- In partnership with Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence, VMMEA calculated its total carbon emissions and is taking action to reduce and offset the remainder of its own Scope 1 (direct) and Scope 2 (indirect energy) emissions annually by investing in nature-based solutions and implementing sustainable policies
- Customers can look forward to an app feature that enables them to offset their carbon emissions, with a company match, which will be introduced later this year
- VMMEA has ambitions to achieve carbon negative in the coming years
Ahead of Zero Emissions Day on September 21st, Virgin Mobile Middle East and Africa (VMMEA) has announced that it has achieved net zero carbon emissions across all of its own operations. Through its partnership with Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence, VMMEA gathered and assessed available data under Scope 1 (direct), Scope 2 (indirect energy), and Scope 3 (indirect value chain) to calculate its group-wide total emissions. The emissions calculations were used to create and implement sustainable processes for the year-on-year reduction of VMMEA’s overall emissions.
As part of its ongoing sustainability efforts, VMMEA has already eliminated more than 50 tonnes of single-use plastic across the region, with operations in Oman and Saudi Arabia now being 100% single-use plastic free. This was mainly achieved by removing 100% of the single-use plastic from all SIM packs and recharge cards, with further sustainable steps taken that have resulted in a 75% decrease in plastic used for each SIM card by reducing the size of SIM cards from a credit-card sized to a quarter card, and an estimated 30-40% reduction in energy consumption by using recycled paper for SIM card packaging.
VMMEA has also implemented sustainable practices in its offices, such as policies related to business travel, reduce and reuse, energy efficiency, and sustainability awareness and education, and invested in nature-based solutions to offset its remaining Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions annually, thereby reaching net zero carbon emissions. VMMEA will plant thousands of trees in school locations through Carbon Footprint Ltd. to not only support local wildlife habitats, but also help educate childrenunderstand the importance of natural eco-systems that will help everyone on our planet thrive. For each tCO2e offset, a tree is planted with an additional tCO2e offset from a VCS (Verified Carbon Standard) Tree Buddying project to guarantee a reduction in emissions.
Further in its quest to achieve a negative carbon footprint, VMMEA will launch an app feature enabling all customers to offset their carbon footprint with each purchase via the Virgin Mobile app later this year.
Erik Dudman Nielsen, Founder & Group Chief Executive Officer at Virgin Mobile Middle East & Africa, commented: “As a digital trail blazer, our focus has always been to make mobile better, not just through our services but also through driving positive social and environmental impact. We are proud to achieve net zero carbon emissions with the support of our partners at Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence and look forward to introducing new initiatives to provide our customers with the opportunity to join us on our journey to becoming a carbon negative business while doing their part for the environment.”
Sustainability is a core business focus for the Group and forms part of Virgin Enterprise’s global commitment to sustainability. In line with this, VMMEA continues to prioritise the wellbeing of people and the planet through a multitude of initiatives across the business.
About Virgin Mobile Middle East & Africa:
Virgin Mobile Middle East & Africa is part of the Virgin family group of companies. Virgin Mobile Middle East & Africa is responsible for all Virgin Mobile operations in the Middle East and Africa region, and is headquartered in Dubai, UAE.
Virgin Mobile Middle East & Africa has been in the region since 2009 and operates the two consumer brands of Virgin Mobile and FRiENDi Mobile across the region. Partnering with telecoms operators across the region, the Virgin Mobile Middle East & Africa team provides customers with innovative products and packages designed to make their mobile experience better. We work closely with other Virgin companies across the world to make sure we can create experiences for our customer’s which surprise and delight them, and which can’t be matched.
Virgin Mobile Middle East & Africa believes in having the best people on the team, and the management team is made up of senior level team members from a variety of successful regional and global mobile operators, as well as from MVNOs. The company has a strong financial foundation supported by well-respected and global and regional shareholders, including Virgin Group, GIC, ePlanet Capital, Dolphin International, NTEC, and members of the senior management team
About Virgin Group:
Virgin Mobile is one of the businesses of the Virgin Group, a leading international branded investment company and one of the world’s most recognized and respected brands. Conceived in 1970 by Sir Richard Branson, the Virgin Group has gone on to grow successful businesses in sectors ranging from mobile telephony and media to transportation, travel, financial services, hotels, health and fitness, as well as renewable technologies and space tourism. Virgin employs approximately 70,000 people in 35 countries and its global branded revenues exceed £16.6 billion (AED 79 billion).
