Corporate Social Responsibility
We're all committed to corporate
social responsibility
We believe we have a duty to society - to always act in a reputable way, both inside and outside our organisation. To ensure we operate in harmony - and not at odds with - our society, we have a clear Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policy. We adhere to it as a company, and we ask all our employees to embrace it as their responsibility too.
The T-Mobile CSR policy covers:
- Planning our network considerately
- Protecting public health and safety
- Ensuring responsible use of services for under 18s
- Minimising our impact on the environment
- Our commitment to recycling
Planning our network considerately
We believe in responsible planning. So we try to share sites with other mobile operators, or install antennas on existing buildings and structures such as telegraph poles, lamp posts and telephone boxes.
About two-thirds of our antennas are on shared sites and existing structures. And we're always developing more discreet base stations - housed in specially designed trees, flagpoles, even as decorative features on churches.
Protecting public health and safety
T-Mobile continues to fund research into the potential impact of mobile phones and base stations on public health. In 2001, an independent audit of base stations on or near schools and hospitals began. To date more than 250 sites have been surveyed. In every case they found emission levels to be well below the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection guidelines for public safety.
Ensuring responsible use of services for under 18s
The Mobile Industry Code of Practice on the provision of 18+ services, published in January 2004, describes the steps our industry is taking to help parents and carers show their children how to use new mobile devices responsibly. And how they can influence the type of content children can access.
We're recognised as a driving force in this industry-wide collaboration, which has involved all the UK mobile operators working closely with Ofcom, the Home Office, and a variety of children's charities.
Minimising our impact on the environment
We're firmly committed to recognised environmental best practice in all our daily operations as a telecommunications provider. Our aim is to prevent pollution wherever possible, and to minimises the impact on the environment whatever we're doing. This includes:
- continually improving how efficiently we use resources
- minimising the amount of waste we generate by applying reduce, reuse and recycle practices
- everyone here adopting recognised environmental best practice in the way we work, providing adequate training and resources to ensure best practices is followed
- insisting our contractors and suppliers meet the same stringent environmental standards we set for ourselves
- remaining open and responsive to the environmental concerns of the community and Government
Our commitment to recycling
Around 15 million people upgrade their mobile phones in the UK each year - which amounts to around 1500 tonnes of potentially hazardous landfill.
We encourage users to return their phones via ShP Limited - a safe and environmentally-responsible way to manage the return of handsets and accessories. Customers can get up to ?15 for returning each used mobile phone.
