Indian telecommunications company Bharti Airtel emphasises sustainability as it strives to deliver environmentally friendly technology. There are multiple instances to support this, with Airtel 5G Plus being a notable example. When Airtel launched its 5G services, the company stated that its 5G technology is more energy-efficient. According to Airtel's website, energy consumption per GB of data transmitted over its 5G network is significantly lower than that of the prevailing 4G technology.
Also Read: Bharti Airtel Launches Green 5G Initiative to Enhance Energy Efficiency
Airtel’s Solarisation Efforts
In a recent progress update, Gopal Vittal, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Bharti Airtel Limited shared during the company's Q2 (for the period ending September 30, 2024) earnings call that Airtel solarised over 3,500 sites in the quarter and approximately 24,800 sites over the past five quarters.
"Our efforts to reduce the environmental impact have led to a savings of over 2 million litres of diesel per month over the last two years resulting in approximately 5.8 tonnes of CO2 emissions eliminated monthly. This has been achieved with the deployment of lithium-ion and valve-regulating lead acid batteries and other measures," Gopal noted.
Collaboration with Nokia
Additionally, Airtel recently collaborated with Nokia on energy-efficient solutions and practices for Airtel's mobile network, with an anticipated reduction in Airtel's carbon emissions by an estimated 143,000 metric tonnes of CO2 annually.
Also Read: Nxtra by Airtel Boosts Renewable Energy Use by 41 Percent
Nxtra Data Centers Environmental Milestones
This commitment extends beyond Airtel's Mobility business. The company's data center arm, Nxtra, reportedly achieved a 4 percent reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions compared to FY21, despite a 25 percent increase in power consumption.
"We have over 220 megawatts of renewable energy usage, a 41 percent increase over FY23. Nxtra also saved over 160,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions via various initiatives. We are proud that all our hyperscale data centers have reached IGBC Gold Certification reflecting our commitment to sustainability in construction," Vittal added.
Nxtra has also joined the global RE100 initiative, committing to sourcing 100 percent renewable electricity. With this, Nxtra became the only data centre organisation in India to commit to RE100 and the 14th Indian company to do so, Airtel said in June.
