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Telecom's Greenest Vendors Research Report 2026: Assessment of Sustainability Performance for 49 Telcos - Ciena, Cisco, Ericsson and Nokia Lead, While Chinese Vendors & Fiber Suppliers Lag

globenewswire.com
CIEN Ciena is recognized as a leading greenest vendor in the Telecom Network Infrastructure market, ranking high in both scope 1 & 2 emissions intensity and scope 3 emissions. The company's investments in lowering its carbon footprint through renewable energy adoption are highlighted. CSCO Cisco is identified as a leading Network Equipment Provider (NEP) among the top 20 greenest vendors. The company's significant investments in reducing its direct carbon footprint via renewable energy and carbon abatement techniques are noted. DELL Dell is recognized as a leading Network Equipment Provider (NEP) within the top 20 greenest vendors. The article notes the company's investments in lowering its direct carbon footprint through renewable energy adoption. GOOG Alphabet is ranked among the top 10 greenest vendors when scope 3 emissions are included, particularly noting its Google Cloud Platform's significant sales to telcos. This indicates a strong sustainability performance in its services. MSFT Microsoft is listed among the top 10 greenest vendors when scope 3 emissions are considered, driven by its substantial telco NI sales. The company's software-centric approach is noted as a key driver for sustainability benefits. AMSC AMSC is mentioned in the list of 43 companies analyzed for the report, but no specific sentiment or performance data is provided for it in the article. AMZN Amazon is listed among the 43 vendors analyzed in the report, but no specific sustainability performance or sentiment is detailed for the company in the provided text. COMM CommScope is listed among the 43 vendors analyzed in the report. However, the article does not offer specific details regarding its sustainability performance or sentiment. GLW Corning is mentioned in the list of 43 vendors analyzed for the report. The article does not provide specific details on its sustainability performance or sentiment. CSGS CSG is ranked among the top 10 greenest vendors when scope 3 emissions are included, indicating a positive sustainability performance, particularly in the services sector. NTAP NetApp is mentioned in the list of 43 companies analyzed for the report, but no specific sentiment or performance data is provided for it in the article. FTNT Fortinet is ranked as one of the top 5 greenest vendors based on emissions intensity (scope 1 and 2). This highlights a strong performance in managing its direct carbon footprint. HPE HPE is listed among the 43 vendors analyzed in the report. However, the article does not offer specific details regarding its sustainability performance or sentiment. IBM IBM is included in the list of 43 vendors analyzed in the report. The article does not provide specific details regarding its sustainability performance or sentiment. INFY Infosys is ranked among the top 10 greenest vendors when scope 3 emissions are included, indicating a strong performance in the services sector regarding sustainability. INTC Intel is listed among the 43 vendors analyzed in the report. However, the article does not provide specific details regarding its sustainability performance or sentiment. NOK Nokia is recognized as a leading greenest vendor and a top-performing NEP. The company's investments in lowering its direct carbon footprint through renewable energy adoption and its energy-efficient 5G solutions are highlighted. ORCL Oracle is listed among the 43 vendors analyzed in the report. However, the article does not provide specific details regarding its sustainability performance or sentiment. SAP SAP SE is listed among the 43 vendors analyzed in the report. However, the article does not provide specific details regarding its sustainability performance or sentiment. TTEC TTEC is mentioned in the list of 43 companies analyzed for the report, but no specific sentiment or performance data is provided for it in the article. TECH Techniche is listed among the 43 vendors analyzed in the report. However, the article does not provide specific details regarding its sustainability performance or sentiment. TECK Teck is mentioned in the list of 43 companies analyzed for the report, but no specific sentiment or performance data is provided for it in the article. TM Toyota is mentioned in the list of 43 companies analyzed for the report, but no specific sentiment or performance data is provided for it in the article.

Dublin, Feb. 19, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Telecom's Greenest Vendors: Ciena, Cisco, Ericsson and Nokia Lead, While Chinese Vendors & Fiber Suppliers Lag" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

This report provides a deep-dive analysis of energy use, efficiency, and carbon emissions within the Telco Network Infrastructure (Telco NI) vendor market.

The research demonstrates that the vast majority of a telco's carbon footprint originates within its supply chain. Consequently, many operators spend millions of dollars annually on internal departments to audit supplier "green" practices. This independent study aims to streamline that process by providing a comprehensive assessment of the Telco NI supply chain, reducing the need for costly and redundant internal analyses.

