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Vodafone has robust systems in place to manage our environmental impacts. Accountability for environmental performance rests with the senior management of our local markets and Vodafone Group functions, including the Technology, Network and Supply Chain teams. Ultimate accountability rests with local market CEOs and the Group Executive Committee.

Environmental management systems
The issues most relevant to our business are identified through our annual materiality process (see material issues). Our environmental management systems provide a framework for managing these issues and reducing our impacts across the Group. This includes monitoring risks, setting targets, reviewing progress and reporting performance.

Our local markets' environmental management systems in the Czech Republic, Greece, Portugal, Romania, Spain and the UK are certified to international standard ISO 14001. Network operations in Egypt are also
ISO 14001-certified.

Promoting employee awareness
We depend on our employees to help us reduce our environmental impacts. We communicate with our people to increase awareness and encourage them to reduce environmental impacts by, for example, recycling mobile phones and office waste, and doing their bit to save energy at work and at home.

Managing our energy use
Managing emissions from energy use, particularly in our networks, is a key aspect of our environmental management. Our Energy Efficiency and Green Technology Steering Team is responsible for ensuring our strategy on energy and climate change is implemented across our technology operations. Monthly reports from local markets are used to track implementation of key energy-saving initiatives.  There are mechanisms in place to share best practice and help local markets reduce energy use.

We carry out regular assessments of energy use within our network to monitor our climate impact and identify opportunities to reduce it. Most local markets calculate their energy use from meter readings. Remote metering systems which regularly measure energy consumption enable us to build up a detailed picture of our energy use and identify ways to reduce it.

Performance on energy and climate change is reported every six months as part of the local market review process (see internal reporting).  A report is made annually to the Vodafone Group Plc Board and our performance is reported externally in our annual Sustainability Report [PDF].

See eco-efficiency for more on how we are improving energy efficiency and tackling our carbon footprint.

Managing waste
All our operations generate waste. We are committed to reduce, reuse and recycle where possible. The main waste produced by our offices, call centres and shops is paper, printer toner cartridges, packaging material and IT equipment. We provide recycling points in offices to encourage employees to recycle, and promote double-sided printing to save paper.

Our business also generates electronic waste (e-waste). We have direct control of e-waste from our networks and have systems in place to ensure it is recycled or disposed of responsibly. Although not in our direct control, we also encourage our customers to return their mobile phones to us for reuse and recycling. See eco-efficiency for more on how we manage e-waste.

Complying with regulations on electronic waste
We have taken steps to ensure our compliance with European legislation on electronic waste.

We worked with our suppliers to phase out the substances restricted by the EU’s Restriction of the use of certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (RoHS) Directive that came into force in July 2006. This Directive bans the placing on the EU market of new electrical and electronic equipment containing more than agreed levels of lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyl (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants.

We also comply with the Waste Electrical and Electronic Waste (WEEE) Directive in EU countries. This requires companies to take back and recycle used electronic and electrical equipment at the end of their useful life. In some of the countries where we operate, our own handset recycling schemes meet the criteria for compliance. In other countries, we also participate in national schemes.

The EU's Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) Directive is also relevant as it restricts the use of certain substances of high concern.  We have taken steps to ensure compliance with the Directive and ensure that no unauthorised substances are used in any of the products we sell.

We monitor ongoing changes to the RoHS, WEEE and REACH Directives and make changes to our policies and procedures accordingly.

Ozone depletion
Some of our network cooling systems and air conditioning systems in our offices and shops use CFCs and HCFCs, which can damage the ozone layer. Although ozone-depleting gases are held in sealed systems, leaks can occur. We are working to phase out CFCs and HCFCs in accordance with the Montreal protocol, an international agreement on the phasing out of ozone-depleting substances.

Water
Our operations use relatively little water compared with other industries and we do not consider this one of our key environmental impacts. However, we recognise that water is becoming an increasingly important issue for stakeholders, particularly in water-stressed regions of the world. We monitor and aim to reduce water use locally by, for example, installing low-flow toilets.