To develop digital economies, telecom companies are crucial. At the same time, more and more countries are choosing to partner with telecoms that care about their environmental impact. This makes a ranking of telcos in terms of their sustainability valuable.

ABI Research's new Sustainability Index Telco Operators ranks ten international telecom operators: AT&T, Deutsche Telekom, KPN, NTT DoCoMo, Orange, Singtel, SK Telecom, Telefónica, Verizon and Vodafone.

According to the research firm, Deutsche Telekom, Telefónica, Vodafone, and KPN lead the market in terms of sustainability. A 'mainstream' category is occupied by AT&T, Verizon and Orange. SK Telecom, NTT DoCoMo, and Singtel are considered 'followers' by the analysts.

The telco operators are rated and evaluated based on 30 different sustainability actions across six categories: renewable energy, network upgrades, energy efficiency, waste disposal and circular economy, green buildings and vehicles, and reporting and governance. Ranking criteria include two categories: present-day implementation, such as the use of renewable energy and technologies such as 5G, and the impact potential of the platforms and programs operators utilize to achieve climate goals.

Sustainability is only one of many factors a country should consider when selecting a connectivity partner. Local champions also play a key role, but in many cases these relatively small providers are forced to partner with larger and more globally focused telco's. This index examines ten potential partners. In addition to more technical criteria like networking services, cloud offerings, etc., their sustainability performance may be a useful consideration as well.

Photo credit: Emile Perron