Melita Ltd is aiming to be carbon neutral from 2022, one year ahead of its previously announced target of being carbon neutral by 2023.
Melita also confirmed that it has sent its commitment letter to join the United Nations’ Science Based Target Initiative (SBTi). This initiative aims to achieve the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement by reducing greenhouse gasses to a level which is predicted to limit global warming to 1.5˚C.
Being carbon neutral means that the carbon emissions from the daily running of Melita’s business, which includes direct emissions from company vehicles and indirect emissions from the electricity used to provide services, are balanced by carbon reduction and offset activities.
Melita will achieve carbon neutrality firstly through a range of initiatives, which have already been carried out and limited carbon emissions, and secondly by investing in international renewable energy projects to offset the remainder. Melita’s calculations and progress have been independently verified by Schneider Electric, a global specialist in energy efficiency and sustainability.
As part of the efforts to reduce emissions, Melita has invested substantially: initiatives include installing solar panels at the Melita Data Centre and investing millions in the company’s mobile and fixed networks to reduce electricity consumption, particularly through dynamic power optimisation in Melita’s nationwide Ericsson 5G network, and installing intelligent lighting and cooling systems across sites and retail outlets.
Melita started rolling out a fleet of electric vehicles early in 2020. Further reduction of emissions will be achieved by switching almost 40 per cent of company vehicles to electric vehicles in 2022. This will continue as vehicles become obsolete, with 90 per cent of the fleet predicted to be powered by electricity by 2025.
Melita also plans to build additional solar farms in Malta to generate green power for its operations. To reduce emissions throughout its supply chain, Melita will use Malta-based suppliers whenever feasible and apply environmentally friendly purchasing policies, further cutting emissions generated by transportation.
Melita will also prioritise suppliers that have similar carbon neutrality targets and work with other partners to reduce emissions. Melita CEO Harald Roesch said: “In all our decisions, including our network upgrades, we take into account the impact on the environment, and especially how we can minimise or reduce carbon emissions. As we will always need electrical power for our operations, Melita supports international renewable energy projects to offset the remainder, while continuing to invest to reduce our carbon emissions.”
