How to Go Green as aTelecommunication Companyin a Global Market

Abstract: The issue of sustainability has gained significance in the past two decades or so particularly inthe business sector throughout the globe. Companies from various industries have inculcatedaspects of sustainability in their portfolios due to reasons ranging from stakeholder demandsto industry competition and profit. In fact, with the issues of climate change and resourcedepletion now gaining global political and economic significance; not going ‘green’ is not anoption for companies anymore.This paper sheds light on the ways that companies are becoming more environmental friendlyand benefitting from this process. All aspects of the business process ranging fromprocurement of materials to waste management and recycling have been viewed from asustainability perspective. This also includes the manner in which firms practice ‘greenmarketing’ for their environmental friendly practices and products. Since this paper will actas a guiding strategy for a company ‘Ascom’, the industry under focus is thetelecommunications industry. More specifically, the activities of three of Ascom’s majorcompetitors namely Siemens, Alcatel and Cisco have been thoroughly reviewed to providebenchmarks for Ascom. Coupled with the current theories and frameworks on the issue ofsustainability in business, the benchmarks set by these competitors will be used torecommend Ascom on how they can become more ‘green’.