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Impact measurement: understanding and improving our contribution
What impact does our business activities have on the environment and society? And how do we contribute to the achievement of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with our products, solutions and measures? These questions guide us in measuring impact. With their help, we are getting closer and closer to our goal: to constantly increase the positive impact of our business activities and minimize negative impacts.
Measure and control impacts with “Impact Measurement”
Together with internal and external experts, we have developed a multi-stage approach to impact measurement: our “Impact Measurement”. This allows us to determine the environmental and social impacts of projects, products or measures and determine our contribution to the SDGs. The IT-supported approach was validated and certified by an audit by TÜV Rheinland in 2023 and confirmed again in the reporting year.
Step 1 - More information about Definition of the initial situation, the target situation, and the relevant measure
Definition of the initial situation, the target situation, and the relevant measure
Describe the initial and target situations, as well as the measure to be studied, in terms of quality. Also, define the applicable time frame, and categorize the relevant situation as a real situation, a benchmark or a scenario.
Step 2 - More information about Description of the value chain and the players within it
Description of the value chain and the players within it
Identify the relevant value chain phases for the measure. Then, select important stakeholders throughout the value chain.
Step 3 - More information about Evaluate the resource inputs for the initial and target situations, and determine how the measure will change those inputs
Evaluate the resource inputs for the initial and target situations, and determine how the measure will change those inputs
Identify, quantify and compare the resource inputs required by the selected stakeholders in the initial and target situations. To enable calculation of the resource-input difference brought about by the measure, a suitable functional unit is defined – for example, resources consumption per 1,000 product units.
Step 4 - More information about Ecological and social impacts of the measure
Ecological and social impacts of the measure
The ecological impacts of the measure are calculated in terms of the carbon footprint and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The social impacts of the measure are captured via the SDGs.
To evaluate the ecological impacts, one multiplies the difference between the resource inputs (i.e., the inputs before and after the measure) by suitable CO2 emission factors. This shows how much CO2e the measure has saved or additionally consumed.
To assess positive or negative environmental or social impacts, we evaluate the contribution of the product or solution towards the SDGs.
Step 5 - More information about Ecological and social impacts of the measure
Ecological and social impacts of the measure
The measures’ social and environmental impacts are then outlined, in a completely transparent way. This provides the basis for an application for #GreenMagenta and #GoodMagenta labelling. When the impact measurement and application process has been successfully completed, the results are documented in an internal report and labeled products and services are communicated externally.
We use the results of the impact measurement to continuously improve our sustainability performance. They also help us to make the sustainability benefits of our products transparent and to highlight them in our communication with private and business customers, investors and other stakeholders.
A total of 52 Deutsche Telekom products and solutions have so far undergone our impact measurement and subsequently received one of the two labels #GreenMagenta or #GoodMagenta. The #GreenMagenta label identifies products, services, projects, measures and initiatives that make a positive contribution to climate protection and the responsible use of resources. #GoodMagenta, in turn, identifies projects, measures and initiatives with a positive contribution to social and societal challenges in the digital world. 11 new products and measures were added in the reporting year. You can find an up-to-date overview of all marked products on our website.
Impact measurement in concrete terms: examples from the reporting year
Optimized smartphones
In the reporting year, the second generation of our T Phones was launched on the market: similarly affordable as the previous models, even more powerful and with reduced CO2 emissions in the production process. We achieve this by increasing the use of renewable energies and optimizing the use of semiconductors. With the T Phone 2, for example, we save around 10 tons of CO2e emissions per 1,000 smartphones; the T Phone 2 Pro has about 13 CO2e emissions. We have also reduced the size of smartphone packaging and switched to plastic-free materials – thus improving recyclability.
We introduced the T Phone 2 and the T Phone 2 Pro in almost all of Deutsche Telekom’s national companies. Similar products from the REVVL series are available in the USA.
Network solution for lower emissions
Our SD-WAN based on Cisco (Intra-Select) enables energy-efficient network management. To do this, the solution uses a universal CPE device (uCPE) that combines various services – for example, for managing or protecting networks. Previously, each of these functions required separate devices. They usually took up a lot of space, power and cooling and often required technicians on site. All of this can be saved by a uCPE. In addition, customer locations can be networked worldwide; this can save more than 30 % CO2 emissions.
The central control of these networks (controllers) is carried out by IntraSelect SD-WAN in Open Telekom Cloud (OTC). This cloud covers its electricity needs entirely from renewable energies and requires 30 % less energy than comparable data centers.
Energy-efficient light management
Controlling and monitoring lighting and signage systems digitally from a distance – this works with a solution for the Internet of Things (IoT). With a system from the start-up LichtWART and Deutsche Telekom, the intensity and duration of illuminated signage can be more easily controlled in order to reduce light pollution and negative effects on people, animals and nature. This also reduces energy consumption and extends the service life of LED lamps. Compared to conventional alternatives, users save an average of 40 % energy and emit about 5 tons less CO2e emissions per 30 lighting systems per year.
Looking ahead
Already 52 of our products, projects and initiatives have been labelled with one of our two sustainability labels #GreenMagenta and #GoodMagenta. With our internal experts and experts from other companies and organizations, we are constantly working on new solutions for even lower greenhouse gas emissions, lower resource consumption and positive contributions to the digital society – demonstrably so.
CO2e indicate the greenhouse gas potential of various climate-damaging gases and clarify how much a specific quantity of a greenhouse gas contributes to the greenhouse effect. The reference value used here is carbon dioxide (CO2).
Refers to the dynamic provision of infrastructure, software, or platform services online. Apart from a high level of automation and virtualization, the services provided have to be multi-client-capable and include standardized hardware and software. Customers source these services on demand and pay based on actual usage. The communication infrastructure may be the internet (public cloud), a corporate network (private cloud), or a mix of the two (hybrid cloud). Dynamic Services is a T‑Systems product for the flexible procurement of ICT resources and services.
The IoT enables the intelligent networking of things like sensors, devices, machines, vehicles, etc., with the aim of automating applications and decision-making processes. Deutsche Telekom’s IoT portfolio ranges from SIM cards and flexible data rate plans to IoT platforms in the cloud and complete solutions from a single source.
SD-WAN simplifies the management and operation of a WAN by decoupling the network hardware from its control mechanism. This concept is similar to the way in which software-defined networking implements virtualization technology in order to improve the management and operation of data centers. A key application of SD-WAN is to allow companies to build higher-performance WANs using lower-cost and commercially available internet access. This would enable companies to partially or wholly replace private WAN connection technologies.
Goals that form the core of the 2030 Agenda, which the member states of the United Nations adopted in 2015 to ensure sustainable global development. The aim is to enable economic development and prosperity – in line with social justice and taking account of the ecological limits of global growth. The Agenda applies equally to all nations of the world. The 17 SDGs define goals to reduce poverty and hunger, promote healthcare and education, enable equality, protect the environment and climate, and make consumption sustainable.
