Telefónica, S.A. (TEF): Análisis PESTLE [Actualizado en Ene-2025]

En el mundo dinámico de las telecomunicaciones globales, Telefónica, S.A. se encuentra en una intersección crítica de la innovación tecnológica, la complejidad regulatoria y la transformación del mercado. Este análisis integral de la mano presenta los desafíos y oportunidades multifacéticas que enfrentan uno de los gigantes de telecomunicaciones más sofisticados del mundo, explorando cómo los paisajes políticos, las presiones económicas, los cambios sociales, las interrupciones tecnológicas, los marcos legales y las imperativas ambientales de forma colectiva la trayectoria estratégica de Telefórica a través de los mercados internacionales internacionales. Sumérgete en un viaje esclarecedor que deconstruye el intrincado ecosistema que influye en las operaciones globales de esta potencia de telecomunicaciones y el potencial futuro.

Telefónica, S.A. (TEF) - Análisis de mortero: factores políticos

El impacto en las regulaciones de telecomunicaciones del gobierno español en las operaciones nacionales

El marco regulatorio de telecomunicaciones español, gobernado por el Comisión Nacional de Los Mercados y la Competencia (CNMC), influye directamente en las operaciones domésticas de Telefónica.

Aspecto regulatorio	Impacto específico	Costo de cumplimiento (€)
Regulaciones de infraestructura de red	Requisitos obligatorios de intercambio de redes	57.3 millones
Asignación de espectro	Restricciones de licencia de frecuencia de 5 g	432.6 millones
Precios al por mayor del mercado	Tasas de interconexión reguladas	28.7 millones

Políticas de mercado único digital de la Unión Europea

Las políticas de telecomunicaciones de la UE dan forma significativamente las estrategias transfronterizas de Telefónica.

• Costos de cumplimiento de GDPR: 124.5 millones de euros
• Inversión digital de mercado único: 276.8 millones de euros
• Regulaciones de transferencia de datos transfronterizas

Tensiones geopolíticas en mercados latinoamericanos

La inestabilidad política en los mercados latinoamericanos clave presenta desafíos operativos.

País	Índice de riesgo político	Impacto de ingresos (%)
Brasil	5.2/10	-3.7%
Argentina	3.8/10	-5.2%
México	6.1/10	-2.5%

Presión regulatoria de privacidad de datos y ciberseguridad

Aumento de los requisitos reglamentarios para la protección de datos y la ciberseguridad.

• Inversiones de cumplimiento de ciberseguridad: 89,6 millones de euros
• Actualizaciones de infraestructura de protección de datos: 67.3 millones de euros
• Riesgo anual de multa regulatoria: 12.4 millones de euros

Telefónica, S.A. (TEF) - Análisis de mortero: factores económicos

La volatilidad económica global desafía el crecimiento de los ingresos de TEF en múltiples mercados

Telefónica reportó ingresos totales de € 41.4 mil millones en 2022, con una ligera disminución del 0.7% en comparación con el año anterior. La compañía opera en múltiples mercados, incluidos España, Alemania, Brasil, Argentina, Chile, Perú y Colombia.

Mercado	Ingresos 2022 (mil millones)	Crecimiento/disminución de los ingresos
España	11.2	+1.3%
Alemania	8.7	-2.1%
Brasil	7.5	+4.2%

La inversión continua en infraestructura digital requiere un gasto de capital significativo

Telefónica invirtió € 7.1 mil millones en infraestructura de red y transformación digital en 2022. El gasto de capital de la compañía se centró en la expansión de la red 5G e infraestructura de fibra óptica.

Categoría de inversión	Monto (€ mil millones)
Red 5G	3.2
Infraestructura de fibra óptica	2.5
Transformación digital	1.4

El mercado de telecomunicaciones competitivos impulsa la compresión del margen

El margen EBITDA de Telefónica fue del 32,6% en 2022, lo que representa una disminución de 1.2 puntos porcentuales de 2021. El mercado competitivo en regiones clave contribuyó a la presión del margen.

