Optus launches its FY26 sustainability report

Optus has launched its Financial Year 2026 sustainability report, detailing our commitment to building a stronger Optus, empowering our staff and customers in the digital world, our commitment towards a healthier planet and our work on maintaining a responsible business.

Our report opens with a message from Chairman John Arthur and CEO Stephen Rue, with the two acknowledging that we must face hard truths and lead through them in order to build a stronger and more sustainable Optus.

“As we look ahead over the remaining years of our current sustainability strategy, we do so with confidence and optimism. The path has not been linear, and progress is never without challenge. But we are confident Optus has the right people, guided by clear values, operating within stronger systems and governance,” the message reads.

“That combination of resilience, discipline and untapped potential gives us confidence that our best work lies ahead - and that Optus will continue to play a constructive, responsible role in shaping a more inclusive, sustainable and connected future for Australia.”

This is the 27th sustainability report from Optus, and it is the first report we're releasing as a part of our 2030 sustainability strategy, in which we’re focusing on making responsible choices today that lead to a healthier future. It’s an evolving strategy that informs how we engage with our customers, people, partners and suppliers, with the goal of making a material impact on our business and the environment in which it operates.

We’ve broken down our 2030 sustainability strategy into three pillars:

• Digital Empowerment: Enabling Australians to achieve, thrive and belong in the digital world.
• Responsible Business: Acting with integrity and being accountable in our decisions, conduct and everyday actions.
• Healthy Planet: Caring for our planet by reducing our impact on the environment.

As part of our Digital Empowerment pillar, we’re aiming to connect and educate 750,000 Australians experiencing vulnerability over the next four years. So far, we’re at 203,710.

Under our Healthy Planet strategy, we’re aiming to reuse and recycle 750,000 mobile phones, tablets, modems and streaming devices between FY26 and FY30. We’re making key progress on this front, and have so far recycled 175,799 customer devices through takeback programs.

Finally, with our commitment to responsible business, we’re aiming to spend $14 million with First Nations suppliers between FY26 and FY30. So far, we’ve spent $1.88 million.

Our report also includes details of our sustainability governance model and our focus on ethics and compliance. We’re not shying away from the moments in which Optus should have met the expectations of Australians and our shareholders, and we’re committed to improving the reliability, resilience and customer experience of our communication services.

We’ve got a long way to go between now and 2030, but we’re keen to make a positive impact with material actions, by empowering key initiatives like Digital Thumbprint and Donate Your Data, deploying key infrastructure to the places that need it most and during extreme weather events when it’s absolutely essential, supporting First Nations students with education and scholarships across Australia, and other key initiatives.

We’re focused on building a stronger Optus.

Read the report here.

_{A previous version published on 15 July 2026 incorrectly stated FY26 value spent with First Nations supplies as $3.74m. This has been corrected above.}