ZTE Uses AI to Cut Scope 1 and 2 Emissions by 46% in 2025 Sustainability Report, Achieves CDP Climate A List

ZTE Corporation has released its 2025 Sustainability Report, its 18th consecutive annual disclosure, reporting a 46 percent reduction in Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions compared with its 2021 baseline, exceeding the Phase I target outlined in its 2024 Zero-Carbon Strategy White Paper. The company also achieved an 8.55 percent reduction in physical emissions intensity during the use and maintenance phase of telecom products and a 3.05 percent year-on-year reduction in absolute lifecycle emissions across terminal products. ZTE has been recognised on the CDP Climate A List for three consecutive years and was rated as Low ESG Risk by Sustainalytics for the fourth consecutive year, reinforcing its position as one of the more credible ESG performers in the global technology sector.

 

AI Integration and Innovation Investment

 

ZTE committed RMB 22.76 billion to research and development in 2025, representing approximately 17 percent of total revenue, with efforts concentrated on 6G, optical communications, AI, computing power, energy technology and chip development. The company held approximately 95,000 global patent applications as of December 2025, with over 50,000 patents granted, including approximately 5,900 patent applications in chips and nearly 5,500 in AI. AI tools have been widely deployed within the company's own R&D workflows, achieving a usage penetration rate of 79.78 percent among developers and an AI code generation rate of 31.45 percent.

Chief Executive Officer Xu Ziyang said ZTE has unveiled a new vision to lead in connectivity and intelligent computing, driven by a Connectivity plus Computing strategy intended to empower sustainable economic development through technology. The company's guiding principle of All in AI, AI for All reflects a commitment to embedding artificial intelligence across both internal operations and external customer solutions. This dual application of AI, internally for operational efficiency and externally for industry transformation, is central to ZTE's positioning as a provider of green digital infrastructure at global scale.

 

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Science-Based Carbon Reduction Across Four Dimensions

 

ZTE's climate strategy is structured around four dimensions covering green corporate operations, green supply chain, green digital infrastructure and green industry empowerment. In operations, the company completed new photovoltaic projects in Xi'an and Changsha in 2025, generating 39.22 million kilowatt hours of solar electricity annually, and obtained 33.7 million kilowatt hours of green electricity certificates through active participation in green electricity trading. AI-based dynamic scaling and remote control technologies contributed to the Scope 1 and 2 emissions reduction, demonstrating how digital optimisation can directly support physical decarbonisation.

On the supply chain dimension, ZTE's Xi'an and Changsha manufacturing bases were newly awarded National Green Factory certification in 2025, bringing the company to three national-level and one provincial-level certified green factory. The company conducted dual-carbon training for 97 suppliers, performed dual-carbon audits on 158 suppliers and provided carbon accounting guidance to 152 key suppliers covering 50.82 percent of procurement spend. A further 83 key suppliers were guided to participate in CDP assessments and make public disclosures, extending climate governance deep into the upstream supply chain.

 

Digital Infrastructure and Industry Empowerment

 

ZTE has completed carbon footprint assessments for 240 products by the end of 2025, achieving full coverage of all product categories through lifecycle carbon footprint management. The company deploys self-developed low-power chips, advanced liquid cooling technologies, photovoltaic installations at network sites and full lifecycle carbon management to provide green digital infrastructure across the telecommunications industry. This internal green infrastructure standard is increasingly being applied to customer deployments, aligning ZTE's commercial product strategy with broader industry decarbonisation objectives.

A case study in the report highlights ZTE's collaboration with Benxi Tool using 5G-enabled industrial Internet solutions, which reduced frontline operators by 20 percent, increased annual output by 1.5 times, shortened raw material procurement lead times by 40 percent and cut delivery times by 20 percent. These operational efficiency gains translate directly into energy and emissions reductions for the customer while demonstrating the commercial value of ZTE's industry empowerment offering. This type of customer impact is increasingly material to how technology companies frame their Scope 3 avoided emissions contribution.

 

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Social Inclusion and Governance Resilience

 

ZTE's social programmes in 2025 extended network connectivity to over one million people in Ethiopia through 152 rural network sites built under its Signal Reach programme, alongside telemedicine infrastructure deployment in remote areas of Xizang. More than 20,000 employee volunteers participated in over 600 global community programmes across more than 40 countries, with initiatives focused on educational support, medical assistance, low-carbon environmental protection and rural development that benefited more than one million people globally. The company maintained 100 percent employee training coverage and sustained ISO 45001 occupational health and safety certification across all domestic sites and operations in 30 overseas countries.

On governance, ZTE sustained ISO 22301 Business Continuity Management certification, ISO 37001 anti-bribery management certification covering subsidiaries in 38 countries, and ISO 27001 and ISO 27701 information security and privacy certifications. The company launched a Cross-Border Data Compliance Service Platform designed to help companies tackle complex global compliance challenges as they internationalise. These governance investments reflect ZTE's recognition that compliance resilience is a competitive asset in international markets where regulatory expectations around data protection and business continuity are tightening.

 

Outlook for ZTE's Sustainability Trajectory

 

ZTE's 2025 results demonstrate that a technology-led approach to corporate decarbonisation, combining AI-driven operational optimisation with systematic supply chain engagement and green product development, can deliver substantial absolute emissions reductions at enterprise scale. The combination of exceeding Phase I targets, expanding renewable generation and achieving three consecutive CDP Climate A List recognitions provides a credible foundation for more ambitious Phase II commitments. Continued progress on Scope 3 supply chain emissions and product lifecycle footprint management will be critical to maintaining the trajectory.

Whether ZTE can sustain double-digit emissions reductions while continuing to grow its global revenue base will depend on the pace of renewable energy deployment, the depth of supply chain decarbonisation and the effectiveness of AI in driving further operational efficiency. The company's forward priorities include expanding renewable energy adoption, accelerating reductions across all three scopes and deepening sustainability integration into strategic decision-making. As global ICT infrastructure demand continues to rise, ZTE's ability to decouple growth from emissions will remain a defining test of its sustainability leadership.

 

Source: ZTE