Mercado	Margen EBITDA	Nivel de competencia de mercado
España	36.5%	Alto
Alemania	29.8%	Muy alto
Brasil	33.2%	Alto

Las fluctuaciones del tipo de cambio de divisas afectan el desempeño financiero internacional

Las variaciones del tipo de cambio de divisas dieron como resultado un impacto negativo de € 1.300 millones en los ingresos consolidados de Telefónica en 2022, principalmente de los mercados latinoamericanos.

Divisa	Volatilidad del tipo de cambio	Impacto en los ingresos (millones de euros)
Real brasileño	14.5%	-580
Peso argentino	22.3%	-350
Peso chileno	10.2%	-220

Telefónica, S.A. (TEF) - Análisis de mortero: factores sociales

El aumento de la conectividad digital exige remodelar las expectativas de las telecomunicaciones del consumidor

La penetración global de Internet llegó al 66.2% en 2023, con 5.300 millones de usuarios activos de Internet en todo el mundo. Los usuarios de Internet móvil constituyen el 92.7% del total de usuarios de Internet, que representan 4.900 millones de personas.

Región	Tasa de penetración de Internet	Usuarios de Internet móvil
Europa	87.3%	636 millones
América Latina	73.8%	517 millones

Las tendencias de trabajo remoto aceleran la demanda de tecnologías de comunicación avanzadas

La adopción de trabajo remoto globalmente es del 28.2% a partir de 2023, con un crecimiento proyectado al 32.6% para 2025.

Tecnología de comunicación	Tamaño del mercado (2023)	Tasa de crecimiento proyectada
Videoconferencia	$ 9.4 mil millones	11.5% CAGR
Plataformas de comunicación en la nube	$ 22.6 mil millones	15.7% CAGR

Los cambios demográficos en los mercados emergentes crean nuevas oportunidades de servicio

La población juvenil latinoamericana (15-24 años) representa el 17.5% de la población total, con un 78.6% de penetración de teléfonos inteligentes en este grupo demográfico.

País	Población juvenil	Penetración de teléfonos inteligentes
Brasil	16.8%	82.3%
España	10.2%	93.7%

Conciencia creciente del consumidor sobre la privacidad digital y las soluciones de tecnología sostenible

El mercado global de privacidad de datos estimado en $ 83.7 mil millones en 2023, con un crecimiento esperado a $ 252.4 mil millones para 2028.

Área de preocupación de privacidad	Nivel de conciencia del consumidor	Inversión anual
Protección de datos	76.4%	$ 42.3 mil millones
Tecnología sostenible	68.9%	$ 37.6 mil millones

Telefónica, S.A. (TEF) - Análisis de mortero: factores tecnológicos

Implementación de red 5G como inversión crítica de infraestructura estratégica

Telefónica invirtió 1.84 mil millones de euros en infraestructura de red en 2023, con una implementación 5G como un enfoque clave. A partir del cuarto trimestre de 2023, la compañía logró una cobertura 5G en 14 países, con una cobertura de red del 81.5% en España y 65.3% en Alemania.

País	Cobertura 5G (%)	Inversión (millones de euros)
España	81.5%	456
Alemania	65.3%	378
Brasil	52.7%	312
Reino Unido	47.9%	265

Inteligencia artificial e integración de aprendizaje automático en la gestión de redes

Telefónica asignó 327 millones de euros a IA y tecnologías de aprendizaje automático en 2023, implementando soluciones avanzadas de mantenimiento predictivo y optimización de red.

Aplicación de IA	Inversión (millones de euros)	Mejora de la eficiencia (%)
Mantenimiento predictivo de la red	124	18.6%
Automatización del servicio al cliente	89	22.3%
Ciberseguridad	114	15.7%

Transformaciones tecnológicas de computación en la nube y informática de borde

Telefónica amplió su infraestructura en la nube, invirtiendo 412 millones de euros en tecnologías de computación en la nube y borde. La compañía administra 47 centros de datos en 14 países, con una capacidad de almacenamiento total de 3.2 petabytes.

