Permacrises are driving volatility and tension across markets, threatening our ability to do business. Dependencies on energy, materials, and global supply chains are increasingly visible, exposing the real constraints of operating at scale. Securing resilience, legitimacy, and freedom to operate has never been more critical. 
In this light, sustainability takes on a new role. 
It is shifting from a compliance requirement or parallel “doing good” activity into a core business logic – a strategic operating system that helps organizations navigate complexity and uncertainty, while acting as a trust anchor for customers, partners, regulators, and society.
But what does this mean for telcos?
In this session, we take a systems perspective and explore how sustainability becomes a driver of resilience, competitiveness, and scalable growth – and what it truly takes for telcos to lead in times of disruption. Join us for a strategic and practical conversation on translate sustainability into telco logic: built to scale, designed for impact, and ready for what’s next.

Sustainability is now crucial amid permacrises. It shifts from compliance to strategic logic, boosting resilience and growth for telcos. Explore how sustainability drives competitiveness and prepares for disruption.

Subhagata Mukherjee (Subho) is the Vice President and Global Head of Sustainability at Nokia and leads the company’s global sustainability strategy, programs, and initiatives, including its overall Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) responsibilities. In his previous roles at Nokia, Subho has led transformational initiatives across corporate strategy, technology strategy, research & innovation, digitalization and AI investments, venture capital investments, strategic communications for CEO, and various regional business initiatives across Asia, Middle East & Africa, Europe and US.
Subho’s focus areas include climate, circularity, bridging digital divide, responsible supply chain, human rights, responsible use of technology, customer co-creation and new partnerships and innovation in sustainability. Under his leadership, Nokia featured as one the most sustainable companies in the telecoms sector by Corporate Knights Global 100 ranking, among top sustainable companies in the world by TIME magazine, as well as committed to accelerating its science-based target for Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions to 2040. Subho is also an advisor and member of several multilateral private-public partnerships focused on sustainable development.
Subho holds chemical engineer from Jadavpur University (India), general management degrees from Asian Institute of Management, Nanyang Business School, and attended executive managements programs on Strategy, Innovation and Sustainability at Harvard Business School and MIT Sloan School of Management.

Subho Mukherjee 2025

Subho Mukherjee

Vice President and Global Head of Sustainability, Nokia

Robert Metzke is Vice President and Head of Group Corporate Responsibility at Deutsche Telekom, leading the company’s sustainability and corporate responsibility agenda. He shapes strategy and drives Group-wide execution and performance management across ESG priorities, anchoring sustainable impact as a core business principle and advancing responsible, sustainable digitalization across strategy, operations and innovation.

A global sustainability and transformation leader with 20+ years of experience, Robert previously spent 17 years at Philips, most recently as Global Head of Sustainability, where he led the global function and supported innovation and strategy initiatives, helping position Philips as a leader in sustainable health technology. Earlier, he worked at McKinsey & Company and as a journalist at Science/AAAS and has contributed to multi-stakeholder platforms across sustainability and inclusive development. His work is grounded in a background in physics and a conviction that long-term success depends on creating societal value within planetary boundaries.

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Robert Metzke

VP and Head of Group Corporate Responsibility, Deutsche Telekom

Angela is Global Head of Sustainability at Kearney. She advises clients in various sectors on sustainability strategy, execution, resilient supply chains and much more. 

She was appointed Transport lead by the Climate Champions for COP26, where the ZEV declaration and the Playbook for Zero Emissions Mobility were launched.

Angela previously worked as Head of Sustainable Mobility at Ingka Group (IKEA Retail), as part of the Policy and Strategy team. During her time at IKEA, she focused on sustainable transport and mobility, circularity and sustainable investing.  Angela studied Social Science at The University of Gothenburg and has a Master of Laws from Lund University. She has had a diverse career including organisations such as PWC and Scania.

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Angela Hultberg

Ariane Elena Fuchs is a Communications Specialist Corporate Responsibility at Deutsche Telekom AG. Her professional experience spans digital innovation and sustainability within the telco industry, with a focus on communication that connects business, technology, and society.
She is an experienced moderator and regularly moderates stage sessions and panel discussions at international industry events.
She holds a Master of Studies in Social Innovation from the University of Cambridge, a Master of Science in Digital Innovation and Business Transformation, and a Bachelor’s degree in International Business.


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Ariane Elena Fuchs

Communications Specialist Corporate Responsibility , Deutsche Telekom

Committed Beyond Today: Sustainability as Strategic Telco Logic

In times of geopolitical shifts and supply chain challenges, circularity is becoming more than a sustainability goal – it’s a strategic advantage and a driver of real business value. This session explores how data-driven circular practices boost resilience, reduce dependencies, and strengthen sovereignty, and how the Telco Circularity Score (TCS) helps measure progress across networks, devices, and supply chains. Together with leading telcos and circularity experts, we’ll discuss what it takes to embed closed-loop thinking across the sector – and why the winners of tomorrow will be those who waste less, reuse more, and collaborate broadly.

Circularity gains strategic value amid geopolitical shifts. Learn how data-driven practices & Telco Circularity Score boost resilience, reducing waste and enhancing reuse across telecom networks and supply chains.

A graduate of the Ecole Polytechnique and the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications, Jean-Benoît Besset joined the Orange Group in 1994 in research and development, then became responsible for the deployment and operation of the ATM network in France. In 2002, he created the sales promotion activity for Orange on mobile data services for businesses in France. After two marketing positions at Orange Business Services, he joined Orange France's strategy department to model the transition to fiber optics and value creation from networks. In 2016, he joined Orange France's technical and information systems department to take charge of strategy. In 2020, he set up the Environment department to develop awareness of environmental and energy issues within the technical and IT teams and to implement operational management of these issues. In September 2022, he joined the head office to take over as Senior VP for Environmental and Energy Transition for the Orange Group.

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Jean-Benoît Besset

SVP Environmental and Energy Transition, Orange Group

John has a long and distinguished career in sustainable supply chain consulting, with a particular focus on the energy and telecommunications markets.
He has worked directly for many of the largest global Telco’s and the largest suppliers on sustainability and circularity projects. He leads the support to the Joint Alliance for CSR (JAC) provided by epi Consulting and is advisor to the JAC Board of Directors. In addition, John is supporting the JAC Circularity group which has active participation from over 2/3 of the JAC membership.
John holds a degree in Chemistry from Manchester University, an MBA from the Cranfield Institute of Technology, a Diploma in Marketing and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS).

John Spear

General Manager, Joint Alliance for CSR (JAC)

Thibaut Kleiner is Director at the Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG Connect) of the European Commission, in charge of future network technologies -including 5G and 6G, cloud computing, software, open source, blockchain, Internet governance, Web 4.0, and digitalisation of mobility, energy and agriculture. 
Thibaut Kleiner started his European Commission career in 2001 in the area of competition policy, where he worked until 2011. Since then, he has been mostly active in the digital field, covering a wide range of areas - from cybersecurity, data, and research strategy to international affairs - as Head of Unit and subsequently Director in DG Connect. He served as adviser in Vice-President Kroes’ Cabinet, and as Deputy Head of Cabinet under Commissioner Oettinger. An economist by training with a Master’s degree from HEC Paris and a PhD from the London School of Economics, he is also a Visiting Professor at the College of Europe.

Thibaut

Thibaut Kleiner 

Director E, Future Networks, Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology, European Commission

Ariane Elena Fuchs

Sessions where Ariane Elena Fuchs takes part

Committed Beyond Today: Sustainability as Strategic Telco Logic

Circularity = Resilience: Rethinking Telco Strength