Verizon (NYSE:VZ) 2018 Corporate Responsibility Report Reveals New Goal to Source Renewable Energy Equivalent to 50 Percent of Total Electricity Usage
May 2, 2019 - Verizon’s 2018 Corporate Responsibility Report reveals an ambitious new goal to source renewable energy equivalent to 50 percent of its total electricity usage by 2025, a significant undertaking for a company of Verizon’s size. This is one of several goals Verizon has set to minimize its environmental footprint.
Since 2016, Verizon has reduced its carbon intensity (a measure of the carbon the business emits divided by the terabytes of data carried over its networks) by 28 percent and is on pace to reach the goal to cut the carbon intensity of its operations in half by 2025. Also, Verizon recently issued a $1 billion green bond, a first for its industry in the U.S., with proceeds to be used to fund key environmental priorities like renewable energy, energy efficiency, green buildings, water conservation and biodiversity.
With the inherent capability to address global societal challenges, Verizon technology underpins the innovation that can lead to achievement of all 17 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Moreover, the company has determined that its technology and assets can have unique impact in addressing SDG 13: climate action, SDG 8: promoting an environmentally sustainable economy and SDG 4: providing young people with relevant skills for good jobs and entrepreneurship. It has set aggressive goals that align with these three SDGs.
In addition to its renewable energy and carbon intensity goals that align with SDG 13, Verizon is addressing SDG 8 by enabling connected solutions that increase resource efficiency in travel, transportation, building management, power grids, healthcare, goods distribution and more. In 2017, Verizon’s technology-enabled solutions avoided a total of 8.2 million metric tons of CO2e, equivalent to removing 1.6 million cars from the road for one year (Emissions for 2018 will be reported this summer). This amount, equal to 168 percent of the emissions associated with its operations, represents a significant step toward achieving its 2022 goal for its networks and connected solutions to enable savings more than double the amount of emissions that its operations create.
Verizon is addressing SDG 4 by helping to give youth relevant skills for good jobs and entrepreneurship through its education initiative, Verizon Innovative Learning. This initiative provides free technology, free internet access, and innovative curricula to students and teachers, particularly in under-resourced communities across America. Through Verizon Innovative Learning, Verizon develops tech education programs and administers them in partnership with leading nonprofits. In 2018, more than 500,000 students were impacted. Verizon Innovative Learning has reached 1.7 million students since 2012, and by 2021, aims to reach an additional 2 million.
For more information on Verizon’s responsibility programs, visit the corporate responsibility website.
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