The future of communications can be both disruptive and responsible
In an era when corporate climate pledges are often met with skepticism, NOS, a Portuguese telecommunications company, has offered something rarer than ambition: measurable results. Ranked third among Portuguese firms in the Financial Times' 2026 European Climate Leaders assessment — a field of six hundred companies — NOS has reduced its direct emissions by 81 percent since 2019, surpassing its own intermediate targets. The recognition invites a broader reflection on whether the communications industry, so often associated with relentless growth, can genuinely reconcile technological expansion with planetary responsibility.
- NOS scored 74.6 points in the Financial Times' European Climate Leaders ranking, placing third among only ten Portuguese companies deemed rigorous enough to qualify.
- The company cut Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 76 percent in a single year and by 81 percent since its 2019 baseline — clearing its own 80 percent intermediate target ahead of schedule.
- The achievement is not incidental: NOS operates under an explicit decarbonization roadmap, with Scope 3 supply-chain emissions representing the next, harder frontier to conquer.
- By 2030, the company has committed to 90 percent reductions in direct emissions and 30 percent in indirect ones, with renewable electricity consumption rising progressively to support both goals.
- NOS's sustainability director framed the ranking not as a departmental trophy but as evidence that climate accountability and technological disruption can advance together — a claim the 2030 deadline will ultimately test.
The Financial Times this week published its 2026 European Climate Leaders ranking, and among the ten Portuguese companies that qualified, NOS claimed third place. Developed with Statista and drawing on CDP and Science Based Targets data, the ranking evaluated six hundred European companies on the aggressiveness of their Scope 1 and 2 emission reductions. NOS scored 74.6 points.
The underlying numbers are striking. Over the course of 2025, NOS reduced its direct and indirect emissions by 76 percent year-on-year. Measured against its 2019 baseline, the cumulative reduction reaches 81 percent — a figure that exceeds the 80 percent intermediate target the company had set for itself. The bar was cleared, not merely approached.
This trajectory is the product of deliberate strategy. NOS has mapped its decarbonization path to 2030, when it aims to achieve a 90 percent reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions and a 30 percent cut in Scope 3 emissions — the more diffuse category that runs through supply chains and value networks. Increasing renewable electricity consumption is a central lever in reaching both targets.
Luísa Jervell, NOS's sustainability director, described the recognition as a reflection of commitments embedded across the entire organization rather than confined to a single team. She argued that technological innovation and climate responsibility are not competing forces but aligned ones — a proposition the company's 2030 milestones will put to its most demanding test yet.
The Financial Times released its 2026 European Climate Leaders ranking this week, and among the Portuguese companies that made the cut, NOS stands out. The telecommunications firm landed in third place among the ten Portuguese enterprises recognized in the survey, scoring 74.6 points in an analysis that examined six hundred companies across Europe. The ranking, developed in partnership with Statista and drawing on data from the CDP and Science Based Targets initiative, focuses specifically on how aggressively companies have reduced their direct and indirect emissions—what the industry calls Scopes 1 and 2.
The numbers tell the story. In 2025, the year the Financial Times analyzed, NOS cut its Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 76 percent compared to the previous year. More impressively, the company has reduced those same emissions by 81 percent since 2019, the baseline year against which it measures itself. That 81 percent figure exceeded the intermediate target NOS had set for 2025, which was to hit at least an 80 percent reduction. The company cleared that bar.
This performance did not emerge by accident. NOS has committed to an explicit decarbonization strategy with specific milestones. By 2030, the company aims to cut Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 90 percent relative to 2019 levels. For Scope 3 emissions—the harder-to-control emissions that ripple through the company's supply chain and value network—NOS is targeting a 30 percent reduction by the same deadline. Alongside these cuts, the company is progressively increasing its consumption of renewable electricity, a shift that supports both the emissions reductions and the broader energy transition.
Luísa Jervell, NOS's director of sustainability, framed the ranking as validation of a company-wide commitment. She described sustainability not as a departmental initiative but as something woven through the entire organization, embedded in how NOS approaches environmental, social, and governance performance. In her statement, she positioned the recognition as evidence that the future of communications can be both disruptive and responsible—a way of saying that technological innovation and climate accountability are not in tension but aligned.
The ranking itself reflects a narrowing field. Only ten Portuguese companies qualified for inclusion in the Financial Times' European assessment, suggesting that the bar for recognition is genuinely high. NOS's third-place finish among those ten, and its position within the broader European cohort of six hundred, places it among the companies taking climate commitments seriously enough to measure, report, and beat their own targets. Whether the company sustains this trajectory through 2030, when its most ambitious goals come due, will be the real test.
Notable Quotes
Sustainability is a commitment that runs through the entire organization and assures society that tomorrow's communications will be as disruptive as it is responsible— Luísa Jervell, NOS Director of Sustainability
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
What made NOS stand out enough to rank third among Portuguese companies?
The numbers are concrete. They hit 81 percent emissions reduction since 2019, and they beat their own 2025 target. That's not aspirational talk—that's measured performance against a baseline.
But 81 percent sounds almost too good. How did they move that fast?
The ranking only looks at Scopes 1 and 2—direct and indirect emissions tied to the company itself. Those are the ones a telecom can actually control more easily than supply chain emissions. Still, it's significant work.
What about the harder stuff—Scope 3, the supply chain?
That's where they're being more modest. They're targeting 30 percent reduction by 2030 for Scope 3, versus 90 percent for Scopes 1 and 2. They're honest about what's harder to move.
Why does this ranking matter beyond the company's reputation?
Because it's one of ten Portuguese companies even making the list. It signals which firms are taking climate seriously enough to measure and report transparently. That's rare enough to notice.
Is there a risk they're just good at reporting rather than actually reducing emissions?
The Financial Times ranking uses CDP and Science Based Targets data—external validators. They're not self-reported numbers. The company has to prove the reductions happened.
What happens if they miss the 2030 targets?
Then they'll have set ambitious goals publicly and fallen short. That's reputational risk. But for now, they're tracking ahead of schedule.