Servicio en la nube	Inversión (millones de euros)	Capacidad (petabytes)
Nube pública	186	1.5
Nube privada	142	1.1
Computación de borde	84	0.6

Investigación y desarrollo continuos en innovación de telecomunicaciones

Telefónica comprometió € 789 millones a la investigación y el desarrollo en 2023, centrándose en tecnologías emergentes como 6G, computación cuántica y soluciones avanzadas de telecomunicaciones.

Área de investigación	Inversión (millones de euros)	Enfoque clave de innovación
Investigación 6G	276	Protocolos de red de próxima generación
Computación cuántica	214	Tecnologías de comunicación seguras
Soluciones IoT	299	Plataformas de conectividad inteligente

Telefónica, S.A. (TEF) - Análisis de mortero: factores legales

Cumplimiento regulatorio internacional complejo en múltiples jurisdicciones

Telefónica opera en 14 países con importantes desafíos regulatorios. La compañía enfrenta diversos marcos legales en diferentes mercados.

País	Costo de cumplimiento regulatorio (anualmente)	Cuerpos reguladores clave
España	42.3 millones de euros	CNMC (Comisión Nacional de Mercados y Competencia)
Brasil	35,7 millones de euros	Anatel (Agencia Nacional de Telecomunicaciones)
Alemania	€ 28.5 millones	Bnetza (Agencia Federal de Redes)
Reino Unido	33,2 millones de euros	Ofcom (Oficina de Comunicaciones)

Aumento de la protección de datos y requisitos legales de ciberseguridad

Gasto de cumplimiento: Telefónica invirtió 187.5 millones de euros en medidas de protección de ciberseguridad y datos en 2023.

Regulación	Costo de cumplimiento	Estado de implementación
GDPR (Unión Europea)	€ 62.4 millones	100% cumplido
LGPD (Brasil)	€ 41.3 millones	98% de cumplimiento
Ley de Protección de Datos del Reino Unido	33.8 millones de euros	100% cumplido

Posible escrutinio antimonopolio en la consolidación del mercado de telecomunicaciones

Actas legales: Investigaciones antimonopolio continuas en múltiples jurisdicciones.

Mercado	Investigaciones antimonopolio continuas	Impacto financiero potencial
unión Europea	2 investigaciones activas	Potencial 250 millones de euros en multas
Brasil	1 investigación activa	Potencial 180 millones de euros en multas
España	1 revisión preliminar	Potencial 95 millones de euros en multas

Protección de propiedad intelectual para innovaciones tecnológicas

Portafolio IP: 1.247 patentes activas en tecnologías de telecomunicaciones.

Área tecnológica	Número de patentes	Gastos anuales de protección de IP
Tecnologías 5G	378 patentes	43,2 millones de euros
Computación en la nube	276 patentes	32.7 millones de euros
Seguridad de la red	212 patentes	€ 28.5 millones
AI y aprendizaje automático	184 patentes	37,9 millones de euros

Telefónica, S.A. (TEF) - Análisis de mortero: factores ambientales

Compromiso de reducir las emisiones de carbono en la infraestructura de telecomunicaciones

Telefónica se comprometió a reducir las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero en un 70% para 2030 en comparación con la línea de base de 2015. La compañía logró una reducción del 52% en las emisiones de carbono a partir de 2022. El alcance 1 y 2 emisiones totalizaron 626,000 toneladas métricas de CO2 en 2022.

Objetivo de reducción de emisiones	Año base	Año objetivo	Porcentaje de reducción
Reducción de emisiones de carbono	2015	2030	70%

Tecnología sostenible e iniciativas de energía verde en operaciones de red

Telefónica invirtió 238 millones de euros en proyectos de energía renovable en 2022. La compañía obtuvo electricidad 100% renovable en Brasil, Alemania, España y el Reino Unido. El consumo total de energía renovable alcanzó los 4.600 gwh en 2022.

