Two of America’s biggest telecommunication firms are being urged to use more renewable energy to power their businesses.
Verizon and AT&T customers are being asked to push the providers to commit to shifting to 100% clean energy at their operations by 2025. The campaign is being led by sustainable economy body, Green America, which wants the pair to replicate the efforts of Apple and Google and go entirely renewable.
“AT&T and Verizon are clearly behind the curve when it comes to adopting renewable energy to power their massive data centers. As more and more companies recognize their obligations to lower their emissions and help the U.S. meet the goals of the Paris Climate Accords, our two largest cell phone providers are clearly lagging behind leaders like Google and Apple. Now is the time for both companies to make a commitment and provide a timeline to get to 100% renewable energy,” said Todd Larsen, executive co-director of Consumer and Corporate Engagement at Green America.
Spanish telecom giant Telefónica is showing the way in Europe. The company has doubled its use of renewable electricity in the last 12 months. In June it announced renewables provided 44% of its energy needs, more than double the 2016 figure. And to demonstrate its commitment to accelerate to 100% across all its locations, it has signed up to the RE100 initiative – an international network of leading companies working towards the same goal.