Scope

This study focuses on a broad, diverse universe of Telco NI vendors. The analyst has tracked the Telco NI market quarterly since 2018, mapping vendor sales to telco spending. This "green vendor" study assesses the energy and sustainability performance of these vendors. For telcos to improve their own energy KPIs, understanding their supply chain is vital. The supply chain accounts for a majority of telcos' scope 3 emissions, which average 66% of total emissions in the global telco market. Moreover, because energy costs are rising and volatile, assessing the energy efficiency of the gear deployed in networks is essential for telco success.

This quarterly Telco NI vendor share series tracks 137 suppliers overall from 1Q13 through the present. 109 of these vendors remained active as of 2Q25. The study covers 49 of those 109 vendors, providing a comprehensive analysis of 43 of them. These 43 companies accounted for 79% of the global Telco NI market in 2024 and include:

Accenture, Alphabet, Amazon, Amdocs, Amphenol, Arista, Ciena, Cisco, CommScope, Corning, CSG, Dell, Ericsson, Fiberhome, Fortinet, Fujikura, Furukawa, Fujitsu, Harmonic, HCL, HPE, Huawei, Huber+Suhner, IBM, Infinera, Infosys, Intel, Juniper, Lenovo, Microsoft, NEC, NetScout, Nokia, Oracle, Prysmian, Samsung, SAP SE, Spirent, Sumitomo, TCS, Technicolor (now Vantiva), Tech Mahindra, and ZTE.

An additional six vendors are tracked for energy metrics and scope 1 and 2 emissions but are excluded from scope 3 analysis due to a lack of credible public reporting: AsiaInfo, Capgemini, China Comservice, Hengtong Optic, Ribbon, and Sterlite Tech.

Top 20 Green Vendors

Setting aside scope 3 emissions for the moment, so we can assess all 49 suppliers, we conclude that the top 5 greenest vendors in the Telco NI world as of 2025 are Ciena, Spirent, Fortinet, Lenovo, and Accenture. This ranking is based on emissions intensity: specifically, scope 1 and 2 (market-based) greenhouse gas emissions in metric tons of CO2-equivalent divided by revenues.

Each of these five has a distinct business model. Only Ciena and Spirent generate over half of their revenue from telcos; the others rely on a wide range of verticals. Furthermore, not all would be considered traditional Network Equipment Providers (NEPs). NEPs manufacture their own gear and spend heavily on physical components, which typically results in higher energy consumption and increased scope 1 and 2 emissions.

Within the top 20 performers for scope 1 and 2 intensity, the leading NEPs are Ciena, Lenovo, Cisco, Dell, Ericsson, Infinera (now part of Nokia), Arista, and Nokia. These companies have invested heavily in lowering direct carbon footprints through rapid renewable energy adoption and carbon abatement techniques. Telcos purchasing from these top performers may reap benefits for their own emissions profiles.

When scope 3 emissions are included, narrowing the list to 43 vendors, the rankings shift. Nearly all top performers are software or services vendors, which typically have lower scope 3 footprints. The top 10 are: Accenture, Infosys, Amdocs, Tech Mahindra, TCS, HCL, Alphabet (GCP sold nearly $2B/yr to telcos in 2024), Spirent, Microsoft ($3.6B in 2024 telco NI sales), and CSG. Telcos shifting toward software-centric network operations can realize significant sustainability benefits from this strategy.

Global Trends

How are Telco NI vendors performing as a group? The 43 vendors included for full analysis represent $2.42 trillion in 2024 revenues, with $163.1 billion (6.7%) coming from telcos. These vendors consumed 216 million megawatt hours (MWh) of energy that year (+14% YoY); that's a bit more than half the total energy consumption of the global telco sector. These vendors emitted 858 million metric tons of CO2-equivalent across scopes 1, 2, and 3, about 2.5x the telco sector. This higher emissions intensity is largely due to carbon-intensive manufacturing.

To understand the impact on telcos, vendor numbers must be weighted by their actual sales to the telco market. Weighted averages reveal that, for the group of 43 vendors, the 2024 weighted average renewable energy adoption rate reached 45.2%, up from 39.5% in 2023 and 22.5% in 2019. This progress is driven partly by increased spending on software-centric vendors like Microsoft and the deployment of energy-efficient 5G solutions from vendors like Ericsson and Nokia.

Other key findings include:

While these trends are positive, progress is slow. As climate change intensifies, telcos require urgent assistance in improving their environmental performance. Telco NI vendors must take more sweeping, dramatic steps to lower their carbon footprints, and forward-thinking telcos should reward these efforts during the procurement process.

Key Topics Covered:

Chapters

For each of 49 different vendors

Rankings tab

Companies Featured

Figures and Charts

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/ilkbat

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