ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) in Telecoms and Technology – Thematic Research

ESG (environmental, social, and governance) is the most important strategic theme of the decade. Companies must perform well in all areas of ESG. Increasingly, ESG will also play a growing role in attracting both investment and talent. To date, the technology sector has been a leader in ESG as it is at the cutting edge of combining the digital economy and delivering 21st-century employment and governance standards. Technology companies that understand, engage with, and prove ESG initiatives and targets will remain in the game.

The ESG in telecoms and technology thematic report sets out a comprehensive sustainability framework based on environmental, social, and governance issues to help CEOs identify all potential sustainability risks and implement mitigating actions that can improve their company’s ESG performance.

ESG Framework

GlobalData’s Sustainability Framework is designed to help our clients build trust with society and set them on a path towards a sustainable future.

The framework covers environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors.

Environmental: Environmental performance measures the energy a company consumes, the waste it generates, the natural resources it uses, and the consequences for ecosystems and habitats.

Primary elements of the environmental component are:

• Climate change
• Pollution
• Biodiversity
• Natural resources

Social: Social performance assesses a company’s engagement with its workers, customers, suppliers, and the local community.

Primary elements of the social component are:

• Human rights
• Diversity and inclusion
• Health and safety
• Community impact

Governance: Governance assesses how a company uses policies and controls to inform business decisions, comply with the law, and meet obligations to stakeholders.

Primary elements of the governance component are:

• Corporate structure
• Risk management
• Corruption and bribery
• Ethics

The thematic report on sustainability solutions includes a comprehensive analysis of all the 12 elements. This ESG framework can be used to assess a company’s sustainability performance, the factors that contribute to negative ESG consequences, and mitigating actions that can improve a company’s ESG performance.

ESG in Telecoms and Technology Theme, by Contributing Factors and Mitigating Actions

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Key Trends in ESG in Telecoms and Technology Theme

The key trends shaping the ESG in telecoms and technology theme are classified into two categories: technology trends and macroeconomic trends.

• Technology trends: The key technology trends impacting the sustainability theme are smart cities, cloud, the future of work, collaboration and unified communications, fixed and mobile bandwidth, electric vehicles (EVs), automated monitoring and reporting, value and supply chain integration, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence (AI), tech as an ESG enabler, ESG as a differentiator, energy efficiency, quantum computing, and metaverse.

• Macroeconomic trends: The key macroeconomic trends impacting the sustainability theme are war in Ukraine, environmental, social, and governance regulation and compliance, stakeholder demand, data protection, security, and abuse, data cartel accusations, COVID-19, health and safety, workforce mobility, uneven geographic adoption of ESG principles, and interest rate rises.

Timeline

Since the UN’s first resolution on human rights, corporate sustainability has come a long way as organizations strive to tackle challenges around the environment, society, and governance. As sustainability has evolved, environmental challenges have been the focus, although social and governance factors have become more prominent in recent years. Corporations have realized that effective handling of ESG challenges will ensure long-term success.

Milestones such as the Paris Agreement have changed the lens through which corporate profitability is perceived.

The thematic report on sustainability includes important milestones in the journey of corporate sustainability.

Leading Companies in ESG in Telecoms and Technology Theme

Some of the leading companies making their mark within the ESG theme are:

• ADVA
• Amazon
• Apple
• AT&T
• BT
• Ciena
• Cisco
• Comcast
• CommScope
• Deutsche Telekom

Telecom Infrastructure Sector Scorecard – ESG in Telecoms and Technology Theme

At GlobalData, we use a scorecard approach to predict tomorrow’s leading companies within each sector. Each sector scorecard has three screens:

• The thematic screen ranks companies based on overall leadership in the 10 themes that matter most to their industry, generating a leading indicator of future performance.
• The valuation screen ranks our universe of companies within a sector based on selected valuation metrics.
• The risk screen ranks companies within a particular sector based on overall investment risk.

Telecom Infrastructure Sector Scorecard – Thematic Screen

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The ESG in telecoms and technology thematic research report also covers the sector scorecards for

• Application software
• Telecom services

ESG in Telecoms and Technology Theme Overview

Scope

• This report looks at the impact of ESG on the telecom and technology sectors.
• Companies can use this framework to assess their sustainability policies, performance, and progress. It will help them identify and mitigate factors that contribute to negative consequences and pursue actions to improve ESG performance. It provides a checklist for CEOs to ensure their management policies and practices address all aspects of sustainability.

Reasons to Buy

• All significant technology companies have a stated commitment to ESG, but their goals, delivery, and reporting can vary substantially. To date, the technology sector has been a leader in ESG as it is at the cutting edge of combining the digital economy and delivering 21st-century employment and governance standards. Technology is also core to many aspects of recording and measuring ESG performance and enabling ESG as a service up and down the value and supply chains.
• Technology companies that understand, engage with, and prove ESG initiatives and targets will remain in the game.
• This report provides a detailed analysis of the progress made by telecoms and technology companies on ESG and identifies the areas that require further attention.