At Telstra, we interact with nature every day - when we construct or maintain our telecommunications network, or when we provide technology solutions to customers. We have infrastructure in every ecosystem – from deserts to rainforests, and to remote islands. We also depend on resources from nature - such as the metals and minerals used to manufacture technology and the wood used to make cardboard for our product packaging.
Nature underpins our global economy, with more than half of the world’s economic output dependent on it1Refer to 1 below. Nature gives us clean air, food, medicines, fibres and resources to power and support our way of life. It also helps to regulate the climate and protect us from its impacts - like floods. Just as important is the spiritual connection that wild places, wildlife and natural ecosystems provide.
We believe it’s critical to protect our natural assets – not just because we depend on them, but because we want to protect these special places and ecosystems for generations to come.
We have a role to play and are committed to doing our part and helping our customers do the same.
1 Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) Recommendations publication.
Telstra has ownership in an extensive underwater network of subsea cables which span more than 400,000 kilometres, interacting with deep and shallow water ocean ecosystems. These cables rest on the ocean floor and connect Australia to the world.
Cables can provide an anchoring for vegetation or corals which may otherwise not be able to connect with the soft ocean floor. Subsequently, an artificial reef can be established on and around subsea cables, increasing marine biodiversity.
They can be home to whole ecosystems that rely on and use our infrastructure. We need to be careful when maintaining and expanding this network – so we don’t harm these ecosystems and its inhabitants in the process.
Our intercity fibre build crosses the country from city to city - across almost 14,000 kilometres. We’re working with Prysmian to deliver high-spec fibre optic cable that is 59% smaller in area and 54% lighter in weight than those currently employed across our network, resulting in approximately 10,000 tonnes less plastic over the course of the project. This has allowed us to significantly increase our cable length on drums from 5km to around 12kms, meaning we need fewer trucks on the road to transport the cable.
The cable also uses a dual plough method that minimises earth disturbance and impact to flora and fauna across the route. Our teams work on the ground to assess ecosystem impacts and work with First Nations communities to minimise impact from our operations. We also interact with animals on a daily basis – from snakes in our pits, to camels seeking shade beside our vehicles.
As part of the initial steps to build our intercity fibre network, we undertake ecological studies to measure and plan to avoid or reduce the impacts of construction where possible. During an ecological study in remote Western Australia near Balladonia, the team discovered an isolated population of the Chequered Copper butterfly. This was the first time this species has been recorded in Western Australia - more than 1700km west of the nearest known population in South Australia.
The discovery was reported in a paper authored by Sujan M. Henkanaththegedara and published in the Western Australian Naturalist Journal in 2023. Ecological studies such as this one provides us with vital information to measure and remediate our impact and can also deliver opportunities to better understand the breadth of ecological diversity across Australia.
We have invested in Farmbot which is an Australian Agritech company that helps farmers manage their water assets. Farmbot’s monitoring solutions leverage our connectivity solutions and are applied to a range of water storage systems, enabling remote monitoring of water tanks, troughs, pipelines and rainfall. Increased water efficiency using remote monitoring solutions takes out the need to manually travel to check water systems, making farmers more efficient and allowing them to use valuable saved time on other important jobs.
We can also use IoT technology to monitor leaks in water supply networks – and to track and signal for waste bins to be emptied - helping to reduce plastic and other waste being released to natural lands and waters.
We’re proud to be an early-adopter of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures. This is a global framework for disclosing the ways in which we are understanding and responding to nature-related risks and opportunities. Find out more on our reports page.
