Contribution to society

We contribute to the development of society through environmental protection, digital inclusion, privacy, and cyber security.

Telia Social Impact Report

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Mission at Telia

Our mission at Telia is to contribute to the development of society, making Estonia a better place to live and work.

We have carefully considered the environmental impact of our activities and how to reduce it. In addition to environmental protection, we place great importance on digital inclusion and aim to ensure that essential privacy and security requirements are met in the best possible way.

Contributing to important areas such as environmental protection, circular economy, digital inclusion, privacy, and security is part of Telia’s business strategy and aligns with our values.

The environment and circular economy

Digital inclusion

Privacy and security

Sustainability

We have linked our sustainability focus areas to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. We focus on areas related to industry, infrastructure, sustainable cities, and climate change mitigation. We also prioritise responsible consumption and sustainable energy.

We share the principles of peaceful and inclusive institutions. Additionally, we value gender equality, employment, growth, global cooperation, and high-quality education.

Collaboration is key to achieving our goals – we involve our employees, customers, and partners in this process.

We have joined several organisations and agreements that allow us to contribute to the development of society in a broader context.

Telia is a member of the Green Tiger representative organisation. Our goal is to collaborate with other influential companies in environmental protection.
As a member of the Estonian Association of Information Technology and Telecommunications (ITL), we help strengthen the ICT sector by actively participating in sectoral development and cooperation. Through this, we also promote professional education, sustainable thinking, and make proposals for improving legislation.
We are the members of the Sustainable Business Association (KELL). We consider responsible and sustainable business practices to be important and wish to contribute to societal development alongside other companies with similar values.
We are members of the Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Estonian Employers’ Confederation. We also belong to the club of innovative companies established by the Employers’ Confederation, which includes businesses that invest at least 2% of their turnover in research and development.
Telia has joined the Diversity Charter. We respect the diversity of people and value the principles of equal treatment.
Telia is part of the ‘Employers Against Domestic Abuse’ initiative, which aims to create awareness and secure working environments where domestic violence can be recognised and those in need can receive support.

The Responsible Business Forum in Estonia

The Responsible Business Forum (VEF), now succeeded by the Sustainable Business Association (KELL), has awarded Telia Estonia the highest quality label, i.e. the Gold Level label.

The Responsible Business Index is the only sustainable development management tool and quality label in Estonia among its peers.

The quality label is awarded based on the evaluation of those companies participating in the Estonian Responsible Business Index that strategically contribute to environmental protection, society, and responsible management practices.

Awards and certificates

Telia Company

Сertificate (PNG)

Telia Eesti

Reports archive

Telia's Social Impact Report 2024 Telia's Social Impact Report 2023 Telia's Social Impact Report 2022 Telia's Social Impact Report 2021

Digitalisation

Digitisation has significant potential from an environmental perspective, as it enables more informed and sustainable choices, reduces resource consumption, and enhances the efficiency of everyday activities. The communications services, video conferencing solutions, remote work options, as well as IoT (Internet of Things) and cloud-based services offered by Telia create excellent opportunities for this.

Digitisation plays an essential role in making thoughtful and informed choices, avoiding excessive energy consumption, and preventing the creation of digital waste.

Goals

Our general goal is to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions across the entire value chain by 2040. To reach our goals, we have set both short-term and long-term objectives.

Key short-term objectives:

Reduce our operational greenhouse gas emissions by 90% by 2030 compared to the baseline year of 2018
Reduce our indirect greenhouse gas emissions by 29% by 2025 compared to the baseline year of 2018
Increase the share of Telia’s suppliers who have set science-based targets to 72% by 2025

Key long-term objectives:

Maintain our operational greenhouse gas emissions at 90% between 2030 and 2040 compared to the baseline year of 2018
Reduce indirect greenhouse gas emissions by 90% by 2040 compared to the baseline year of 2018

We have a certified environmental management system, ISO 14001 (PDF).

Energy from renewable sources and efficient energy usage

Since 2016, Telia has been using only electricity from renewable sources. For example, the Telšiai wind farm, in Lithuania, accounted for 62% of total energy consumption in 2024.
By the end of 2024, we will have built 73 solar parks with a total capacity of 1,066 kW at our mobile tower sites.
We monitor the energy consumption per unit of data transmitted in our mobile networks, ensuring that the energy required per data unit decreases year by year.

Our energy strategy consists of four focus areas:

Implementing innovative solutions to reduce energy consumption in the ICT sector
Increasing energy efficiency
Using renewable energy and adding renewable energy production capacity to the grid
Reducing energy consumption in other sectors through digitisation

One of our energy goals for 2040 is to ensure that the district heating we use will be 100% renewable by 2040. In 2024, we had already achieved 65% renewable heating. We have also replaced traditional fuels in our backup generators with diesel fuel based on renewable raw materials.

