- Sustainability Strategy and Goals
- Progress vs. Target Tracker
- Key Sustainability Innovations and Technologies
- Measurable Impacts
- Challenges and Areas for Improvement
- Future Plans and Long-Term Goals
- Comparisons to Industry Competitors
- Jio vs. Airtel vs. Vodafone Idea (Vi)
- What to Watch: 12 to 18 Month Indicators
Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (Jio) is India’s largest telecom operator by subscriber base, serving over 490 million customers as of FY2025, operating a pan-India 4G and 5G network across all 22 telecom circles, and generating revenues of approximately INR 1.08 lakh crore in FY2024-25, making it one of the most strategically significant digital infrastructure companies in Asia. Jio operates as a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), which has set a group-level Net Carbon Zero target by 2035, with Jio’s independently SBTi-validated targets covering a 76% absolute Scope 1 and 2 reduction and a 66.5% absolute Scope 3 reduction, both by FY2028-29, using FY2020-21 as the baseline, and a commitment to source 100% renewable electricity by FY2029-30. Jio received an ‘A’ rating from CDP in climate change in 2023, installed over 174 MWp of solar power across more than 20,000 network sites in India, and stands as the only telecom operator in India with SBTi-validated dual Scope 1, 2, and 3 reduction targets.
The Jio sustainability program is embedded within RIL’s broader ESG framework, overseen at Board level by RIL’s ESG Committee, and reported annually through RIL’s Integrated Annual Report, Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR), and Jio-specific BRSR disclosures, with third-party assurance on primary GHG and energy metrics.
Source
https://www.ril.com/ar2023-24/natural-capital.html
https://www.ril.com/sustainability
https://ditchcarbon.com/organizations/jio
https://www.ril.com/reports/BRSR202425.pdf
Sustainability Strategy and Goals
Jio’s sustainability strategy is structured under four integrated environmental dimensions: climate and energy, circular economy and e-waste, water stewardship, and responsible supply chain, all nested within RIL’s group-level New Energy strategy anchored by a INR 75,000 crore ($10 billion+) investment in solar panels, green hydrogen, fuel cells, and energy storage. The strategy aligns with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C pathway, with Jio’s SBTi-validated targets cascaded from the parent company’s Net Carbon Zero 2035 commitment, and with RIL’s Operating Management System (OMS) providing the governance backbone for environmental monitoring, independent HSE reviews, and compliance auditing across all Jio operational facilities. India’s BRSR framework, under which Jio files independently, mandates disclosure against 98 essential and leadership indicators covering energy, emissions, water, waste, employee welfare, supply chain CSR, and community impact, creating one of the most comprehensive mandatory ESG disclosure regimes applicable to any telecom operator in the Asia-Pacific region.
Jio’s ESG governance operates through RIL’s Board-level ESG Committee for strategic oversight, a Safety and Operational Risk (S&OR) function for implementation and quarterly strategy review, and independent environmental reviews at both unit and site level, with executive performance in dual-carbon goal achievement linked to annual appraisal metrics across Jio’s senior leadership team.
Net Zero and Carbon Emissions
Jio targets a 76% absolute reduction in Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions and a 66.5% absolute reduction in Scope 3 GHG emissions by FY2028-29, both from the FY2020-21 baseline, under SBTi-validated targets designed to keep global warming to 1.5°C. The parent group, Reliance Industries, targets Net Carbon Zero by 2035 across all businesses, with Jio’s renewable electricity commitment requiring a scale-up from 1.2% of total sourcing in FY2020-21 to 100% renewable electricity by FY2029-30, maintained thereafter. Jio’s 5G network architecture, built on standalone (SA) 5G at scale, provides a material structural advantage for decarbonization, as the company’s own assessments confirm that Jio’s 5G towers generate 86% lower carbon emissions per GB compared to what an equivalent 4G tower would consume during peak hours, reflecting the energy efficiency gains embedded in the SA 5G design.
