Is your mobile plan carbon neutral?
It is very likely that you cannot answer this question.
The reason for this is simple: operators who communicate on the subject are very rare today.
However, this question is important, at a time when millions of French people are seeking to reduce their carbon footprint and approach minimal emissions.
Being more ecological on a daily basis is not just about putting less waste in the trash: it also involves making better use of technology.
Some mobile phone operators are beginning to develop an ecological practice: this is particularly the case with Prixtel, one of the pioneers on the subject.
But it's not the only one!
It may be interesting to turn to an ecological mobile plan in accordance with your principles:
The greenest mobile plans in France
We have listed for you the mobile telephone operators who display an ecological offer, with a reduced carbon footprint.
Prixtel, the CO2-neutral package
Prixtel is a French operator that operates in 4G/4G+/5G on the SFR mobile network.
He has been actively working on the carbon neutrality of his activity for several years now, by offsetting the emissions of his packages in different ways.
This involves active use of teleworking for its teams, participation in reforestation projects in the Centre-Val de Loire and in the Loir-et-Cher, but also in underwater pollution control initiatives in the creeks of Marseille, in partnership with the Sea&co association.
So many initiatives which bear fruit and which are financed by Prixtel, and therefore indirectly by its customers.
Prixtel is committed to the environment: the operator has already reduced CO2 emissions by 64% per customer in less than 3 years.
If we add to that flexible non-binding packages, available at competitive prices, we benefit from a most virtuous proposal, which has enough to attract people aware of this vast cause that is ecology.
Incidentally, Prixtel also demonstrates that it is possible to play the sustainable game by displaying affordable prices, associated with data envelopes capable of meeting the needs of all smartphone users in France.
Discover
the Prixtel mobile plans here
Mint Mobile, an eco-friendly plan
Mint Mobile is the telecom arm of Mint.
The latter has several activities in addition to that of selling mobile plans: it provides green energy via Mint Énergie and offers a self-consumption solution via Mint Solaire.
The common point of these different entities: they all work in favor of the environment.
To do this, Mint does carbon offsetting by participating in reforestation initiatives with the Reforest Action association.
The operator Mint Mobile sells non-binding packages, and also offers refurbished smartphones to its customers.
It is not mandatory to buy a smartphone to subscribe to the operator's plans, but it can be a good complement.
This makes Mint Mobile an interesting operator if you want your subscription to a mobile plan to reflect your ecological commitments.
Discover
Mint Mobile mobile plans here
Source Mobile, the solidarity plan
Source Mobile is not really a mobile phone operator per se: it is above all an initiative of Bouygues Telecom which allows its customers to support different causes by subscribing to a single package.
This costs 10 euros per month and gives access to an amount of data limited to 40 GB, in addition to unlimited calls, SMS and MMS.
When you subscribe to this "eco-package", you can follow your consumption in real time on the dedicated application.
It is important to know that the plan is blocked once the 40 GB has been reached.
For each gigabyte that you don't use during the month, you earn “drops”: these are virtual credits that you can spend to support an association of your choice.
Some are related to the environment: it allows you to do a good deed without spending anything more.
Discover here
the mobile plans Source Mobile
TeleCoop, the very sober plan
TeleCoop is a very little known operator.
It is committed to the ecological transition, and challenges its customers to motivate them to adopt energy sobriety while keeping control over their consumption.
For this, it makes them responsible by making them pay for their package according to the amount of data consumed.
And that can quickly add up: the sobriety package at 10 euros per month adds 2 euros per gigabyte consumed!
Something to motivate you to be very careful.
This non-binding proposal may therefore be of interest to you if you use very little mobile data, or if you wish to regulate yourself drastically.
If you use 4G a lot, it's not for you: you risk paying much more.
It is an offer committed, almost to the extreme, in favor of the sobriety of mobile uses.
Discover
the TeleCoop mobile plans here
What is an ecological mobile plan?
You can define a mobile plan as being green in different ways.
The first, and the most developed, is that which associates the package with carbon offsetting of its activities.
To do this, the operator quantifies the carbon consumption of its packages, but also of its mode of operation, and compensates by participating in ecological initiatives.
This often involves a reforestation process, financing ecological initiatives, cleaning beaches or oceans... In summary, the operator donates part of its profits to organizations that work to make the world more green, cleaner and more serene for the future.
For the customer, the approach is transparent: he knows that he is contributing to the initiatives supported by the operator by subscribing to one of its packages.
The other proposal can involve the customer more, for example by motivating him to consume less data and by rewarding him for this.
This can earn him points to support an association, or allow him to pay less for his mobile plan.
He can also be encouraged to buy a refurbished smartphone.
In this way, he is more concretely involved in the action of the operator, and in his way of using his plan or consuming technologies related to mobile telephony.
These are two different approaches, but they make sense either way.
These initiatives are clearly in tune with the times, and it is surprising that there are not even more operators to put forward such a proposal today.
However, the steps in this direction are still tending to accelerate, so we can expect to see more of them arriving on the market in the coming years.
Which telephone operators act on their carbon footprint?
Without hesitation, Prixtel presents itself as one of the operators most committed to reducing its carbon footprint.
Its activities combine the cleaning of the Mediterranean Sea with the reforestation of French forests, which contributes to making this operator based in Aix-en-Provence an example in this field.
As its work to reduce its carbon footprint is linked to all of its activities, all the non-binding mobile plans available from Prixtel allow you to take advantage of this initiative.
We can also note that in 2022, the company decided to support farmers in reducing their CO2 emissions, by setting up temporary meadows,
by renovating housing for animals or by contributing to the development of manure spreading to help reduce the use of mineral fertilizers.
These are all initiatives that should enable Prixtel to further improve its carbon offsetting in 2022 and beyond.
Also mentioned in our selection, Mint Mobile and Source Mobile are also good examples of operators whose plans aim for carbon neutrality.
They present themselves as interesting alternatives and, like Prixtel, their packages are non-binding.
It is therefore relevant not to ignore them in your search for a responsible mobile plan.
In addition, it is still necessary to underline an important point: today, the carbon footprint associated with telecom networks represents only 5% of the total carbon footprint of France.
Globally, that's 0.4%!
While it is therefore very important to seek to reduce your carbon footprint as much as possible, you must still be aware that the use of a smartphone represents a small percentage of daily consumption: therefore, even if you choose a package committed to the environment, you have to think about doing other eco-gestures every day so that the approach has a real social impact.
Choosing a CO2-neutral package remains a symbolic and useful first step towards a greener future.