We began using electric vehicles in our car fleet in 2020. The share of electric vehicles in our fleet continues to grow year by year.

Waste and circular economy

One of our goals for 2030 is to ensure that 100% of the waste generated by Telia’s operations is either recycled or directed back into circulation as materials. The result for 2024 was 92%.

We are reducing electronic waste by offering customers refurbished smartphones, computers, routers, and set-top boxes.
We accept small electronics at our shops, directing them for reuse whenever possible. Devices that are not suitable for reuse are sent for recycling, where valuable materials such as metals and plastics are extracted.
We also direct network equipment, which no longer adds value for us, to further use.
We issue several products to customers in reusable packaging. Goods between our warehouses are also transported in reusable containers.
We are focusing on raising awareness about the digital footprint, i.e. digital waste, and reducing it. Every year, we organise a nationwide digital clean-up day.

Cooperation

Our biggest climate impact comes from the supply chain – from device manufacturing to service consumption. Therefore, it is essential to collaborate with our customers, partners, and suppliers.

We place great importance on ensuring that our suppliers share Telia’s values and act in an environmentally responsible and sustainable way. We expect them to follow the Telia Supplier Code of Conduct in their operations and across the supply chain.
We develop and offer products and solutions to our customers that help them operate more sustainably.
Employee engagement is also crucial – we promote environmental awareness among our employees, ensuring that they understand their impact on the environment and contribute to increasing positive environmental effects while minimising negative ones.
We have joined several organisations (e.g. Green Tiger, ITL, KELL) to contribute to society more broadly and exchange experiences.

Our contribution

At Telia, one of our key objectives is extending the lifecycle of devices and contributing to the circular economy to support our environmental goals.

Trade-in programme: this solution allows customers to return their old device and receive a new one at a better price. Telia will either refurbish the old device for reuse or responsibly recycle its materials.
Refurbished devices: we offer certified and guaranteed refurbished smartphones, which help save both money and the environment.
Computer fleet rental service: Green IT, a subsidiary of Telia, offers the option of device rental. After the rental period ends, the devices are either reassigned to new owners or sent for proper recycling.
Old electronics: Telia accepts small electronic devices returned by customers at our shops. Whenever possible, these devices are either reused or sent for recycling to extract valuable materials like metals and plastics.
Customer device reuse: the customer devices we provide (routers and set-top boxes) are part of a circular system, where customers use them through a rental model.

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What should you do with used equipment?

To protect the environment and conserve natural resources, used equipment should be taken to an electronic waste collection point.

What is electronic waste?

Electronic waste includes used computers, mobile phones, TVs, cameras, household appliances, batteries, accumulators, etc.

Why is electronic waste collected?

The aim of collecting electronic waste is to recycle it to the maximum extent possible. Used laptops, TVs and mobile phones, for example, contain gold, silver, copper and other rare metals that can be reused. Recycling can also prevent the release of harmful substances into the environment.

Where can I take used equipment?

You can take your used equipment to an electronic waste collection point or bring it to a Telia office.

I’m looking at the contact details of the agencies.

Where are the collection points for electronic waste located?

You can find the locations of the collection points on the website of MTÜ Eesti Elektroonikaromu and the website MTÜ EES-Ringlus.

Digital inclusion

We contribute to digital inclusion and aim to reduce the risk of a digital gap. Our goal is to improve life and work in Estonia through smart and inclusive digitisation.

We continuously update and develop new ways to promote the development of digital skills in vulnerable groups within society, such as the elderly and children. We also place great importance on supporting the development of cyber security skills and ensuring accessibility.

Telia Estonia has joined the Diversity Charter and has been the holder of the diversity label ‘We Respect Differences’ since 2020.

Telia's diversity and inclusion goals support equal opportunities and gender balance.

Telia Children's Advisory Panel Surveys

2022 Child and Youth Privacy Survey Report (EST)
Report on the 2021 study: Children’s experiences with online disinformation (EST)
Report on the 2020 study: e-learning during distance learning (EST)
Report on the 2019 study: Children’s Advisory Panel, online games and e-sports (EST)
Tips for parents about online games (EST)
Principles of Telia: responsible online gaming (EST)
Report on the 2018 study (EST)

