Rodney Kinchington,
Background
Rodney joined BT in 2010 and was appointed as Regional Managing Director for APJC and MEA in January 2022.
He has established a world-class team across Australia, South East Asia, Japan, Korea, China, India, Middle East and South Africa regions. He has enabled BT to get closer to our customers and partners to ensure the right engagement and solution is delivered successfully as part of their digital transformation journey. Under Rodney’s leadership, APJC and MEA regions have seen remarkable growth and success.
Over the past 25 years Rodney has lived and worked in many countries in various roles from system engineering, programme management, commercial and sales management. Within BT, Rodney successfully established a global partnership with one of the largest logistics companies in the world providing a digital transformation solution across 3500 sites globally with sustainability being at the core of change. He’s also part of BT’s diversity and inclusion board and Company Director of BT entities for South East Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
He’s a Chartered Engineer and completed a Master of Science (MSc) at Oxford University, Master of Business administration from Manchester Business School and Bachelor of Electrical Engineering from University of NSW.
BT drives sustainability on all fronts
To provide insights on the challenge organisations face to transform their digital systems to cloud based solutions that meet the organisation’s sustainability targets, Tim Langdon, publisher of Eco Voice, had the pleasure of facilitating a Q & A with Rodney Kinchington,
Q1. What is British Telecom focused on in terms of sustainability?
Sustainability is now a major factor in decision-making for most of our customers globally, as carbon reduction and circularity targets are cascading throughout organisations.
Our goal is twofold – be a market leader in sustainability and equip our global customers with technology solutions and sustainability measurements tools to drive impactful change.
With the launch of Global Fabric — our new, international, cloud-centric network-as-a-service — we can give our customers significant sustainability advantages over legacy equipment.
We estimate Global Fabric’s network devices are 64 percent more efficient than existing equipment and when adopted, can deliver a 79 percent reduction in energy consumption. That’s an exciting space to be working in where the latest technology innovation is driving ground-breaking sustainability improvements.
Q2. Why is it important for organisations to transform their digital systems to cloud-based systems in terms of sustainability?
Great question. Multi-cloud systems like Global Fabric significantly reduce energy consumption, optimize resources, and minimize hardware waste.
With networks and digital assets dispersed around the world, many CIOs struggle to measure energy consumption and carbon emissions with processes for managing end-of-life equipment.
We’ve created tools that integrate with our multi-cloud solutions to ensure that sustainability metrics are clear, transparent, and available throughout the value chain.
Because Global Fabric is architected around the world’s major cloud locations, enabling its hardware footprint to be optimized, it uses 16 percent less devices than BT’s existing international networks. (1)
This supports genuine carbon reductions which result in cutting energy use and costs, factors that are highly motivating for organizations.
After the 2022 global energy crisis caused fuel prices to surge by an average of 50%, optimising operations to minimize energy use makes financial and environmental sense more than ever.
A bonus benefit is that when an organisation has genuine sustainability credentials, they attract top industry talent. People want to work for a sustainable employer, and as studies have shown that 71% of workers consider an organisation’s environmental record when deciding on whether to accept a job.
Further, 82% of executives want to see an improvement in the sustainability of their workplaces, with employees valuing an organisation that genuinely cares about sustainability over traditional perks such as subsidized gyms or cafeterias.
So being able to substantiate carbon reduction achievements is a powerful persuader.
(1). https://newsroom.bt.com/bt-wraps-multi-cloud-in-a-new-global-fabric/
Q3. How does this process help organisations to meet their sustainability targets?
By leveraging multi-cloud solutions like Global Fabric and effective sustainability measurement tools, BT can support our customers to optimize workloads across various cloud providers, choosing those with the most sustainable practices. We have three key tools that support companies to measurably improve their sustainability.
The Digital Carbon Calculator allows network designs from the operational environment, LAN, and WAN (including data centre equipment) to be assessed for their carbon footprint then subsequently optimised for the best results.
It provides details of each network device’s power consumption and carbon dioxide emissions, giving them the information needed to balance performance, energy consumption, emissions and cost.
BT’s Carbon Network Dashboard provides customers with real-time, detailed data and reports on their devices’ energy performance in-life across both LAN and OT infrastructure.