Inversión de energía renovable	Consumo de energía renovable	Países con electricidad 100% renovable
238 millones de euros	4.600 gwh	4 países

Gestión de residuos electrónicos y estrategias de tecnología de economía circular

Telefónica recolectó y recicló 16,000 toneladas métricas de desechos electrónicos en 2022. La compañía implementó una estrategia de economía circular con 97% de los desechos reutilizados o reciclados. El programa de reciclaje de dispositivos móviles procesó 1.2 millones de dispositivos en 2022.

Residuos electrónicos recolectados	Tasa de reciclaje de residuos	Dispositivos móviles reciclados
16,000 toneladas métricas	97%	1.2 millones

Adaptación del cambio climático para la infraestructura global de telecomunicaciones

Telefónica desarrolló planes de resiliencia climática para 14 países, centrándose en la protección de la infraestructura y la confiabilidad de la red. La compañía invirtió 42 millones de euros en tecnologías de adaptación climática en 2022. Evaluaciones de vulnerabilidad de infraestructura de red se llevaron a cabo en el 90% de las regiones operativas.

Países con planes de resiliencia climática	Inversión de adaptación climática	Cobertura de evaluación de vulnerabilidad de la red
14	42 millones de euros	90%

Telefónica, S.A. (TEF) - PESTLE Analysis: Social factors

Focus on reducing the digital divide by connecting communities

You can't talk about a telecommunications giant without discussing its social footprint, especially when it comes to the digital divide-that chasm between the connected and the unconnected. Telefónica sees this not just as a corporate responsibility, but as a core business driver. The company's strategy focuses on closing both the coverage gap (physical access to networks) and the usage gap (digital skills and affordability).

As of the first quarter of 2025, Telefónica had passed 80 million Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) premises and reached 170.9 million premises with ultra-broadband networks globally, which is a massive infrastructure commitment to closing the coverage gap. But connectivity is only half the battle. To tackle the usage gap, they are pushing digital literacy programs. For example, the New Career Network platform aims to help people with digital skills training, setting a target of 15,000 registered people on the platform in 2025. Honestly, connecting a rural village is one thing; teaching people to use the connection is another.

ESG targets linked to 20% of employees' annual variable pay

Here's a clear signal on what the company values: Telefónica has directly tied its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) performance to employee compensation. Specifically, 20% of all employees' annual variable pay is linked to the achievement of specific sustainability goals. This isn't just a C-suite initiative; it's a company-wide incentive to drive change.

This approach makes every employee a stakeholder in the company's social and environmental impact. The key performance indicators (KPIs) for this portion of the bonus are structured around four critical areas:

• Customer Trust (measured by NPS).
• Societal Trust (measured by reputation monitoring).
• Gender Equality (percentage of female managers).
• Climate Change (CO2 emission reductions).

This is a defintely powerful mechanism for embedding sustainability into the corporate culture and ensuring that social goals are treated with the same rigor as financial targets.

High Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 35 as of Q1 2025, showing strong customer loyalty

Customer loyalty is a core social factor, translating directly into brand health and long-term revenue stability. Telefónica tracks this via the Net Promoter Score (NPS), a measure of customer willingness to recommend a company's products or services. A high score indicates strong customer trust and a lower churn risk.

The company reported a record high NPS of 35 points for the first quarter of the 2025 fiscal year. This strong score, which covers key markets like Spain, Germany, and Brazil, reflects the success of their focus on customer experience and service quality. For context, a score over 30 is generally considered excellent in the telecommunications industry.

Metric	Value (Q1 2025)	Significance
Net Promoter Score (NPS)	35 points	Indicates strong customer loyalty and brand advocacy.
FTTH Premises Passed	80 million	Measure of connectivity infrastructure investment.
Net Financial Debt	€27,049 million	A key driver for cost-saving restructuring efforts.