Key milestones from FY2020-21 to FY2023-24:
- Jio’s total energy consumption in FY2023-24: 23.40 million GJ, of which 7,38,039 GJ (approximately 3.2%) came from renewable sources, representing a meaningful increase from 1.2% renewable electricity in FY2020-21 but confirming a significant remaining gap to the 100% by FY2029-30 commitment
- Carbon emissions reduced by 156,959 tonnes through increased renewable energy use across the Jio network, confirmed in FY2023 reporting
- Jio 5G network: 86% lower carbon emissions per GB compared to equivalent 4G peak-hour consumption, providing the primary structural decarbonization advantage as 5G traffic volume replaces 4G
- Over 174 MWp of solar power installed across more than 20,000 network tower sites in India as of FY2023-24, up from 161 MW across 17,000+ sites in FY2022-23, confirming year-on-year solar deployment acceleration
- Jio’s total energy consumption for FY2022-23: 5.28 million MWh, with 0.13 MWh sourced from renewable sources, confirming the scale of renewable energy expansion required
- Diesel generator (DG) run-hour optimization and time division duplex (TDD) deployment reducing fossil fuel backup consumption across network tower sites
- RIL group-level Scope 1 and 2 total operational GHG emissions: 37,929,391 tCO2e in FY2025, a 0.66% increase from FY2024, highlighting that the group’s large O2C business continues to dominate the emissions profile while Jio’s telecom operations remain a comparatively smaller contributor
- CDP A rating received in 2023 for Jio’s climate change disclosures, placing Jio in CDP’s Leadership band
Water Stewardship
Jio’s primary operational water use occurs at data centers, network operations centers, and administrative campuses, where cooling systems and facility operations represent the dominant consumption points. RIL’s group water withdrawal in FY2023-24 totalled 227.58 million kilolitres, of which 104.78 million kilolitres was recycled, representing a 46% recycling rate at the group level, with Jio’s specific contribution reported within the BRSR rather than at group level, as Jio’s water footprint is substantially smaller than the O2C and E&P divisions. Reliance Foundation, Jio’s social investment vehicle, installed and repaired numerous hand pumps and created 131 lakh cubic metres of water harvesting capacity across rural communities in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat, with 84% of beneficiary households reporting they no longer face water scarcity, creating a dual water stewardship strategy covering both operational efficiency and community-level water access.
Deforestation and Biodiversity
Reliance Industries, under whose governance Jio operates, has planted over 2.44 crore (24.4 million) saplings across India, developing greenbelts spanning over 6,500 hectares, with more than 5 lakh saplings planted in FY2023-24 alone, including indigenous species selected specifically for ecological compatibility with their planting sites. Reliance Foundation launched “Plant4Life” on World Environment Day 2024, a community-driven environmental initiative involving 70,000 hours of employee volunteering and the planting of over 5,09,000 saplings of 40 indigenous species, deploying Jio connectivity to coordinate and track the program across multiple states. Jio’s network deployment program applies environmental impact assessments for applicable tower and infrastructure projects, with the S&OR function performing independent environmental reviews at both unit and site levels, covering biodiversity impact in ecologically sensitive zones.
Packaging and Circular Economy
Jio’s circular economy strategy for its telecom operations covers three streams: network equipment lifecycle management including repair, refurbishment, and responsible e-waste recycling; responsible disposal of SIM cards and JioFiber installation components under India’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) guidelines and E-Waste Management Rules 2022; and sustainable handset and device practices through partnerships with JioBharat device manufacturers emphasizing longer product lifecycles for the low-cost feature phone segment. At the RIL group level, the parent company’s circular economy programs including PET recycling, chemical recycling through pyrolysis oil, polyolefin recycling, and zero-waste store initiatives create a broad circular economy infrastructure that Jio’s operations leverage, particularly for packaging and office waste streams. Jio’s energy circular economy contribution is embedded in its solar-powered tower program, which converts fossil fuel-dependent tower sites into partially or fully renewable-powered infrastructure, extending the productive lifecycle of existing tower assets while reducing operational carbon intensity.
Key outcomes in FY2024:
- 174 MWp+ of solar power installed across 20,000+ Jio tower sites, converting fossil-dependent infrastructure to partial renewable operation
- Wind power and methanol fuel cell programs initiated to complement solar deployment and reduce DG dependency at sites where solar alone is insufficient
- DG run-hour optimization program and TDD deployment implemented across the network to minimize diesel consumption at remaining non-solarized sites
- RIL group compliance with Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) guidelines and Plastic Waste Management Rules, with Jio-specific e-waste and SIM card disposal embedded within this group-level compliance framework
- Over 90,000 eco-friendly 4G towers constructed with minimized environmental impact as part of Jio’s original network build philosophy
Human Rights and Responsible Sourcing
Jio’s supply chain sustainability program operates under RIL’s group-level Supplier Code of Conduct and human rights due diligence framework, covering procurement of network equipment, IT systems, telecom infrastructure, and handset sourcing, with Jio’s BRSR filing requiring mandatory disclosure on child labor prevention, supplier CSR assessments, and worker safety standards. The BRSR framework mandates that Jio assess and disclose the percentage of its value chain partners (by value of business transacted) covered by its sustainability standards, creating a formal regulatory requirement for supply chain ESG accountability that does not exist at equivalent specificity in most other Asian telecom markets. Jio’s procurement concentrates on a small number of global network equipment vendors for core 5G infrastructure, with Jio having developed and deployed its own 5G core network stack, O-RAN compliant radio access network components, and enterprise connectivity platforms through Jio Platforms Limited (JPL), reducing dependence on single-vendor international supply chains and creating a domestic technology ecosystem for 5G hardware and software procurement.
