At Orange, we believe that equality is a powerful enabler for economic and social performance. We also give everyone the keys to a responsible digital world and we ensure that in everything we do, digital technology is designed, made available and used in a more inclusive and sustainable way. And of course, we are committed to reducing our CO2 emissions by 2040, with the first goal of -30% to be achieved by 2025. That’s why, at Orange Wholesale International, our vision is fueled by a strong sense of purpose, as a foundation of our commitment for tomorrow.
What is this purpose about? Simply said, we support the social and environmental transitions generated by our business activities. We understand our customers’ concerns and our diversity reflects their own diversity.
Let’s see how this translates into concrete action, and how this helps us shape our commitment for tomorrow to you, our partners and customers.
There is just no credible commitment for tomorrow without a sense of responsibility to achieve sustainable development. As we do know that our network's environmental footprint will soon be at the center stage of our commercial competitiveness, we take into account the environmental impact of all our business endeavors. This means securing clean energy supply and decarbonizing our activities, thanks to the Power Purchase Agreements signed in 2022 in eight European countries or investing in carbon sinks to sequester incompressible residual emissions.
But what does it mean for our global telecommunication cable and network operations?
First, the convergence of our networks is a key factor as it drives new energy savings. We also engage in eco-design at early stages of network function developments, powering our solutions with clean and renewable energy, wherever possible. Then, when Orange joined the AMITIE transatlantic cable project, we made sure these new cables could avoid environmentally sensitive areas, going underneath these zones with underground boreholes whenever necessary. But our commitment for tomorrow also includes a responsibility to the cables of yesterday. Rather than letting decommissioned cables rot under the seas and endanger fragile ecosystems, Orange is one of the few players able to undertake the collection and recycling of these cables. Our dedication to circular economy doesn’t end there as we refurbish almost all relevant network hardware. And finally, to close the loop on our cable operations, Orange Marine is adding to its fleet of cable ships the Sophie Germain, a vessel with a greatly reduced environmental footprint.
These cables help us fulfil our dearest mission: connecting our customers with the world. For us, this means extending our global network to bridge the digital divide and bring the benefits of digital transformation to all. That’s why we are providing the Marseille landing station to both Medusa and PEACE, two submarine cables which will greatly improve connectivity in Northern and Eastern Africa respectively.
Our involvement in another African cable project, 2Africa, will simply help bring more capacity to Africa than all existing transcontinental cables combined. On the CDN side, our partnership with GCore will increase our coverage from 50 to 200 CDN PoPs and help offer an unmatched global presence.
But inclusion doesn’t start with territories, it starts with people. Connecting with the world is therefore much more than a slogan, it’s a reality that we encounter in all our offices in 24 locations worldwide, with over 30 nationalities represented in our teams. As we strive to promote diversity in all its forms, we are mindful that women have so much to offer in tech companies, and we make sure to offer them the same careers opportunities as their male colleagues. Today, we are proud to have 50% women at senior management roles within Wholesale International, and to see that their representation in technical and sales function keeps growing.
Just like our customers and users, we are all over the world, men and women, representing many different nationalities and cultural backgrounds – we are our customers. Our goal is to foster a business model that is accountable to our employees, customers and society as a whole. Your diversity and your concerns are at the heart of our commitment for tomorrow.
