sustainability statement for 2019 . “ We want everybody to thrive in a digital world and are focused on helping our customers - and society more broadly - adapt to technological change and the opportunities it brings .”
In July 2020 , Telstra announced that it has achieved carbon neutrality , after being awarded a carbon neutral certification by Climate Active , a collaborative venture between the Australian Government and leading businesses .
Telstra made significant sustainability gains to acquire this accreditation . The company reportedly saved 13,000 MWh of energy through energy efficiency initiatives and a further 18,000 MWh through decommissioning old equipment . However , it would not have achieved its accreditation without the purchase of 2.3 million carbon offset credits to get below the threshold for the accreditation . Carbon credits hit an all time high price of US $ 12.23 ( AUD17.50 ) at the end of 2019 , meaning that Telstra effectively spent around $ 28mn to buy the certification . Australia ’ s carbon credit program does require the money used for carbon credits to be used to support sustainability initiatives , but some critics have suggested that this is simply using money to hand the problem off to someone else without effecting meaningful change .
Jamie Davis of Telecoms . com commented : “ Telstra should be suitably applauded , but context should also be afforded to the situation . If you have a big enough bank account , anyone could be carbon neutral without doing much work at all .”
Telstra is in no way alone in this practice , and the telecommunications industry isn ’ t alone among other
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