Vodafone 2026 Annual Report

Vodafone Group Plc Annual Report 2026

Strategic report

Governance

Financials

Other information

Protecting the Planet continued

Network equipment e-waste and circularity Enhancements in our network can lead to decommissioned equipment, which contribute to pollution if improperly disposed of. Strategy Our approach prioritises reuse and resale wherever technically and commercially feasible, extending asset lifecycles before materials enter end-of-life treatment, for which we have an annual target per market. Equipment that cannot be reused is systematically directed to certified recycling streams, with a strong focus on avoiding landfill and incineration. Our network equipment circularity strategy comprises three priority areas of action: 1. We aim to engage with suppliers who share our ambition of building a more circular economy for network equipment. We plan to increasingly source equipment with circular design features when replacing or upgrading our network infrastructure. 2. Where possible, we reuse or resell network equipment that we have decommissioned from our network. We seek to manage our network assets smartly and minimise the requirement to buy new equipment, by extending the life of each asset and optimising opportunities for its reuse. 3. Where reuse or resale of decommissioned network equipment is not possible, we establish operational processes to avoid network e-waste being sent directly to landfill or incineration and aim to partner with recyclers that maximise the recovery of materials from e-waste. This year We have undertaken a comprehensive review of our network equipment recycling processes to improve the quality, consistency and coverage of the data we receive from our recycling partners. At present, data on the proportion of network equipment e-waste that is ultimately recycled (as opposed to disposed of, to landfill or incineration), and on the level of material recovery achieved during recycling, is not consistently available across all our markets.

This information is currently reported on a consistent basis only by our recycling partners in the UK and South Africa. In those markets, the data indicates that 94% and 80% respectively of the materials sent for recycling are ultimately processed to recover materials. In the absence of globally consistent downstream data, we measure the proportion of decommissioned electrical and electronic network equipment that is reused, resold or sent to recyclers. Equipment sent for recycling is measured by weight at the point at which the e-waste leaves our possession. In November 2025, we launched a pan-European recycling tender to select an e-waste recycling partner that could support our ambition to minimise waste sent to landfill and incineration by maximising the recovery of materials in the e-waste recycling processes. This tender leverages our international procurement footprint to encourage potential suppliers to find and deploy new technologies that can help us meet our ambitions, and provide us with transparent data to support reporting of the final treatment of materials from our e-waste. We continued to leverage our management systems and processes to redeploy decommissioned equipment to other parts of our network where feasible, helping reduce e-waste and generate cost savings. For example, we utilise asset marketplace platforms hosted by a third-party partner.

contributed to this increase include the dismantling of decommissioned mobile base stations in Türkiye, an increase in returned equipment associated with network expansion activities in South Africa, the upgrade of network equipment from 4G to 5G in Egypt and the replacement of lead acid batteries with lithium-ion batteries across several of our markets. Our policy is to avoid sending e-waste (non- hazardous or hazardous) from our network equipment directly to landfill or incineration. At the end of its useful life, electronic and electrical equipment decommissioned from our network is sent to responsible and authorised recycling partners. We are aware that sending network equipment e-waste to third party recycling partners does not guarantee that all materials are recovered during the e-waste recycling process. Looking forward We will maintain our policy not to send network equipment e-waste directly to landfill or incineration. Improving transparency and data availability about the downstream treatment of our electronic waste across our markets is a priority as we currently have limited visibility of the recycling processes undertaken by our recycling partners. Requirements for data transparency have been included in our tender for a European e-waste recycling partner, which we aim to complete within the next year. Improving data transparency will enable us to work more effectively with our recycling partners to measure, monitor and, over time, improve material recovery rates and reduce the amount of network equipment waste this is ultimately disposed to landfill or incineration. In the long term, we also aim to scale these initiatives in Africa. We will continue to scale network equipment reuse and repair initiatives, leveraging our new EU logistics hub as a future engine for circularity to improve how returned equipment is assessed and redirected for re-use in a more consistent and efficient way. We will also continue to engage our suppliers on circular design of network equipment and develop training for our buying teams to increase consideration of e-waste impacts at procurement stage.

The UN estimates that as much as 62 million tonnes of electrical waste (‘e-waste’) is produced globally each year, with only 22% being formally recycled. We have an ambition to minimise the generation of e-waste from our business operations. We reuse, resell or send all decommissioned electronic or electrical network equipment to authorised recycling partners. By doing so, we not only reduce our impact on the environment, but also the cost of maintaining the network and our reliance on raw materials in our supply chain.

7,743 network equipment e-waste (metric tonnes)

Decommissioned electronic and electrical network equipment reused, resold or sent to recyclers 1 2026

2025

Total network equipment e-waste (metric tonnes)

7,743 6,686

Reused 2 (%)

Sent to recyclers 3 (%) 98 The total volume of network equipment e-waste increased in FY26 compared to FY25 to 7,743 metric 99 tonnes. This increase was mainly due to more network equipment being decommissioned from our network and sent to recyclers. Projects that

Notes: 1. Includes hazardous waste from network equipment e-waste, and hazardous waste now includes batteries. Prior year figures have been restated. 2. Includes network equipment resold between markets where we operate, or to external third parties, for reuse for the same purpose. 3. Includes network equipment sent to third-party waste management partners authorised to recycle.