Key outcomes in FY2025:
- BRSR FY2024-25 filed with mandatory disclosure of human rights due diligence, supplier CSR assessment coverage, and child labor prevention mechanisms across Jio’s direct supply chain
- Jio’s proprietary 5G core network stack reduces dependence on high-risk international equipment vendors, managing geopolitical supply chain risk as an embedded technology strategy
- RIL group-level Supplier Code of Conduct applied across Jio procurement, covering health and safety, labor rights, environmental standards, and business ethics
- Reliance Foundation’s 121 lakh (12.1 million) individual livelihoods supported across rural India through programs linked to Jio’s rural digital connectivity rollout
- 33,000+ teachers trained across seven states by Reliance Foundation, with Jio connectivity enabling digital teacher training at scale
Digital Inclusion and Social Impact
Jio’s digital inclusion strategy is the most structurally embedded of any telecom operator in India, having launched in September 2016 with free voice calls and ultra-low-cost data at INR 10 per GB, collapsing India’s data pricing from among the highest globally to the lowest, and catalyzing a transformation from one of the world’s lowest data-consuming countries to the highest per-capita mobile data consumption globally within five years. The JioBharat program, targeting India’s estimated 250 million 2G users, provides INR 999 UPI-enabled 4G feature phones with voice search in local languages, YouTube access, OTT app capability, and financial services integration, delivering digital inclusion to populations for whom a conventional smartphone remains financially inaccessible. Jio added 42 million subscribers in FY2023-24, with a 60% increase in rural subscriptions year-on-year, and rural average monthly data consumption reaching 18 GB per user per month, confirming that Jio’s rural coverage expansion is generating substantive digital consumption, not just passive connectivity.
Key outcomes in FY2024 and since Jio’s launch:
- 490 million+ active subscribers as of FY2025, the largest telecom subscriber base in India and among the top five globally
- 42 million new subscribers added in FY2023-24, with 60% increase in rural subscriptions and rural data consumption reaching 18 GB per user per month
- Over 1.2 million rural students accessed educational content through Jio’s 5G and 4G networks in FY2023-24, with 35% increase in telemedicine adoption in rural areas through healthcare services enabled by Jio connectivity
- JioBharat program targeting 250 million 2G users with INR 999 4G feature phones including UPI, YouTube, OTT, and local language voice search
- Reliance Foundation reached 14.6 million+ people through rural transformation programs across 20 states and 350+ districts, with 17 lakh farmers and fisherfolk empowered, 131 lakh cubic metres of water harvesting capacity created, and 2,600 community-based organisations strengthened
- 84% of rural beneficiary households report no longer facing water scarcity through Reliance Foundation water programs
- Women’s participation in online entrepreneurship grew 20% year-on-year in rural areas served by Jio connectivity
- Jio satellite broadband demonstrated at India Mobile Congress 2023 as an innovative approach to connect remote and island geographies beyond terrestrial 5G coverage
Community and Social Impact
Reliance Foundation, the primary community investment vehicle for Jio’s parent company, operates one of India’s largest private sector rural transformation programs, covering rural livelihoods, water, education, healthcare, sports, disaster relief, and arts and culture across 20 states, 2 union territories, and more than 350 districts. In FY2024-25, Reliance Foundation completed a strategic merger of its two rural arms, Reliance Foundation BIJ (institution building and water security) and Reliance Foundation Information Services (agricultural and livelihood technology), into a single integrated Rural Transformation vertical, strengthening program coherence and reducing operational duplication across its largest direct-implementation program. Jio’s emergency and disaster relief connectivity capability, deployed during floods, cyclones, and natural disasters across India, converts Jio’s commercial network into a real-time public safety infrastructure, with satellite and terrestrial connectivity maintained in affected areas where conventional grid infrastructure fails.
