We believe that businesses have a responsibility to advocate for climate action, committing to science-aligned climate policy engagement with the aim of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees in line with the Paris Agreement. We play our part through actively engaging both directly on key policy areas as well as through third parties via association memberships.
As a long-standing member of Climate Group initiatives such as RE100 and EV100, we launched the UK Electric Fleets Coalition in 2020 together with Climate Group and Openreach to advocate for the accelerated transition to electric vehicles in the UK.
Through our membership in the Aldersgate Group, we work with businesses, politicians and civil servants to advocate for policy change that delivers positive environmental development and economic benefits.
In the UK, we have campaigned for energy market reform to boost renewables growth. We submitted comments to the Government’s review of electricity market arrangements (REMA) consultation, and together with Climate Group and other major UK companies have called on the UK Government to reform its Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin (REGO) certification scheme to help deliver grid decarbonisation by 2030.
With Climate Group and a number of other organisations, we published Unlocking Corporate Investment in UK Renewables which provides a policy summary on REGO reform needed. Through the We Mean Business Coalition, we support the Fossil to Clean campaign to advocate for speeding up the shift from fossil fuels to clean energy globally.
Collaboration with our sector peers is essential to drive change in our supply chains. That’s why we’re a member of the Board of Directors of the Joint Alliance for CSR (JAC) and chair its communications committee. BT Group is also an active member of the GSMA Climate Action Taskforce, contributing to various reports and discussions, for example at COPs. And we’re a member of the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) - the world's largest industry coalition dedicated to responsible business conduct in global supply chains.
The Digital Connectivity Forum (DCF) Climate and Sustainability Work Group provides a platform for UK telecoms collaboration, enabling the acceleration of individual and industry pathways towards net zero through collaboration, evidence sourcing, and expert recommendations to Government, regulators, and the industry.
To drive climate action throughout global supply chains and support SMEs, we are a founding partner of 1.5°C Supply Chain leaders. Together we work with suppliers to halve emissions before 2030 and achieve net zero emissions before 2050. The 1.5°C Supply Chain Leaders was founded by the Exponential Roadmap Initiative together with Ericsson, Inter IKEA Group, Telia Company, BT Group and Unilever, and is supported by the United Nations’ Race to Zero and the We Mean Business Coalition. We support SMEs to take climate action through the SME Climate Hub and the UK Business Climate Hub. We’ve been a member of the CDP Supply Chain Programme since its inception which helps us engage with key suppliers through the CDP annual disclosure process.
We chair the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) UK sustainability committee, providing a mechanism for UK industry to engage effectively in international policy. We’re also members of the techUK climate council, which sets the strategic direction on climate issues at techUK, focusing on COP, the sector’s transition to net zero, the role of tech in supporting other sectors in transitioning to net zero, and the sector’s preparedness for future climate change. The council also engages in various policy developments.
