01 February 2022     

Zero emissions for our websites

Sparkle with TIM Group to fight climate change

From today, Sparkle’s website is carbon neutral

We are continuing to reduce our climate footprint, a process we began last year by neutralising the greenhouse gas emissions generated by this site in 2020, and — again in collaboration with Rete Clima, a non-profit organisation specialising in promoting sustainability in organisations — we have cancelled out the CO2 emissions of 24 sites, including TIM's commercial and institutional sites, as well as the sites for the Group companies, such as Sparkle.

sparkle co2web

 

TIM Group websites' climate footprint

The web generates harmful emissions due to the energy consumed by the servers that host websites and the services that are needed to run them. Thanks to the CO2web® method developed by Rete Clima, we calculated that, in 2021, our Group's main websites, with a total of around 1.1 billion page views, generated approximately 900 tonnes of CO2eq, as much as would be produced by a car circling the planet 127 times. We have therefore decided to support initiatives that compensate for this impact, generating equally positive environmental effects.

Protecting the Amazon rainforest in Brazil

We have increased our contribution to Maìsa REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation), a project that promotes the conservation of more than 28,000 hectares of Amazon rainforest in Brazil by monitoring illegal deforestation and preserving the great biodiversity of local flora and fauna that is a world heritage and an effective fight against climate change. The project also involves the local population through training that promotes sustainable farming and develops new economic opportunities for local farmers.

Urban forestry in Milan and forest management in Umbria

In addition to the carbon offsetting project in Brazil, we are also pursuing our commitment to environmental protection domestically by supporting two forest redevelopment projects in Italy which we will launch in the spring with the aim of increasing the naturalness of urban green areas and generating services for the country and the population. 
The first is Milan’s Parco Nord, a large urban park that can contribute to the redevelopment of the area and to a truly green improvement of the city. In addition to the 70 trees already planned last year, we will plant 80 more trees in accordance with Rete Clima's “Protocollo Forestazione Italiana®”. During their average 30-year lifespan, these 150 trees will help to absorb about 50 tonnes of CO2. In terms of emissions, that is the equivalent of 500 refrigerators running for one year.
Furthermore, in Umbria, we are supporting a project dedicated to the “Città della Pieve-Piegaro Forest”, in collaboration with the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC). In this case, the aim is to increase the naturalness of the area by monitoring and protecting rare tree species to support biodiversity in forests.

Sparkle's commitment to the environment

The carbon offsetting project is part of Sparkle's broader commitment to reducing its environmental footprint.
Starting from 2008 we have carried out energy requalification interventions in our data centers in Greece and Turkey, adopting high efficiency electromechanical equipment, the most advanced cooling techniques, low energy consumption LED lights and so on. The new buildings, such as Metamorfosis II in Athens, are built and managed according to "green" principles, providing, in addition to evaporative cooling systems, also the installation of photovoltaic panels and the use of ceilings and walls capable of managing better temperature and noise absorption.

Climate change: What the TIM Group is doing 

Offsetting the emissions generated by our site is part of the TIM Group's sustainability strategy, which makes environmental protection fundamental, setting the goal of achieving Carbon Neutrality by 2030.  
The Group's activities focus on the use of renewable energy, reducing consumption by using fibre and 5G, offering green products and sustainable services and solutions for working, producing, learning, living and travelling. The TIM Group is developing and is committed to the deployment of technologies such as Cybersecurity, Cloud and IoT, which are essential tools for increasing the security, productivity and efficiency of individuals and organisations while reducing their impact on the environment. 

Rete Clima's CO2web® method

To assess the emissions of TIM Group websites, the CO2web® method developed by Rete Clima and verified by the ICMQ certifying body was used. This method calculates the greenhouse gas emissions generated by website hosting on the basis of the energy consumed by the servers hosting the web pages and of all the services required for their operation, including cooling.
Emissions were neutralised by cancelling carbon credits in support of an international environmental protection project, certified according to the Verra Verified Carbon Standard programme, to generate an equal amount of positive environmental impact (carbon offsetting).
Finally, the carbon neutrality of the sites has been certified with the issue of a green label "CO2 emission zero® website", which will appear on all the Group's websites.