Ready for the future: Yettel’s smart solutions for sustainable building management

In 2022, demonstrating its responsibility and commitment to creating a better, cleaner and more inclusive future, Yettel Bulgaria announced its long-term sustainability strategy 2028. With it, the telecommunications company sets clear and measurable goals in four key areas: environment, people, technology for a sustainable future and governance based on integrity and transparency.

One of the biggest challenges we face as a society today is balancing economic growth with environmental protection. Given that buildings are responsible for 40% of global energy consumption and 33% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, making them more energy efficient will contribute significantly to the global goal of climate neutrality.

The EU, which is striving to become the first climate-neutral continent by 2050, has launched several legislative changes and directives as part of the transition to a net-zero emissions society. The revised Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), which came into force in May 2024, aims to gradually reduce GHG emissions and energy consumption in the EU buildings sector. One of the ultimate goals is for all new residential and non-residential buildings to have zero on-site emissions from fossil fuels, starting from 1 January 2028 for public buildings and from 1 January 2030 for all other new buildings. The strengthened directive contains new provisions to phase out fossil fuels for heating in existing buildings and to boost the deployment of solar energy installations.

To achieve such ambitious goals, action must be taken quickly and efficiently. To be sustainable and energy efficient, buildings, both new and existing, must evolve. While new buildings benefit from many innovations in construction and materials, the existing building stock faces the difficult task of completely transforming the way it is managed and maintained in order to reduce its energy consumption. However, Yettel Bulgaria, a leading telecommunications company in the field of sustainability, is proving that it is possible, even if it is far from easy. Since 2023, 100% of the electricity consumed by the headquarters building is supplied by renewable energy sources.

An in-depth analysis of the telecommunications company’s facility management and sustainability strategy highlights its long-standing efforts to improve the energy efficiency of its buildings and optimize electricity consumption. A number of innovations and pilot projects are already successfully crowning the team’s efforts to use fewer resources and limit emissions. Over the past nine years, the telecommunications company has continuously upgraded the building management system (BMS) of the Sofia headquarters building, which accurately monitors the entire infrastructure – electrical systems, UPS (uninterruptible power supply), elevators, air conditioning in common areas and individual lobbies, as well as in server rooms. The main objective of telecommunications is to reduce electricity consumption by implementing measures in two main areas: minimizing losses and using alternative energy sources.

“Sustainable facility management goes beyond cost reduction and short-term business benefits. Its main and long-term goal is to establish the foundations for responsible use of resources and the integration of sustainable practices for a prolonged and efficient life of buildings. Our task is to maintain a balance between efficient building management and improving the indoor environment to provide not only comfort, but also favorable conditions for work and collaboration. In this context, technological advances significantly facilitate these processes, offering new solutions to transform almost any building into a smart building,” says Galin Rashkov, Head of Facilities and Fleet at Yettel Bulgaria.

By integrating intelligent zone controllers into the BMS, the company can accurately monitor the indoor microclimate and adjust the functions of the air conditioning and heating systems in real time. A new Internet of Things (IoT) solution builds the energy-efficient cooling and heating system and enables automated temperature control. For example, when a window is opened, a signal is sent to the control function of the air conditioning and heating units, which then automatically stops the energy supply to this zone. The operating mechanism of the system is developed according to the so-called retrofit method (applying modern technologies and functions to older systems), thanks to which the company avoids energy losses related to heating and cooling needs. The added value of this project in terms of energy savings is expected to be approximately 5% of energy saved each year in Yettel.

Outside working hours and on weekends, some systems are switched off completely, while others switch to energy-saving mode. This helps maintain lower temperatures when there is no activity in the building – around 18-19 degrees Celsius in winter (as opposed to the standard requirement of 23 degrees Celsius during working hours) and higher temperatures in summer. All this helps to comply with occupational health and safety standards, while the company saves thermal energy that would otherwise be wasted. Thanks to these improvements, Yettel was able to reduce its energy consumption at the head office by 40% in 2022 compared to the average of previous years. This result is also confirmed by the equipment of the company’s premises with LED lighting – Yettel’s stores, offices, warehouse and repair center use only LED bulbs as the most energy-efficient option available.

The Yettel example shows how the paradigm is changing for high-end office buildings: their function is no longer to be completely isolated from their surroundings, but to create a strong connection between life in the building and the environment. In this way, they can take advantage of natural resources and reduce their carbon footprint. An important step in this direction for the telecom is the installation of a photovoltaic system of solar panels on the roof of Yettel’s headquarters. This method, widely used for commercial buildings, efficiently uses available natural energy and exploits otherwise unused space. The system produces 36,177 kWh of electricity per year – enough to power a household for 10 years – and now partially covers the building’s electricity consumption with solar energy. In addition, domestic hot water is provided by solar collectors, saving around 45 kW of installed power in the water heaters and significantly improving the building’s energy efficiency. Every day, the sun’s rays meet the hot water needs of more than 800 people – employees and visitors.

The real milestone in Yettel’s transition to green energy is the 10-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) that Yettel and CETIN Bulgaria have signed with Electrohold Trade. As a result, about 80% of Yettel’s total consumption and about 86% of CETIN’s are now supplied by a 123 MW photovoltaic plant. This large-scale project saves nearly 33,000 tons of carbon emissions per year and, thanks to it, the telecommunications company will reduce its carbon footprint by 60% in Scopes 1 and 2 (emissions over which the company has direct influence) in 2024 compared to the 2022 base year.

“All these initiatives are another example of our determination to move away from fossil fuels and towards renewable energy and reduce our carbon emissions. At Yettel, we feel a great responsibility to do our part and contribute to a greener future, particularly as a telecommunications company and due to the nature of our services which consume significant amounts of energy. This is a key element of our ambitious targets to reduce our negative impact on the environment, which is part of our 2028 sustainability strategy.”says Margita Kolcheva, ESG Manager at Yettel Bulgaria.

In addition to its significant impact on the sector, as electricity is the main source of carbon emissions in telecommunications, the PPA contributes to sustainable management of the facilities by covering approximately 95-96% of the energy consumption of the headquarters. If we add to this the 4-5% provided by the solar park on the roof, the building is entirely dependent on renewable energy sources.