Governance and Transparency
RIL’s Board-level ESG Committee holds primary oversight of all sustainability commitments across the group including Jio, with quarterly environmental strategy reviews conducted by the Safety and Operational Risk (S&OR) function and independent environmental reviews performed at unit and site levels annually. Jio files an independent BRSR annually, a regulatory requirement under SEBI’s Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements (LODR) for the top 1,000 listed companies by market capitalisation, which mandates third-party assurance on all essential BRSR indicators from FY2023-24 onward, providing mandatory external verification of Jio’s primary sustainability performance data. The Reliance Integrated Annual Report, the primary vehicle for group sustainability disclosure, is prepared against GRI Standards, UN SDGs, SASB, TCFD, and BRSR frameworks simultaneously, providing one of the most comprehensively cross-referenced sustainability disclosures among Indian conglomerates.
Key governance outcomes in FY2025:
- BRSR FY2024-25 filed with enhanced data collection channels and strengthened disclosure mechanisms for renewable energy and GHG tracking across Jio operations
- RIL Integrated Annual Report 2024-25 published, covering Jio sustainability performance against GRI, SDGs, SASB, TCFD, and BRSR frameworks
- CDP A rating maintained from 2023 for Jio’s climate change disclosures, reflecting Leadership band placement for the third consecutive reporting cycle
- Third-party independent assurance on all primary BRSR essential indicators, mandatory from FY2023-24 and continued in FY2024-25
Technology and Innovation
Jio’s most significant sustainability technology innovations are its standalone 5G architecture, proprietary network stack, and solar-plus-alternative energy deployment program for tower sites. Jio is the only Indian telecom operator to have developed and deployed a fully proprietary 5G core network, O-RAN compliant radio access network, and enterprise 5G platform through Jio Platforms Limited, integrating AI and machine learning into network management to optimize energy consumption in real time across the 490 million-subscriber network. The Dhirubhai Ambani Green Energy Giga Complex in Jamnagar, under construction by RIL with the first giga-factory scheduled for production in the second half of CY2024, will manufacture solar PV modules, hydrogen electrolysers, battery cells, and fuel cells at scale, directly supplying Jio’s renewable energy transition with domestically produced clean energy components and reducing import dependence for Jio’s solar tower program.
Global Partnerships and Advocacy
Jio is a member of the GSMA, which represents over 750 mobile network operators globally, and participates in GSMA’s Connected Society program advancing mobile internet adoption in underserved communities, directly aligning with Jio’s domestic digital inclusion mission. Jio’s strategic investor partnerships with Meta (Facebook), Google, Qualcomm, and other global technology companies, secured through investment rounds in Jio Platforms Limited totaling over $20 billion in 2020, embed Jio’s digital inclusion and sustainability programs within a global technology partnership network that provides access to AI, cloud, and connectivity research directly applicable to Jio’s rural and social impact platforms. Jio’s SBTi-validated targets place it as the leading Indian telecommunications company for internationally verified climate commitment, setting a precedent for SBTi adoption across India’s telecom sector that is beginning to influence peer commitments from Airtel and Vi.
Source
https://www.ril.com/ar2023-24/natural-capital.html
https://www.ril.com/sustainability
https://www.ril.com/sustainability/net-zero-carbon
https://ditchcarbon.com/organizations/jio
https://tele.net.in/greening-the-networks-telcos-renewable-energy-initiatives-to-achieve-net-zero-targets/
https://renewablewatch.in/2024/10/20/green-telecom-move-towards-renewable-energy/
https://reliancefoundation.org/rural-transformation
https://www.ril.com/reports/BRSR202425.pdf
Progress vs. Target Tracker
Source
https://ditchcarbon.com/organizations/jio
https://www.ril.com/ar2023-24/natural-capital.html
https://tele.net.in/greening-the-networks-telcos-renewable-energy-initiatives-to-achieve-net-zero-targets/
https://renewablewatch.in/2024/10/20/green-telecom-move-towards-renewable-energy/
Key Sustainability Innovations and Technologies
Jio’s sustainability innovation program combines a structurally energy-efficient standalone 5G architecture, a solar-and-alternatives tower energy program at 20,000+ sites, a proprietary network stack reducing supply chain concentration risk, a group-level giga-scale green energy manufacturing complex, and one of India’s largest private sector rural transformation programs. Five innovations define the company’s 2024-25 position.
