On Earth Hour at 8:30 p.m. on March 26, millions of people around the world are being called upon for the 15th time to turn off their lights for one hour. An hour of symbolic pause for climate and environmental protection. Deutsche Telekom is once again #takespart: The lights will be switched off for one hour at more than 20 sites in Bonn, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt, Darmstadt, Münster and Leinfelden-Echterdingen, as well as at numerous European sites in Austria, Greece, Croatia and the Netherlands.
At the company's headquarters in Bonn, the iconic magenta "T" will go out for one hour and the radio towers in Cologne, Frankfurt and Berlin will dispense with any lighting that is not safety-related. Road users on Friedrich-Ebert-Allee will be alerted to the upcoming Earth Hour by the illuminated tape on the pedestrian bridge on Friday, March 25 and Saturday, March 26. The high-tech video foil with the "T" and the bridge ribbon will shine in rich green - until it goes out completely for one hour at 8:30 p.m.
More than symbolism
But we know that symbolism alone is not enough, and an hour can be no more than a symbol. Deutsche Telekom has been committed to climate protection since the 1990s and has ambitious climate targets: in just four years, we will be climate neutral in our own operations worldwide, and to achieve this, emissions are to be reduced by up to 95 percent in absolute terms compared with 2017. The final five percent will be neutralized in the long term via high-quality CO2 sequestration projects. By 2040 at the latest, green zero is the declared goal for the entire value chain, including all emissions generated in the supply chain during production or during the use of our products. The green "T" symbolically shows two important paths on the way to climate neutrality: greener and at the same time more efficient. Since 2021, for example, the Group has been covering its global electricity requirements entirely from renewable energies.
With all energy to less energy consumption
In addition, we are testing how mobile communications sites can be supplied with green energy on a stand-alone basis in the medium term. Switching to green energy is an important step toward reducing emissions. But that alone is not enough. To ensure that increasing digitization does not lead to a parallel rise in energy demand, the infrastructure must become more efficient. We want to double our energy efficiency by 2024. To achieve this, the Group has shut down legacy technology such as the 3G network and rolling out newer, more efficient technologies such as 5G and optical fiber. There are also big levers at the operating sites by replacing old rectifier systems with more energy-efficient ones. When this measure is completed, the company will have saved over 90 gigawatt hours of electricity. That's equivalent to around 900,000 recharges of a Tesla Model 3, which would allow the electric car to drive around the world a good 10,000 times.
With all energy to sustainable solutions
The company also offers its customers simple ways to save energy: with the MagentaZuhause app, Telekom's smart home offering, they can easily connect sensors to windows and heating. If a window is open, the heating is automatically turned down to avoid heating "outside." The smart lamps in the home can also be controlled automatically via the app - so lights are only on when they are really needed. The Low Carbon Mobility Management (LCMM) service is aimed at business customers. Low Carbon Mobility Management (LCMM) service: an app helps drivers develop an environmentally oriented driving style. Fleet operators can optimize routes via the associated cloud backend. With the help of the app, 8-15 percent of the fuel consumption of vehicle fleets can thus be reduced. A win for customers and the environment.
Further information on the steps Telekom took in 2021 to promote climate protection and resource conservation on a lasting basis can be found in our Corporate Responsibility Report, which will be published at www.cr-report.telekom.com/site21/ on March 31, 2022.
