With its holistic approach to sustainability, Swisscom is working towards a sustainable future at the social, environmental and economic levels. The company has already succeeded in reducing direct greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent since 1990, and indirect emissions within Swisscom’s supply chain have been reduced by over 30 percent compared to 2013.
All remaining unavoidable emissions are offset through international climate protection projects. These include the installation of solar panels to generate electricity in Kenya and Ethiopia in the myclimate project ‘Solar panels for education and quality of life in Ethiopia and Kenya’, which aims to improve people’s living conditions and bring about a significant reduction in CO2 emissions. Thanks to its offsetting activities in connection with this and other international climate protection projects, Swisscom has been climate-neutral at the operational level since 2020 and also aims to become climate-neutral as a company across the entire value chain by 2025.
Commitment to climate protection right on the doorstep
In addition to conventional offsetting in international climate protection projects, Swisscom has also been supporting a Swiss project since 2022. The ‘Support programme for standard fruit trees in Switzerland’ run by myclimate and Hochstamm Suisse supports and motivates farms throughout Switzerland to plant and maintain standard fruit trees through financial support. These standard fruit trees absorb more CO2 and thus act as efficient carbon stores while also making a valuable contribution to the preservation of biodiversity.
Swisscom uses this Swiss climate protection commitment both for conventional CO2 offsetting and also as an additional commitment to local climate protection and biodiversity.
The projects in the ‘Regional Climate Protection for Businesses’ portfolio enable companies to make a further commitment to local climate protection in addition to conventional offsetting. These projects, which adhere to the highest standards, involve effectively avoiding or capturing CO2 emissions while at the same time promoting biodiversity and healthy ecosystems on home ground. The projects in this portfolio contribute to the rewetting of moorland, the climate adaptation of forests and the build-up of humus in arable soils. As part of this commitment, companies are also able to offer project visits and corporate volunteering, enabling their employees and partners to experience environmental engagement in practice, right on their doorstep.
Links for further reading:
myclimate climate protection project ‘Support programme for standard fruit trees in Switzerland’
Swisscom sustainability blog (in German)
Swisscom sustainability site (in German)