Today’s societies need concrete and innovative solutions to help accelerate the ecological transition. From 27 to 29 May 2021, the fourth ChangeNOW international conference will bring together world-leading innovation companies in a 100% virtual format to present their environmental solutions. As partners of this event, we firmly believe that digital technology has a central role to play in combatting climate change, and we’re marking the occasion by launching the “Orange eco-course”, a low-tech and interactive experience that shows our environmental commitment.
Since 2017, ChangeNOW has provided a platform for showcasing environmental solutions designed by entrepreneurs, private and public companies and NGOs. From 27 to 29 May 2021, individuals and professionals will come together online to take part in virtual roundtables, interactive conferences, pitches, demos and networking spaces.
As a partner of ChangeNOW 2021, Orange is already responding to the climate challenge and our environmental commitment is central to our Engage 2025 strategic plan. We’ve committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2040, 10 years earlier than the objectives set by the rest of the telecommunications sector. For us, ChangeNOW 2021 is an opportunity to show the concrete progress we’re making in this area.
Digital solutions at the heart of the ecological transition
We believe digital technology has a central role to play in environmental innovation. During the summit, we’ll be highlighting the journey of 20 start-ups who we are working with in sectors such as energy efficiency, health, digital inclusion and the circular economy to show how we support entrepreneurship with a positive impact.
We also help our customers adopt a greener approach when it comes to technology, raising awareness of more eco-friendly practices and mobile phone recycling initiatives. Our “RE” program, launched in October 2020, strengthens our approach to the circular economy as by 2025, 10% of our sales will be for refurbished smartphones.
To reduce our own CO2 emissions, we’re also upgrading our fixed and mobile networks. For example, 5G offers greater energy efficiency compared to the 4G network when carrying the same amount of traffic, and it will enable many other sectors to reduce their environmental impact too. We’re increasing the amount of renewable energy we use in our overall energy mix, increasing to 50% by 2025 compared to 18% today.