United Group reaffirms net zero targets
September 21, 2026



United Group, the Southeast European telco, has published its 2025 Sustainability Report, covering environmental, social and governance performance across its telecoms, media, and other businesses.

The report covers a year of change for the Group, which says it has “sharpened its focus on high-growth EU markets following the sale of a number of assets outside the EU and the appointment of a new management team”.


Under the new strategy, each operating company is run as a business in its own right, with its own leadership and its own targets. The Group sets sustainability standards and targets centrally and funds the investment behind them, while the local teams decide how best to deliver them in their markets.

Stan Miller, CEO of United Group, commented: “Telecoms and media are long-term businesses. The infrastructure we are putting in place today will serve customers for decades, and our channels are trusted by audiences who have grown up with them. That is why sustainability sits at the heart of our investment decisions, the standards we set for our suppliers and the support we give our teams. For us, sustainable growth and long-term value creation go hand in hand, and this report shows the progress our businesses made on both in 2025.”

2025 highlights

Climate and energy

United Group remains committed to sourcing all of its electricity from renewable sources from 2027 and to reaching net zero emissions across its value chain by 2040. Its interim targets have been validated by the Science Based Targets initiative. Work in 2025 ranged from energy efficiency improvements across the Group’s own infrastructure to renewable generation projects in Bulgaria.

Networks and digital inclusion

The Group continued to expand its fibre-to-the-home networks and speed up its 5G rollout. Working with schools and community organisations, its companies ran programmes to help older people, young people and vulnerable groups use digital services safely, as well as training for small business owners.

People

The Group reports that it advanced its commitment to diversity and inclusive leadership, achieving 42 per cent women representation at Group Leadership level and 37 per cent across local leadership teams. It also narrowed its gender pay gap further in 2025 and is on track to provide an average of 25 hours of learning per employee each year by 2030. Its first group-wide inclusion survey received responses from around 8,000 employees.

Governance and supply chain

The Group’s compliance framework encompasses a broad range of measures supporting ethical business conduct, responsible business practices and compliance across the organisation and its value chain. During the year, more than 2,700 suppliers were assessed for ethical compliance, and the Supplier Code of Conduct and climate-related supplier standards were extended further. United Group is a participant in the Joint Alliance for CSR and aligns its framework with the UN Global Compact and the Responsible Business Alliance.