Nokia and Orange have signed an agreement to increase the use of refurbished equipment in telecoms infrastructure. Refurbished network equipment will be offered by Nokia to all Orange subsidiaries via BuyIn, the procurement alliance of Orange and Deutsche Telekom.
Commenting on this partnership, Tommi Uitto, president of mobile networks at Nokia, said, “Committing to circularity takes us another step closer to achieving our own climate goals, as well as supporting our customers in achieving theirs. Digitalization reduces waste, reuse extends product life, and through this, we are able to realize the full value of our products. This framework agreement demonstrates the importance of collaboration in resolving the big challenges society faces and we all need to act together.”
This joint commitment will comprise radio-based equipment (RAN) with medium and long-term plans to also encompass other network equipment. Furthermore, with this contract, Orange and Nokia want to offer a competitive and reliable alternative to network operators.
The refurbishment process is expected to generate reductions in carbon emissions as opposed to manufacturing new equipment. All refurbished equipment will meet the reliability criteria in line with European Union and ITU directives and recommendations.
"We are proud to share our common vision of the circular economy with Nokia, a vision where environmental exemplarity supports sustainable value creation. This mutual understanding leads today to this first major contractual step forward for the Orange Group and its subsidiaries, with a positive environmental impact for our two groups," said Ramon Fernandez, delegate CEO, executive director of finance, performance, and development.
On the Nokia side, they aim to cut emissions across its value chain by 50% between 2019 and 2030 as part of its renewed science-based targets. While on the Orange side, this agreement is part of a larger program called OSCAR which will contribute to the achievement of the Net Zero Carbon objective in 2040.