- Jio’s standalone 5G architecture, deployed at commercial scale across India as the world’s largest single-country SA 5G rollout, generates 86% lower carbon emissions per GB compared to equivalent 4G peak-hour consumption, providing a structural decarbonization advantage that compounds as data traffic migrates from Jio’s 4G network to its 5G network, directly contributing to the 76% Scope 1 and 2 reduction target without requiring additional capital investment per unit of delivered connectivity
- The 174 MWp solar-plus-alternatives tower energy program, covering more than 20,000 tower sites across all 22 Indian telecom circles with wind power and methanol fuel cells added as complementary sources, represents the largest renewable energy deployment at tower sites by any Indian telecom operator, reducing carbon emissions by 156,959 tonnes through renewable energy substitution as confirmed in FY2023 reporting, with DG run-hour optimization and TDD deployment further reducing diesel dependency at non-solarized sites
- The Dhirubhai Ambani Green Energy Giga Complex in Jamnagar, with RIL’s INR 75,000 crore+ ($10 billion+) investment in integrated solar PV manufacturing (quartz to module), hydrogen electrolysers, battery cells, and fuel cells, provides Jio’s renewable energy transition program with a domestic supply chain for clean energy components, eliminating import dependency for solar modules and battery storage that currently limits the pace of tower site solarization across India
- Jio Platforms Limited’s proprietary 5G stack, covering the core network, O-RAN-compliant radio access network, and enterprise connectivity platform, reduces Jio’s supply chain dependence on single-vendor international ICT equipment procurement, creating a domestic 5G technology ecosystem that provides both geopolitical supply chain resilience and enables Jio to optimize network energy management through AI and machine learning integrated directly into the proprietary network management layer
- The JioBharat program, delivering INR 999 4G-enabled UPI and content feature phones to the estimated 250 million 2G users in India, represents the most cost-effective digital inclusion platform deployed at commercial scale by any telecom operator globally on a per-user cost basis, converting digital access from a smartphone-dependent privilege to a universally accessible utility across income segments, while driving Jio’s rural subscriber growth of 60% year-on-year in FY2023-24
Source
https://tele.net.in/greening-the-networks-telcos-renewable-energy-initiatives-to-achieve-net-zero-targets/
https://www.ril.com/ar2023-24/natural-capital.html
https://www.ril.com/sustainability/net-zero-carbon
https://www.ril.com/reports/BRSR202425.pdf
https://www.jio.com/investor-relations/rjil/
Measurable Impacts
Jio’s primary sustainability performance data is disclosed annually through the RIL Integrated Annual Report, the standalone Jio BRSR filing, and RIL’s BRSR group report, with third-party independent assurance on all BRSR essential indicators from FY2023-24 onward.
Carbon and energy:
- Jio total energy consumption in FY2023-24: 23.40 million GJ, of which 7,38,039 GJ (approximately 3.2%) from renewable sources
- Carbon emissions reduced through renewable energy in FY2023: 156,959 tonnes
- 174 MWp solar power installed across 20,000+ Jio tower sites in India as of FY2023-24, up from 161 MW across 17,000+ sites in FY2022-23
- Jio 5G SA architecture: 86% lower carbon per GB versus 4G peak-hour equivalent
- RIL group Scope 1 and 2 total: 37,929,391 tCO2e in FY2025 (group-level, O2C and E&P dominant)
- Wind power and methanol fuel cell programs initiated at Jio tower sites as supplements to solar deployment
- DG run-hour optimization and TDD deployment across network to minimize diesel consumption
Water and biodiversity:
- RIL group water withdrawn: 227.58 million kilolitres in FY2023-24; 104.78 million kilolitres recycled (46% recycling rate)
- 2.44 crore (24.4 million) saplings planted across India under RIL programs, greenbelts spanning 6,500+ hectares
- 5,09,000 saplings of 40 indigenous species planted through Plant4Life initiative with 70,000 hours of employee volunteering
Social impact:
- 490 million+ subscribers as of FY2025
- 42 million new subscribers added in FY2023-24; 60% rural subscription growth; rural data at 18 GB per user per month
- 1.2 million+ rural students accessing educational content through Jio 5G and 4G networks in FY2023-24
- 35% increase in telemedicine adoption in rural areas through Jio-enabled healthcare services
- 14.6 million people reached through Reliance Foundation rural transformation programs across 350+ districts
- 17 lakh farmers and fisherfolk empowered; 131 lakh cubic metres water harvesting capacity created; 2,600 community-based organisations strengthened
- 33,000+ teachers trained across seven states by Reliance Foundation
- 84% of rural water program beneficiary households no longer face water scarcity
Source
https://www.ril.com/ar2023-24/natural-capital.html
https://ditchcarbon.com/organizations/jio
https://tele.net.in/greening-the-networks-telcos-renewable-energy-initiatives-to-achieve-net-zero-targets/
https://reliancefoundation.org/rural-transformation
Challenges and Areas for Improvement
Jio faces five material sustainability challenges requiring structured responses in the next reporting cycle.