BT is working with Cisco to source data on equipment power consumption to feed into its digital sustainability tools.
Q4. Is the industry that you are involved in moving towards sustainability more generally?
Absolutely. The telecommunications and technology industries increasingly recognise the critical importance of sustainability practices embedded at all levels of business. And technology is a critical enabler to sustainability goals for the customers we serve.
We are seeing an increased focus on Scope 3 emissions across the board. Most organisations tackled Scope 1 and 2 emissions because they were within their immediate control. But Scope 3 is a little more complicated because 95% of emissions come from the supply chain and that increases the complexity in data measurement and management.
Robust data is the best mechanism for emission transparency. Today, stakeholders committed to a greener future are more discerning, looking out for superficial claims aimed solely at enhancing an organization’s image.
Data that can clearly demonstration carbon metrics through the value chain can transparently illustrate emission reduction efforts to stakeholders. Two-thirds of executives around the globe had doubts as to whether their company’s sustainability efforts are genuine, and since 2021, the European Commission found that 42% of sustainability claims were false. Today, a public accusation of greenwashing can be extremely damaging for an organisation, affecting reputation, trust, and status. Robust emission data at all points of the value chain, including Scope 3, avoids this.
What’s more, governments, industry bodies and other regulators are beginning to mandate concrete proof of progress when it comes to sustainability.
A high awareness of the importance of carbon reduction is driving investors, governments and regulators to tighten their oversight and ask for validated progress data. Sustainability results are now a regular part of company annual reports and detailed sustainability data is increasingly a requirement in contract stipulations from governments and purchasing organizations.
Q5. How important is data management in sustainability thinking in your industry?
Data management plays a crucial role in sustainability thinking across industry. Efficient data handling and storage, coupled with advanced analytics, enable organisations to optimise network performance, reduce energy consumption, and identify areas for improvement in sustainability practices.
Q6. How can British Telecom get more industry players to embrace sustainability?
BT is committed to lead by example. Through transformative innovations like Global Fabric, we believe the best way to get the market excited is to prove how these new technologies can drive sustainability goals.
We collaborate with industry partners, sharing best practices and success stories in sustainability. We’re engaged in everything from industry forums, to participating in collaborative initiatives.
And we believe that by transparently showcasing the benefits of our sustainable practices, and how our technology supports the sustainability goals of our customers, it will encourage the industry to do more collectively.
Q7. How can publications, such as Eco Voice, play their part in promoting sustainability in your business sector?
Publications like Eco Voice play a crucial role in promoting sustainability by creating awareness, showcasing industry best practices, and fostering a dialogue around sustainable technologies and initiatives.
By featuring sustainability success stories, case studies, and expert opinions, publications can inspire and motivate other businesses to prioritize sustainability in their operations. We are all in this together after all.
ABOUT ECO VOICE
First published in 2003, Eco Voice is your go-to publication for sustainability news in Australia. Eco Voice prides itself as an independent news platform with a clear focus on sustainability, with articles coming from a diverse range of contributors – all levels of government, corporations, not-for-profits, community groups, small to medium sized businesses, universities, research organisations, together with input from international sources. Eco Voice values community, conservation and commerce. Eco Voice is a media partner of the prestigious Australian Banksia Sustainability Awards – The Peak Sustainability Awards.
ABOUT BT
BT Group is the UK’s leading provider of fixed and mobile telecommunications and related secure digital products, solutions and services. We also provide managed telecommunications, security and network and IT infrastructure services to customers across 180 countries.
BT Group consists of three customer-facing units: Consumer serves individuals and families in the UK; Business* covers companies and public services in the UK and internationally; Openreach is an independently governed, wholly owned subsidiary wholesaling fixed access infrastructure services to its customers – over 650 communications providers across the UK.
British Telecommunications plc is a wholly owned subsidiary of BT Group plc and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the BT Group. BT Group plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange.
For more information, visit www.bt.com/about
*Business was formed on 1 January 2023 from the combination of the former Enterprise and Global units. It commenced reporting as a single unit from 1 April 2023, with pro forma reporting information to be produced ahead of BT Group’s Q1 FY24 results.
