We were really proud to become the UK’s first Carbon Neutral mobile network but it’s become obvious that we’re still not doing enough.
The science is clear, we are rapidly approaching a cliff edge with catastrophic consequences and we need to go beyond preventing carbon emissions, and start reversing the effects of existing CO2 that has been emitted.
Starting this year, Honest Mobile is now carbon negative!
what does being carbon negative mean?
Put simply, this means we take out twice as much carbon from the air as we emit. This means we offset double the amount of CO2 emissions associated with all calls, messages, data, charging your phone, manufacture of your phone, and the running of Honest HQ.
does my phone cause carbon emissions?
Almost everything we do creates a carbon footprint 👣 and gadgets like your phone contribute to climate change more than you might think.
On average we pick up our phones 58 times a day, maybe to send a quick email, chat to a friend or watch a new video. Every time we use the internet we use a small amount of energy to run data centers and servers that carry information around the world. Around 4.6 billion people use the internet and all these small actions add up!
It’s not just using data and the internet that causes carbon emissions: we also emit CO2 when we manufacture our phones and charge them.
All of this adds up and some reports estimate that the tech industry is responsible for around 3.7% of greenhouse gases released. That’s about the same amount as the airline industry which is considered one of the worst contributors to the climate crisis. All of this is set to get worse as more people buy and use gadgets like phones, and we increase the amount of data we use.
It’s easy to overlook the negative impact that owning and using a smartphone has on the planet. So we put together a brief guide on the average carbon emissions of various smartphones.
how do we offset CO2?
By planting trees 🌳 – and lots of them! Trees are amazing because they are ‘carbon sinks’ and help suck carbon out the air.
We work with our partners On A Mission to calculate all our emissions each month and then offset double the CO2 through sustainable reforestation projects.
we’re not stopping here 🍃
We’re also a member of 1% for the Planet which means 1% of our revenue goes towards planting trees for each of our customers, helping them to offset your own personal carbon footprint. You can even track how many trees you’ve planted in the Honest Mobile App.
We’re also working towards stopping carbon from being emitted in the first place. To do this, we’re working with our existing suppliers to encourage them to move to renewable energy and talking to new suppliers who can help us to achieve this goal more quickly.
want to remove even more CO2 from the atmosphere? 🌍
We’re really thankful that our customers are helping us to remove CO2 from the atmosphere. If you haven’t yet signed up yourself, why not Join Honest Mobile today!
If you’re already a happy customer, why not persuade a friend to join and you’ll each earn one free month!