Vocus joins growing number of tech firms with net zero targets

Vocus is working with its third-party data centre providers to determine the optimal process for managing emissions associated with their facilities.

The company announced this week that it has set a target to achieve net zero carbon emissions across its operations in 2025.

Vocus “recognises that its emissions footprint extends beyond its direct operations” and is setting further targets to “help to manage its impacts right across its value chain (scopes 1, 2 and 3)”, it stated this week.

So it has begun a scope 3 screening process to assess and quantify its indirect (scope 3) emissions profile.

Data centres account for 88 percent of Vocus’s scope 2 emissions (generated by purchased electricity) in 2019, compared to 6 percent for its offices.

Two percent of Vocus’s baseline electricity use was attributed to fuel used by Vocus’ vehicle fleet and network infrastructure, and “fugitive emissions” associated with refrigerant use within large-scale cooling systems.

To achieve net zero, Vocus is prioritising reducing underlying scope 2 emissions by consolidating its data centre footprint and pursuing energy efficiency and abatement opportunities across its operations – including initiatives to reduce data centre emissions by a further 15 per cent from its 2019 baseline.

It also aims to buy all its electricity from renewable sources by the end of 2025.  

And it plans on obtaining Australian Carbon Credit Units to offset its residual emissions by the end of 2025.

A growing number of Australian and global technology companies have announced net zero targets, incuding the likes of Atlassian, NextDC, Microsoft, Intel, Telstra, Optus, Amazon, Lenovo and Accenture.

In August 2022 Microsoft announced its data centre region in New Zealand would be powered by “carbon-zero certified” electricity when it launched.

Last year, Lendlease announced it would exit its data centres and would partner with Google Cloud as part of its pledge to reach net-zero.

The ACCC recently warned it is looking to clamp down on 'greenwashing' and that companies should be prepared to substantiate environmental or sustainability claims they make as part of their marketing activities.