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We set ourselves the goal of reducing our Scope 1 and 2 emissions of 366 369 tonnes of CO2 emissions at 31 March 2009 by an estimated 73 000 tonnes, or about 20% by 31 March 2013 (assuming no growth in number of sites). We aim to do this by investing in new technologies, free cooling, and using alternative energy sources such as generator-battery power hybrid units, and wind and solar generation for remote base station sites.

 

We are part of the Vodafone Green Energy trial, which is a three-year strategic roadmap aimed at significantly reducing fossil fuel and electricity consumption. The plan aims to save costs and lower CO2 emissions related to network infrastructure. Based on these trials, we calculated we can realise up to 70% savings in energy consumption at 3G base stations, and 40% at 2G base stations.

 

We’re proud to say that we’re deploying the technologies that we and our suppliers have developed. It is now possible to build a site powered by renewable energy that makes economic sense. This allows us to service undeveloped areas not on the electricity grid, with the bare minimum environmental footprint.

 

Investment in new technologies

 

We are running two networks in parallel in all our countries (except DRC) – 2G and 3G networks.

 

We have started with the RAN swap process in South Africa, Tanzania, DRC and Lesotho, to upgrade our networks and replace them with more cost and energy-efficient components. In South Africa a third our network has been upgraded and we plan to complete this over the next two to three years. The annualised electricity savings from the base station sites already swapped is 33 GWh.

 

Free cooling

 

Free cooling means that we upgrade our network components to withstand higher temperatures and install individual battery coolers rather than cooling the whole facility. In South Africa, almost a third of our sites make use of free cooling, which has resulted in annualised energy savings of an estimated 11 GWh. In 2012 we plan to implement free cooling at another 1 000 sites.

 

Alternative energy sources

 

Diesel is used in powering some of our base stations. This is mostly in our International operations, where base stations are often not connected to the national grid, or where diesel is used for providing backup power. Converting to generator-battery hybrid power units can help us reduce diesel consumption. Intelligent controls monitor and control power from the electricity grid, batteries and generator by utilising the most effective source available. In South Africa, all off grid generators are being converted to hybrid systems to reduce fuel consumption and extend the generator life by as much as four times.

 

Alternative energy sources have been more widely used in our International operations, but we have started rolling this out in South Africa to boost energy savings. We now have 13 of these units and are planning to roll out at least another 100 in the next year.

 

We have looked at reducing diesel consumption even further by adding wind power to our hybrid sites. We have a pilot site in South Africa and if it proves effective we will roll it out to more sites this year. These will all be in coastal areas where there is enough wind. We are also looking at solar-powered base stations in rural areas where the sites are off the national grid. Solar panel theft remains a challenge though, so we only have three of them in place at the moment.

 

We also make use of fuel cells (using either pure hydrogen or methanol-water) as alternative energy sources for our base stations. We have 90(#) sites using pure hydrogen fuel cells instead of generators for backup power, and are using methanol-water fuel cells at two sites.

 

Infrastructure sharing

 

Wherever possible we share our network sites with other operators, which helps to reduce our CO2 emissions and operating expenses. It also eases pressure on planning authorities as they need to do fewer site reviews. We’ve reviewed network sharing opportunities in all our markets. We share more than half of our sites with other network operators in South Africa. Most of these are passive sharing agreements where we share sites and infrastructure but not network equipment. In South Africa and Tanzania we share our networks with other operators under roaming agreements.

 

Making our buildings and operations greener

 

Buildings account for 43.3% of our total CO₂ emissions (based on our 2010 CDP calculations for Scope 2 emissions).

 

We are a registered member of the Green Building Council of South Africa and we’ve started making our buildings more energy-efficient, fitting automatic switches that turn off lights and air conditioners outside working hours. We also use sensors that switch off lights when a room is vacant for a set time and energy-efficient light bulbs. Our head office makes use of sunlight deflection to stay cool.

 

We also aim to reduce our consumption of water and paper. Last year we reduced the number of water ponds on our campuses and eliminated the fountain sprays, reducing our water usage. The increase in water consumption this year is largely as a result of improved measurement.

 

We encourage greater use of video and audio conferencing to reduce our CO₂ emissions from travelling.

 

Our network makes up the biggest portion of our environmental impact, and is therefore the focus of our energy saving initiatives. But we realise that small changes in buildings and operations can have a positive effect that over time makes a big difference.

 

	Year ended 31 March
	2011	2010	2009
Water per employee (kl)(#)	47.2	39.2	43.0
Water total (kl)(#)	250 903	209 576	216 721
Paper per employee (avg kg)(#)	26.0	39.6	34.6
Paper (kg)(#)	138 260	211 797	174 497