Title page 1

Contents 3

Acknowledgements 2

Acronyms and abbreviations 5

Foreword 7

Executive summary 9

About ITU and WBA 16

1. Introduction 17

1.1. From accounting mechanisms to physical emissions reduction 19

1.2. Carbon offsets and carbon neutrality evolution 20

1.3. Energy procurement: from certificate purchases to system-aligned clean power 21

1.4. Artificial intelligence and the energy transition 23

1.5. The re-emergence of location-based emissions 23

1.6. Scope 3 emissions and the credibility of net-zero claims 26

1.7. From corporate action to climate transition 26

2. Assessment 30

2.1. State of company climate data disclosure 35

2.2. Electricity, energy and renewables 37

2.3. Emissions 43

2.3.1. Scope 1 and 2 operational emissions 43

2.3.2. Scope 3 emissions 45

2.3.3. Emissions summary and breakdown by ICT subsector 48

2.4. Target setting 53

2.4.1. Net-zero and carbon neutral targets 53

2.4.2. Scope 1 and 2 operational emissions near-term targets 54

2.4.3. Indirect Scope 3 emission near-term targets 55

2.5. Climate transition planning 56

2.6. Climate assessment scoring 58

3. Conclusions and recommendations 61

3.1. Recommendations for digital companies, ICT regulators and policy-makers 63

3.2. Looking ahead 65

4. Annexes 66

Annex A: Company overview 67

Annex B: Assessment and scoring methodology 78

Annex C: Climate assessment scoring example 82

Annex D: Climate assessment scores 84

Annex E: Emissions reduction commitments 92

Annex F: Climate transition plan example - Swisscom 129

Table 1. Transition plan components guided by the principles of ambition, action and accountability 28

Table 2. Summary of key climate disclosure indicators across the 200 assessed companies, 2024 36

Table 3. Breakdown of total energy, electricity and renewable electricity consumption of the 200 companies by region 2024. Note that... 39

Table 4. Breakdown of total energy, electricity and renewable electricity consumption by ICT subsector; note that some companies report... 40

Table 5. Renewable electricity procurement strategies, supply-chain requirements and clean energy commitments among the ten largest... 42

Table 6. Number of companies reporting within each of the 15 Scope 3 categories and their total emissions per category, 2024 47

Table 7. Breakdown of Scope 1, 2 (location-based and market-based) and Scope 3 emissions by ICT subsector as reported by the assessed... 49

Figure 1. Estimated emissions avoided through corporate Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), 2024 in megatons of CO₂ 25

Figure 2. Distribution of the 200 assessed digital companies by ICT subsector (left) and headquarters region (right), number of companies... 33

Figure 3. Overview of greenhouse gas emission scopes 34

Figure 4. Number and share of assessed companies publishing a dedicated climate report, by headquarters region, 2024 37

Figure 5. Top 10 digital companies by energy and electricity consumption (TWh), and compared to selected economies, 2024 38

Figure 6. Renewable energy and electricity consumption and reporting share, 2024 41

Figure 7. Scope 1 and 2 emissions of the top 50 digital companies in 2024, with the top 10 emitters accounting for 54% of total emissions 44

Figure 8. Breakdown of 93 companies disclosing both operational (Scope 1 and 2) and indirect (Scope 3) emissions, 2024 46

Figure 9. Share of total reported Scope 1, location-based Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions by ICT subsector, 2024 50

Figure 10. Trajectory of operational emissions (including location-based Scope 2 emissions) among Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet and Meta,... 51

Figure 11. Number of companies in ICT subsectors with net-zero commitments as of 2024, by target date 53

Figure 12. Breakdown of companies by Scope 1 and 2 near-term target performance, 2024 54

Figure 13. Breakdown of emissions by Scope 1 and 2 near-term target performance, 2024 54

Figure 14. Scope 2 emissions (million tCO2e) trajectory for companies with SBTi validated targets that report location-based and market-based... 55

Figure 15. Elements of a transition plan, 2024 57

Figure 16. Companies scoring at least 75 per cent on the climate assessment, 2024 59

Figure 17. Climate performance score distribution (2023-2026) 59

Figure 18. Climate performance scores by area (2023-2026) 60

Explanatory Boxes 5

Explanatory Box 1. Company selection, data sources and comparability 31

Explanatory Box 2. Understanding the GHG Protocol scope framework 34

Explanatory Box 3. Methodology note 58

Explanatory Box 4. Climate assessment scoring methodology review through industry consultation and recommended improvements 79

Spotlight Boxes 5

Spotlight Box 1. Spotlight: Digital companies as corporate renewable electricity purchasers 25

Spotlight Box 2. Spotlight: Climate transition plans 28

Spotlight Box 3. Spotlight: AI-related growth and operational emissions among major digital infrastructure providers 50

Table A1. Overview of the 200 digital companies included in the climate assessment 67

Table C1. Assessment score calculations for Swisscom 82

Table D1. Climate assessment scores of the 200 digital companies 84

Table E1. Emissions reduction commitments of the 200 digital companies 92

Table F1. Elements, criteria and evidence for Swisscom reports 129