Scope 1, 2 and 3: a secret code or a mathematical formula?
More simply, they are the three categories used to classify greenhouse gas emissions according to the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol), the international standard that created a common language for measuring the climate impact of production activities.
Understanding these categories matter because it helps us fight global warming. When greenhouse gases accumulate in the atmosphere, they trap heat and raise the planet’s average temperature. To stop this spiral, we first need to understand where emissions come from. That’s where Scope 1, 2 and 3 come into play.
Scope 1, 2 and 3: what they are and what TIM is doing
Scope 2 emissions are the ones for which TIM has already achieved its first major goal. They are linked to the use of electricity, and as of 2025 TIM has eliminated them by choosing to purchase 100% green electricity.
Scope 1 emissions are those generated by sources owned or controlled by the company. For TIM, these mainly come from the consumption of fossil fuels to power heating systems and trigeneration plants at network facilities and data centers, as well as generators and the company fleet.
To reduce them, we closely monitor energy consumption and work to lower it. This translates into operational choices—such as implementing digital systems to monitor and manage energy use in offices and network infrastructure—and strategic decisions, such as adopting Radio Access Network (RAN) Sharing models. In Brazil, this has led to sharing the access network with Vivo, and in Italy to agreements with Fastweb+Vodafone.
We are also developing projects for photovoltaic self-generation in both Italy and Brazil, and in Italy we are reducing emissions from employee travel through widespread smart working (over 90% of employees) and by electrifying the company car fleet, progressively replacing petrol/diesel vehicles with hybrid and fully electric models.
Scope 3 is the most complex category, including all upstream and downstream emissions related to business activities. For TIM—as for all telecom companies—it represents the largest share: between 70% and 80% of total emissions.
To reduce them, we have introduced measures to assess the sustainability performance of our suppliers:
- application of ESG criteria for registration in the Supplier Register
- periodic evaluation of suppliers to understand their environmental impact
- adoption of ESG guidelines to steer corporate purchasing
- introduction of ESG requirements in tenders, with a weight of up to 10%
- supplier engagement in ESG improvement pathways through the Open-es platform, offering analysis tools, training and best-practice sharing.
The future is a choice we make today
This year, alongside the Industrial Plan, we will present TIM’s Environmental Transition Plan, which defines the concrete actions we commit to implementing by 2030. It will be a roadmap that translates climate commitments into operational, measurable and verifiable interventions over time, aimed at progressively reducing the impact of all our activities.
We have chosen to act as a company, but every gesture counts—from the energy we use at home to the means of transport we choose. Together, we can make a difference. Because climate transition is not only an environmental challenge: it is a cultural, industrial and collective one. It concerns all of us, and it is a journey we can only build together.