Virgin Mobile Middle East and Africa (VMMEA) announced that it has achieved net zero carbon emissions across all of its own operations. Through its partnership with Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence, VMMEA gathered and assessed available data under Scope 1 (direct), Scope 2 (indirect energy), and Scope 3 (indirect value chain) to calculate its group-wide total emissions. The emissions calculations were used to create and implement sustainable processes for the year-on-year reduction of VMMEA's overall emissions.
As part of its ongoing sustainability efforts, VMMEA has already eliminated more than 50 tonnes of single-use plastic across the region, with operations in Oman and Saudi Arabia now being 100% single-use plastic free. This was mainly achieved by removing 100% of the single-use plastic from all SIM packs and recharge cards, with further sustainable steps taken that have resulted in a 75% decrease in plastic used for each SIM card by reducing the size of SIM cards from a credit-card sized to a quarter card, and an estimated 30-40% reduction in energy consumption by using recycled paper for SIM card packaging.
VMMEA has also implemented sustainable practices in its offices, such as policies related to business travel, reduce and reuse, energy efficiency, and sustainability awareness and education, and invested in nature-based solutions to offset its remaining Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions annually, thereby reaching net zero carbon emissions. VMMEA will plant thousands of trees in school locations through Carbon Footprint Ltd. to not only support local wildlife habitats, but also help educate children understand the importance of natural eco-systems that will help everyone on our planet thrive. For each tCO2e offset, a tree is planted with an additional tCO2e offset from a VCS (Verified Carbon Standard) Tree Buddying project to guarantee a reduction in emissions.
Further in its quest to achieve a negative carbon footprint, VMMEA will launch an app feature enabling all customers to offset their carbon footprint with each purchase via the Virgin Mobile app later this year.
Erik Dudman Nielsen, founder & group chief executive officer at Virgin Mobile Middle East & Africa, commented, “As a digital trail blazer, our focus has always been to make mobile better, not just through our services but also through driving positive social and environmental impact. We are proud to achieve net zero carbon emissions with the support of our partners at Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence and look forward to introducing new initiatives to provide our customers with the opportunity to join us on our journey to becoming a carbon negative business while doing their part for the environment.
With sustainability as a core business focus, VMMEA continues to prioritise the wellbeing of people and the planet through a multitude of initiatives across the business.