Environment

Minimizing our environmental impact is an essential element of our value proposition to our stakeholders and our commitment to sustainability. American Tower isn’t just setting goals for the future—we’re taking action today.

 

Building a More Connected World—Sustainably

Neutral Host Model

Our neutral-host model is inherently sustainable, as it allows multiple customers to lease space for communications
equipment on the same physical asset, allowing them to reduce network infrastructure costs, minimize their environmental impact and concentrate on providing service to their customers.

Our customers include mobile network operators, media broadcast and broadband providers, government agencies and companies in other industries that reach people through wireless communication technologies.

Green Site in Africa

Climate Change Mitigation

As a global leader in digital infrastructure, we are cognizant of the need to reduce the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with our business and our value chain. To guide our strategy and facilitate measurable progress, in 2021, we adopted science-based GHG emissions reduction goals, which are approved by the Science Based Targets initiative and are aligned with the 2015 Paris Agreement.

Our GHG emissions reduction strategy is focused on three critical elements:

Energy Efficiency Improvements

Improving energy efficiency at our sites is critical to achieving our science-based targets. We aim to improve on-site energy efficiency by implementing energy management systems (EMSs), upgrading to more energy-efficient equipment and installing new technologies.

Energy Management Systems

At American Tower, we use EMSs to better monitor and manage our energy consumption, facilitating improvements in energy efficiency. These systems consist of computer-aided tools, such as remote monitoring, and allow us to regularly review energy consumption, identify inefficiencies and quickly remediate issues as they arise. We strategically implement and operate EMSs in our markets with the highest energy use—U.S., Spain, India and across Africa—which represent approximately 99% of our total operational energy usage.

Renewable Energy On-site Deployment and Procurement

Our strategy for reducing GHG emissions relies on the deployment and procurement of renewable energy.

On-site Renewable Energy Generation

In 2023, we reached over 18,000 communications sites supported by on-site solar energy, collectively providing 120 megawatts (MW) of capacity and generating more than 100 gigawatt hours (GWh) annually.

To further decarbonize operations for our customers and ourselves, we have set a new global target for on-site clean energy for 2024. We aim to increase on-site renewable energy generation by more than 20% globally, compared to a 2023 baseline, to reach 112 GWh annually of annual production.1

AMT 2023 Solar Installations


 

1The 2024 goal of a more than 20% increase over the 2023 baseline excludes India’s 2023 generation of approximately 10 GWh of renewable energy generation and projected similar generation in 2024, as the market is expected to be divested in the second half of 2024; excluding India, the baseline is approximately 93 GWh. 

Procured Renewable Energy

In addition to on-site generation, our markets also procure renewable energy.

For example, in 2023, our contracts in Spain sourced more than 257,000 megawatt hours (MWh) of clean energy, with 54,000 MWh allocated to our operations and almost four times that amount, or almost 203,000 MWh, used by our customers.

Renewable energy procurement reinforces our commitment to be a strategic partner to our customers to support collective GHG emissions reduction journeys.

Sophisticated Energy Storage

Increasing the capacity and availability of energy storage is essential to the global transition to clean energy. We remain focused on expanding our on-site energy storage through lithium-ion battery (LIBs) deployments, as a critical component of our GHG emissions reduction strategy. Compared to traditional lead-acid batteries, LIBs provide improved storage capacity, require shorter charge times and are more efficient under partial charge.

Lithium-ion Batteries

We have surpassed 87,000 LIBs across a network of over 22,000 sites, boasting an impressive total capacity of approximately 850 MWh.

      Number of Sites With Lithium-ion Batteries

6,700

in 2020

13,600

in 2021

18,425

in 2022

21,830

in 2023

Number of sites with LIBS

For more information on how we assess and respond to climate-related risks and opportunities, please view our Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures Index.

Land Stewardship

Preserving the environment around our sites and using natural resources efficiently is an important part of our commitment to responsible and environmentally conscious operations. Whether we are planning, constructing, operating or decommissioning a site, we examine potential environmental impacts and implement mitigative measures to minimize any detrimental impacts on local ecosystems. These efforts are guided by local site development and land management teams. While regulations and standards for these studies vary across the world, we are committed to compliance with all jurisdictional laws and requirements, with dedicated teams in place to deliver that commitment.

Wildlife Protection Efforts

American Tower recognizes our sites coexist with important wildlife habitats and sometimes serve as homes for local flora and fauna. We have several initiatives to support local wildlife at our sites.

Because our communications sites occasionally serve as bird nesting habitats, we have localized policies and procedures that aim to protect the birds and promote continued safe operations for our employees, contractors and customers. In 2023, we protected nearly 5,000 bird nests. 

Learn More About Our Bird Watch Program

We also recognize the indispensable role bees play in our global ecosystem; and, as such, many of our markets have policies and programs to protect these fragile populations when they are encountered on our sites.

Learn More About the Ghana Bee Program

Waste Management

Waste Management

We focus on limiting waste generation and diverting unavoidable waste from landfills throughout each phase of our communications sites’ lifecycle. Our on-site management programs focus on the proper handling and disposal of hazardous materials, with incident management systems to ensure prompt remedial action and appropriate reporting related to spills according to local regulatory requirements.

Water Management

Water is a vital resource, and we strive to use water as efficiently as possible in our operations.

Water-Efficient Office in Spain

Many of our offices have implemented water conservation efforts, such as installing water sensors and efficient fixtures. In Spain, our office is in a LEED Platinum-certified building designed with green principles, including blending of the natural environment, sustainable design and efficient water use. The building reduces water consumption by 46%, relative to a comparable building, by incorporating efficient sanitary fittings and taps. Additionally, native vegetation landscaping practices are employed, which require minimal watering and use a combination of recycled rainwater and a drip irrigation system, with built-in rain sensors.

For more information on our data center sustainability efforts, please see the Climate Change Mitigation section of our Global Reporting Initiative Content Index and visit the CoreSite website.

Embedding Sustainability 

in Our Business

Learn more about the many ways we champion sustainability and drive progress against our priorities.

Download Our 2023 Sustainability Executive Report

Governance Efforts
Social Efforts