How BT Group’s Renewables Supply Deal with Total SE will Impact Its Climate Goals

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Summary

• Telecom major BT Group has signed a three-year renewable energy supply deal with French oil and gas company Total SE starting from April 2022.
• The deal includes the supply of about 1,124 GWh of electricity to almost 3,100 of BT’s sites in the UK.
• Total SE will supply about half of the telecom company’s annual energy consumption in the UK, and will be sourced from solar, wind and hydroelectric power sites in the UK.

UK-based telecommunications giant BT Group (LON: BT.A) on 24 February, announced a deal with French oil and gas company Total SE (EPA: FP) for the supply of renewable energy for a period of three years. The French energy company will supply 100 per cent renewable sources produced electricity to the BT Group, starting from April 2022 for a period of three years.

According to the agreement, Total SE will supply renewable energy to about 3,100 of the telecom company sites. Moreover, Total will supply up to 1,124 GWh of electricity to the BT Group, which accounts for almost 50 per cent of the telecom giant’s total annual energy consumption in the UK.

The renewable energy supply mix will include solar, wind, and hydroelectric energy sourced from sites across the country. The BT Group accounts for almost 1 per cent of the country’s electricity consumption and holds the title of being tied as the largest purchaser of electricity from a private entity in the country.

Green commitment

The telecom giant recently announced that its entire network and building infrastructure, including offices and shops located globally, were now 100 per cent powered by electricity generated from clean energy sources.

Cyril Pourrat, chief procurement officer of BT Group, said that all renewable electricity deal with Total SE highlighted the importance of renewables in the UK. The move supported the company’s goal of achieving its net zero emissions by 2045, Pourrat added.

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The agreement is part of the telecom giant’s sustainability goals of being carbon neutral and push the transition towards clean energy. In 2018, BT Group had committed to be a net zero business by 2045 linking its targets to the Paris Agreement. It had previously set a target of cutting 87 per cent of its emissions by 2030 from its 2016 carbon footprint.

The news comes amid a growing trend among telecom companies of going green. French telecommunications giant Orange (EPA: ORA) recently signed a deal with French electric utility company Engie SA (EPA: ENGI) for solar power. South Africa-based company MTN (JSE: MTN) announced earlier in February to be carbon neutral by 2040, while the Swedish telecom company Telia (STO: TELIA) announced plans to build a solar plant at its Estonian subsidiary in 2020.

Share performance

The British telecom major’s (LON: BT.A) shares were trading at GBX 129.70, down by 0.73 per cent as of 25 February at 9:03 am GMT+1. Meanwhile, oil and gas giant Total SE’s (EPA: FP) stock prices stood at EUR 39.48, up by 0.50 per cent as of 25 February at 10:02 am GMT+1.