Renewable electricity at 3.2% of total energy against a 100% by FY2029-30 target: Jio sourced approximately 3.2% of its total energy from renewable sources in FY2023-24, against a SBTi-validated commitment to reach 100% renewable electricity by FY2029-30. With five years remaining and 96.8 percentage points of renewable coverage to add, the pace of delivery through the tower solar program, wind power, and methanol fuel cells must increase by an order of magnitude. The tower solar program is growing (174 MWp across 20,000+ sites from 161 MW across 17,000+ sites year-on-year), but Jio has not published a solar deployment trajectory by MWp and site count required annually from FY2025 to FY2030 to confirm that 100% renewable electricity is operationally achievable. Without this trajectory, the 100% renewable commitment cannot be independently verified as on track.
Scope 3 emissions: no standalone annual trajectory published for Jio: Jio’s SBTi-validated target requires a 66.5% absolute Scope 3 reduction by FY2028-29 from the FY2020-21 base year. Jio has not published a standalone annual Scope 3 absolute emissions figure, a category-level Scope 3 breakdown, or an annual progress percentage toward the 66.5% FY2028-29 target in its primary sustainability disclosures. This is a material transparency gap for the most ambitious of Jio’s two SBTi targets, given that Scope 3 covers purchased goods and services, capital goods, network equipment supply chain emissions, and waste generated in operations, all of which are growing as Jio expands its 5G network infrastructure. Without annual Scope 3 tracking data published in the BRSR, ESG rating agencies and institutional investors cannot assess whether the FY2028-29 Scope 3 target is on track.
Group-level Scope 1 and 2 emissions increased 0.66% in FY2025: RIL’s group-level Scope 1 and 2 operational GHG emissions reached 37,929,391 tCO2e in FY2025, a 0.66% increase from FY2024, highlighting that the parent group’s O2C and E&P operations continue to drive absolute emission growth at the group level even as Jio’s telecom operations reduce per-unit carbon intensity. The Net Carbon Zero by 2035 group target is at risk if the O2C and E&P divisions do not begin delivering absolute Scope 1 and 2 reductions in the next reporting cycle, as Jio’s telecom decarbonization alone cannot offset the scale of the group’s hydrocarbon processing and refining emissions.
Proprietary 5G stack: limited independent energy efficiency data published: Jio has developed and deployed a fully proprietary 5G core network and O-RAN-compliant radio access network, citing 86% lower carbon per GB versus 4G as the primary sustainability benefit of its 5G architecture. Jio has not published independently verified network energy intensity data (GJ per PB or kWh per TB), year-on-year network energy efficiency improvement percentages, or the specific technology interventions within the proprietary stack that deliver the stated 86% carbon per GB reduction. Without independent verification of this figure and supporting network energy efficiency data, the claim cannot be used by Jio’s telecom operator customers or supply chain partners as a verified ESG input for their own Scope 3 calculations.
BRSR disclosure quality: enhanced data collection still maturing: Jio’s BRSR FY2024-25 filing explicitly acknowledges that the company is still “enhancing data collection channels and strengthening disclosure mechanisms” for its ESG commitments, confirming that the data infrastructure for comprehensive sustainability reporting is not yet at the level of maturity required to support all quantitative targets with independently auditable annual tracking data. This is particularly relevant for Scope 3 category-level reporting, water consumption tracking specific to Jio’s facilities (distinct from RIL group), and supply chain CSR assessment coverage percentages by value of business transacted, all of which are required under BRSR Leadership indicators and will be mandatory rather than voluntary from FY2025-26.
Source
https://www.ril.com/ar2023-24/natural-capital.html
https://ditchcarbon.com/organizations/jio
https://www.ril.com/reports/BRSR202425.pdf
https://tracenable.com/company/reliance-industries/ghg-emissions
Future Plans and Long-Term Goals
Jio’s sustainability roadmap is structured around three critical deadlines: FY2028-29 (SBTi-validated 76% Scope 1 and 2 and 66.5% Scope 3 reduction targets), FY2029-30 (100% renewable electricity), and 2035 (RIL group Net Carbon Zero). The commissioning of the Dhirubhai Ambani Green Energy Giga Complex in Jamnagar, with domestic solar PV, hydrogen, battery, and fuel cell manufacturing at giga scale, is the foundational industrial event that will determine whether Jio’s renewable energy transition is commercially viable at the required pace without dependence on imported clean energy components.
