Telefónica: Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability

Increased internal energy efficiency and greater use of renewable energy will enable Telefónica to meet its 2015 objectives for electricity consumption: To reduce our energy consumption (kWh/equivalent access) at the grid by 30% and in our offices by 10% (kWh/number of employees) by 2015 in relation to 2007.

The Climate Change Office and Energy Efficiency , which reports to the Technical General Secretary to the Chairman, is responsible for achieving this.

At Telefónica, we promote the three "Rs" practice: Reducing, Reusing and Recyclng to manage waste: the most significant waste is Electronic and Electrical Devices from infrastructure such as cables, and batteries which are considered to be hazardous waste.  

The Company pays particular attention to waste being processed by its type in order to achieve the greatest recycling rates possible, and always uses authorised waste management companies.  Thus, we work in:

• Awareness raising activities to promote the correct separation of waste.
• Reuse of telecommunications equipment.
• On-line battery collection campaigns.

Also, we offer our customers different waste management options.

Whilst water is a scarce asset, our activity is not directly linked to its consumption; its our actions therefore focus on promoting best practices in the consumption of water and the installation of apparatus to save water.  

In 2011, we cut water consumption by 1.9%, mainly due to the development of savings activities and awareness raising campaings targeted at our employees.

At Telefónica we have set two targets for ourselves, to guarantee that we make use paper responsibly:  to reduce consumption and to replace white paper with recycled paper as far as is possible. In order to achieve this, we are implementing a policy of "Paperless Offices" and raising awareness of the environmental benefits of recycled paper.

In addition, it is also encouraging its customers to take advantage of electronic bills. At the end of 2011, more than 29.6 million users opted to receive electronic bills.

Further information:
> Electronic bill

At Telefónica, we strive to minimise the impact of our communications infrastructure on the environment; this mainly consists of base stations and cables.  In order to achieve this, we undertake studies to evaluate its impact on the landscape from two points of view: environmental and visual. This analysis is particularly relevant if the installations are in areas which are protected because of their wildlife or historic nature.  

Among the action lines that we follow to reduce the aforementioned impact, it is worth noting the following:

• Finding the best possible locations and carrying out environmental impact assessments.
• Using landscape and environmental considerations in decisions relating to its installations, in addition to strictly technical and economic considerations.
• Exploiting existing facilities for raised infrastructure.
• Applying advanced techniques to minimise visual impact.
• Sharing spaces and infrastructure with other operators.

We take possible noise emissions into account from the very beginning of the planning stage for its facilities. In order to do this, we take the legislation in the country where it is operating and World Health Organisation guidance into account, and pay particular attention to any nearby residential or urban areas.

Whenever there are excessive noise levels we implement sound proofing techniques and uses sound damping materials.