NGMN publishes new reporting guidance to accelerate carbon emissions reductions in mobile industry
Düsseldorf, Germany, 21 May 2025 – The Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance (NGMN) today released new guidance to support more effective carbon emissions reduction in the mobile industry through improved reporting practices and stronger collaboration.
The publication, “Green Future Networks: Environmental Sustainability and Reporting”, offers practical recommendations for addressing Scope 3 emissions – those generated across the broader value chain – which represent approximately 90% of total emissions for mobile network operators (MNOs)1.
NGMN advocates for a shift toward using primary (unit-based) emissions factors rather than traditional financial (price-based) ones to enhance reporting accuracy. The guidance also emphasises the need for greater collaboration and industry-wide alignment of calculation methods.
“Tackling Scope 3 emissions is one of the greatest challenges for our industry — and it can only be done through stronger collaboration across the value chain,” said Laurent Leboucher, Chairman of the NGMN Alliance Board and Orange Group CTO and EVP Networks. “This new guidance marks an important step toward more accurate, transparent reporting and provides a clear path for the industry to prioritise meaningful carbon reduction.”
The publication assesses the current state of sustainability reporting across MNO value chains and outlines challenges faced by both operators and infrastructure suppliers in addressing Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions — those originating from the value chain rather than sources directly controlled by the companies. It highlights key issues such as data availability, accuracy, and inconsistent estimation approaches, all of which impact emissions reporting.
The guidance calls for emissions reporting based on unit-based emission factors – calculated by multiplying a specific factor per unit of product or category by the number of units used – which provide greater accuracy than spend-based methods. This shift will require closer collaboration among value chain partners to improve data sharing and align calculation methods.
“Reducing emissions across the value chain requires close collaboration with our supply chain partners to identify the main sources of emissions,” said Saima Ansari, GFN Project Lead and CR Segment Lead, Technology & Innovation at Deutsche Telekom. “By working together to ensure we all have access to accurate data on emissions factors and energy mix, we can better assess our carbon footprints and take targeted action to meet our reduction goals.”
The publication also reviews key standards and regulatory frameworks, explores their interrelationships, and recommends that stakeholders stay aligned with and actively contribute to the evolving regulatory landscape.
“Since 2021, our Green Future Networks programme has brought together operators, vendors and academia from around the world to collaborate, share insights and co-develop strategic guidance on one of the most critical issues facing our industry,” said Anita Doehler, CEO of the NGMN Alliance. “We are proud of our members’ continued commitment to advancing sustainability.”
The publication can be downloaded from here.
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1 Averaged value based on data from leading international operators and their suppliers, as reported in their ESG reports in 2023.
