Deutsche Telekom, France Telecom and Telecom Italia are conducting on site audits in Asia aimed at strengthening their commitment to developing a strategy of responsible and sustainable growth all along the Supply Chain of 40 suppliers based in Asia. This audit campaign follows the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in December 2009. Other telecom operators are also welcome to be part of this Joint Audit Cooperation by signing the MoU.
Through this MOU the three operators have defined a co-ordinated audit process based on a common assessment methodology to verify and improve the social, ethical and environmental conditions of their suppliers’ manufacturing centres located in Asia. The audits are implemented by recognized international CSR audit companies that will release official and recognized audit reports. These will then be followed up by each of the operators.
This MoU will open possibilities for collaboration in the processes used to assess suppliers. These processes will be developed together and in cooperation with suppliers. The suppliers will then be assessed according to a defined set of parameters in favour of respecting people and the environment, mainly in line with SA 8000 and ISO 14001 standards.
“The audit report will also identify areas for improvements that operators will discuss and will then follow up in order to resolve any gaps highlighted in the report, implementing the corrective action plan”, explains Luis Neves, Head of Corporate Responsibility at Deutsche Telekom.
“This MoU will seek to enable the achievement of CSR goals on an international level and will allow the three operators to optimize their CSR assessment and follow up process through the application of common best practice. It will also enable operators and suppliers to save precious time and effort by joining forces”, explains Marc Fossier, France Telecom Social Responsibility Executive Director. He adds, “We are delighted to be part of this joint venture between important Telcos. It will promote our ambition to enhance sustainable development as well as human rights principles among our suppliers”.
“In addition, this cooperative approach between operators and suppliers will highlight areas of improvement to be made in terms of CSR. This includes the better allocation of working resources to reduce overtime, an improvement in skills and competences, an improvement in processes in order to increase energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions”, underlines Stefano Ciurli, Head of Purchasing, Telecom Italia.
In this respect, CSR is pivotal for improvement of our global performance in addition to being a moral commitment.
France, Germany, Italy, October 2010
