Approach and reporting
Our contribution to the UN SDGs
In 2015, the United Nations launched 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, fight inequality and injustice, and tackle climate change, by 2030. Vodafone is committed to leveraging the power of its technology, networks and services to contribute to these global goals.
We focus on five of the UN SDGs
Through the impact of our extensive global network, wide range of products and services and the work of Vodafone Foundation, we believe we can have the greatest influence over the delivery of five of the UN SDGs.
- SDG 4: Quality education
Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
Vodafone and Vodafone Foundation use mobile technology to provide young people access to new or broader learning opportunities. The provision of free or subsidised education resources and technology – particularly to marginalised groups including refugees – offers enhanced opportunities to achieve academic success and therefore improved life opportunities.
Examples of our contribution:
50,000 young students have regularly attended classes through the Knowledge is Power schools project in Egypt, while 2,500 teachers have received additional training
850,000 refugee students have benefited from our Instant Schools for Africa programme, which provides young people with access to high-quality educational content in local languages, at no cost
- SDG 5: Gender equality
Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
Vodafone provides women with access to life-enhancing services which help to unlock socio-economic opportunities and help to address inequality. We also champion the inclusion of women in the workplace, highlighting their vital role in our success, and adopt a progressive stance to encourage others.
Examples of our contribution:
19.4 million more female customers now have access to mobile to communicate, help manage their daily lives and seek opportunities to learn and earn
16.9 million women now have greater control over their and their family’s finances through M-Pesa, enabling them to choose to send or receive money, save and access small loans
- SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth
Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
Vodafone is committed to helping young people develop their digital skills in order to address the mismatch between future workplace needs and the current skills of the new generation. This will help improve their access to future employment opportunities in the digital economy.
Examples of our contribution:
475,000 unique users have completed our Future Jobs Finder platform, which aims to inspire and help young people to understand their strengths and skills and find the right job opportunity in the digital economy
54,712 young people had a workplace experience with Vodafone in 2018-19
- SDG 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure
Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation
Vodafone is committed to continuing to make significant investments in the network infrastructure, coverage and quality that will be required for a competitive economy in the age of digitalisation, to deliver a high-quality service that allows individuals and businesses to connect confidently anywhere and at any time.
Examples of our contribution:
164,000 base stations which together with 65,000 computer servers, 4.200 buildings and over one million kilometres of cable comprise our global infrastructure which connects over 100 countries
€7.2 billion invested in our digital network and IT infrastructure in 2018-19 to deliver improved coverage, reliability, speed and customer service.
- SDG 13: Climate action
Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
We are working to reduce the amount of energy required to run our networks and services while meeting increasing customer demand for data. We will reduce the amount of GHG emissions associated with our operations and will increase the proportion of the electricity we buy from renewable sources.
Examples of our contribution:
36% GHG emission ratio reduction per petabyte of mobile data used since 2018, while continuing to provide our customers with ever increasing amounts of data
2.0 million tonnes of CO2e total Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions, a decrease of 3% compared to 2017-18. This reduction was predominantly due to a reduction in the carbon emissions associated with purchased electricity
Supporting the remaining SDGs
Through our networks, products and services, responsible operations and the Vodafone Foundation we also contribute to the remaining 12 SDGs. Read more in our report.
