If you live in America and pay for mobile phone service, there’s a good chance you’re connected with T-Mobile. With nearly 120 million customer connections, T-Mobile is one of the three leading wireless companies in the United States. However, T-Mobile is paving the way when it comes to environmental sustainability. T-Mobile is the only wireless carrier powered entirely by renewable electricity sources and the first with a verified Science-Based Target to achieve net-zero emissions by 2040.

Conrad Farner, a BSEEE alumnus from the class of ’15, is on the front lines of T-Mobile’s journey to net-zero as their Enterprise Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) and Sustainability Manager. He has been deeply involved in designing and implementing the muti-year strategy that was officially announced in January of 2023.

Conrad Farner: Enterprise ESG and Sustainability Manager at T-Mobile

“It was super exciting to announce it, but now it's even more exciting because I get to put it into action,” Conrad shares.

To guide these actions, Conrad built a 2030 roadmap with internal initiatives and targets to concentrate T-Mobile’s efforts and ensure alignment as they work towards their near-term 2030 goal. He also leads a new Sustainability Working Group within T-Mobile – a cross-functional team of leaders across the organization with interest, responsibility, and the capability to implement sustainability initiatives within their business units.

“It's a way for us to better collaborate, communicate, and work together toward our goals,” Conrad explains.

Conrad’s own strategic journey gained momentum during his four-year stay at Purdue. After his visit to Purdue during his junior year of high school, he knew EEE was the goal.

“I kind of always knew I wanted to work in sustainability,” he admits. “EEE stood out to me. It was a differentiated environmental engineering focused program with a wealth of opportunities moving forward. It wasn't just traditional wastewater treatment, air pollution, or remediation work, but there were options to get into preventative action and sustainable energy.”

Conrad went on to earn an MBA at UW-Madison, further pursuing and reaching his own goals. Again, he knew what he wanted going into graduate school and earned an MBA with energy and sustainability concentrations. His MBA and experience in sustainability led him to his current role at T-Mobile.

Living and working with goals, plans, and strategies is part of who Conrad is. His perspective is reflected in his advice to EEE students:

“Figure out what it is you like and what you want, and then go after it! There are so many opportunities, industries, and roles that you can go into, so don’t settle.”

Conrad is dedicated and persistent in his work toward net-zero emissions. It’s a constant effort by him and the entire company. It’s like he says, “Strategies only work to the extent that you implement them. That’s why we try to put it into action, even in small ways, every single day.”

Conrad poses in his Purdue hat on the ferry to Bainbridge Island
as Mt. Rainier peeks out in the distance.

In his free time, Conrad enjoys traveling, playing sports,
watching sports, exercising, playing guitar, and spending time
with friends and family. He and his wife recently moved back
to Indiana and are excited to be closer to Purdue.