By FY2028-29, Jio targets:
- 76% absolute reduction in Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions from FY2020-21 base (SBTi validated)
- 66.5% absolute reduction in Scope 3 GHG emissions from FY2020-21 base (SBTi validated)
- 100% renewable electricity sourcing, maintained thereafter through FY2030 and beyond
By 2035, Jio’s parent RIL targets:
- Net Carbon Zero across all group operations (Scope 1 and 2), supported by solar PV, green hydrogen, carbon capture, and clean fuel substitution across O2C, E&P, Retail, and Jio operations
Jio leads all Indian telecom operators on SBTi target ambition, CDP rating, and renewable tower deployment scale. It trails Vodafone and ZTE on Scope 3 category-level transparency, and trails Verizon on green bond financing as a dedicated renewable energy capital market instrument. Among Indian peers, Jio’s FY2028-29 Scope 1 and 2 target of 76% reduction is more ambitious than Airtel’s 50.4% Scope 1 and 2 reduction target for the same timeframe, confirming Jio’s positioning as the most aggressive climate target-setter in the Indian telecom sector.
Source
https://ditchcarbon.com/organizations/jio
https://www.ril.com/sustainability/net-zero-carbon
https://www.ril.com/ar2023-24/natural-capital.html
https://renewablewatch.in/2024/10/20/green-telecom-move-towards-renewable-energy/
Comparisons to Industry Competitors
Jio’s two primary Indian telecom peers with published and verifiable ESG data for direct comparison are Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea (Vi). All three operate under India’s mandatory BRSR disclosure regime, which requires identical reporting on energy, emissions, water, waste, and supply chain CSR for all top 1,000 listed companies by market capitalisation.
Jio vs. Airtel vs. Vodafone Idea (Vi)
Jio leads both Airtel and Vi on SBTi target ambition (76% Scope 1 and 2 reduction by FY2028-29 vs. Airtel’s 50.4% by FY2030), CDP rating (A vs. Airtel’s B), renewable tower deployment scale (174 MWp vs. Airtel’s reported 156,698 MWh in FY2023), and digital inclusion scale through JioBharat and the rural subscriber growth program. Airtel leads Jio on Scope 3 category transparency, having published a more detailed Scope 3 category breakdown in its sustainability disclosures, and on the Satya Bharti School education program which has a distinct brick-and-mortar school delivery model complementing Jio’s digital access program. Vi’s financial constraints, with reported net losses exceeding INR 30,000 crore annually and limited capital for network investment, mean that its sustainability program remains structurally underfunded relative to both Jio and Airtel, creating a widening ESG performance gap that will affect Vi’s ability to attract institutional ESG investors and meet future mandatory BRSR disclosure requirements.
Source
https://ditchcarbon.com/organizations/jio
https://tele.net.in/greening-the-networks-telcos-renewable-energy-initiatives-to-achieve-net-zero-targets/
https://renewablewatch.in/2024/10/20/green-telecom-move-towards-renewable-energy/
What to Watch: 12 to 18 Month Indicators
Three forward-looking signals will most directly determine whether Jio’s sustainability standing improves, holds, or deteriorates through mid-2027.
1. Renewable electricity deployment trajectory published in BRSR FY2025-26 (due mid-2026): Jio sourced approximately 3.2% of total energy from renewables in FY2023-24, against a SBTi-validated commitment of 100% renewable electricity by FY2029-30. The BRSR FY2025-26, due in mid-2026, will reveal whether Jio has published its annual renewable electricity percentage for FY2025-26, a site-by-site or circle-by-circle solar deployment count, and a forward MWp deployment target for each year to FY2029-30. Without a transparent annual renewable energy scaling roadmap, the 100% FY2029-30 commitment cannot be verified as operationally achievable, and ESG rating agencies may begin applying downward pressure on Jio’s climate scores as the FY2028-29 SBTi interim target year approaches.
