SOFIAH NICHOLE SALIVIO

News Editor

Virgin Media O2 has unveiled a Green Transition Plan setting out how it will reach net zero carbon emissions across its full value chain, including its broadband and mobile networks, by the end of 2040.

The telecoms group aims to cut Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 90% and Scope 3 emissions by 50% by 2030. It says it has already reduced Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 63% against its 2020 baseline.

The plan sets out measures on energy sourcing, network resilience and device reuse. Virgin Media O2 aims to source 100% carbon-free energy from UK sources while improving energy efficiency across its operations.

Alongside emissions targets, the plan places greater emphasis on preparing infrastructure for the effects of climate change. Virgin Media O2 wants to build and operate more climate-resilient broadband and mobile networks as part of a broader effort to reduce risk across the business.

Device reuse

A second strand of the plan focuses on extending the life of consumer technology. Virgin Media O2 aims to double the number of customers buying refurbished devices by 2030 and to double the number recycling unwanted devices through O2 Recycle over the same period.

It also wants to promote a device reuse culture in 30 UK cities by 2030. The work will build on its existing partnership with Coventry City Council, with devices reused locally and passed on to people who need them.

These measures form part of the group’s wider environmental, social and governance strategy, which identifies climate and circularity as core priorities. The plan takes a broader view of the business, from how networks are built and run to what happens to products and devices after first use.

Virgin Media O2 says the transition plan is underpinned by 14 “transition levers” intended to help meet its targets. These include working with suppliers to cut carbon and waste from network and customer equipment, improving the energy efficiency of customer devices, and continuing to invest in networks that support the UK’s net zero transition.

External support

The operator also pointed to areas where it believes outside support will be needed. Progress will depend in part on the decarbonisation of the UK electricity grid and on a government-led national strategy to enable the electrification of commercial vehicle fleets.

The announcement comes as large companies face growing pressure from investors, regulators and customers to show not only climate targets but also detailed plans for meeting them. Telecoms groups face particular scrutiny because of the energy demands of mobile and fixed networks, as well as the emissions linked to their supply chains and customer devices.

Virgin Media O2 serves around 46 million UK mobile connections and 5.8 million fixed-line customers. Its fixed network covers 18.8 million premises and its mobile network reaches 99% of the UK population, giving the company a broad operational footprint over which to apply the measures in the plan.

Dana Haidan outlined the company’s position in a statement accompanying the plan. “Our Green Transition Plan is a milestone in Virgin Media O2’s journey to become a more resilient, lower-carbon business. It’s a long-term commitment backed by action across many interconnected areas as we work to reach net zero, give technology a second life and build and operate climate-resilient networks. Embedding responsible business into every decision Virgin Media O2 makes is key as we reduce our environmental impact, help protect the planet and keep our customers connected,” said Dana Haidan, Chief Sustainability Officer at Virgin Media O2.

Nigel Topping, Co-Founder of Ambition Loop and UN Climate Champion for COP26, welcomed the publication of the plan and linked it to wider corporate climate reporting expectations. “Credible climate transition plans are becoming a defining feature of responsible business leadership. What matters is not just ambition, but clarity on how targets will be delivered in practice, through transparent, accountable and measurable action across the whole value chain. At the same time, businesses must prepare for the physical impacts of the climate crisis, strengthening their resilience while reducing emissions. That’s why I welcome Virgin Media O2’s leadership in publishing a clear and robust Green Transition Plan. Plans like this help build confidence among investors, policymakers and the public that the transition is both achievable and underway,” said Nigel Topping.

SOFIAH NICHOLE SALIVIO

News Editor

Red Hat, IBM and Deloitte have announced a collaboration on Project Lightwell, an initiative focused on open source software security in corporate supply chains.

Deloitte will join Lightwell as an integration partner, adding cyber risk services and software supply chain expertise to a model designed to patch vulnerabilities at scale. The arrangement is intended to help organisations identify vulnerable code, prioritise threats and deploy validated fixes without waiting for full software upgrades.

Lightwell addresses a problem facing large organisations that rely on a mix of in-house software, open source components and third-party commercial products. A flaw in one part of that stack can spread risk across multiple applications and business functions, particularly when software versions are pinned to older releases that companies are reluctant to change quickly.

