AT&T aiming to cut emissions to net zero by 2035

AT&T says it will cut emissions from its operations to net zero by 2035 and encourage its suppliers to set similar targets.

Last year, the company’s annual emissions stood at 10.4 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. About 63 percent of that came from the company’s operations, and the remaining so-called Scope 3 emissions were tied to suppliers, business travel and waste.

The Dallas-based phone and media giant says it will try to cut its operational emissions through initiatives such as the use of more renewable energy, buying hybrid vehicles and deploying efficiency measures. As a last resort, it will buy offsets for the emissions it can’t cut in order to reach net zero on two-thirds of its carbon output.

AT&T has yet to set a firm target for the remainder of its emissions, but it will have at least half its suppliers set their own science-based emissions goals by 2024.

Chief Sustainability Officer Charlene Lake said she “applauds” companies such as Apple that have set carbon-neutrality targets across all scopes of emissions but that every company is different and “we’re taking an aggressive step forward” with the new goals.

Pointing to the current wildfires in the U.S. West and damage from storms in the Southeast,

AT&T says it will also expand its climate change analysis tool from a pilot in four states to a nationwide application. The system is designed to better predict how climate-related severe weather will affect its network infrastructure.

The company has spent $1 billion on recovery in the wake of storms and fire since 2016. The amount was “not unusual” for a five-year period, said Scott Mair, president of AT&T’s technology and operations.

U.S. telecommunications peer Verizon is also in the race toward lower emissions. In June, Verizon joined Amazon in vowing to be carbon neutral by 2040.

AT&T’s announcement comes two months after then-presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden unveiled plans to spend $2 trillion creating a clean energy economy by cutting U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. The European Union has said it plans to be carbon neutral by 2050 and cut its footprint in half by 2030.