NBN Co will strive to achieve net zero emissions across its operations and value chain by 2045, bringing its commitment forward by five years.
The commitment, which the company said has been validated by the global Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), accelerates its previous commitment to achieve net zero by 2050, or sooner, and was set in 2023.
As part of the company’s long-term goal of net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2045, NBN Co has made long-term targets, which have also been validated by the SBTi. These include:
- NBN Co commits to maintain a minimum reduction of 95 per cent absolute scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions from FY30 through FY45 from a FY21 base year
- NBN Co commits to reduce absolute scope 3 GHG emissions by 90 per cent by FY45 from a FY21 base year
These new targets follow nbn’s 2023 commitment to near-term science based targets, which were also validated by the SBTi, and include:
- NBN Co commits to reduce absolute scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 95 per cent by FY30 from a FY21 base year
- NBN Co also commits to reduce scope 3 GHG emissions from use of sold products by 60 per cent per device within the same timeframe
- NBN Co further commits that 80 per cent of its suppliers by spend, covering purchased goods and services, capital goods, and downstream transportation and distribution, will have science-based targets by FY27
NBN Co Executive General Manager, Safety, Wellbeing and Sustainability, Stephen Smith, said, “Our network spans the entire continent, carrying over 80 per cent of the nation’s data in support of more than 20 million people every day.
“nbn is committed to operating sustainably and enabling long-term social, economic and environmental value for customers and for the nation,” he said.
“We continue to make progress in reducing emissions throughout our business and supply chain, rolling out energy efficient fibre connections across the nation, utilising renewable energy sources, deploying energy efficient network termination devices and partnering with our suppliers.
“Validation of our net zero and long-term emissions reduction targets by the SBTi demonstrates our ongoing commitment and support to Australia’s transition to net zero by 2050,” Mr Smith said.
To deliver against the updated target, NBN Co has set energy efficiency, renewable energy, and carbon reduction targets in its Climate Transition Plan.
This includes the company’s target of 100 per cent renewable electricity purchases from December 2025, which is underpinned by membership of the RE100, a global renewable electricity initiative comprising more than 400 of the world’s largest businesses.
NBN Co has signed three power purchase agreements (PPAs) to deliver on this commitment.
The company said two of these PPAs in New South Wales and Victoria are now operating and the third is enabling construction of a solar farm at Munna Creek in Queensland, which is currently anticipated to be operational later in 2025.
NBN Co also said it is committed to implementing projects that reduce annual energy use by 25GWh by December 2025 and is on track to deliver on this through a series of energy efficiency projects, including:
- Upgrading 62 Points of Interconnect as part of the Aggregation Evolution program to higher capacity, more energy efficient equipment.
- Implementing energy saving nodes at approximately 2,400 Fixed Wireless towers across rural and regional areas of Australia.
- Decommissioning legacy cable TV network equipment from nbn’s Hybrid Fibre Coaxial (HFC) cable network.
The company said deploying energy efficient fibre is key to enabling energy reductions over the long-term.
NBN Co is making ongoing investments in fibre connections which are designed to meet Australia’s current and future data demand whilst also delivering a faster, more energy efficient and resilient network.
In January 2025, NBN Co announced it will upgrade the remaining Fibre to the Node network across Australia, backed by an equity investment of up to $3 billion from the Federal Government, in addition to more than $800 million from NBN Co.
The investment is expected to benefit around 622,000 homes and businesses across the country, with more than half located in regional Australia.
It is expected that more than 95 per cent of these homes and businesses will have the option to upgrade to nbn full fibre via nbn Fibre to the Premises. NBN Co said the remaining five per cent require further design work to confirm the appropriate upgrade path.
The investment expands the company’s existing network upgrade programs and commitments to enable more than 10 million households and businesses – or around 90 per cent of the nbn fixed line network – access to nbn’s fastest wholesale residential speeds by the end of 2025.
The Company has already enabled access to these speeds for more than nine million homes and business, including more than four million that can now upgrade to nbn full fibre.
In addition to higher-speed services, NBN Co said full fibre connections require less active network components, meaning they are more energy efficient in comparison to other network technologies and are more resilient to climate change and extreme weather events.
