T-Mobile this week released its second annual Corporate Responsibility Report, an overview of its environmental, social, and governance (ESG) strategy from the 2021 calendar year. 

According to the report, in 2021 T-Mobile spent $3.27 billion working with diverse suppliers, met 50% of its “Equity In Action Promises,” and connected with 3.2 million students through its education programs. Equity In Action is a 5-year plan comprised of 54 commitments to further embed DE&I into T-Mobile's operations. The company is currently in the second year of this plan.

On the environmental side, the report claims 100% of the carrier's electricity usage is sourced from renewable energy. 

T-Mobile is looking to join other corporations on the Billion Dollar Roundtable for supply chain diversity excellence by 2025. In a company blog, CEO Mike Sievert said T-Mobile's mission is to "connect people."

Sievert used the occasion to tout the carrier's 5G network, adding, "That’s why we are investing so heavily to further extend our unrivaled 5G leadership with our transformative network."

T-Mobile cites "Equitable Opportunities, Digital Empowerment, and Thriving Planet" as the three elements guiding its ESG approach. T-Mobile's board of directors, half of which the company says “self-identify as women and/or members of traditionally underrepresented racial/ethnic groups," heads ESG governance.  

T-Mobile is not the only company investing in ESG strategy. Analyst firm IDC forecasts that ESG business services spending will hit $158 billion by 2025.

The firm predicts human capital management will be the fastest-growing area of ESG spending in coming years. That said, IDC also sees potential for sustainability spending, estimating that by 2025, nearly two-thirds of the total business services market will be encompassed by sustainability-linked business consulting services.

“There’s stakeholder pressure, there’s mandatory reporting standards, but also being studied and being seen is a business case for sustainability,” Dan Versace, ESG business service research analyst at IDC, told SDxCentral in June. 

T-Mobile’s most recent ESG assessment, designed to determine which ESG issues matter most to an organization, took place in 2021 after the company’s merger with Sprint. The assessment relied on survey responses from employees and customers, as well as interviews with internal and external stakeholders, according to the report. 

Results showed that governance topics such as digital privacy and security and ethical business practices scored high, while areas of social impact, like digital equity, employee diversity and inclusion, human rights, and health, safety, and wellness were ranked as top priority. 

Climate change and waste and recycling were top environmental issues.

"We are resolute in our commitment to operate responsibly, with integrity, and with a focus on the well-being of our communities and planet," Sievert said.

SDxCentral reached out to T-Mobile for this story but the company declined to comment.