Insights from industry leaders, Volume 1: Gabrielle Ginér, Head of Environmental Sustainability at BT Group
To kick off our leadership series, I had the privilege of speaking with Gabrielle Ginér, a passionate leader with a wealth of experience in the sustainability field. Gabrielle’s career began with BT Group 25 years ago; she worked across public affairs and programme management then transitioned into BT Group’s Sustainability function, where she was able to apply her expertise in sustainability strategy to a wide range of areas in the business – carving BT Group into what it is today. Gabrielle shares her insights on sustainability in the telecoms sector, including the variety of challenges presented day to day, as well as tips for those considering a career in sustainability.
What’s one thing you want people to know about sustainability at BT Group?
“Well, we’ve got a great track record that not many people actually know about. All of our networks are supplied with 100% renewable energy globally! We’ve also received an ‘A’ rating on Climate from the CDP for the 8th consecutive year and counting.”
What are the biggest challenges for sustainability in your sector?
“A huge challenge we’re facing right now is ensuring that our whole supply chain is on the right path to Net Zero. At the moment we’re on track to reaching our Net Zero targets for our operations by the end of March 2031 and our Net Zero targets for our supply chain and customer emissions by the end of March 2041 – However, the real issue is ensuring our suppliers also commit to Net Zero and report on their carbon emissions and any reductions in a transparent way.”
What initiatives is BT Group taking to reduce its environmental footprint?
“We’ve started implementing a carbon contract clause with our key suppliers, we’re just starting a supplier engagement programme – essentially asking our suppliers if they’ve set targets for Net Zero and if not – why? We want to ensure all of our supply chain is in line with our Net Zero targets. The message is that our suppliers are taking climate action – because we all need to.
We’ve also been doing a lot of work with The Climate Group to advocate for faster acceleration of Electric Vehicles in the UK. Openreach currently has over 2,000 EVs now and we aim to convert our entire fleet to EVs or zero emissions by 2030.
We’re also downsizing our estate and designing our new offices with energy- saving features and investigating low- emission heating solutions for our existing buildings.”
Are you a sustainability leader with something to say?
If you would like to be featured in one of our spotlights please contact Alyssa Walsh, Alyssa.Walsh@iac-recruit.com.