Green mobile phone networks are networks that operate on at least a carbon neutral basis, meaning there is no environmental impact to your use of the mobile telephone network.
Currently, there are only two networks that offer green mobile phone contracts in the United Kingdom. Any new environmentally freindly network will come in as a Tier 2 Network and use the infrastructure owned and operated by Tier 1 mobile phone networks.
What is a Tier 1 mobile phone newtork?
List Of Green Mobile Phone Networks
Greenermobiles.com
We used to offer environmentally friendly mobile phone contracts for business use, but have now taken a step back to focus on finding and promoting the best green mobile phone network and handset deals for our customers.
Previously carbon neutral on the energy side, offsetting mobile network carbon, we also pledged to reduce our carbon footprint in every area possible. However, we have found the need to change some suppliers like our website hosting company that was under performing. Although we champion green products, we will only promote and use products that perform well and save the planet. There’s no reason to compromise.
Ecotalk
A great service provider that has teamed up with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, a charitable ogranisation registered in England and Wales. With the RSPB behind Ecotalk, you can be sure of their green credentials.
Powering all of your mobile phone use with green energy sourced from wind farms and solar energy, Ecotalk ensure that whatever energy you use is accounted for with renewables. They certify that they use Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin (REGOs) to verify where their energy comes from and how they allocate it.
Profits from their business are used to help preserve wildlife for birds in the UK. They purchase habitats, plant trees and help other wildlife to thrive. Work to regenerate abandoned coal mining facilities transforms formerly desolate industrial landscapes into beautiful nature reserves.
One of the biggest points made by Ecotalk is on how land is used in the UK. “approximately 75 per cent of the land in Britain is used for farming. We use some of that land to grow plants which we eat, but about 75 per cent of it is used to feed livestock. If people ate more plants and less animals, that would free up about half of our land to give back to nature.”
Phone Network Tier 1 Partner
Although they are a green mobile network, they cannot provide mobile telephony services independently and must rely on one of the Tier 1 mobile telephone network providers as described here. However, not all mobile phone networks were created equal in terms of their green credentials. Ecotalk use the EE network who set a target to reduce their carbon emissions by 80% by 2020 which was achieved. Although they still have carbon reduction targets, they don’t appear to be aiming for carbon neutrality.
Honest Mobile
Honest Mobile are the self-proclaimed first ever carbon neutral mobile phone network in the United Kingdom.
That’s some claim, but they have received Carbon Neutral Company status after working with On A Mission. They deliver carbon neutral calls and have gone carbon neutral in their day-to-day business operations. The thing that really sets them apart is that they have worked to go carbon neutral on
- Energy consumed indirectly by suppliers
- Recycling office material and waste
- Business postage and packing
- Upstream suppliers (e.g producers of packaging and sim cards)
- Mobile phone handset manufacturers
- Transport, travel and employee daily commutes
- Customer energy use (like daily charging of phones)
Covering customer energy use is going above and beyond. Any consumer going for green mobile phone contracts is going to be the type of person who is probably going to make sure their life is as carbon neutral as possible. By doing this extra little bit, Honest Mobile are progressing from being carbon neutral to being carbon negative.
Phone Network Tier 1 Partner
Their primary network is Three, but Honest Mobile say that if you lose signal, you’ll automatically be switched over to the EE or O2 network. Very good for reliable connectivity. A drawback of this network switching for Honest Mobile is they will need to keep a close eye on what network is being used at what time for all of their users to make sure they stay carbon neutral. Or they could just assume their users are on the least environmentally friendly network at all times.
Honest Mobile tell us on their own website that EE and Three have no carbon neutral commitment, while O2 aim to be net-zero by 2025 and Vodafone by 2050. Presumably they need to offset the usage of carbon from less efficient networks, but they guarantee they are carbon neutral, so we believe them. After all, they are Honest.
If you want to live a green lifestyle, make sure you also use a green mobile phone network.