Sustainability

Swisscom is recognised again as the world’s most sustainable telecommunications provider and breaks the one-million mark for the number of mobile phones collected

World Finance magazine has named Swisscom the “Most Sustainable Company in the Telecommunication Industry 2022”. The accolade is awarded by an international panel of experts and Swisscom has been recognised for its commitment to greater sustainability dating back more than 20 years for the second year running. Today, Swisscom CEO Christoph Aeschlimann also announced that the company reached a new circular economy milestone in June 2022 – since the Mobile Aid programme was launched in 2012, Swisscom customers have returned one million old devices.

By Sepp Huber
Swisscom CEO Christoph Aeschlimann thanks a customer in the Swisscom Shop Zytglogge in Bern for her contribution to the one million returned mobiles for Mobile Aid.

“Switzerland can be proud,” says Monika Wojcik, Head of Special Projects at World Finance. “Swisscom has achieved something unparalleled in the world. The company has not only switched to 100% Swiss-generated renewable energy, but has also reduced its overall energy requirement by 80%. And it will also be climate-neutral by 2025 for everything beyond that – from supply chains to employee commuting. On top of this, it even intends to recover 1 million more tons of CO2 than it uses, thus reducing the whole country’s carbon footprint.”

Recognition for the roadmap to climate neutrality

Through the Sustainability Awards(opens in new tab) launched in 2019, the World Finance Magazine honours companies that are strongly committed to implementing significant ESG measures (environment, society and governance) and which are also continually looking for opportunities to improve their sustainability efforts. The panel of experts singled out Swisscom’s focus on the Paris Agreement, its contribution to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and its overall sustainability strategy for particular recognition. The committee commended Swisscom’s corporate practices and ethics, the leading role it has taken in establishing an ambitious sustainability strategy for the telecommunications sector and its issuing of green bonds to promote sustainable, technological progress. Swisscom takes responsibility for people as well as the environment, and the panel felt that this was particularly evident during the pandemic.

Proceeds from one million mobile phones for children in need

“The award is a great recognition of our sustainable and responsible corporate governance”, says CEO Christoph Aeschlimann. “I would particularly like to thank our customers for their commitment to sustainability. The one-millionth mobile phone was donated to Mobile Aid in a Swisscom Shop in Bern just a few days ago.” The Mobile Aid programme allows customers and non-customers alike to donate their old smartphones to a good cause. “The proceeds from the 1 million mobile phones donated have already paid for 5 million meals for children in need,” says Aeschlimann. There are still an estimated eight million mobile phones lying around unused in Switzerland. The material value alone easily tops the CHF 60 million mark. The proceeds from the resale of second-hand mobile phones and the appropriate recycling of old devices benefit SOS Children's Villages Switzerland. In view of the scarcity of natural resources, the material obtained from the recycling process is itself highly valuable. The rare earth minerals required to manufacture new mobile phones are sourced from all over the world. Mobile Aid has enabled Swisscom to tap into a resource within its own country which, through recycling, creates social employment with low entry requirements.

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