Telia Company’s website on children’s rights

Children and young people

At the beginning of 2025, Telia decided to support the AI Leap 2025 education program, inspired by the Tiger Leap initiative. As part of this programme, Estonian students and teachers will have free access to world-leading artificial intelligence learning applications and acquire the skills necessary for using them effectively in their studies.
Since 2023, Telia has been the main sponsor of the Baltic and Nordic cyber security competition ‘Cyber Battle of Estonia’ for youth and students.
The LaserTech show, a spin-off of the TV3 programme Laser supported by Telia, explores various technological topics and trends circulating on social media in an entertaining way.
The educational web game Spoofy, supported by Telia, teaches children and young people how to recognise cyber threats and engage in safe internet behaviour.
The Young Coders programme, a collaboration between the Institute of Computer Science of the University of Tartu and Telia, offers young people the opportunity to learn programming, robot building, virtual reality, and much more.
Codesters.club is a digital product development programme for Estonian high school students, where they learn design, development, and project management, receiving expert advice along the way.
Cybergram is a privacy education platform for school students, created by the Estonian Human Rights Centre in collaboration with Telia’s privacy experts.
Together with F-Secure, we offer the Telia SAFE security solution, which can be used on computers, tablets, and smartphones to help children navigate the digital world safely.
Telia organises the ‘Wisely Online’ webinars in cooperation with the Estonian Union for Child Welfare.
We also collaborate with the KiVa School initiative and support the creation of e-learning materials and conferences on cyberbullying prevention.

The elderly

For years, Telia has been standing out in reducing the digital gap in society and developing digital skills among the elderly.

In 2024, Telia launched the Digital Mentors programme in partnership with the University of Tartu. This programme aims to improve the digital skills of seniors through guidance from younger mentors, creating lasting intergenerational relationships.

In collaboration with the Institute of Social Sciences of the University of Tartu, we offer training sessions, workshops, and mentoring aimed at helping seniors navigate the digital environment with confidence and awareness. The initiative focuses on community-based learning and mutual mentorship, where young job seekers and stage II and stage III students share their knowledge with younger people and those with lower digital skills.

Additionally, on our website, we have a section called ‘Learn and Teach – Guides – Telia’ where you can find helpful tips on teaching digital skills to seniors.

Accessibility

At Telia, we operate under the principle that our communications services and digital environments should be accessible to all, including people with special needs. To achieve this, we collaborate with experts in the field and users with special needs.

We have been continuously increasing the accessibility of our digital environments, primarily based on the WCAG standard. To ensure that our online platforms meet these standards and are practically user-friendly, we have started collaborating with the Accessibility Forum NGO, whose experts help test the usability of Telia’s web environments.
More and more content is arriving on Telia TV with closed captions.
As one of the first mobile operators in Europe, Telia Estonia began offering a new text transmission solution, RTT, in 2024, which allows customers to exchange text messages alongside phone calls. This real-time text transmission is primarily aimed at people with hearing and speech difficulties.
Our customer service employees have received training on how to better serve customers with special needs.
We have analysed and improved the accessibility of our shops, actively involving people with special needs in our activities to ensure that everyone can visit our shops.
We are continuing preparations to align our activities and services with the soon-to-be-enforced requirements of the Products and Services Accessibility Act.

Women into technology

There are still several challenges in digital inclusion within Estonian society. For example, while the proportion of women in the Estonian technology sector is slightly above the European average, there is still much untapped potential.

This is why we are encouraging new generations and facilitating women currently looking for their next challenges in the labour market to find them in the IT field, specifically.

We have launched several programmes to support this:

The ‘Women in Tech’ programme by Telia and Smart Work Association supports women entering the IT field by offering retraining opportunities that help them start their careers with confidence and awareness.
In the ‘Telia Future Minds’ internship programme, women made up 57% of all Telia interns.
One of the goals of our youth-oriented collaboration projects is to inspire the next generation to pursue a career in technology.

Our goal is to maintain gender balance at all levels within Telia, from leadership and middle management to team compositions.

Data protection and security

Data protection and security are crucial parts of our daily operations when providing communications services and IT services. Our task is to ensure that we process our customers’ data legally and reliably.

We make daily efforts to remain at a high level of data protection and security in the constantly changing digital world.
We have set privacy and security as one of our strategic directions and lead these areas through clear goals, action plans, and processes.
We regularly train both our employees and partners on how to best meet data protection and security requirements. Each year, Telia conducts over several dozen data protection and security training sessions and evaluates their impact through an annual internal data protection awareness survey.
The Telia data centres, IT services, and mobile, telephone, and data services are certified according to the ISO 27001 (information security management) standard. This confirms that Telia regularly identifies, assesses, and manages security risks.

Services for private and business customers

Telia has launched several services to help our customers operate more securely or to offer protection from various cyber threats:

Services for private customers:

Services for business customers:

In addition to the services offered, we also implement internal controls to detect and block scam calls before they reach our customers.

To help all our customers better prevent and be aware of various cyber threats, we share relevant news and advice through Digitark articles.