Environment
We can help you do your bit for the environment.
Engaging employees
We want our employees to have a keen environmental interest. We encourage our people to stay in touch with the latest issues and aim to integrate environmental concerns at every level of the business.
Our GreenChallenge@Telstra program challenges our employees to consider how their behaviour at work impacts the environment. Through this program, our people gain a raised awareness of how to reduce their carbon footprint. We also educate our people on how to make informed decisions about commuting to work.
We encourage employees to get involved in environmental events such as Mobile Muster, Clean Up Australia Day, Earth Hour and National Recycling Week.
The Corporate Environment Group runs quarterly “Product Experience for a Green Working Day” where employees register to telework from home on a day they would normally be in the office. We then collect valuable metrics to calculate environmental benefits and productivity metrics.
We use and are a provider of high definition video conferencing to reduce air travel internally and for our customers.
Did you know?
Australians send the most text messages on New Year's Day, Christmas Day, Christmas Eve, Valentine’s Day and St Patrick’s Day. Friday is the most popular day to send a text message.
Climate change
Since 2000, we have been measuring, managing and publicly reporting on our carbon emissions. We are focused on the more efficient use of electricity and fuel, and the smarter use of telecommunications technology. We also have programs to improve our recycling and re-use of resources in order to divert waste from landfill. We are also identifying ways in which consumers and businesses can use telecommunications products and services to reduce their own carbon emissions. In 2007, we launched a report: Towards a High-Bandwidth, Low-Carbon Future: Telecommunications-based Opportunities to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions, which describes seven innovative ways to use telecommunications networks to reduce or avoid carbon emissions.
- Executive Summary: Towards a High-Bandwidth, Low-Carbon Future: Telecommunications-based Opportunities to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions (PDF, 314KB)
- Full Report: Towards a High-Bandwidth, Low-Carbon Future: Telecommunications-based Opportunities to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions (PDF, 5.3MB)
Energy and resource efficiency
Energy, water and waste management programs, coordinated by Telstra Property, form the centrepiece of our environmental strategy. The impact of our energy management programs is considerable. We are one of the largest owners and operators of commercial and network properties; we have a large fleet of approximately 11,000 passenger and light commercial vehicles; and we are the largest private operator of solar panels in Australia. We recognise that we can have a significant positive impact by facilitating greater energy efficiency across our business, supply chain and customer base.
Product stewardship
We understand the importance of good product stewardship and we are continuously looking for opportunities to minimise the lifecycle impacts of our products and services. To do so, we are a signatory to the National Packaging Covenant and we set up a Packaging Innovation Group with cross business representatives to help drive our packaging initiatives. We also support the Mobile Muster program - and provide bins in all Telstra shops and Mobile Muster post bags for consumers to send unwanted mobile phones and accessories to the program for recycling.
Reporting
We provide a comprehensive report on our environmental performance each year as part of our Corporate Responsibility Report. We also provide three public reports: National Packaging Covenant, Carbon Disclosure Project and Energy Efficiency Opportunities.
Greenhouse gas emissions
According to a recent report, Towards a High Bandwidth, Low-Carbon Future: Telecommunications-based Opportunities to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions, telecommunications networks have the potential to help reduce Australia's greenhouse gas emissions by almost five per cent by 2015 and deliver up to $6.6 billion a year in financial savings for Australian businesses and households.
Here at Telstra, we have been measuring and managing our emissions for several years.
Our programs to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions focus on the more efficient use of electricity and fuel, and on improving our recycling of organic wastes, such as paper and cardboard in order to divert waste from landfill.
Managing our land use appropriately
To provide a world class telecommunications service in Australia we need to design, build, operate and maintain the network infrastructure to support the service. In doing so, we comply with all relevant and necessary environmental legislation. In order to manage the potential environmental impacts of our field activities, we also undertake comprehensive pre-design risk identification, design risk assessment and on site risk management processes.
A few recent examples of our environmental leadership
Study into Teleworking
Over the last 2 years, Telstra has commissioned leading global environmental and engineering consulting firm URS Corporation to explore and calculate the environmental benefits of teleworking (working partially at home instead of in the office). The findings were very impressive.
- Summary Report: Teleworking: demonstrating the environmental
impacts and benefits (PDF, 596KB)
Online billing
In 2008, we commissioned leading global environmental and engineering consulting firm URS Corporation to explore and calculate the environmental benefits of online billing compared to paper billing. We found that we could make quite a considerable impact.
- Summary Report: Environmental Impact of Online Billing Compared
with Paper Billing (PDF, 567KB)
Telstra employees share top petrol saving tips
In 2007/08, over 150 Telstra employees learnt how to boost their savings by using less petrol when they participated in an international fuel trial with Shell to minimise the environmental impact of Telstra's fleet operations. Two-thirds of the participants achieved fuel economy benefits, with more than a quarter reducing their fuel consumption by 10 to 30 per cent. The average participant achieved a fuel economy saving of four to five per cent.
Following the success of the trial, communications will be rolled out to Telstra fleet drivers to encourage 'green' driving techniques that reduce fuel consumption.
Network Construction Carbon Footprint
Telstra’s Network Construction group is the first line of business within the company to estimate and compile a greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory. The report presented a baseline assessment of the carbon footprint of Network Construction and provided recommendations, including promotion of fuel efficient driving and developing carbon reduction measures and targets. Network Construction now has an opportunity to target and reduce their energy costs and their carbon impact and will be measuring their footprint year on year.
Greenfleet
Telstra is also partnered with Greenfleet; a not-for-profit organisation that plants trees to help offset vehicle emissions as well as benefiting the environment through increased native habitat and decreased salinity and erosion. As part of our salary sacrifice package for eligible employees, a payment is made to Greenfleet for each vehicle. This was introduced in 2003 and by 1 July 2005, all salary sacrifice vehicles were covered by this payment.