Virgin Media O2 has published a long-term Green Transition Plan setting out how it intends to cut emissions, strengthen climate resilience, and extend the life of technology across its business.
The telecoms operator said the plan supports the climate and circularity focus areas of its new Responsible Business Plan and reflects a fuller approach to the lifecycle of its operations, from network build and operation to the impact of products and services.
The plan includes a target to reduce Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 90% by 2030 and Scope 3 emissions by 50% by the same date. Virgin Media O2 said it has already reduced Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 63% against its 2020 baseline.
The company is also targeting net zero carbon emissions across its full value chain by the end of 2040. Other commitments include sourcing 100% carbon-free energy from UK sources, improving energy efficiency, and building and operating more climate-resilient broadband and mobile networks.
Circularity is a central part of the plan. Virgin Media O2 wants to give more devices a second life through repair, refurbishment, recycling, and resale as “like new” products. It aims to double the number of people buying refurbished devices from the company by 2030 and double the number of people recycling unwanted devices through O2 Recycle by the same year.
The company also said it will champion a device reuse culture in 30 cities by 2030, building on its partnership with Coventry City Council. The aim is to keep technology in use for longer, support digital inclusion, and reduce electronic waste.
Dana Haidan, chief sustainability officer at Virgin Media O2, said: “Our Green Transition Plan is a milestone in Virgin Media O2’s journey to become a more resilient, lower carbon business.
“It’s a long-term commitment backed with action across many interconnected areas where we’re working to reach net zero, give technology a second life, and build and operate climate-resilient networks.
“Embedding responsible business into every decision Virgin Media O2 makes is key, as we reduce our environmental impact, help protect the planet, and keep our customers connected.”
The plan is underpinned by 14 transition levers, including work with suppliers to cut carbon and waste from network and customer equipment, sourcing carbon-free energy, improving device energy efficiency, and continued network investment.
Virgin Media O2 also highlighted external dependencies, including the decarbonisation of the UK electricity grid and the development of a government-led national strategy to support commercial fleet electrification.
The plan shows how climate commitments are becoming part of infrastructure strategy rather than a separate sustainability exercise. Telecoms operators are exposed to energy demand, network equipment, customer devices, data traffic growth, field engineering fleets, supplier emissions, and physical climate risks such as heat, flooding, and storms.
Connectivity is becoming more energy-intensive as data use grows and networks move towards higher-capacity mobile and broadband infrastructure. Operators therefore need to reduce emissions while continuing to invest in service reliability, coverage, resilience, and digital capacity.
Climate resilience is a particularly demanding part of the plan. Net zero strategies have often focused on emissions trajectories, but telecoms networks also need to adapt to physical disruption. Extreme heat can affect equipment performance. Flooding can damage infrastructure. Severe weather can interrupt field operations and service continuity.
The circularity commitments reflect a wider shift in technology sustainability. Smartphones, tablets, routers, consoles, and network hardware carry embedded emissions and material demand. Extending product life, increasing refurbishment, and improving recycling can reduce waste and soften demand for critical materials.
The broader reporting environment is also becoming more granular. CDP’s recent addition of an ocean disclosure category showed how environmental disclosure is extending into more specific dependencies, impacts, supply chain engagement, targets, and board oversight. Virgin Media O2’s plan follows the same demand for clearer targets, defined levers, and closer links between sustainability and operating resilience.
The supplier dimension will be difficult. Scope 3 emissions are often the largest part of a telecoms company’s footprint, covering equipment manufacturing, logistics, customer devices, construction, maintenance, and downstream use. Cutting Scope 3 emissions by 50% by 2030 will depend on supplier engagement, procurement standards, product design, and better data.
There is also a commercial dimension to refurbished devices. Reuse and recycling can create lower-cost customer options, deepen retention, reduce supply exposure, and open additional revenue streams in a market where consumers remain sensitive to device and contract costs.
The plan will now be judged on delivery. Companies are more willing to publish transition plans, but investors, regulators, customers, and campaigners increasingly expect evidence of capital alignment, governance, interim progress, and measurable reductions. For a telecoms operator, the test is whether emissions reduction, device circularity, network investment, and resilience planning can advance together rather than compete for budget.
Virgin Media O2’s Green Transition Plan places sustainability inside the core infrastructure challenge facing the sector: keeping customers connected as networks carry more data, weather risk increases, and the environmental cost of technology becomes more visible.
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