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We have set out some best practices and recommendations for mobile phone ownership to reduce the environmental impact and wanted to see what the networks are already doing, reviewing their environmental efforts such as their carbon footprint and what steps they are taking to move toward a more sustainable business.
We can of course look at how the networks are running their stores or how the infrastructure affects their carbon footprint. Many of these large companies have committed to reduce carbon emissions of their own impact in operations and supply in accordance with the Paris Agreement.
But we want more from the networks, to take real ownership in reducing the environmental impact of their customers.
Around 75% mobile phones are sold on a contract basis in the UK and there are 63.5 million active mobile phone subscriptions in the UK. With the following Networks and Virtual Network Operators, how might you go about choosing a greener option of phone contract?
We have ranked the major network operators based on the options they provide on buying new contracts.
Virgin Media and O2 have now joined forces and offers 24 month contracts on all phones, refurbished and brand new. They have a clear “Blueprint” for providing a sustainable service, and seem to be dedicated on highlighting their sustainability goals which include how they are working towards becoming net zero and encouraging a circular economy.
However they are more environmentally conscious with the products they are offering. There is an option to have a two year contract on all of their mobile phones. The same prolonged contract is offered on refurbished mobile phones, perfect for the environmentally conscious individual.
Although the second most popular network in the UK no longer offer 36 month contracts, it's still great to see that there is an option for a 24 month contract on refurbished phones for those who want to go with the "greener option".
EE are owned by BT, and combined they are the most popular network in the UK. They claim to be devoted to reducing their own carbon emission by 87% by 2030 but is that a realistic goal?
Again, we encourage companies to think about their internal infrastructure, but kerbing supply and slowing down the rate of which people upgrade to a brand-new phone would go some way to cutting down the emissions a year caused by mobile phones.
In our recommendations, we suggest offering 36 month contracts as a way to spread the emissions of production over a longer period, and unfortunately EE do not offer 36 month contracts, however, they do offer “good as new phones”. But details on whether these are traditionally refurbished or phones sent back in the 14 day cool off under the Consumer Contracts Regulations and Consumer Credit Act are unavailable.
They claim to be supporting a low carbon economy by providing better communications technology and solutions that have an ongoing effect to reduce other businesses emissions. Claiming to have saved an estimated 3.5 million tonnes of CO2-e with these solutions.
This is clear that their commitment reflects this, on the consumer side, they are offering 12, 24 and 36 month contracts on brand new mobile phones and greener options such as refurbished mobile phones.
Three have made steps into reducing the output of the infrastructure by being the first organisation to share the infrastructure with another network alongside EE. Similar to the statement made by EE they focus on “managing their own footprint, and supporting customers to live more sustainably”.
However on the consumer side, Three severely lack in an environmental commitment by not offering a greener model of contracts, the 36 month contracts or buying a contract with a refurbished device. Leaving them firmly at the bottom of our review of the top networks.
In addition to the four main operators, there are virtual network operators that piggyback off the infrastructure of the big networks. These generally price competitively, let’s assess their environmentally friendly contracts on offer.
We can see that two of the VNOs are offering either 36 month contracts OR contracts for refurbished phones, with only iD Mobile and Asda Mobile not offering either.
As we discussed in the smartphone impact report, around 80% of the total lifetime greenhouse gas emissions from a mobile phone are created in the mining and production.
So when buying a new phone, the longer someone can commit to keeping that phone, the lower the overall greenhouse gas emissions will be per year!
Right now, 36 month contracts are not enticing for the networks as the model is to get someone signed up on a new contract as soon as possible, and they are not enticing for the consumer because they are then tasked with keeping a phone in good condition for three years and will have, what is perceived to be “outdated tech” by the time they are able to renew.
VNO's are inclined to only offer the contracts similar to their parent network operator, that leaves only the ones under O2 to be able to offer 36 month contracts, but when we look at the table, only Tesco Mobile provide this as an option alongside EE network.
Manufacturers are not inclined to encourage three-year contracts because they want their customers to be locked into a loop of buying a brand-new phone every couple of years. But as we saw, this creates further strain on the supply of the raw materials of rare metals.
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