Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) is taking a novel approach at meeting its carbon reduction emissions. One that includes plans for a fleet of tree tending drones.
If you own Telstra shares, you'll own part of that fleet.
So, what exactly is the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) telecom giant planning?
How is the telco planning to create carbon credits?
As reported by The Australian Financial Review, Telstra intends to plant 158,000 indigenous trees and shrubs across 240,000 hectares of land in northern New South Wales.
The project will employ drones to plant the seeds and monitor tree health. It's estimated that the trees will pull some 160,000 tonnes of CO2 from the air over the next 25 years.
The land in question, according to Telstra, isn't agricultural. Rather it's land that needs repair and will be returned to its natural state.
As for the reasoning behind the company's plans, Telstra's CEO, Andrew Penn said that the price of carbon credits "is quite volatile" and they're "increasingly difficult to come by".
According to Penn:
Rather than just shop around, what I said to the team is: 'Well, why is that the case? Why is that a problem?' And, of course, part of the problem is we don't have enough carbon farming projects to, basically, create those carbon credits.
And the telco's futuristic project isn't limited to seed planting drones.
"Other technologies we intend to explore include the use of robotics and artificial intelligence to improve pest and weed management," Penn said. "And drones and sensors to monitor tree health and calculate the carbon stored in trees."
Penn said Telstra's networks, which support Australia's booming digital economy, require a lot of electricity to run.
According to Penn (quoted by the AFR):
That's driving more and more consumption, which then requires energy to run. So this is part of that overall mix of how we support development of carbon credits but also reduce our absolute [emissions] output at the same time.
How have Telstra shares been tracking?
Telstra shares, up 0.1% in early trade today, have been trailing the benchmark in 2022.
Year-to-date Telstra shares are down 7.5%, compared to a loss of 3% posted by the ASX 200.
