PARTNER FEATURE: ZTE recently published a report mapping out its sustainability progress in 2023. The publication marked the 16th consecutive year it has voluntarily disclosed its internal sustainability reporting to the public since 2009.
In an interview with Mobile World Live (MWL), ZTE explained its sustainable development efforts stretch across three sectors: environmental; social; and governance, all of which were achieved through welfare and infrastructure development projects across different markets in collaboration with industry peers, investors and public actors.
The vendor stated in the report that its sustainability practices are anchored by its “Tech for Good” strategy designed to promote “human-centric” values at the centre of development, distribution and application of all its solutions.
This method, ZTE noted, underpins its formation of a “digital and intelligent ecosystem” expected to benefit social development, industrial revolution and the well-being of people. It also carved out a separate strategy dubbed SPIRE 2.0, made to ensure a resilient, ethical and environmentally friendly supply chain ecosystem.
Towards a greener world
In its 2023 sustainability report, ZTE outlined milestones from various green initiatives. Notably, the vendor achieved a 9.7 per cent year-on-year decrease of absolute greenhouse gas emissions in all three scopes across its value chain, a reduction equivalent to mitigating more than 7 million tonnes of carbon emissions.
ZTE credited its commitment to green operations and “logistics efforts” for the progress, which involved a thorough carbon reduction audit of more than 150 suppliers, a practice which led to a 3.26 per cent reduction in “carbon emissions intensity”.
The vendor explained it maximised efforts to establish a green supply chain ecosystem by completing carbon footprint assessments for over a hundred of its products encompassing all categories, noting it holds more than 650 green patents to date.
In May 2023, ZTE also announced its participation in the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi), a body established by non-profit organisations including the United Nations Global Compact and World Resources Institute to help companies achieve a more sustainable operation. By joining SBTi, ZTE hopes to accomplish “operational” carbon neutrality in 2040 and comprehensive net-zero in 2050.
As part of its “green operation” agenda, ZTE explained it set up a comprehensive lifecycle management for its electronic devices, a scheme enabling its products to be reworked, repaired and reassembled. This led to a 92 per cent “direct reuse rate of returned materials in 2023”, the company reported.
Beyond sustainable supply chain operations, the vendor claimed it recorded over 700 per cent year-on-year growth for photovoltaic power generation installed capacity last year, noting it also deployed its new Digital Nebula cloud architecture – a system made to support application of autonomous networks – to provide digital solutions for smart power plants, as already done in the Shandong and Guangdong province, ZTE explained.
Tech for Good
Meanwhile under its wider corporate social responsibility principles, ZTE noted it made a pledge to deliver “long-term efforts to drive digital transformation and high-quality connectivity” across least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and small island developing states.
In its report, the vendor pledges to construct ICT infrastructure worth of 400 million dollars annually for markets of these categories, partnering with local operators and authorities to deliver the projects and “close the global digital divide”.
For example, ZTE teamed with MTN Zambia to build the first ultra-100G fibre backbone in the country’s southern parts, while continuing to develop advanced digital communications networks. In Bangladesh, the vendor has an ongoing agreement with operator Banglalink to modernise the country’s network infrastructure in line with the Smart Bangladesh vision set by the government.
It has deployed over 8000 wireless base stations in Nigeria, and has established the first independent 5G commercial network in Africa with the launch of the technology in South Africa. In South Sudan, it has provided training and internship opportunities through a partnership with the University of Juba.
The company added it “actively participates in industry events and international bodies to collaboratively drive global sustainability” and has been recognised by the ITU as one of the first pioneers of “Partners2Connect Champions” , aimed at delivering connectivity to the world.
Further, in its commitment to an ethical value chain, ZTE explained it deploys a “full lifecycle supplier CSR governance system” which assesses its suppliers’ practices in relation to labour rights, health and safety, environmental protection, business ethics and conflict mineral management, among other metrics.
The vendor explained it routinely conducts an internal review “to determine whether to suspend collaborations or cancel qualifications” for suppliers demonstrating poor performance and results. ZTE reported it has no supplier or subcontractor involved in “child labour or forced labour”.
Looking ahead
ZTE told MWL its key sustainability agenda for 2024 is to continue its focus on dual carbon – carbon neutrality and carbon peak – as a “key area of its sustainable development efforts”, branding the initiative as a “top-level project”.
This means the company is set to build new energy infrastructure, improve energy efficiency for its products and enhance “team capabilities to ensure ZTE can fulfill our science-based targets and promote global sustainable development”.
Further, it highlighted its continued contributions “to the industry-wide goal of carbon neutrality”, citing a deployment of its green innovation which blends solar energy, methanol-powered hydrogen fuel cells and “intelligent energy storage” for Telefonica Deutschland’s telecoms site, as part of a partnership struck earlier this year.