The Carbon Trust Standard is an independent certification which recognises organisations that successfully measure, manage and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, water use and waste.

O2 energy manager Vijay Chouhan said: “This is a great achievement for O2 and recognition of all the hard work that goes on around the business in order to reduce our environmental impact.

“From day to day operations to upstream and downstream supply chains, right through to our products and services, we believe that it is important to invest in reducing our footprint.”

Think Big

The Carbon Trust certification was based on O2’s Think Big sustainability blueprint, which held over 40 commitments, including:

Charger out of the box – Mobile phones are now sold without chargers as standard, to reduce the amount of environmental waste that spare and unnecessary chargers create

Universal chargers are energy efficient and compatible with over 96% of the O2 product range

O2 Recycle lets people trade in old phones and other electronic gadgets for up to £260. Devices are processed for re-use or recycling, or stripped down for responsible disposal

O2 Refresh splits the cost of the phone and the airtime, meaning that customers can upgrade early and recycle their old handset, or keep their handset, saving money and the planet’s resources

Electronic waste recycling – When customers buy a new electronic product with O2, they will take back the customer’s old one on a like-for-like basis.

SIM-only deals mean that customers can save the planet’s resources by extending the life of their old handset

Paperless billing saves over 139 million sheets of paper from being consumed every year

Last month Rupert Murdoch’s News UK earned the Triple Standard certification, while in July Bentley became the first automotive company to achieve the prestigious standard.

Brad Allen

Action inspires action. Stay ahead of the curve with sustainability and energy newsletters from edie

Subscribe