Nota Informativa. 
Telefónica finds itself, once more, among the leading companies in the world on sustainability criteria, according to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) and it improves by four points its ranking in 2010.
In its annual review, the rating agency that evaluates the management of sustainability of companies, –Sustainable Asset Management (SAM)– keeping in mind the financial, environmental and social aspects, has graded the Group with a note of 88 out of 100, that is, 23 percentage points above the sector’s average and it ranks it among the best five companies of the industry.
Telefónica, which has been part of this index for eight years, one of the most demanding in the world, maintains its leadership in the social area and it improves its qualification in the two other areas.
For the DJSI, ”Corporate Sustainability is a business focus aiming to create shareholder value in the long term through the taking of advantages and an efficient management of risks related to economic, environmental and social development”. And that is how Telefónica has defined its strategy of Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility (RC).
BEST PRACTICES
Telefónica is recognized as the company with the best practices in six key aspects in the industry, led with 90 points by the South Korean company KT Corp. For the second year in a row, Telefónica holds its position as number one in the management of risk and crisis; environmental management; human capital development; impact of telecommunication services and stakeholders engagement. It also leads, for the first time, digital inclusion matters.
Regarding the economic dimension, Telefónica received a value of 87 points, which means an improvement of four points and eighteen percentage points higher than the industry’s average. In this block, the index contemplates aspects related to the customer relationship management; privacy; risk management; corporate governance; acting and anti-corruption principles, brand management, innovation management and, new this year, more importance given to services.
In the area of innovation, we can mention the strategy of social innovation to promote and support ideas or TIC solutions that satisfy the social needs of senior citizens, handicap people and those at the bottom of the pyramid, at the same time they represent a business opportunity.
Regarding environmental innovation, the company promoted inmótica services, tele-presence, virtual hosting… all to aid other sectors to improve their energy efficiency and launched the Green Customer Experience Model, to offer individual clients a green experience in mobile telephony from the moment they decide to buy a device, during its use and until the end of its useful life.
We can also stand out the launch of the developer’s community BlueVia, and of Wayra, a project accelerator to support entrepreneurs with ideas based on ICT and to contribute to retain talent in the countries in which the company operates.
In the area of the environment, the evaluation gave Telefónica 87 points, 14 more tan last year and 30 above the average. This area considers aspects of environmental policy, eco-efficiency and environmental information and climate change. Telefónica remains the leader of the industry in environmental management, thanks to the implementation of its Global Environmental Management System, already operating in 80% of the operators and the ISO 14001 certification, already in the hands of 65% of the companies.
Telefónica has achieved an important improvement – 115%- in eco-efficiency thanks to the appropriate management of resources (energy, CO2 emissions, waste…). As a matter of fact, the multi-national achieved in 2010 half of the objective set for 2015 in the reduction of energy consumption of 30% of the networks.
Last, in the social area, Telefónica held at 90 points, the highest grade in the industry, 27 points ahead of the average. In this area, we can stand out the program Debate and Knowledge of the Telefónica Foundation, to create in the information society and to debate on the impact of the TIC’s; the internal promotion of tele-work or videoconferences, as well as the effort to ensure a responsible supply chain that protects the respect to human rights and the acting principles (in 2010 it carried out more than 1,100 audits to suppliers); and the programs of the Telefónica Foundation, specially Proniño.
We must also point out the improvement in talent retention and human capital development, with the highest points in the industry. This effort was channeled through the new bravo! People project, which launched a Global Program of Share Purchasing, with more than 40,000 employees registered and with awards to recognize the commitment and good practices of professionals. In addition, the company continued with its effort in training, investing Euro 56,4 million in e-learning programs and a Corporate University.
Regarding stakeholder engagement, where Telefónica is Best in Class, intensified the use of social networks, to improve the attention and to create trusting relationships with interest groups such as the clients.
