- Nokia facilities’ CO2 emissions decreased by 17% in 2011, compared with the base year 2006 level.
- Introducing smaller packages for our most affordable devices has helped cut our transportation-related CO2 emissions by around a third.
- Nokia’s air travel miles and related CO2 emissions have been reduced by 36% since 2008.
- Powering our operations with 40% renewable energy helped cut our CO2 emissions by 54,500 tonnes in 2011.
- Seven out of nine Nokia factories have already reached 100% waste utilisation or are within 1% of that target.
- All our factories are certified according international standards ISO 9001 and ISO14001.
But we’re not expecting a pat on the back for our efforts. We see clear business benefits in minimising the environmental impact and enhancing the social impact of our operations – from cutting our energy costs to enhancing our brand.
A clear climate strategy
We created our first climate strategy in 2006 and it was reviewed and updated in 2010. The strategy looks at the energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions of our products and operations and sets reduction targets accordingly. While Nokia is not a particularly energy intensive company, we’ve still made major improvements. Over a third (40% in 2011) of the energy we use to power our operations is renewable, reducing our CO2 emissions by around 55,000 tonnes per annum.
Smarter manufacturing
We manufacture our phones primarily in our own factories and apply the highest standards to ensure safe and supportive labour conditions. Proximity to suppliers and partners also brings environmental benefits. Nokia’s Xingwang Industrial Park in China, a cluster of facilities including us and 12 partners, has achieved an annual decrease in energy consumption equivalent to nearly 45,000 tonnes of coal as well as water conservation of half a million tonnes.
In 2010, Nokia’s Chennai factory in India won the 'Golden Peacock Environment Management Award - 2010’, under the Telecom/IT-Hardware category. The award recognises Nokia’s efforts in terms of effective implementation of Environmental Management System (EMS) and setting high standards in its management.
Find out about our Environmental Management System
Saying no to waste
We’ve set a target to reduce waste sent to landfill from our factories by half annually, with a view to reaching close to 100% waste utilisation by the end of 2012. And we’re doing pretty well so far.
In 2011, Nokia caused 45,900 tonnes of waste. Of this, 91% was reused or recycled, energy was recovered from 5%, and only 4% went for final disposal in landfill or incineration without energy recovery. What’s more, seven out of nine Nokia factories had already reached 100% waste utilisation or were within 1% of that target.
Small package makes a big difference
The materials we choose for our packaging are selected to offer the best, most beautiful and most protective solution with least environmental impact. An effective way to reduce the environmental impact of packaging is through making the sales packages smaller, selecting sustainable materials and making sure packaging can be recycled when it’s no longer needed. Already in 2006 Nokia introduced small, compact packaging which consequently has become the industry standard for mobile phones. Our compact packages are made of a single material, which makes them much easier to recycle.
Between 2005 and 2010, we reduced the packaging size of our most affordable devices by over 70%. This amounts to 240,000 tonnes of saved paper. Smaller and lighter packaging has also reduced transportation needs. In theory, we now only need one third of the trucks to transport these products.
Looking at our entire portfolio, our packages are now 50 % smaller* in size than in 2005 and we keep making them even smaller. More than 95% of our packaging is made from renewable, paper-based materials, of which up to 60 % is recycled content. And when plastic is used, we are able to include up to 90% recycled content. We are constantly working with our suppliers to increase the amount of recycled content in our packaging. All our packaging is 100% recyclable.
* The weighted average volume reduction 2005 -2010
Ways of working
We encourage our employees to replace travel with video and teleconferencing as much as possible. We have over 230 video conferencing facilities around the world, used for about 6,000 meetings per month. Since 2008, Nokia’s air travel miles and related CO2 emissions have been reduced by 36%.
Looking after our workforce
A healthy, motivated workforce is vital to Nokia’s success so we put a great emphasis on sustainable, ethical labour practices at all our sites. This includes having Nokia Global Employment Guidelines and Nokia Labour Conditions Standards in place, which address a range of issues – from preventing forced labour to upholding freedom of association.
Our aim is to ensure that labour conditions at Nokia go above and beyond recognised international standards. We carry out regular performance assessments on our own sites and on our suppliers – including agencies that provide us with temporary external labour.
In addition, we go to great lengths to enhance the health, safety and wellbeing of our workforce. Not only do we have a global unit dedicated to Occupational Health and Safety but we also promote a good work / life balance for our employees – for example, by enabling them to work from home using Nokia mobility products.
Employment practices
Nokia has put various measures in place to help achieve ethical and sustainable employment practices, including the Nokia Global Employment Guidelines and the Nokia Labour Conditions Standard.
Health, safety and wellbeing
The health, safety and wellbeing of our employees are vital to the success of our business. Our Occupational Health and Safety Policy sets out our commitment to provide safe and healthy working conditions for all our employees and promote wellbeing at work. We work with our contractors, suppliers and customers to continuously monitor health and safety issues and meet our commitments.