Avoided emissions

Various studies indicate that the ICT industry’s greatest opportunities for advancing climate protection lie in enabling customers to reduce their emissions through digital services. One such study is digitalswitzerland’s 2024 report ‘Smart and Green – Digital Pathways to Net Zero’, which shows that up to 20% of the reduction of greenhouse gases that Switzerland needs by 2030 can be achieved using sustainable digital technologies in mobility, buildings, agriculture, industry and energy systems.

Avoided emissions are defined as the reduction in GHG impact of a solution compared to an alternative reference scenario in which the solution is not used. In 2014, Swisscom began recording the amount that its customers have saved in greenhouse gas emissions by using ICT services from Swisscom (avoided emissions). The Swisscom Group updated and published its Group-wide avoided emissions methodology in 2025. It is based on the latest developments in the field, in particular guidance from the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) as well as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the World Resources Institute (WRI).

This methodology was extended to Italy and independently validated by the Foundation myclimate in the reporting year. At Group level, Swisscom is also actively engaged in the development of the EU Green Digital Coalition and committed to integrating its recommendations into its future methodology.

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