International cable company Liberty Global has once again been included in the Dow Jones Sustainability World and North American indices, according to the company. This is the fourth year Liberty has been included in the corporate sustainability assessment, thanks in part to its energy efficiency efforts.
The indices track performance in terms of economic and environmental impact, governance and social performance. Last year, Liberty highlights included improving energy efficiency by 34 percent and carbon efficiency by 31 percent. Liberty refurbished 4.4 million cable set-top boxes and modems. This eliminated 7,200 metric tons of waste that would have ended up in landfills and saved $320 million.
In related news, Time Warner Cable said earlier this month that it has cut its carbon intensity by 38 percent, which surpassed the 15 percent two-year goal set in 2012. The operator announced a two-year goal to reduce carbon intensity by 30 percent by the end of next year by focusing on energy efficiency and fuel efficient vehicles.
As part of an industry-wide commitment to energy efficiency, TWC has joined with 14 other cable, satellite and telephone companies and vendors to put into effect a voluntary five-year Set-Top Box Energy Conservation Agreement. This agreement, executed in late 2012, is expected to result in annual residential electricity savings across the Multichannel Video Programming Distributor (MVPD) industry of $1.5 billion or more by the end of 2017.
