Greentech Lead India: Bharti Airtel, in its first Sustainability Report for India operations, has reported 11 percent reduction in Green House Gas (GHG) emissions per terabyte in network infrastructure in 2011-12.
The company has also been able to save around 20 million KWh of energy through its facilities consolidation and data center energy efficiency initiatives undertaken so far, the report said.
Airtel’s Sustainability Report 2011-2012 provides a comprehensive overview of the company’s approach, initiatives and future plans across social and environmental development including energy and climate change, waste management, customer service, digital inclusion and community engagement.
The report introduces the company’s blueprint on ‘Social Inclusion’ – a cornerstone of its sustainability program. Through this blueprint, the company aims to leverage its wide network & distribution, accessibility, affordable services and ability to manage scale to digitally enable financial, education, health and other services for the masses.
The report also touches upon the company’s sustainability initiatives in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Africa.
The company has been constantly working along with its partners to reduce Green House Gas emission in its operations.
Introducing the first sustainability report, Sanjay Kapoor – CEO (India & South Asia), Bharti Airtel said, “India, the world’s second largest telecom market, provides a remarkable growth opportunity for 1.2 bn people, out of which, 900mn people are connected through mobile. Hence, telcos have a huge role to play in bringing a paradigm shift in the lives of million.”
According to Kapoor, sustainability cannot remain a static one time agenda for Airtel. It has to include the entire ecosystem. Telecommunications can bridge the critical social gap by helping reach affordable healthcare, education and financial services to the mass, thereby leading to a remarkable social transformation through Social Inclusion.
Bharti Airtel India Sustainability Report – 2011-12 has been developed using the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework.