Climate Change Data

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Connecting society across the Nordics
• Creating a greener GlobalConnect Group to reduce climate impact
• Creating a GlobalConnect Group for everyone – focusing on diversity and equality

Environmental Achievements

• Increased renewable energy usage to 100% in Denmark and Norway
• Maintained 100% renewable energy usage in Sweden
• Retained Eco-Lighthouse certification in Norway
• Upgraded ISO 14001:2015 environmental management certification in Sweden
• Introduced a new code of conduct for suppliers highlighting the use of eco-labelled products
• Relocated to new, environmentally friendly office premises in Denmark
• Reduced carbon emissions by an additional 453 tons

Social Achievements

• Expanded network in Norway, connecting 16,000 homes
• Established fiber-to-the-home footprint in Denmark, rolling out fiber in four cities
• Expanded network in Sweden, connecting 76,000 homes
• Selected by at least two large municipalities and/or government agencies/public institutions per country in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark
• Became the player that provides the highest number of fiber-to-the-home connections in rural Sweden
• Improved internal process for addressing challenges of lengthy licensing processes
• Offered free Content Delivery Network (CDN) and web acceleration to several Swedish authorities
• Provided free speed upgrades to Swedish and Norwegian B2C customers

Governance Achievements

• Aligned policies on anti-corruption groupwide
• Made anti-corruption policies easily accessible
• Laid the foundation for an engaging training program in support of anti-corruption policies
• Aligned internal policies following the merger of GlobalConnect and IP-Only
• Implemented the E A S Y framework across the organization
• Launched a mandatory security awareness e-learning tool

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• High CO2 footprint of data storage facilities
• Challenges in expanding fiber networks outside urban areas (negotiations with authorities and landowners)
• Risks associated with building fiber networks (accidents, employee wellbeing)
• Lack of diversity and equality in the workforce
• Risk of bribery and fraud due to company size and operations
• Risk of cyber-attacks and data breaches

Mitigation Strategies

• Working towards improving data center standards and decreasing the negative climate impact of data storage
• Taking appropriate measures to influence and improve licensing processes
• Implementing security guidelines to monitor and follow up on incidents
• Implementing initiatives to improve employee wellbeing (online workouts, events)
• Implementing new recruitment policies to ensure diversity at all levels
• Implementing anti-corruption policies and training
• Launching mandatory security awareness e-learning tool

Supply Chain Management

Responsible Procurement

• New code of conduct for suppliers highlighting the use of eco-labelled products

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: UN Sustainable Development Goals

Certifications: Eco-Lighthouse (Norway), ISO 14001 (Sweden), Energy Efficiency Certificate A+ (Denmark)

UN Sustainable Development Goals

• Affordable and clean energy
• Sustainable cities and communities
• Responsible consumption and production
• Climate action
• Good health and wellbeing
• Quality education
• Industry, Innovation and infrastructure
• Reduced inequalities
• Gender equality
• Decent work and economic growth

The report mentions that GlobalConnect Group's business contributes directly to 10 out of 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Climate change and environmental concerns
• Cyber Security and a secure and robust infrastructure
• Creating long-term value for society and investors
• Tracking transparency
• Ensuring products and services with a positive impact on society and the environment
• Genuinely sustainable corporate purpose

Environmental Achievements

• 100% of our electricity consumption is covered by renewable energy
• Implemented a carbon reduction roadmap to achieve our goal of reducing our GHG emissions across scope 1+3 in line with our science-based targets
• Launched our Customer Carbon Calculator tool. The tool identifies our customers' CO2e footprint based on the products and services the individual customer purchases from GlobalConnect (launched in Norway in 2023)
• Conducted a pilot project relating to biodiversity
• Worked with suppliers across our value chain to reduce carbon emissions by optimizing refurbishment processes and improving recycling efforts
• GlobalConnect was awarded the “Technology Innovation Award” at the Datacloud Global Awards for the most innovative tech solution in a data center. The technology reduces data center power consumption for cooling by up to 90%.

Social Achievements

• Increased our employee engagement score in Peakon that measures employee satisfaction, well-being and belonging
• Rolled out our 'Sustainability Academy' to all leaders in 2023
• Implemented new leadership training among other things focusing on diversity and inclusion
• Implemented a more non-biased recruitment process
• Committed to the Diversity Pledge launched by The Confederation of Danish Industries, committing GlobalConnect to ensuring women hold 40% of leadership positions, not only in Denmark but also at the Group level
• Increased our emphasis on diversity across the organization

Governance Achievements

• Proactive measures taken to ensure the seamless integration of our Supplier Code of Conduct among our many suppliers
• Initiated a process to assess our suppliers' risks related to sustainability
• Reported successfully on our Sustainability Linked Loan KPIs for the first time
• Implemented strong whistle-blower mechanisms
• Winning the ‘Sustainability Linked Loan of the Year’ award at the Environmental Finance's Bond Awards 2023.

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• The aftermath of Storm Hans and other extreme weather events are stark reminders of the pressing challenges posed by climate change.
• Increased inequality
• Inflation and the increased cost of capital are further adding to the importance of operating a lean organization and achieving capital-efficient growth.
• The cyber security threat landscape is evolving quickly, fuelled both by geopolitical unrest and technological developments in artificial intelligence.

Mitigation Strategies

• Sustainability is no longer an option for businesses – in GlobalConnect, we view it as a license to operate.
• Our ongoing business transformation aims at finding smarter ways of working so that we can reduce waste and improve our efficiency and resilience, thus becoming a more sustainable business.
• Our efficiency and sustainability targets go hand in hand with our scalability targets.
• We are currently in the process of simplifying our IT systems landscape and processes. This includes decommissioning old, insecure and inefficient systems and platforms, and migrating to resilient solutions that provide enhanced security and automated processes.
• In 2023, we implemented a pan-Nordic organizational setup to fully capture cross-border scale synergies.
• A combination of preventive and detective security measures, supported by continuity planning and a well-established crisis management framework.

Supply Chain Management

Responsible Procurement

• Supplier Code of Conduct

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks

• Extreme weather events

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: UN Global Compact, UN Sustainable Development Goals, Science Based Targets initiative

Third-party Assurance: Ernst & Young AB

Sustainable Products & Innovation

• Immersive cooling technology in data centers

Awards & Recognition

• Technology Innovation Award 2023 at the Datacloud Global Congress
• Sustainability Linked Loan of the Year’ award at the Environmental Finance's Bond Awards 2023