BT becomes first diamond partner of the “ecosummit 2012” conference

BT promotes sustainable companies and supports the new Ecosummit Award

BT, one of the world’s leading providers of communications solutions and services, is the first Diamond Partner to support the Ecosummit 2012 (ECO12) sustainability conference being held on the 22nd and 23rd of March in Berlin. The event’s aim is to promote the development of sustainable, eco-friendly business models. Within the partnership, BT Germany is supporting the new “Ecosummit Award” in the “Smart Green Corporate” category.

Clean technologies, renewable energies, e-mobility and smart concepts for green urban development – these sustainability issues form the focus of the third Ecosummit, being held in March 2012. The event is organised by Mobile Economy GmbH and defines itself as the “Smart Green Business Network and Conference”. BT Germany will be supporting the conference in its role as Diamond Partner. The event in the German capital is expected to be attended by around 400 investors, company founders, managers and visionaries.

The “Ecosummit Award” is being presented for the first time at Ecosummit 2012. BT Germany is sponsoring the “Smart Green Corporate” category with a total prize money of Euro 15,000. The winner will be selected among companies whose solutions and products support economic and ecological sustainability in a truly exceptional way.

The international competition will run from November 2011 to March 2012. The Corporate category is open to European companies from any industry sector that are already established in the market. From 1st November 2011, the entrants will be able to submit their applications online at http://ecosummit.net. Every Internet user can view the entries on the website and select his or her favourites. A high-calibre panel of judges will subsequently assess the entries and announce the winner at Ecosummit 2012.

“BT is a preferred partner for our activities because the company is well known for its ambitious international climate and sustainability targets and implements these credibly and consistently”, says Jan Michael Hess, Managing Director of Mobile Economy GmbH and founder of the Ecosummit event.

For Karsten Lereuth, CEO of BT Germany, the most important thing is that the competition shows how economic success and ecological responsibility can go hand in hand. “For people, ideas and products that follow this goal, the award offers an attractive platform and will hopefully generate a great deal of new impulses.”

At BT, sustainable business has been an important part of the company’s business strategy for around 20 years. As far back as 1992, the group set a climate protection target and then tightened it further: By 2020, BT is aiming to reduce its own worldwide CO2 emission intensity by 80 per cent compared to the levels of 1997. So far, BT has managed to reduce it by 59 per cent, including through improvements to its energy efficiency, use of electricity from renewable sources and the introduction of flexible working practices.

BT is particularly dedicated to the use of renewable energies. In the United Kingdom, BT aims to generate 25 per cent of its total energy requirements from renewable sources by 2016, this includes plans to build its own wind farms. More than 40 per cent of the electricity BT uses in the UK already comes from renewable sources.

Further information on BT’s sustainability strategy and the achievements it has made in the past year can be found in BT’s Sustainability Report 2011:
http://www.btplc.com/Responsiblebusiness/Ourstory/Sustainabilityreport/index.aspx