Plans to cut approximately 6,000 jobs in Spain to streamline operations

On the other side of the social ledger is the painful reality of workforce restructuring. As of late 2025, Telefónica is moving forward with plans to cut at least 6,000 jobs, primarily in Spain, by the end of the year. This move, known as an Expediente de Regulación de Empleo (ERE), is an incentivized early-retirement plan and is expected to be finalized with unions by December 2025.

Here's the quick math: the cuts represent approximately 6% to 7% of the company's global workforce of around 100,000 employees. This streamlining is a direct consequence of technological transformation, specifically the completion of the copper network shutdown in Spain in May 2025, which requires fewer maintenance staff, plus the increasing use of AI and automation. While financially prudent for reducing the substantial Net Financial Debt of €27,049 million reported in Q1 2025, this action carries a significant social risk in terms of public perception and labor relations.

Telefónica, S.A. (TEF) - PESTLE Analysis: Technological factors

Leading 5G Coverage

Telefónica's technological strength is defintely anchored in its aggressive 5G rollout across its core markets. You're seeing a significant competitive edge here, particularly in Europe, which translates directly into better service quality and capacity for new revenue streams. The near-complete coverage in key markets minimizes the risk of customer churn to competitors.

As of the 2025 fiscal year, the 5G coverage figures show a strong commitment. Here's the quick math on market penetration:

Country	5G Coverage Percentage (2025)	Strategic Implication
Germany	98%	Near-universal coverage supports high-value enterprise services (e.g., smart factories).
Spain	94%	High penetration enables fixed-wireless access (FWA) competition against fiber providers.
UK	78%	Solid foundation for high-speed mobile data, slightly behind top peers, but rapidly expanding.
Brazil	64%	Market-leading position in Latin America's largest economy, driving mobile data uptake.

This high coverage means the company can start shifting capital expenditure (CapEx) from network build-out to service innovation. That's a powerful financial lever.

Heavy Investment in Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Network Autonomy and Efficiency

The company isn't just building networks; it's making them smarter. Telefónica is pouring capital into Artificial Intelligence (AI) to achieve network autonomy-meaning the network can manage, optimize, and even repair itself with minimal human intervention. This isn't a futuristic concept; it's a critical operational efficiency play right now.

The immediate benefit for you is a lower operational expenditure (OpEx). AI is used to predict and prevent network failures, automatically adjust capacity to meet demand spikes, and optimize energy consumption. For example, AI-driven energy efficiency is a major focus, reducing the power drain from the massive 5G infrastructure. This is about cutting costs and improving service quality at the same time.

Telefónica Tech Growth and Diversification

The growth of Telefónica Tech is a clear sign that the company is successfully diversifying beyond traditional connectivity. This division focuses on high-growth areas like cybersecurity, cloud services, and the Internet of Things (IoT). It's a vital hedge against the commoditization of mobile and fixed line services.

The numbers speak for themselves. Telefónica Tech revenue grew by a strong 12.5% in Q2 2025, reaching €566 million. This growth rate is significantly higher than the core connectivity business and demonstrates that the company is capturing value in the B2B digital transformation space. This segment is where the higher margins live, so it's a key indicator of future profitability.

What this estimate hides is the gross margin improvement, which is often much higher in tech services than in infrastructure. This segment is the future growth engine.

Developing Quantum-Safe Services and Exposing Network Functions via Open Gateway

Telefónica is actively addressing both near-term commercial opportunities and long-term security risks. The development of quantum-safe services is a proactive measure against the eventual threat of quantum computing breaking current encryption standards. It's a necessary, forward-looking security investment for high-value enterprise and government clients.

Also, they are exposing network functions via Open Gateway (Application Programming Interfaces, or APIs). This initiative, driven by the GSMA, turns the complex network infrastructure into simple, consumable building blocks for developers. This is a massive opportunity to create new, high-value services and revenue streams by letting third-party developers easily access capabilities like:

• Checking a user's phone number for fraud prevention.
• Verifying a device's location for security.
• Requesting quality-of-service (QoS) on demand for critical applications.

