Vodafone's view of corporate responsibility
Let me start by saying what CR is not - it is not about writing a cheque and presenting it to an NGO while taking a photo to publish in the newspaper. A company's responsibility to the society in which it operates is not equal to handing out cheques to...
Let me start by saying what CR is not - it is not about writing a cheque and presenting it to an NGO while taking a photo to publish in the newspaper. A company's responsibility to the society in which it operates is not equal to handing out cheques to counteract the profits that the company is reaping from that community. Without taking away any of the merit of charitable donations, on which most NGOs depend in order to continue conducting their valuable work within our community, any responsible company must ensure that its day to day operations do not impact negatively the society or the environment in which it operates.
For Vodafone Malta the term CR is certainly not new. With a team of people set up to manage CR activities, the company takes its CR very seriously. Responsibility of CR is also shouldered by the company's senior management and makes its way all the way up to the CEO.
"All Vodafone employees have heard about CR, and most of them have in one way or another been involved in the company's CR activities. While striving to be a responsible business and constantly monitoring our operations, we encourage our employees to participate actively in the company's initiatives," said Joseph Cuschieri, head of legal, regulatory and corporate affairs at Vodafone Malta.
Vodafone's operations are based on four values, also called passions, that lay out the way the company's employees across the globe, including those in Malta, are expected to behave.
Passion for customers: "Our customers have chosen to trust us. In return, we must strive to anticipate and understand their needs and delight them with our service."
Passion for our people: "Outstanding people working together make Vodafone exceptionally successful."
Passion for results: "We are action-oriented and driven by a desire to be the best."
Passion for the world around us: "We will help the people of the world to have fuller lives - both through the services we provide and through the impact we have on the world around us."
CR reporting
A CR section was set up within Vodafone Malta in 2003 to monitor and report on key issues related to CR. To date, key CR areas including responsible marketing, energy and climate change, waste, handsets and accessories, and responsible network deployment are monitored quarterly and annually.
This information is reported to the Vodafone Group which monitors CR activities across all its businesses, and feeds into the Group CR report and Vodafone Malta's own CR report, the first version of which was issued last year. To date Vodafone Malta is the only local company that has issued an official CR report in Malta.
Handset recycling scheme
Vodafone Malta launched a handset recycling scheme in 2003. This scheme, to date the only one available on the island, aims to educate and encourage the public about the importance of recycling old mobile phones, batteries and accessories. Dumping old mobile phones, chargers, batteries and other accessories in landfills causes pollution through emission of greenhouse gasses and other environmental pollutants such as CFCs and HFCs. These gases contribute towards the destruction of the ozone layer.
"Being our core business we felt an obligation to introduce a handset recycling scheme in our community," said Mr Cuschieri. "Although the culture of recycling is slow to take up locally, we encourage our customers to dispose of their old handsets responsibly by handing them in at our retail outlets. We are planning a number of new initiatives in order to stimulate handset recycling."
Progett Gardjola
A hotly debated topic about mobile phone usage is electro-magnetic fields (EMF) generated by base stations. Mobile phones can only work with a network of base stations. Without these base stations, the mobile phones we rely on cannot work.
In a bid to reassure the public about the safety of base stations, Vodafone Malta embarked on a project with the Department of Communications and Computer Engineering at the University of Malta which has placed monitors (also called probes) in different locations across the island that monitor radio frequency radiation levels in quasi-real time. These can be viewed on http://gardjola.eng.um.edu.mt/emr/index.php.
"As part of our stakeholder engagement process, we listen to our society's concerns and try to address them. Progett Gardjola was launched in 2004 and shows radiation levels in an area and compares them with the maximum emission levels set by ICNIRP (International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection) which have been adopted by the Maltese authorities," said Mr Cuschieri.
"We also offer concerned customers the possibility of placing a probe in their residence for a period of time to monitor and compare emission levels in their area. We are pleased to say that our base stations have always been certified complaint with EMF exposure guidelines by the Malta Communications Authority."
Although health experts around the world have not established adverse health effects linked to mobile technologies, some members of the public still remain concerned.
Vodafone has a number of other initiatives in place to help reduce public concern. These include a direct engagement policy with concerned groups and individuals, having relevant information in the company's retail outlets and further information by calling Customer Service on 247.
The Vodafone Malta Foundation (VMF)
Set up with the main aim of sharing the benefits of developments in mobile technology as widely as possible - to protect the natural environment, national culture and heritage and to support the local community in which Vodafone operates, the VMF is mainly responsible for managing contributions in our society.
The operations of the VMF are separate from Vodafone. Led by Gemma Mifsud Bonnici, the board of trustees of the VMF is made up of Nick Archer, Michael Bianchi, Joseph Grioli, Martin Gregory and Deborah Grech.
The trustees evaluate applications for funding of projects which are of benefit to the community. Every project undertaken by the VMF is bound by agreed terms of engagement, and is monitored to ensure that benefits of the project are delivered as agreed.
