STL has shifted four manufacturing plants in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, Maharashtra, to 100% green power sourced from wind and solar, through Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited. The connectivity solutions provider expects the move to cut market-based Scope 2 emissions by around 65% across its optical fibre and optical fibre cable plants. It has also introduced 100% green hydrogen into glass manufacturing in India and reduced the footprint of its G.657.A2 optical fibre from 4.7 kg CO₂e per fibre kilometre to 0.9 kg CO₂e/fkm. The 80% reduction offers a notable lower-carbon option for data centre and telecom network customers.
Renewable Electricity For Manufacturing
The electricity transition moves a significant share of STL’s sourcing away from conventional fossil fuel-based grid power. Wind and solar generation will now provide the stated 100% green power supply for four of the company’s manufacturing facilities in Maharashtra.
The programme has been enabled through Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited, covering plants involved in optical fibre and optical fibre cable production. STL expects the change to reduce market-based Scope 2 emissions by approximately 65% at the participating OF and OFC plants.
For a manufacturer supplying digital infrastructure markets, addressing purchased electricity is an important operational measure. The company’s products support AI-ready infrastructure, fibre-to-the-x, rural, enterprise and data centre networks, sectors where materials and manufacturing choices shape the emissions profile of network expansion.
Green Hydrogen In Glass Production
STL has also integrated 100% green hydrogen into its glass manufacturing operations in India. Glass production is a critical and energy-intensive stage in optical fibre manufacturing, and has historically used conventionally produced hydrogen and oxygen.
The adoption is aimed at reducing emissions in a stage of the optical fibre value chain that the company identifies as difficult to abate. Combining cleaner power procurement with a shift in manufacturing inputs gives the programme relevance beyond electricity sourcing alone.
Green hydrogen is positioned within STL’s wider effort to lower the environmental burden associated with fibre production, while maintaining the technical products required for communications infrastructure. The initiative sits alongside the company’s range of eco-labelled certified optical products.
Lower Carbon Fibre Products
The clearest customer-facing measure is STL’s G.657.A2 optical fibre, which is used in data centre and telecom networks. Its reported carbon footprint has fallen from 4.7 kg CO₂e per fibre kilometre to 0.9 kg CO₂e/fkm, a reduction of 80%.
That product-level result connects manufacturing changes directly with procurement decisions made by network operators, internet service providers, data centre and cloud companies, and large enterprises. As fibre networks grow, the availability of lower-carbon components can help customers assess the embodied emissions associated with deployment.
STL operates manufacturing facilities in North America, Europe and Asia and supplies solutions in more than 100 countries. The measures announced for its Indian operations show how production-site energy choices can feed through to the footprint of infrastructure products used across those markets.
Mobility Policy Supports Scope Three
Beyond its factories and product portfolio, STL has revised its corporate mobility policy to encourage the use of lower-emission vehicles. Under the company car policy, employees selecting electric and hybrid vehicles will receive dedicated incentives and enhanced limits.
The policy is intended to reduce STL’s Scope 3 operational carbon footprint while supporting its broader environmental, social and governance goals. It brings employee travel decisions into the same decarbonisation programme as renewable electricity, green hydrogen and optical product design.
Rahul Puri, CEO, ONB at STL, said:
“Decarbonization at STL is a set of connected decisions, from the power that runs our plants to the materials that go into every kilometre of fibre we make, to the policies we make for our employees. By combining renewable energy, Green Hydrogen and Eco-labelled-led product innovation, we are making measurable progress towards building a greener and environmentally-friendly manufacturing ecosystem.”
A Connected Decarbonisation Programme
STL’s latest actions bring together plant electricity, industrial hydrogen, product assessment and corporate mobility under its Net Zero ambitions. The four-site green power transition is expected to provide the largest stated operational emissions reduction, while the move to green hydrogen addresses a key manufacturing process and the lower-carbon G.657.A2 fibre extends the benefit to customers.
The programme illustrates a practical route for technology manufacturers seeking to reduce emissions across operations and product portfolios. For connectivity infrastructure suppliers, where fibre is a fundamental component of expanding digital networks, STL’s reported reductions provide a constructive example of how decarbonisation can be built into manufacturing decisions.
