GREEN BY DESIGN

The problem with wallpapers is that they rarely last long.

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They fade, peel, or lose their grip. No matter how deftly they are pasted, they remain just that—pasted. Sooner or later, the illusion cracks, revealing that the green branches beneath are not real.

The same holds true when sustainability is applied like wallpaper—an afterthought or a quick cosmetic fix—on today's massive, consequential, and ever-expanding digital infrastructures. The scale, complexity, and permanence of the carbon emissions generated by these digital turbines are staggering.

Every call made, every Al query typed, every reel scrolled through, every virtual meeting joined, and every OTT episode watched adds another layer of soot and guilt to the machines that power the connected world. And the picture is only getting murkier as 5G and 6G rollouts accelerate and artificial intelligence enters the scene with a loud, relentless drumroll.

HOW BLACK ARE OUR DIGITAL BACKYARDS?

A closer look at the data reveals a sobering reality.

A 2025 telecom consumer survey by McKinsey—conducted with 5,000 participants across five countries—found that 45% of retail customers value sustainability in their telecom providers. Yet, the telecom sector continues to lag behind others on several critical sustainability governance parameters, according to McKinsey's benchmark of the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) performance of 75 large global companies across sectors.