Liberty Global (“Liberty Global”) (NASDAQ: LBTYA, LBTYB and LBTYK), one of the world’s leading converged video, broadband and communications companies, has further demonstrated its commitment to sustainability by signing on as a founding member of the European Green Digital Coalition.
The coalition has been set up by the European Union to support the use of digital technologies as a key enabler for climate action, environmental sustainability and helping to reach UN Sustainable Development Goals. The founding members were announced today by EU Commissioner Thierry Breton and the EU Presidency at the Digital Day 2021 event held in Lisbon, Portugal.
By signing the European Green Digital Declaration, companies commit to establishing science-based targets to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030 and becoming climate neutral no later than 2040 .
Companies signing the declaration also commit to:
- Investing in the development and deployment of green digital solutions with significant energy and material efficiency that achieve a net positive impact.
- Engaging with relevant organisations to develop standardised, credible and comparable assessment methodologies of the net impact on environment and climate of green digital solutions.
- Promoting cross-sectoral dialogue and contributing to the development of guidelines and recommendations for the deployment of green digital solutions, as well as encouraging workforce upskilling.
Mike Fries, CEO, Liberty Global, commented: “We’re proud to be a founding member of the European Green Digital Coalition. Digital technologies have a huge role to play in the fight against climate change and we look forward to utilising our networks and expertise to help deliver a greener and more sustainable future.”
Liberty Global’s signing of the declaration follows its recent inclusion in the S&P Sustainability Yearbook, one of the world's most respected publications providing in-depth analysis on corporate sustainability. Companies included in the Yearbook are chosen by completing the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessments (CSA), widely recognized as one of the most advanced ESG scoring methodologies.
Within the last six months alone, Liberty Global has also been awarded leadership status by CDP Global (formerly known as the Carbon Disclosure Project) in its annual survey into climate change and carbon emissions and was named one of the world’s most sustainable companies through its inclusion in the influential Dow Jones Sustainability World index for the eighth year.
Liberty Global has further signalled its commitment to sustainability through a number of recent initiatives at its operating companies. These include VodafoneZiggo, Liberty Global’s Joint Venture in the Netherlands, launching its first Green Bond in December last year. The bond - the first ever high yield Green Bond to be issued by a company outside the renewable energy space - will be used to finance projects that support VodafoneZiggo’s transition towards low-carbon, climate-resilient growth in areas such as renewable energy, energy efficiency, clean transportation, eco-efficient products, technology and processes and green buildings.
In addition, Virgin Media Ireland are bringing 100% renewable energy to their access network, while Sunrise UPC in Switzerland have rolled out new technology which increases the energy efficiency of its 5G mobile network. Alongside these energy initiatives, Virgin Media UK launched their five year Meaningful Connections sustainability strategy earlier this month, with the aim of achieving net zero carbon and zero waste operations by the end of 2025.
ABOUT LIBERTY GLOBAL
Liberty Global (NASDAQ: LBTYA, LBTYB and LBTYK) is one of the world’s leading converged video, broadband and communications companies, with operations in seven European countries under the consumer brands Virgin Media, Telenet, UPC, the combined Sunrise UPC, as well as VodafoneZiggo, which is owned through a 50/50 joint venture. Our substantial scale and commitment to innovation enable us to invest in the infrastructure and digital platforms that empower our customers to make the most of the digital revolution.
Liberty Global delivers market-leading products through next-generation networks that connect customers subscribing to 49 million broadband, video, fixed and mobile telephony services across our brands. We also have significant investments in ITV, All3Media, CANAL+ Polska, LionsGate, the Formula E racing series and several regional sports networks.
For more information, please visit www.libertyglobal.com .
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