Dear Readers,
This year, we have good news and renovated purposes to celebrate with you.
Notwithstanding the context we live in, full of challenges in the sector and economy in general, we maintain our goal of serving current and future generations knowing that we will be laying every day the foundations for our way of living, working and communicating over the next 100 years.
PT is now included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index
This year was particularly gratifying for PT, as after a detailed and profound assessment carried out by the SAM Group, PT’s activity in the domain of sustainability was recognized so that we are now included in the most prominent sustainability index at international level, the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI).
With this recognition, PT became the only Portuguese company simultaneously included in the two main international Indexes of sustainable development, the DJSI e o FTSE4Good.
Apart from being a strong motive of pride for all of us, it is also a new incentive to reinforce our commitment towards the sustainability strategy that we have assumed and incorporated in the company’s management.
Strategy and commitments to all stakeholders
We pursued our five strategic goals, one of which is to become a reference in the domain of sustainability. This year, we gave priority to issues related to digital literacy and inclusion, security, unemployment, poverty and climate change.
We defined our Sustainability and Social Responsibility Policy, a complement to the Code of Ethics that we readjusted, and we are extending it progressively to all our supply chain. This policy is part of the ten principles enounced in the United Nations Global Compact, principles of the International Labour Organisation, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, apart from the principles agreed in the ETNO (European Telecommunications Network Operators) Sustainability Charter.
We face climate changes
Energy efficiency and the mitigation of the carbon footprint upstream and downstream across our supply chain continue to be our main focus of combat against climate change.
Therefore, naturally, we were founding members and participate actively on the Green Touch Initiative composed of a consortium of leading industry partners, research institutions and non-governmental organizations whose aim is to develop solutions to reduce by 1,000 times ICT energy consumption and the respective carbon footprint.
We are designing a new Data Centre, which besides being one of the largest in Europe, will also be a sustainability example, located in a remote zone of the country where it will create new jobs, and where cooling and energy will be essentially of photo-voltaic and wind origin.
Investment in Research & Development as an essential pillar in sustainability
Our Research & Development culture leveraged by the partnerships established with entities associated with scientific knowledge has a fundamental role in re-creating technological and organizational solutions capable of ensuring improved social, economic and environmental solutions with positive impact for everyone.
We planned and we are implementing a new FTTH (Fibre to the Home) network, which will serve current and future generations. This network received the Innovation Award in the Deployment and Operation of FTTH Networks category, which stands for the most innovative fibre optic network in Europe and will leverage services and functionalities that will contribute to making customers benefit from an extensive offering, based on increased cost and energy consumption rationalization.
Importance of secure ICT use
Questions relative to personal and business data security and protection, were also worthy of special increased attention over last year.
We prepared, adopted and are progressively extending to our value chain an Information Security Policy suited to all information and communication systems and technologies. Safe and adequate information technology use by the younger generation were also a priority. We prepared a national awareness program – Security Communications – that we have divulged and implemented for the Portuguese school community.
Concern with Responsible Marketing and Consumption
In the current market context, brands and companies use more and more aggressive marketing campaigns whose impact and return on the population are worthy of our consideration. We are therefore focused on a kind of communication that, although very much sales-oriented, includes respect for the values and beliefs of our customers and promotes enlightened product and service use together with improved environmental preservation. This goal will be pursued for years to come.
Digital inclusion and literacy as strategic areas
We all recognise that digital inclusion and literacy have shown to be fundamental pillars in stimulating new social and professional opportunities and consequently in promoting economy and a more responsible citizenship.
The generalised use of information technologies, the growing diversity in the offer of broadband solutions and services as well as community support programs, namely groups of citizens with special needs, continue to remain at the epicentre of the social responsibility initiatives in which we are involved.
Promotion of social well-being
Taking into account the economic conjuncture, we are concerned about creating solutions and services suited to families whose income has decreased.
We have always privileged solutions that best serve the needs and aspirations of the entire population: finding communication solutions suited to the characteristics and needs of every citizen, including those with disabilities.
The recognition that we receive
We feel very pleased and with a deeper responsibility when we see our commitment and results deserve recognition from different national and international external entities.
Therefore, I would like to stress that we remain listed in the FTSE4Good index, we achieved the No.1 position, in this sector at national level, at the Companies and Organisations Citizenship Award and we are one of the Top 3 of the Engagement Rating Portugal 2010.
The assessment carried out by the SAM Group led to our inclusion in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, Europe and World, while the evaluation of the PT brand kept us as one of the Top 500 most valuable brands in the world.
Our commitment and recognition
I would like to express my gratitude to everyone and share with you the achievements and challenges that we are facing nowadays.
Count on us, we shall continue to count on you.
Zeinal Bava
Chief Executive Officer