TXO and Virgin Media O2 partnership avoids emissions equal to taking more than 1,100 cars off the road for a year

• Data collected over the last 10 years reveals 5,262 tonnes of CO₂e emissions avoided and saved from Virgin Media O2 network equipment being returned to and sourced through the secondary market
• 690 tonnes of equipment diverted from landfill through responsible recycling and putting valuable metals back into UK resources

London, 11 August 2026: TXO has enabled Virgin Media O2 to avoid 5,262 tonnes of CO₂e emissions – the equivalent of taking more than 1,1001 cars off the road for a year – through a long-term programme to recover, refurbish, resell and responsibly recycle network equipment, giving valuable assets a second life.

Data collected over the last 10 years shows that the largest share, 4,575 tonnes of CO₂e, was achieved by refurbishing recovered network assets such as switches, routers, and line cards, and returning them to the telecoms market. The remaining 687 tonnes came from Virgin Media O2 sourcing replacement equipment through the secondary market rather than buying new. The impact was measured using TXO’s Carbon Calculator, developed with global climate consultancy the Carbon Trust, designed to quantify the carbon and commercial value of circular economy decisions across procurement, asset recovery, decommissioning and lifecycle management.

TXO has also recycled more than 690 tonnes of Virgin Media O2’s end-of-life equipment over the same period, equivalent to the weight of around 50 double decker buses2, keeping this material out of landfill.

This includes cable, power packs, routers, switches and processor boards, with extracted steel, aluminium and copper accounting for almost 60 per cent of the total recycled weight. By recovering and processing assets in the UK, including at its South Wales facility, TXO helps to keep more material value within the domestic economy. This programme forms part of Virgin Media O2’s work to extend the life of technology and to achieve net zero carbon emissions by the end of 2040 as part of its ESG strategy, the Responsible Business Plan.

David Evans, Chief Product and Asset Recovery Officer at TXO, said:

“The technology sector has to move beyond the linear model of buying, deploying and replacing. This partnership shows that circularity can deliver measurable carbon savings, reduce waste, recover valuable materials and create commercial return.

“Our work with Virgin Media O2 shows what practical circularity looks like at scale. By combining lifecycle expertise with data through our platform and Carbon Calculator, organisations can see

the environmental and financial value of the choices they are making, and build more sustainable decisions into the way they manage technology.”

Paul Franey, Head of Reverse Logistics at Virgin Media O2, said:

“We want to extend the life of our network hardware so it can be reused, given a second life or disposed of sustainably. That’s why Virgin Media O2’s long-standing partnership with TXO plays an important role in our supply chain strategy, helping us maintain network equipment through testing, repair and refurbishment wherever possible.

“The results of this programme demonstrate how a more circular approach to technology can benefit both the business and the environment.”

Aleyn Smith-Gillespie, Director and Global Head of ICT at the Carbon Trust, said:

“Extending the life of products through better design, recycled content, and reuse, repair and refurbishment is a core decarbonisation lever for ICT and telecom companies, but the challenge is quantifying these emission savings and demonstrating their impact. That’s precisely where the carbon calculator can support decisions, enabling Virgin Media O2 to expand its efforts where they will make the greatest difference.”