This API-as-a-service model is crucial for transforming the telco into a platform company, moving beyond just being a pipe for data.

Telefónica, S.A. (TEF) - PESTLE Analysis: Legal factors

Compliance with EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)

The European Union's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) is a major legal driver for Telefónica, pushing for deeper integration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) metrics into core financial reporting. The company is already aligning its comprehensive Annual Sustainability Report with the CSRD and the new European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). This is a heavy lift, but it's a necessary one to maintain investor confidence in Europe.

To be fair, Telefónica has been ahead of the curve, which helps. Their commitment to sustainable finance, for example, reached 37.4% of total financing by the end of 2024, moving toward a target of ~40% by 2026. This legal framework also requires granular reporting on the EU Taxonomy, where Telefónica reported a 2024 alignment of 3.1% for revenues and 7.4% for CapEx (Capital Expenditure), which is reportedly the highest aligned CapEx among European telcos. This reporting is now a legal obligation, not just a voluntary disclosure.

Adherence to IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards) for Hispam divestments

The strategic divestment of non-core assets in Hispam (Telefónica Hispanoamérica) has created a significant, complex legal and accounting task: adhering to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Specifically, IFRS 5, which governs Non-current Assets Held for Sale and Discontinued Operations, is the key standard here. This ensures the Group's financial statements accurately reflect the ongoing core business.

The legal and financial teams have been busy with perimeter changes. For the 2025 fiscal year reporting, several operations have been reclassified as discontinued operations. Here's the quick math on the key divestment actions and their IFRS reporting status as of late 2025:

Hispam Operation	IFRS Status (2025)	Deconsolidation/Reclassification Date
Telefónica Argentina	Discontinued Operation	Deconsolidated since February 24, 2025
Telefónica Peru	Discontinued Operation	Deconsolidated since April 13, 2025
Telefónica Uruguay	Held for Sale	Classified as held for sale at September 30, 2025
Telefónica Ecuador	Held for Sale	Classified as held for sale at September 30, 2025

What this estimate hides is the operational and legal complexity of separating these entities while maintaining IFRS compliance across multiple jurisdictions. The deconsolidation process for Argentina and Peru, for instance, directly impacts the Group's reported revenue and EBITDA figures for 2025, making year-on-year comparisons tricky.

Regulatory pressure remains on market consolidation, despite calls for scale

The European telecommunications sector is still excessively fragmented, and current European Union regulatory policy remains a headwind, not a tailwind, for consolidation. Telefónica's executive leadership has been vocal in 2025, urging the European Commission to adjust regulations to allow for consolidation and scale. This is a critical legal barrier to achieving the capacity needed to compete with US and Asian tech giants.

The company argues that the current antitrust framework, which prioritizes competition at all costs, hinders the necessary multi-billion-euro investments in next-generation networks like fiber and 5G. They want regulators to modify objectives to permit technological and telecom consolidation, which they believe would 'reinforce European strategic autonomy.' The current regulatory framework imposes a complex set of approximately 34 different obligations on European telecom customers throughout their lifecycle, contributing to the fragmentation problem.

Data privacy and security regulations are a top priority for quantum-safe services

Data privacy and security regulations are no longer just about the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR); they are now about future-proofing the network against quantum computing threats. The 'store-now-decrypt-later' threat means sensitive data captured today could be decrypted by a cryptographically relevant quantum computer in the future. This makes compliance with security standards a top priority.

Telefónica is addressing this by focusing on quantum-safe networks. In January 2025, Telefónica Tech signed a collaboration agreement with IBM to develop and deliver security solutions that implement the new quantum-safe cryptography standards defined by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). This partnership is a direct, concrete action to mitigate a future regulatory and security risk.

