UK telco BT has a cunning plan for turning the business around… by reducing its carbon footprint.

Scott Bicheno

June 1, 2020

2 Min Read
BT plays the green card
Renewable Energy by wind turbine for green energy world.

UK telco BT has a cunning plan for turning the business around… by reducing its carbon footprint.

For some reason the powers that be at BT have decided the best way to bounce back from a global recession caused by a viral pandemic is to hug some trees. Specifically, the company is launching a Green Tech Innovation Platform, which seems to be some kind of eco-focused incubator, and has joined forces with The Climate Group to launch a new partnership called The UK Electric Fleets Alliance, which will virtue-signal about electric vehicles.

“The economic setback and immense hardship caused by the Covid-19 pandemic are severe and could be long lasting,” said BT Chief Exec Philip Jansen. “However, despite the temporary reprieve on carbon emissions and air quality in towns and cities during the lockdown, the global climate emergency hasn’t gone away.

“As we emerge from the crisis, the recovery presents a huge opportunity for governments, businesses and individuals to put action on climate at the heart of their efforts. We will be playing our part with a once-in-a-generation investment in the UK’s digital infrastructure: full fibre broadband to 20 million premises, as well as our continued investment in 5G mobile. We will also be backing new green technologies through our Green Tech Innovation Platform. BT is stepping up on climate action and we want to encourage and help others to do the same.”

This gesture is clearly aimed at the Davos set, for whom teen green activist Greta Thunberg has become the person they all turn to for guidance. There is apparently significant corporate reputational capital to be gained from saying all the right things about carbon reduction and electric vehicles, despite the benefits of both still being keenly disputed. BT shareholders must be hoping, however, that Jansen has a few other tricks up his sleeve to arrest reverse the apparently terminal decline in its share price.

About the Author(s)

Scott Bicheno

As the Editorial Director of Telecoms.com, Scott oversees all editorial activity on the site and also manages the Telecoms.com Intelligence arm, which focuses on analysis and bespoke content.
Scott has been covering the mobile phone and broader technology industries for over ten years. Prior to Telecoms.com Scott was the primary smartphone specialist at industry analyst Strategy Analytics’. Before that Scott was a technology journalist, covering the PC and telecoms sectors from a business perspective.
Follow him @scottbicheno

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