Investing in our future
To uphold our competitive edge and always offer the Best Deal, we need to continue listening to our customers, shareholders, employees and other stakeholders. They have put forward their requests for us to increase our sustainability efforts and to continuously communicate our progress. In response, I am proud to present Tele2’s first Corporate Responsibility report in accordance to the Global Reporting Initiative guidelines and the third sustainability report published.
In 2010, we have laid a solid foundation for our Corporate Responsibility work. We have focused on increasing our knowledge in the Group about human rights, labour rights, anti-corruption and environmental impact, as well as implementing a well functioning governance structure.
To deepen our knowledge in Corporate Responsibility, we have conducted a number of analyses, such as identifying risks and opportunities, material actions and indicators, as well as strategic focus areas. We have engaged in numerous dialogues with our stakeholders to ensure that we take into account significant external perspectives and learn more about their views and requirements on our Corporate Responsibility work.
Our first step to efficiently incorporate sustainability throughout the entire organisation was to implement the new Code of Conduct adopted by the Board of Directors. Subsequently, we have adopted a new set of short-, middle- and long-term goals covering environmental, social and anti-corruption issues. In turn, these goals have been developed into an action plan at Group level, with departmental targets that will be addressed between 2011 and 2013.
Corporate Responsibility will as of 2011 be included in the internal training “The Tele2 Way”, which is mandatory for all management. Likewise, a new e-learning training program is launched, aiming at providing all employees with the necessary knowledge to efficiently incorporate Corporate Responsibility into everyday work.
The process of decreasing our impact on the climate continues, with 2010 as the base year for our carbon footprint. The transition to running our operations in an environmentally friendly manner is progressing with ongoing instalments of fresh-air cooling, decreased business travel and switch to energy from renewable sources.
Tele2 continues to pursue its growth in emerging markets. The challenges that lie in expansion are not limited to the financial risks and returns, but also to how we sustain our role in bridging the digital divide. We perceive that a strong and transparent stance against corruption, pollution, human and labour rights abuse is fundamental and a necessity to prevail in new markets. The dedicated work with Corporate Responsibility will be instrumental in increasing our market value and earning our future customers’ loyalty.
Mats Granryd
President and Chief Executive Officer