Switch To Green
At Vodafone, our goal is to encourage everyone to make greener choices through technology as part of our #SwitchToGreen campaign.
What is #SwitchToGreen?
#SwitchToGreen aims to inspire individuals, companies, and communities to make sustainability-conscious decisions about how they use technology
Switching to Wi-Fi instead of mobile data, using dark mode and dimming our screens, or buying refurbished instead of new can be easy ways to make these changes.
Even these seemingly tiny swaps can reduce waste and carbon emissions – helping to minimise the impact on our planet if we all do our part.
#SwitchToGreen is our mission to help our customers make more sustainable choices through technology.
Here is how you can make more sustainable choices
Choosing which phone to buy
Eco Rating is an initiative that aims to provide reliable information regarding the environmental impact of mobile phones, from production to use and disposal. It provides insight and guidance as to how to make more sustainable decisions about your phone. Watch the video to learn more.
Choose to Trade-in
As technology evolves, more devices are manufactured, and vast amounts of e-waste are created yearly. Do you have any unwanted phones lying idle in a drawer at home? Consider trading them in to be refurbished and resold or responsibly recycled to support a circular economy. Watch the video to learn more.
Extend the life of your current phone
At Vodafone, we are dedicated to reducing our environmental footprint using our digital networks and technologies to address climate change by saving energy and natural resources and promoting a circular economy. Check out the video to discover how purchasing a refurbished phone can help reduce your environmental impact.
Reducing e-waste with One for One
One for One is a pledge to consumers that for every mobile phone bought from us in Germany we bring an old one back and recycle it professionally. Check out the video to discover how the programme works and how it drives positive change. Find out more about One for One here.
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Frequently asked questions
How does trade-in help protect our planet?
By trading-in a used phone, you give it a chance to have a second life – through being refurbished and re-sold.
Purchasing a refurbished smartphone helps to avoid around 50 Kg CO2e of greenhouse gas emissions. The climate impact of a refurbished phone is 20% or less that of a newly manufactured smartphone – and removes the need to extract over 70 Kg of raw materials.
This is based on a lifecycle assessment study (Erwann Fangeat, ADEME, et al, Assessment of the environmental impact of a set of refurbished products – Final Report (2022)), which found that a refurbished phone used for 2 years creates 24.6kg CO2e less carbon emissions per year when compared to a new phone used for 3 years (according to the study results shown on page 64). Over the 2-year period of use of the refurbished phone, this avoids around 50kg CO2e of carbon emissions. The study found that a refurbished phone has an 87% lower contribution to climate change (or ‘GWP’) compared to a new phone. The study also found that buying and using a refurbished phone instead of a new phone requires the extraction of 76.9kg less raw materials (page 64).
For the full study, see https://librairie.ademe.fr/dechets-economie-circulaire/5833-assessment-of-the-environmental-impact-of-a-set-of-refurbished-products.html
How is Vodafone’s European network powered by renewables?
At Vodafone, we are committed to supporting the clean energy transition. Our European network is powered by 100% renewable electricity. This means that in European markets where we operate, 100% of the grid electricity that Vodafone uses to power its network is matched with renewable energy certificates (‘RECs’). RECs certify that power has been generated and added to the grid from a renewable source such as wind, solar or hydro. In addition, we purchase a growing proportion of our electricity directly from renewable generators through Power Purchase Agreements (‘PPAs’). We also generate a small proportion of the electricity we use ourselves, for example through rooftop solar panels.
In a small minority of the European countries where we operate, markets for purchasing renewable electricity (traceable using RECs) are not available. We match electricity used in these countries with RECs originating from grid-connected neighbouring markets. This means that the electricity used by our network in Europe is 100% matched with renewable sources.
The European markets where we match the grid electricity we use with RECs (correct for the financial year ending 31 March 2024) are: Albania, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Spain and the United Kingdom.
How are Vodafone's products and services helping business customers to reduce emissions?
At Vodafone, we aim to provide the technology and connectivity needed for society to transition to a more sustainable future. Since 2020, 78.3 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions have been avoided through the use of our digital products and services.
*The avoided emissions calculated are estimations based on best available data. The impact of each solution is based on data provided by Vodafone and where data was not available this has been supplemented by secondary sources. The calculation does not consider the life cycle emissions of the solutions. It is assumed that all data provided by Vodafone is correct. See Vodafone’s FY24 ESG Methodology.
**Equivalencies are calculated using the EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Converter: Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator | US EPA (2024). The figures have not been reviewed or verified by the Carbon Trust.
Assumes that: 1 pound = 0.45 kilograms, 1 kilometre = 0.62 miles, 1 US gallon = 3.76 litres
Further information on our Carbon Enablement reporting can be found in our Annual Report.