Nokia admits it is ‘not on track’ to meet 2030 target but bets on exponential decarbonisation

Nokia has announced a new target to achieve net zero emissions by 2040, despite admitting that it is “not on track” to meet its 2030 science-based target to halve emissions across all scopes.

The telco is aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030 from a 2019 baseline – a target that was validated by the Science-Based Targets initiative in 2021. Its latest sustainability report shows that total Scope 1, Scope 2 market-based and Scope 3 emissions amounted to about 35.4 million tonnes in 2023 – 10.8% less than in 2019. 

Despite this apparent improvement, the company believes its 2023 carbon footprint is still too close to its baseline and admits the 2030 science-based target is “not on track with a linear reduction trajectory”. 

About 97% of Nokia’s carbon footprint comes from the use of sold products – specifically the electricity used to operate its devices and solutions.

“While we continue to accelerate innovations in product energy efficiency and supplier collaboration, the availability and take-up of renewable energy by Nokia’s customers must rapidly increase to support the achievement of the interim target,” says its sustainability report. 

Nokia’s 2040 net zero target

Nokia, which saw net sales drop by 11% last year amid a “challenging environment”, is a firm believer that decarbonisation will accelerate dramatically in the coming years – and has now committed to achieving net zero emissions across its entire value chain by 2040 – 10 years before its previously stated pledge.

The telco has submitted its net zero letter of commitment to the SBTi, and plans to meet its new goal through product design and innovation to improve energy efficiency, switching to renewable electricity across its operations and supply chain, improving materials circularity and investing in carbon removals.

President and CEO Pekka Lundmark explained: “Our new emission reduction targets show that net zero is a business priority for Nokia. We already help our telecoms customers to decarbonise by building sustainable, high-performance networks, and we work with a rapidly growing range of enterprise partners to reduce emissions and improve productivity. That journey will only accelerate, as Nokia launches more energy efficient solutions in next generation mobile, fixed, IP and optical networks and in software, silicon and systems.”