Orange Business champions dual budgeting to accelerate climate action

Orange Business has established itself as a trailblazer in carbon budgeting within the telecoms sector, driven by Orange Group’s ambitious strategy to cut total emissions by 45% by 2030 and hit Net Zero by 2040. By strategically managing and reporting financial performance alongside carbon performance, it aims to carve a path to long-term, environmentally sustainable success. It is important to note that the Orange greenhouse gas reduction targets are validated and approved by the not-for-profit Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi). This means it has reviewed its emissions-reduction goals and confirmed they are consistent with the climate science pathway to cut emissions aligned with the latest science and the Paris Agreement. 
In a recent report, 81% of organisations said they have accelerated their decarbonization using the SBTi targets, and 76% said they experienced increased investor confidence. ¹ The same as Orange Business, companies adhering to the SBTi framework are formally checked and validated every five years. 

As an operator, integrator, and platform player, Orange Business recognizes its important role in reducing the environmental impacts of digital technology. As well as building a resilient, secure & trusted infrastructure and solutions that guarantee business continuity, it believes it also has a responsibility to minimize its carbon footprint to safeguard the planet for future generations.

To achieve this, Orange Business has embraced dual budgeting which involves reporting financial performance alongside carbon impact. This moves beyond standard compliance to active emissions reductions across Scopes 1, 2 and 3. These are defined by the GHG Protocol, a not-for-profit organization that develops internationally-accepted greenhouse gas reporting and accounting standards. 

Orange Business breaks down its overarching carbon goal and sets an annual CO2 footprint budget for each of its business entities, including Orange Business International, Orange Business France, Orange Cyberdefense. KPIs may be different depending on the business. All include training KPIs, while not all, for example, will utilize refurbished equipment. Some are required to commit to higher targets because they have a greater environmental impact, such as Global Delivery and Operations (GDO), which looks after data centers. The overarching budgeting strategy is overseen by Orange Business’ Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Finance team. 

Orange Business draws on its own internal intelligence and the expertise, data and modelling from internal organizations such as Orange Innovation, which are helping to set carbon budgets and developing pathways to carbon neutrality. To assess the current CO2 baseline, Orange Business also applies some of the metrics of ADEME (French Agency for Ecological Transition).

Orange Business combines monetary and physical methodologies to account for Scope 3 emissions. Here, Scope 1 covers direct emissions generated by a company’s activities, Scope 2 covers purchased energy and Scope 3 covers emissions across the value chain via suppliers and materials, for example. 

First, Orange Business and other organizations used the monetary that estimates the amount of CO2 emitted per euro spent. However, this does not account for energy price rises or inflation, which can distort carbon budgeting and make performance tracking unreliable. 

To this followed the physical approach, which Orange Business uses to measure actual quantities used, such as megawatts of electricity, litters of fuel, or volumes of products and services purchased, applying emissions factors to these physical units to enhance accuracy. In addition, Orange Business has agreements with partners that provide emissions information for the products they supply. 

Overall, carbon budgeting as part of Orange Business’ dual budgeting strategy strengthens relationships with both stakeholders and customers by combining environmental responsibility with strategic financial foresight. 

Analysts also note that it provides customers with the transparency they need for long-term investments. RFPs increasingly include sustainability criteria as organizations look to prioritize environmental responsibility, regulatory compliance and long-term savings.

IDC predicts that, as early as next year, 75% of customers will expect CO2 emissions data on everything from the build, operate, and disposition of their IT assets to assist with overall corporate sustainability goals. ²

Dual budgeting, built on annual internal targets, is critical to Orange Business staying on track to meet the Group’s sustainability objectives by turning abstract climate goals into measurable quotas. At the same time, it helps Orange Business to achieve the difficult balance required between business value and environmental responsibility. 

¹ SBTi report https://sciencebasedtargets.org/#:~:text=About%20the%20SBTi,Based%20Targets%20initiative%20(SBTi).

² IDC Futurescape sustainability 2025 https://my.idc.com/research/viewtoc.jsp?containerId=US52418624