficiency measures. It did not set any public target for emissions
reduction or declare a roadmap to shift away from heavy dependency on diesel to
run its network towers.
Currently, 2 percent of Bharti Airtel’s subsidiary Bharti
Infratel’s network towers are running on renewable energy.
Post-Fukushima disaster, Softbank stepped forward to
challenge the Government’s nuclear energy program and called for a transition
away from nuclear power and put the country on an aggressive renewable energy
path.
Bharti Airtel despite its strong influential position
chose not to participate in the Green Telecommunication consultation process
initiated by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India where all the other
major telecom operators strongly opined in favor clean energy transition.
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