Networks of the future

With great power comes great responsibility, as a popular saying goes. As Sweden's largest network owner, we want to do everything we can to act responsibly, for society and the climate.

We continuously conduct analyses to always include the environmental perspective in the choice of methods, materials, and projects. This is part of our effort to offer climate-neutral services as much as possible.

More data in the networks – less environmental impact

Today, we send 40 times more data in our networks than we did in 1990. Yet, energy consumption has not increased correspondingly, and CO2 emissions have even decreased. How is this possible? Partly, we have switched to using only renewable electricity, regardless of where in the world we operate, and partly, we continuously replace older technology with newer and more energy-efficient technology.

From copper to fiber

Large technological shifts and fiber expansion across the country can be challenging from an environmental perspective. But despite the fact that network capacity has been significantly expanded in recent decades, emissions have been relatively stable and have even decreased in recent years. Emissions are expected to decrease significantly as annual maintenance needs become smaller, which happens when the copper network is shut down.

Thanks to our efforts, more people have been able to leave the copper network. In 2014, we began the work of dismantling our pole line network and cables, both as part of the technological shift and to reduce our environmental impact. This work is still ongoing.

Close collaboration and high standards

We are not alone in working with Sweden's largest fiber network. Our partners both build and operate our fiber networks. Therefore, it is important that they, like us, have scientifically based climate goals and work to reduce the climate impact caused by transportation and machinery.

We work together for responsible handling of network waste, where the goal is reuse or recycling of all excess or obsolete material.

The products and chemicals used in our networks must be of high quality and approved according to our requirements. For several years, we have banned a long list of substances in our products, as well as all use of chemical products for controlling brush and weeds.

A certified partner

In recent years, Telia has made steady improvements by thoroughly integrating the sustainability agenda into the business strategy and key processes. This has yielded results.

Today, Telia is among the best companies in the world when it comes to sustainability work. For the second year in a row (2024), Telia Company received a platinum rating from EcoVadis, the world's largest and most trusted provider of sustainability ratings, with a total score of 83 out of 100. This places the company among the top thousand of more than 100,000 companies evaluated by EcoVadis worldwide.

We are a partner that not only understands sustainability but also enables our customers and partners to achieve their sustainability goals.