ABOUT IT
Since 2015, the year in which the Paris Agreement was established, the company has made voluntary commitments related to the low-carbon economy, with targets aimed at reducing emissions, renewable energy and energy consumed per volume of data trafficked on its network.
Vivo is the first Brazilian telecommunications company, and also one of the Telefónica Group, outside Europe to use 100% of renewable energy (since November 2018). Its energy consumption remains totally renewable, both due to its distributed generation project at low voltage and the energy obtained on the free market. The company's total consumption is supplemented by the acquisition of I-RECs (International Renewable Energy Certificates) from wind power.
Vivo is also the first company in the sector in Latin America to be carbon neutral in direct emissions (since 2019). The emissions it can't avoid are 100% offset, including Kyoto and Montreal Protocol gases, through carbon credits from projects that promote the protection of the Amazon rainforest. One of the projects it supports is REDD+ Vale do Jari, developed by the Jari Foundation and Biofílica S.A. The initiative monitors 1.18 million hectares against illegal invasions and deforestation and protects 65,000 hectares of native forest over a 30-year horizon.
The aim of the project from now on is to continue working to reduce total emissions by 90% by 2030 for scopes 1 and 2, and by 2040 including the entire value chain. Our plan is that the residual emissions, which could not be eliminated, will be neutralized in their entirety through nature-based solutions considering the removal of carbon from the atmosphere.
Vivo's CO2 emissions are verified externally every year and since 2012 it has received the gold seal in the Public Emissions Registry (Brazilian GHG Protocol Program).
Results and Objectives
Among the results Vivo has already achieved is the a 76% reduction in its direct CO2 and electricity emissions between 2015 and 2021mainly due to the use of renewable energy. This reduction has also enabled the company to make significant progress towards neutralizing 100% of its direct emissions - since 2019, more than 200,000 tCO2 have already been offset through the purchase of carbon credits, supporting projects that protect the forest and encourage renewable energies in Brazil.
Within the scope of conservation in the Amazon, the Vale do Jari REDD+ project was the first to receive funds from Vivo. The company's investments in this project have contributed to prevent the deforestation of approximately 360 hectares, covering more than 180 thousand trees.
This was possible mainly thanks to the actions within our Energy Efficiency Plan and Renewable Energy Plan:
- The efficiency plan allows us to decouple the growth of our business from energy consumption; in 2021, we achieved an improvement of 87% in our indicator of energy consumption per traffic (MWh/PB), resulting in 62.38 GWh savings in 2021 alone;
- As part of the renewables plan, at the end of 2018, 100% of electricity was consumed from renewable sources, significantly reducing emissions;
- With regard to our Scope 1 emissions, we highlight the reduction in fugitive emissions. We implemented improvements to the gas refilling processes at our technical sites throughout Brazil. The implementation of a new system has led to better data management, greater efficiency and reduced costs through better control of stock and materials in the field. A procedure for recovering refrigerant gas in the event of equipment repairs was also implemented.
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