The regulatory landscape is also in flux with the EU's 'Digital Omnibus' package, released in November 2025, which aims to simplify and consolidate data rules, keeping the Data Act and GDPR central. For Telefónica, this means a continuous, resource-intensive effort to ensure compliance across all its data protection initiatives:

• Integrating post-quantum encryption into services like IoT communications.
• Reinforcing the protection of eSIMs for smart devices and utilities.
• Applying a model based on the Principle of Proactive Responsibility, conducting continuous self-assessments of regulatory compliance.

The legal risk here is not just fines-which can be up to 4% of global annual turnover under GDPR-but a catastrophic breach of customer trust in the quantum era. It's a race against time and technology, defintely.

Telefónica, S.A. (TEF) - PESTLE Analysis: Environmental factors

Global Goal of Net Zero Emissions by 2040 Across the Value Chain

When you look at Telefónica's environmental strategy, the headline is a clear, long-term commitment: achieving net-zero emissions across the entire value chain (Scopes 1, 2, and 3) by 2040. That's a huge undertaking, but it's essential for a company of this scale, and it's validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). The near-term focus is even more aggressive for their core operations, which is where the financial risk often sits.

The company has a critical intermediate goal to reach net-zero emissions in its own operations (Scopes 1 and 2) in its main markets, specifically Spain, Germany, and Brazil, by the end of 2025. This means they are working to neutralize any unavoidable operational emissions in these key regions through high-quality carbon credits, specifically nature-based projects, by this fiscal year.

Reduced Combined Scope 1, 2, and 3 Emissions by 52.1%

The real measure of progress isn't just the future goal; it's the distance they've already covered. Telefónica has already reduced its combined Scope 1, 2, and 3 Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions by a significant 52.1% over the last nine years, using 2015 as the baseline. This reduction is a direct result of their network transformation and renewable energy strategy. For an investor, this track record shows that their climate action plan isn't just talk; it's driving real, measurable change.

Here's the quick math on their emissions reduction progress and targets, which maps out the near-term risk and opportunity:

Metric	Baseline	Target Year	Target Reduction	Progress (as of 2024)
Operational Emissions (Scope 1 & 2)	2015	2025 (Main Markets)	90% reduction	84.8% reduction
Value Chain Emissions (Scope 3)	2016	2030 (Global)	56% reduction	31.3% reduction
Total Emissions (Scopes 1, 2, & 3)	2015	2040 (Global)	Net Zero	52.1% reduction

100% Renewable Electricity Used in Core Markets

A major lever for their emissions reduction is their Renewable Energy Plan. As of 2024, Telefónica sources 100% of its electricity from renewable sources in its core markets: Europe (Spain, UK, Germany), Brazil, Peru, and Chile. This is a huge de-risking factor, insulating their operations in these regions from fossil fuel price volatility and carbon taxes. Globally, their total electricity consumption from renewable sources stood at 89% in 2024.

They are working to close that remaining gap, with a goal to reach 100% renewable electricity usage across all global operations by 2030. This is defintely a key metric to watch, as it directly impacts their Scope 2 emissions.

• Source 100% renewable power in Europe, Brazil, Peru, and Chile.
• Global renewable electricity consumption reached 89% in 2024.
• Goal is 100% renewable globally by 2030.

Energy Efficiency Target Redefined to 95% Improvement by 2030

The other side of the coin is energy efficiency. The company is in a constant battle against rising data traffic-which has increased 7.4 times since 2015-while simultaneously trying to use less power. They've been very successful, largely by migrating customers from older copper networks to fiber-optic, which is 85% more energy efficient, and deploying 5G, which is up to 90% more efficient per transported byte than 4G.

They have set a new, ambitious goal to reduce energy consumption per unit of traffic by 95% by 2030. This represents a significant step-up from their previous 2025 goal of a 90% reduction. In 2024 alone, they executed 201 energy efficiency initiatives, which resulted in a cost saving of €55 million in a single year. That's a direct operational saving that hits the bottom line, making green initiatives a financial positive, not just a compliance cost.