Having invested over Lm400,000 (€920,000) in the local community since its inception, the VFM has partnered with the major NGOs in Malta, including the
Eden Foundation, Dar tal-Providenza, Razzett tal-Hbiberija, the Arka Foundation, Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti, Heritage Malta, Din l-Art Helwa, and many more.
• Vodafone Malta will release its second CR report in the coming weeks. This will include a review of the company's CR activities during the financial year dating from April 2006 to March 2007.
For Vodafone Malta the term CR is certainly not new. With a team of people set up to manage CR activities, the company takes its CR very seriously. Responsibility of CR is also shouldered by the company's senior management and makes its way all the way up to the CEO.
"All Vodafone employees have heard about CR, and most of them have in one way or another been involved in the company's CR activities. While striving to be a responsible business and constantly monitoring our operations, we encourage our employees to participate actively in the company's initiatives," said Joseph Cuschieri, head of legal, regulatory and corporate affairs at Vodafone Malta.
Vodafone's operations are based on four values, also called passions, that lay out the way the company's employees across the globe, including those in Malta, are expected to behave.
Passion for customers: "Our customers have chosen to trust us. In return, we must strive to anticipate and understand their needs and delight them with our service."
Passion for our people: "Outstanding people working together make Vodafone exceptionally successful."
Passion for results: "We are action-oriented and driven by a desire to be the best."
Passion for the world around us: "We will help the people of the world to have fuller lives - both through the services we provide and through the impact we have on the world around us."
CR reporting
A CR section was set up within Vodafone Malta in 2003 to monitor and report on key issues related to CR. To date, key CR areas including responsible marketing, energy and climate change, waste, handsets and accessories, and responsible network deployment are monitored quarterly and annually.
This information is reported to the Vodafone Group which monitors CR activities across all its businesses, and feeds into the Group CR report and Vodafone Malta's own CR report, the first version of which was issued last year. To date Vodafone Malta is the only local company that has issued an official CR report in Malta.
Handset recycling scheme
Vodafone Malta launched a handset recycling scheme in 2003. This scheme, to date the only one available on the island, aims to educate and encourage the public about the importance of recycling old mobile phones, batteries and accessories. Dumping old mobile phones, chargers, batteries and other accessories in landfills causes pollution through emission of greenhouse gasses and other environmental pollutants such as CFCs and HFCs. These gases contribute towards the destruction of the ozone layer.
"Being our core business we felt an obligation to introduce a handset recycling scheme in our community," said Mr Cuschieri. "Although the culture of recycling is slow to take up locally, we encourage our customers to dispose of their old handsets responsibly by handing them in at our retail outlets. We are planning a number of new initiatives in order to stimulate handset recycling."
Progett Gardjola
A hotly debated topic about mobile phone usage is electro-magnetic fields (EMF) generated by base stations. Mobile phones can only work with a network of base stations. Without these base stations, the mobile phones we rely on cannot work.
In a bid to reassure the public about the safety of base stations, Vodafone Malta embarked on a project with the Department of Communications and Computer Engineering at the University of Malta which has placed monitors (also called probes) in different locations across the island that monitor radio frequency radiation levels in quasi-real time. These can be viewed on http://gardjola.eng.um.edu.mt/emr/index.php.
"As part of our stakeholder engagement process, we listen to our society's concerns and try to address them. Progett Gardjola was launched in 2004 and shows radiation levels in an area and compares them with the maximum emission levels set by ICNIRP (International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection) which have been adopted by the Maltese authorities," said Mr Cuschieri.
"We also offer concerned customers the possibility of placing a probe in their residence for a period of time to monitor and compare emission levels in their area. We are pleased to say that our base stations have always been certified complaint with EMF exposure guidelines by the Malta Communications Authority."
Although health experts around the world have not established adverse health effects linked to mobile technologies, some members of the public still remain concerned.
Vodafone has a number of other initiatives in place to help reduce public concern. These include a direct engagement policy with concerned groups and individuals, having relevant information in the company's retail outlets and further information by calling Customer Service on 247.
The Vodafone Malta Foundation (VMF)
Set up with the main aim of sharing the benefits of developments in mobile technology as widely as possible - to protect the natural environment, national culture and heritage and to support the local community in which Vodafone operates, the VMF is mainly responsible for managing contributions in our society.
The operations of the VMF are separate from Vodafone. Led by Gemma Mifsud Bonnici, the board of trustees of the VMF is made up of Nick Archer, Michael Bianchi, Joseph Grioli, Martin Gregory and Deborah Grech.
The trustees evaluate applications for funding of projects which are of benefit to the community. Every project undertaken by the VMF is bound by agreed terms of engagement, and is monitored to ensure that benefits of the project are delivered as agreed.
Having invested over Lm400,000 (€920,000) in the local community since its inception, the VFM has partnered with the major NGOs in Malta, including the
Eden Foundation, Dar tal-Providenza, Razzett tal-Hbiberija, the Arka Foundation, Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti, Heritage Malta, Din l-Art Helwa, and many more.
• Vodafone Malta will release its second CR report in the coming weeks. This will include a review of the company's CR activities during the financial year dating from April 2006 to March 2007.