2. Dhirubhai Ambani Green Energy Giga Complex first production commencement (CY2024-2025): RIL committed that the first giga-factory at the Dhirubhai Ambani Green Energy Giga Complex in Jamnagar would begin production in the second half of CY2024, covering integrated solar PV manufacturing from quartz to module. Commercial production at this facility will directly accelerate Jio’s tower solar program by removing the import dependence for solar modules that currently adds procurement lead time and cost to Jio’s tower solarization program. Confirmation of commercial-scale production and the first delivery of domestically manufactured solar modules to Jio tower sites would represent the single most important capital deployment milestone for Jio’s renewable energy transition in the 12 to 18 month window.
3. Scope 3 annual figure published for first time in BRSR FY2025-26: Jio’s SBTi-validated 66.5% Scope 3 reduction target by FY2028-29 has no publicly disclosed annual Scope 3 tracking metric in current reporting, making it the highest-ambition, lowest-transparency sustainability commitment in Jio’s portfolio. The BRSR Leadership indicators, which are moving toward mandatory disclosure requirements from FY2025-26, include Scope 3 emission category disclosure as a specified indicator. Publication of a Jio-specific standalone Scope 3 total, with at least category-level breakdown covering purchased goods and services, capital goods, and use of sold products, in the BRSR FY2025-26 would represent the foundational transparency step required for any external party to assess whether the FY2028-29 Scope 3 target is on track.
Source
https://ditchcarbon.com/organizations/jio
https://www.ril.com/ar2023-24/natural-capital.html
https://renewablewatch.in/2024/10/20/green-telecom-move-towards-renewable-energy/
https://www.ril.com/reports/BRSR202425.pdf
Jio’s sustainability performance through FY2024-25 reflects a company with genuinely transformative social impact credentials, an energy-efficient network architecture providing structural decarbonization advantages, and SBTi-validated climate targets that are the most ambitious in the Indian telecom sector, embedded within a parent group making one of the largest single corporate clean energy investments in Asia. The 86% lower carbon per GB delivered by Jio’s standalone 5G architecture, the 174 MWp solar tower program, the 490 million subscriber base, and the JioBharat digital inclusion platform targeting 250 million 2G users are all substantive sustainability outcomes that distinguish Jio from every peer in this report series on the dimension of scale and structural impact.
The fundamental sustainability credibility gap is the distance between Jio’s published SBTi commitments and the transparency of its annual tracking data. A 76% Scope 1 and 2 reduction target by FY2028-29 from an FY2020-21 baseline, with renewable electricity at 3.2% of total energy in FY2023-24, creates a decarbonization trajectory that is mathematically possible only if the Dhirubhai Ambani Green Energy Giga Complex begins delivering domestic solar modules to Jio tower sites at scale in CY2025, the renewable electricity percentage increases by approximately 15 to 20 percentage points per year from FY2025 onward, and the proprietary 5G network’s energy efficiency improvements compound year-on-year as 4G-to-5G traffic migration accelerates. Without annual Scope 3 figures, a renewable energy annual trajectory, or independently verified network energy intensity data, Jio’s sustainability disclosures do not yet provide the data infrastructure that institutional ESG investors require to verify target delivery, creating a credibility risk that grows larger with every reporting cycle that passes without these foundational disclosures.
Three strategic takeaways for practitioners benchmarking or replicating Jio’s approach:
- Jio’s JioBharat model, delivering a fully functional 4G digital access device at INR 999 with UPI, local language voice search, YouTube, and OTT integration, demonstrates that commercial digital inclusion can be achieved through product design and pricing strategy rather than subsidy programs, converting digital equity from a philanthropy-dependent initiative into a commercially self-sustaining mass-market product, providing a replicable model for any telecom operator seeking to serve the sub-smartphone income segment in emerging markets
- The standalone 5G architecture’s 86% carbon per GB advantage versus 4G peak-hour equivalents demonstrates that next-generation network design choices made at the infrastructure build stage have a longer-horizon sustainability impact than any number of post-deployment energy efficiency programs, and that operators still in early-stage 5G deployment should treat energy efficiency architecture selection as a climate commitment decision rather than a pure engineering or commercial optimization choice
- RIL’s INR 75,000 crore+ investment in vertically integrated green energy manufacturing at Jamnagar, covering solar PV, hydrogen, batteries, and fuel cells within a single giga-scale complex, provides a replicable industrial strategy model for any infrastructure-heavy conglomerate whose subsidiary businesses (like Jio) face near-term renewable energy sourcing constraints due to import dependence, limited grid renewable availability, or capital cost barriers for distributed generation, showing that resolving upstream clean energy supply constraints through vertical integration can unlock downstream decarbonization commitments that would otherwise remain structurally unachievable
