Green credentials

At a glance

Being environmentally responsible is about actions, not words; that's why our green business credentials are linked so closely to both our product development and operational activities. In summary:

Responsible product development, as evidenced by the substantial reduction in electronics and fibre required to deliver our Ethernet Backhaul Direct product
Responsible fleet management, which seeks to reduce the environmental impact of our vehicles
Educating our people about the impact of their own behaviours and actions.

Facts

By December 2020, BT Group is aiming to produce 80% less CO2 than it produced in 1997
In 2012 we reduced the amount of CO2 we produce by 53% to 757,000 tonnes
For every 150 engineering visits we avoid (due to network improvements and fewer failed visits), we save 1 tonne of CO₂
In 2012, BT Group produced 45,115 tonnes of waste, over 4,400 tonnes less than the previous year.
Of this 8,146 tonnes went to landfill, 1,500 tonnes less than in 2011
We reduced waste sent to landfill by 16% against our target of 20% for 2012 and plan to reduce the remaining amount by another 10% in 2013
In 2012, BT Group recycled 36,969 tonnes of waste - 82% of our total waste
We won a Silver Category Green Apple Award from The Green Organisation in recognition of our landfill reduction achievements in 2011
We use our 'Right First Time' measure to check how often we keep the promises we make to our customers
BT's new programme is re-tuning our commercial fleet's vehicle engines using computer software with Engine Control Unit (ECU) technology
This delivers optimum fuel efficiency, without creating any performance or safety issues
This will reduce our fleet's CO₂ emissions by around 15,000 tonnes every year
Converted vans carry stickers to say that they have re-tuned to reduce emissions, and the vast majority of our fleet will be converted by April 2013
BT Fleet is talking to customers about providing them with this technology, which gives them the chance to reduce their own carbon footprints
In the year ending March 2012, an independent study by the University of Bradford conservatively estimated that the use of BT Conferencing services avoided a net 43,839 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions

Truck rolls

In an effort to save unnecessary truck rolls and CO₂ emissions we target ourselves to:

Implement 'Right First Time' policies
Improve remote fault testing, and network management tools and capabilities.

Product impacts

When it comes to new developments and improvements we seek to manage the impacts of the products we offer by:

Improving managed control of service network termination electronics to minimise the need for customers to deploy additional electronics
Reducing power consumption sought from electronics wherever possible.

Innovation & education

It's not only what we do, but the way in which we go about our business that can impact the environment. In an effort to minimise the carbon footprint of our people we have:

Put web-based safety and fuel 'driver profiling' in place for all drivers
Made tips, advice and technical information available to all drivers, including standard vehicle stock-lists, driving tips and optimal vehicle loading information
Completed vehicle maintenance /checks on around 21,000 drivers
As part of a rolling programme, we have Delivered in-cab eSAFeD training for 1,240+ drivers.

Power of technology

We have employed a range of technologies to help us inform, target and measure, including:

A fuel data website to benchmark and monitor individual vehicles
A fuel challenge for all commercial fleet and individual drivers
GPS Tracking systems fitted to over 18,000 vehicles as an ongoing programme
Automated Work Scheduling linked to GPS locations to minimise travel
A range of trials and initiatives undertaken/underway to investigate alternative working practices and fuel choices (diesel-electric, all electric, bio fuel).

Fleet procurement

In an effort to build and manage our necessary fleet responsibly we have introduced:

A rigorous selection process for all new vehicles
Lighter vehicle racking and more fuel efficient vehicles
Road speed limiters to all new vehicles.