En route to a low carbon society.

Deutsche Telekom is campaigning for the use of renewable energies, since severing the link between energy consumption and CO₂ emissions represents a key milestone en route to a “low carbon society”.

Total energy needs in Germany covered through green electricity.
In 2008, we reached an important milestone in Germany. Since January, Deutsche Telekom’s total power requirements have been covered by renewable energies – in part directly, and in part by the purchase of green electricity certificates under the Renewable Energy Certificate System (RECS). These certificates stand for identifiable amounts of energy generated from renewable sources. Devaluation of the certificates at the time of issue to the end consumer ensures that the specified amount of green electricity has actually been generated and cannot be sold to third parties as green energy.

Innovative energy solutions within the Group.
Apart from severing the link between energy consumption and CO₂ emissions, we have been pursuing a second major objective: designing resource and energy-efficient corporate infrastructure and core processes also brings us closer to a “low carbon society”. To this end, we naturally fall back on innovations from within the Group:

• Smart metering system: In the year under review, we employed smart metering systems to visualize and optimize energy consumption in a Deutsche Telekom building complex in Hanover. Thanks to the detailed consumption data provided by the system, we were able to replace fluorescent and high-pressure lamps with innovative LED lighting systems in underground parking lots and parking areas. This way, energy consumption was reduced by 65 percent. Another advantage is the longer service life of the LEDs and, as a consequence, a reduction in the quantity of waste.
• Energy-efficient workplace systems: T-Home banks on the purchase and use of energy-efficient workplace systems. For this purpose, “thin clients” were tested at the workplace. The equipment offers an alternative to desktop PCs and notebooks and consumes significantly less power in comparison. In general, it was possible to reduce energy consumption significantly by implementing new workplace systems and printer services that replace the workplace printers.
• Increased use of solar energy: To achieve a greater reduction of our CO₂ levels, we have also gone in for solar energy. Since December 2008, a new photovoltaic system is producing electricity from solar energy on a Deutsche Telekom building in Darmstadt. Around 250 solar modules generate up to 58,500 kWh of electricity per year. On the energy monitor in the entrance area of the Darmstadt building, every visitor can read the instantaneous output of the photovoltaic system. Similar photovoltaic systems are operated, for instance, in Bonn, Munich, Cologne and Karlsruhe. Our Greek subsidiary OTE also uses solar energy. OTE operates over 170 smaller photovoltaic systems to cover the energy needs of cell sites in rural areas.