Nokia released its 2023 sustainability report outlining its performance relating to the company’s sustainability strategy. The strategy consists of five focus areas: Environment, Industrial Digitalization, Security and Privacy, Bridging the Digital Divide, and Responsible Business. Nokia's sustainability strategy focuses on maximizing impact in areas relevant to the company and its stakeholders, guiding technology and business decisions.
Subho Mukherjee, VP, Global Head of Sustainability at Nokia, said, “We believe that digitalization, powered by enhanced connectivity, will play an increasingly significant role in helping industries and economies decarbonize while enabling a more inclusive society.”
Nokia's efforts to expand technology access, enhance network security, reduce industry emissions, and minimize environmental impact are outlined in the People & Planet report 2023. This includes improving product energy efficiency, promoting circular practices, mitigating technology misuse risks, and establishing a sustainable supply chain.
Mukherjee further added that, “This progress, including learnings from challenges, provides a solid foundation as Nokia continues to develop ESG into a competitive advantage with its customers and stakeholders.”
Nokia’s sustainability achievements across its five focus areas in 2023 included the following:
Environment
- Reduced total greenhouse gas emissions across Scope 1,2 and 3 by 11% from 2022
- Achieved 2023 AirScale 5G massive MIMO BTS target with a 50% reduction in power consumption compared to 2019. This was enabled by continuous improvements in software functionalities, and the release of new 5G products based on the latest generation of Nokia ReefShark SoCs.
- Achieved 2023 renewable energy target, with 75% of purchased electricity across Nokia’s global facilities coming from renewable sources.
- Achieved a 54% decrease in logistics emissions compared to 2019. Nokia continues to work with innovative solutions such as sustainable aviation fuel.
Industrial Digitalization
- Recognized as the market leader in private wireless— which helps the industrial sector accelerate their own digital transformation— with over 710 customers globally.
- Secured more than 120 new customers in 2023, helping the industrial sector accelerate their digital transformation to create more efficient processes and empower workers for high-quality output.
Security and Privacy
- Conducted security training programs which included annual mandatory training, quarterly awareness campaigns, monthly phishing simulations, and expanded initiatives to safeguard key data such as Nokia’s Zero-Trust and Critical Information Protection Program and Nokia’s dedicated Application Security Program.
- Developed and maintained an actionable cyber resilience service which includes investments in Nokia’s Cyber Defense Center and its Computer Emergency Response team.
Bridging the Digital Divide
- Engaged 691,534 direct beneficiaries, with an additional 130,832 individuals included in 2023 through social digitalization projects. These initiatives focused on enhancing digital skills, bridging connectivity gaps for underserved communities, and promoting inclusion, equity, and diversity.
- Became the first telecommunications equipment vendor to announce the fiberoptic broadband network electronic products and optical modules in the US for use in the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program.
- Supported digital centers in 350 villages across India. Nokia’s multi-year Smartpur digital village ecosystem program empowers local entrepreneurs by providing them with facilities to make digital services accessible in rural villages. The number of direct beneficiaries reached in 2023 is estimated to be 119 795.
Responsible Business
- Recognized for the eighth time by Ethisphere as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies®
- Completed its second independent assessment for the Global Network Initiative. The assessors highlighted Nokia’s strong human rights culture, and robust Human Rights Due Diligence process.
- Achieved a ranking of A- from CDP for work on climate change and recognized as a supplier engagement leader by CDP’s Supplier Engagement Rating program.
- Announced Sustainable Finance Framework. This framework reinforces Nokia’s commitment to sustainable growth by ensuring its financing strategy supports the company’s ESG strategy.
In early 2024, Nokia committed to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions across its value chain (scopes 1, 2 and 3) by 2040. Nokia also committed to accelerate its existing interim 2030 target to reduce GHG emissions across its own operations (scopes 1 and 2), reaching an 83% reduction by 2030 from a 2019 baseline. To ensure the targets are aligned with climate science, Nokia submitted its net-zero letter of commitment to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) in February 2024.
Nokia’s People & Planet sustainability report is published annually. The scope of the 2023 sustainability report covers Nokia Group. The report is prepared in accordance with the GRI Standards. As part of its reporting, Nokia also recognizes other sustainability-reporting frameworks, such as SASB Standards and the UN Global Compact. The selected key sustainability indicators have been assured by Nokia’s independent auditor, Deloitte.
