"SBTi's Target Validation Team has rated the ambition of your company's scope 1 and 2 targets and determined that it is in line with a 1.5°C trajectory. SBTi commends your ambitious target aligned with 1.5°C, currently the most ambitious designation available through the SBTi process," reads the note sent to the telecommunications operator.
Thus, SBTi, a global initiative that encourages the private sector to take meaningful action on climate change through science-based targets, recognizes MEO's commitment to two main objectives:
- The reduction of scope 1 (direct) and 2 (indirect) emissions by 70% by 2030, based on 2019 performance;
- The reduction of scope 3 emissions (value chain) through the definition of targets aligned with science by 82% of its suppliers, within 5 years.
To achieve these goals, MEO has been encouraging its employees to adopt more sustainable practices and has implemented various energy efficiency projects in its buildings and fleet. An example of this is the replacement of lighting systems and cold air, HVAC and air conditioning equipment, as well as the replacement of telecommunications equipment with more energy-efficient equipment. The consumption and production of renewable energy has also been a focus for MEO in this transition to a low-carbon economy.
MEO's responsibility does not end with its activities and operations. In order to reduce Scope 3 emissions, the company recognizes the unavoidable need to positively influence its suppliers in order to maximize their contribution to a fairer and more sustainable world. In 2022, more than a hundred suppliers were assessed according to environmental criteria.
"This validation of the objectives outlined and submitted for approval in December 2022 is, for MEO, an important recognition of the effort it has been making in recent years to defend society and the planet. It is the result of a long and rigorous process, which from the very first moment
involved employees, suppliers and customers, signing the Paris Agreement on behalf of everyone," said José Maurício Costa, head of Corporate and Project Management at Altice Portugal.
Through the Paris Agreement in 2015, world governments committed themselves to keeping the increase in average global temperature below 2°C compared to pre-industrial levels and to continuing efforts to limit global warming to 1.5°C. To this end, greenhouse gas emissions must be halved by 2030 and fall to zero by 2050.
Companies play a vital role in this mission, and in February this year Altice Portugal set strategic goals to reduce CO2 emissions by 90% by 2030. This ambition, assumed by CEO Ana Figueiredo, is reflected in the latest sustainability report released by Altice Portugal in June this year, which highlights the achievement of:
- A further 49% of renewable energy self-production;
- 31% less waste and waste production;
- 19% less consumption of materials related to the company's activity.
The race for decarbonization is being run worldwide on a track that is far from over. In this sense, MEO's progress, committed to leading by example and focused on achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, will be evaluated annually by SBTi, thus ensuring that the path mapped out is being followed.
What is the Science Based Target Initiative?
SBTi is a partnership between the CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project), the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) which aims to increase ambition in the fight against climate change by promoting action by the private sector. In order to ensure that the targets set by companies are aligned with the objectives set out in the Paris Agreement, SBTi encourages and validates the definition of science-based targets for reducing emissions. In this way, the targets defined meet strict criteria and are then subject to continuous evaluation and monitoring by SBTi, which gives companies indications of how much and how quickly they should reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in order to avoid the worst effects of climate change and to contribute to the pursuit of the Paris Agreement's objectives.