According to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, up to 40% of the planet's land areas are degraded, directly affecting half of the world's population. The number and duration of drought periods have increased by 29% since 2000. For this reason, World Environment Day this year focuses on broadening the basis for a well-informed public opinion and for the conduct of individuals, businesses, and communities inspired by a sense of their responsibility regarding the conservation and improvement of the environment.
Cellnex, as a company committed to reducing its environmental impact, has not only planned to decouple its electricity supply from fossil fuel dependence by 2025, but has also carried out several initiatives to make efficient use of natural resources, extend the useful life of products, and properly treat waste, prioritizing its reintroduction into the production cycle. These principles are the basis of the Circular Economy.
Individuals, businesses, and communities are called upon to develop a sense of responsibility regarding the conservation and improvement of the environmentThe circular economy seeks to keep the value of products, materials, and resources in the economy for as long as possible, and to minimize waste generation. It is about implementing a new, circular—not linear—economy, based on the principle of close the life cycleof products, services, waste, materials, water, and energy."Since Cellnex's inception, we have integrated Circular Economy principles into our business model, which is based on infrastructure sharing, which promotes a more efficient and sustainable use of resources," comments Yolanda Romero,Head of Environment and Climate Changeof Cellnex.
To work in line with these principles of circularity and reduce the environmental impact generated by its activity, Cellnex carried out a first Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of its TIS (Telecommunications Infrastructure Services) centers, the results of which have been published in the 2023 Environment and Climate Change Report. The analysis allowed identifying critical points of products and services, minimizing risks at each stage, and enhancing opportunities for material and energy circularity. In 2023, this Life Cycle Assessment methodology has been applied to another business object: data centers. In this study, the data centers of Roanne, Le Mans, and Lille, in France, were evaluated to obtain information extrapolable to the rest of the centers.
After identifying the environmental impact of TIS centers, the company continues with the purpose of researching, proposing, and implementing ecodesign measures that reduce the impact of these centers, thus contributing to a circular economy. With the Life Cycle Assessment of Data Centers exercise, the aim is to carry out an exercise similar to what has been done with TIS centers. "Ecodesign is a branch of the Circular Economy that seeks the development of products that prevent and reduce environmental impacts throughout a product's life cycle from a design perspective," comments Romero.
The development of these strategies has been worked on jointly by the sustainability, operations, maintenance, and purchasing areas; with participants from several countries where the company operates, creating a working group that has shared opinions, experiences, and recommendations on the proposals defined in the ecodesign project to jointly classify them as short-term or long-term actions, in addition to analyzing whether they can be applied globally or locally. Short-term applicable proposals such as changing light bulbs to LED or using recycled materials; or long-term measures such as using aluminum-air batteries or generating photovoltaic energy.
With all this, individuals, companies and communities are called upon to develop their sense of responsibility regarding the conservation and improvement of the environment, to stop desertification and strengthen drought resilience under the motto Our lands. Our future. We are #GenerationRestoration proposed by the United Nations.