26 CEOs of companies have signed a Declaration to support the Green and Digital Transformation of the EU.
They formed a European Green Digital Coalition, committing on behalf of their companies to take action in the following areas:
- To invest in the development and deployment of greener digital technologies & services that are more energy and material efficient,
- Develop methods and tools to measure the net impact of green digital technologies on the environment and climate by joining forces with NGOs and relevant expert organisations, and
- Co-create with representatives of others sectors recommendations and guidelines for green digital transformation of these sectors that benefits environment, society and economy.
The European Green Digital Coalition will help not only the tech sector to become more sustainable, circular and a zero polluter, but also to support sustainability goals of other priority sectors such as energy, transport, agriculture, and construction while contributing to an innovative, inclusive and resilient society. Its members will work closely with the European Commission and others to deliver on their commitments and will report regularly on progress made. In 2022, the first available results and progress reports will be presented. 45 SMEs and startups support the European Green Digital Coalition and many will take the sustainability commitments to join in the near future.
Signatory Companies of the Declaration
The following CEOs signed the Declaration on Digital Day 2021, becoming founding members of the European Green Digital Coalition:
Jean-Marc Ollagnier, CEO Europe
Accenture
Stefano Cecconi, CEO
Aruba
Elie Girard, CEO
ATOS SE
Wojciech Stramski, CEO
Beyond.pl
Markus Villig, CEO
Bolt
Bernard Charlès, CEO and Vice-Chairman
Dassault Systèmes
Timotheus Höttges, CEO
Deutsche Telekom AG
Börje Ekholm, CEO
Ericsson
Jim Whitehurst, President
IBM
Mike Fries, CEO
Liberty Global
Brad Smith, President
Microsoft
Pekka Lundmark, President and CEO
Nokia
Miguel Almeida, CEO
NOS
Stéphane Richard, Chairman and CEO
Orange
Michel Paulin, CEO
OVHCloud
Guillaume Boutin, CEO
Proximus
Christian Klein, CEO
SAP SE
Arnaud Brindejonc de Bermingham, President
Scaleway
Jean-Pascal Tricoire, CEO
Schneider Electric
Carsten and Samuel Waldeck, CEOs
SHIFT GmbH
Henrik Clausen, Group CEO and President
TDC Group A/S
José María Álvarez-Pallete, Chairman and CEO
Telefónica
Thomas Arnoldner, CEO
A1 Telekom Austria Group
Jukka Leinonen, CEO
DNAHead of Telenor Group's Nordics
Allison Kirkby, CEO
Telia Company
Nick Read, CEO
Vodafone GroupThey also welcomed the Declaration on A Green and Digital Transformation of the EU signed by 24 EU Countries and Norway and Iceland today, and welcome other leaders of companies active in the green digital transformation that have pledged to become climate neutral by 2040 to join them.
Background
Climate change and environmental degradation present an existential threat to Europe and the world. Smart use of clean digital technologies can serve as a key enabler for climate action and environmental sustainability. The digital transition and a smarter and greener use of technologies will help make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050, a key goal of the European Green Deal. Technology can improve energy and resource efficiency, facilitate the circular economy, lead to a better allocation of resources; reduce emissions, pollution, biodiversity loss and environmental degradation. At the same time, the ICT sector must ensure the environmentally sound design and deployment of digital technologies. Today’s Declarations build on the EU Council conclusions of December 2020 on Digitalisation for the benefit of the environment. A European Parliament Pilot project will support the activities of the European Green Digital Coalition later this year and will be financed and managed by the European Commission.
Many organisations, including DigitalEurope, ETNO, GSMA, GeSI, Digital SME Alliance, Climate neutral datacentres Pact, were instrumental in setting up the European Green Digital Coalition.
For more information
Factsheet: Supporting the green transition