Telefonica wants half its electricity consumption to come from renewable energy by 2020, saving the company €90 million.

By 2030, 100 per cent of the electricity the operator uses in its operations will come from clean sources, it added.

The group also pledged to reduce energy consumption per traffic unit by half and achieve a 5 per cent decrease in Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. Ultimately, the company aims to eliminate all non-renewable electricity usage by 2030.

To meet these targets Telefonica will make enhancements to its existing energy efficiency programme, promote a reduction in fuel usage and introduce new energy-saving technology into its infrastructure.

This latest drive follows its 2010-2015 project, which focused on the reduction of emissions and energy saving in its offices and network and led to an energy intensity reduction of 25 per cent.

Its latest set of targets are aligned to international climate change directives, which aim to limit the rise in temperature to 2°C.

Telefonica president José María Alvarez-Pallete said: “These objectives respond perfectly to Telefonica’s growth strategy and network deployment: to do more with less and have the most efficient and clean network in the sector in terms of energy and carbon.”

As well as reducing its own carbon footprint, the company talked up how its IoT and Big Data solutions can help other companies reduce their environmental impact.