The focus of our CR programme is regularly reviewed to reflect the changing business and CR agenda, and to ensure we continue to address the issues that are material to our business.
Monitoring emerging CR issues helps us signpost future risks and opportunities for our business. We track CR issues in the media and engage with stakeholders in a variety of formal and informal ways, both globally and locally.
CR issues are fed into our long-range planning across our local operating companies. This helps to ensure that our strategic decision-making takes full account of social trends and anticipates emerging issues as far as possible.
Identifying key issues
Each operating company and most Group functions report the most significant local issues on a regular basis as part of our Group-wide issues management process. The results are reported to senior management through various mechanisms, for example through the annual presentation to the Board. By formalising this process, we can better understand global and local social trends and anticipate emerging issues as far as possible.
We are conducting a six-month trial – which started in February 2008 – of a comprehensive issues tracking service from an external consultancy. The service analyses information from a wide range of sources to give us a more complete overview of global and local issues, including traditional and online media, professional journals, NGO and government reports, and company publications. This will help us better understand existing and emerging issues affecting Vodafone’s reputation, and help us identify key opinion leaders. The trial is initially focused on three markets – Greece, Spain and the UK.
Our internal audit control questionnaire includes a range of CR questions. It is completed by all our local operating companies once a year and signed off by their chief executives. The questionnaire is part of our formal risk identification procedure. The results are reported to the Vodafone Group Plc Board of Directors.
When we acquire a new business, we consider contextual CR issues, such as the levels of bribery and corruption in the country. We also review existing CR policies and programmes within the business being acquired, where information is available.
