Doing more for our customers while minimising our environmental impact is what we’re all about.
Use the tabs to see what we’re doing.
Low carbon future
We’ve been measuring and reporting our carbon emissions since 2000 and are committed to supporting a low carbon future.
Our strategy to manage our footprint includes:
- adopting best practice in energy and carbon emissions monitoring, analysis and reporting
- designing, constructing and operating our networks and buildings to maximise energy efficiency
- working with research and industry partners to investigate and adopt innovative solutions and renewable energy technologies
- working with our suppliers to design and deploy technologies that optimise energy consumption
- implementing carbon reduction initiatives for our fleet
- engaging employees from across our business in our environmental initiatives.
We also help our enterprise and government customers to reduce their footprint through the technology and services we provide.
Reducing our impact
We improve efficiencies and minimise waste in our operations through better design, re-use and recycling. We also recognise the importance of taking a life-cycle approach and seek to influence our supply chain and customers to reduce their environmental impacts.
E-waste
E-waste (or electronic waste) from electronic products, such as mobile phones and telecommunications network equipment, contains toxic materials that may present health hazards and cause environmental damage through land contamination and water and air pollution. Electronic products also require the extraction and processing of valuable raw materials.
We collect, re-use or recycle all of our e-waste to minimise these impacts. We also encourage our customers to recycle their mobile phones and accessories through supporting and promoting MobileMuster – the recycling program of the Australian mobile phone industry. MobileMuster have over 3,500 collection points Australia-wide including within our retail stores.
Paperless billing
We are working to improve the way we interact with our customers online. We offer our customers the option of online billing, including the option of receiving bills by mobile phone.
Packaging
We want to reduce the environmental impacts of packaging and help conserve resources through better design. We use our supplier relationships to influence change – we’ve been a signatory of the Australian Packaging Covenant since 2001.
See our Australian Packaging Covenant Action Plan in the Reports & downloads library
Minimising the impacts of our operations
To provide telecommunications services to customers across Australia, we need to design, build, operate and maintain the network infrastructure to support these services. We manage the potential environmental impacts of our field activities by undertaking comprehensive environmental assessments. Our environmental management system for our network construction business unit is certified to ISO AS/NZ 140001:2004.
Evaluating the impacts of ICT
Carbon tracking
Increasingly, our enterprise and government clients want to know how information and communications technology (ICT) contributes to the carbon footprint of their business. We assist our customers to estimate the carbon emissions and energy consumption they use, including the impact of equipment like telephone handsets. This enables our customers to make informed decisions and take effective measures to reduce their own carbon footprint.
Contact us for more information.
Online billing: demonstrating the environmental impacts and benefits
In 2008, Telstra commissioned URS Corporation to explore and calculate the environmental benefits of online bills compared to paper-based bills using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology.
Online Billing Life Cycle Analysis (PDF, 841KB)
Teleworking: demonstrating the environmental impacts and benefits
In 2007, Telstra commissioned leading global environmental and engineering consulting firm URS Corporation to calculate the environmental benefits of teleworking (working partially at home instead of in the organisation's office) using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology.
Teleworking Life Cycle Analysis (PDF, 987KB)
Towards a High-Bandwidth, Low-Carbon Future: Telecommunications-based Opportunities to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions
This report outlines seven opportunities where telecommunications networks could help reduce Australia's carbon emissions by almost five per cent per annum by 2015 and deliver up to $6.6 billion a year in financial savings for Australian businesses and households.
Telstra's video miles trial (PDF, 373KB)
- See our Environment Policy (PDF 53KB)
