Interview: Virgin Media O2’s Dana Haidan on growing a green strategy

For nearly four years, Virgin Media O2 (VMO2) chief sustainability officer (CSO) Dana Haidan has been pushing ahead with environment, social and governance (ESG) strategy at the telecoms provider – and getting real results for her efforts. Prioritising and embedding sustainability, including emissions reduction, throughout the business is not just a nice-to-have but supports customer trust, as well as demand for its products and services – nurturing 46.4 million mobile connections, 5.5 million consumer fixed-line customers, and total services revenue exceeding £2bn in its year to first-quarter (Q1) 2026. It all adds up to a reshaping of the entity’s strategy post-merger in 2021. Key vehicles include VMO2’s new Responsible Business and Green Transition plans, built out from an earlier Better Connections initiative. The provider cut Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by 16% in 2025 and 63% versus its 2020 baseline. By 2030, VMO2 promises to have slashed Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 90% versus 2020. Haidan says VMO2 is poised to hit its science-based targets initiative (SBTi) validated net-zero goal across operations, products and supply chain by 2040. “We’ve set out really ambitious targets for our decarbonisation work, our circularity and digital inclusion,” she says. “In five years, we’ve delivered nearly all of our targets, especially net zero.” For Haidan, the future is about modernisation that incorporates green energy efficiencies throughout the network estate, reducing carbon per gigabyte (GB) with every network extension and a new generation of network technologies. Another big target is e-waste, she says. Slashing e-waste can be huge for emissions reduction Research suggests 52% to 82% of the total carbon footprint of IT hardware, including smartphones, comes from mineral mining, manufacturing and transport through the supply chain. From 2014-2020, Scope 3 emissions from embodied carbon in e-waste increased 53% to 580mt3 of CO2-equivalent (CO2e)...