According to IBM and Red Hat, the project coordinates vulnerability disclosures with independent maintainers, then develops, tests and backports patches to the software versions running in production. That approach is intended to help companies protect systems already in use while avoiding broader, potentially disruptive upgrade cycles.

The collaboration gives Deloitte a role across the software lifecycle, including mapping software assets, assessing exposure and helping move fixes into production systems. The professional services firm said it will maintain a bench of Forward Deployed Engineers to support remediation and application maintenance for clients.

Rising pressure

The announcement comes as companies face a growing volume of software vulnerabilities and a faster pace of exploitation. The three groups pointed to the rise of AI-assisted attacks, which can shorten the time between the discovery of a flaw and attempts to exploit it.

That has made software supply chain security more pressing for regulated industries and other large enterprises, where changes to production systems often require lengthy testing and governance. By separating remediation from the broader upgrade process, the partners aim to address a common bottleneck in corporate security operations.

The plan covers four main areas: continuous discovery of first-party, open source and third-party software; contextual analysis to distinguish urgent threats from lower-priority issues; remediation through coordinated testing and deployment; and reporting for boards, auditors and regulators.

It also emphasises managing relationships with upstream open source communities and software vendors. That includes pre-disclosure vulnerability handovers and evidence-based reporting intended to improve accountability across the software lifecycle.

Deloitte said the effort builds on its existing work with IBM on cybersecurity, resilience and digital trust, as well as a long-standing alliance with Red Hat focused on open source technologies and IT automation. The new collaboration brings those strands together in a more targeted security programme for open source software maintenance.

Adnan Amjad outlined Deloitte’s view of the issue.

“Exploits don’t wait for manual patching processes, and neither can enterprise response. Together, we’re enabling clients to operate at machine speed to identify, validate and remediate vulnerabilities. This collaboration is about building the operational resilience needed to maintain trust across increasingly complex software ecosystems, creating systems that can withstand and neutralise risk without disrupting the business,” said Adnan Amjad, US Cyber Leader, Deloitte.

IBM said Lightwell was created in response to the growing difficulty of securing open source software as the threat environment changes. It described the Deloitte tie-up as a way to extend an existing engineering and automation model to a wider set of organisations.

“Lightwell was created to address the growing challenge of securing open source software in an AI-driven threat landscape. It brings together the engineering, automation and ecosystem partnerships needed to tackle this risk at scale. We’re excited to collaborate with Deloitte and leverage its capabilities in cyber risk management to extend this model to more organisations,” said Rodrigues.

Red Hat said the collaboration is intended to bring patching work directly into enterprise application environments, with an emphasis on the versions customers are already running rather than requiring immediate migrations to newer releases.

“Open source drives innovation, but the volume of AI-generated threats requires engineering capacity that matches the speed of the attacker. Our work with Deloitte will bring the remediation capabilities we developed with IBM through Lightwell directly to enterprise application environments. Together we will isolate, patch and deliver the fixes, supporting the open source ecosystem while protecting the specific versions our customers depend on,” said Kennedy.

Wotton Travel Ltd (WTL), based across the Oxfordshire border in Wotton-under-Edge, is celebrating its 40th anniversary tomorrow (Wednesday, July 1).

Founded in 1986 by Renishaw plc, the Gloucestershire business was originally established to manage the corporate travel needs of its parent company.

Since then, it has developed into a trusted, independent travel management company and retail travel agency,

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Wotton Travel Ltd (WTL) is celebrating 40 years in the Cotswolds. (Image: Wotton Travel Ltd)

WTL now serves a diverse portfolio of business and leisure clients while maintaining strong roots in the local community.

The company is fully bonded with both the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

It is also a member of the Advantage Travel Partnership and the Focus Travel Partnership, giving clients access to competitive global fares, accommodation and travel services through an extensive international network.

“Reaching this milestone is a fantastic achievement for WTL,” said Wendy Walker, Director of WTL.

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“We are incredibly proud of our heritage, our dedicated team, and the long-standing relationships we have built with our clients.

“From our beginnings within the Renishaw Group to where we are today, our focus has always been on delivering exceptional personal service and creating memorable travel experiences.”

With a team bringing together more than 300 years of combined travel industry experience, WTL is recognised for its depth of expertise and specialist destination knowledge.

The team includes in-house experts in cruises, North America, the Caribbean, Dubai, South Africa, Australia and many more destinations, enabling tailored itineraries across all seven continents.