Vodafone taking corporate responsibility seriously

In telecommunications, says Vodafone's Dr Charlotte Grezo, the issues of corporate responsibility are constantly changing. Picture / Greg Bowker

After a huge global growth spurt in the late 1990s, Vodafone decided to do the responsible thing.

In 2001 it appointed Dr Charlotte Grezo as group corporate responsibility director, charging her with the not-insubstantial task of making Vodafone a multinational, socially responsible corporate citizen.

But isn't corporate responsibility just PR wool big companies pull over our eyes? No, it's a competitive business advantage, says Grezo, and she uses Vodafone's management of mobile porn to argue the point.

In several countries where there is "a competitive marketplace" (but not New Zealand) the Vodafone Live platform delivers adult content to phone users. However, it is always closely scrutinised, tailored to the sensitivities of the local culture, and is blockable, she says.

"That comes from a responsible attitude but it's also a very good business proposition - that we can provide adult services but do it in a responsible way."

Grezo was in New Zealand last week checking in with local Vodafone management before heading to conference speaking engagements in Sydney.

Her background is in environmental biology and she joined Vodafone from oil giant BP, where she was group director of global and environmental issues.

Asked if fronting corporate responsibility for a mobile network company is easier than grappling with oil company issues, she replies diplomatically: "One of the things that really made me want to come and join Vodafone was the chance to address social as well as environmental issues."

Many of those social issues arise in developing countries, a huge market for mobile companies because cellphone networks often offer a rare, reliable infrastructure asset.

Grezo cites a Vodafone pilot mobile banking project in Central Africa as an example of how the company is making positive social change.

"One of the things in terms of helping people lift themselves out of poverty is to bring them into the economy," she says.

"If we can get people so they can easily and securely have access to cash, can pay cash in by using our network of dealers who sell air credits so they don't have to trek for miles and miles to a bank, that's one of the things that can help people lift themselves out of poverty."

While in New Zealand, Grezo picked up that the "digital inclusion debate" was a key issue in the social responsibility arena.

"There's a role to play for the sector in allowing people access and giving economic and social benefits," she says.

But does this wash when New Zealand mobile calling rates are among the highest in the world and the local competitive scene has been described as a pillow fight between members of a duopoly?

"The whole issue around transparent pricing is something that stakeholders have raised with us in several countries," Grezo says.

"Pricing - transparency - is something we take very seriously."

She says other key social responsibility issues for Vodafone in New Zealand include responsible marketing, energy efficiency initiatives and concerns about electromagnetic radiation.

The location of cell sites and community anxiety about radiation from towers has been an inevitable source of conflict for Vodafone.

It is, Grezo says, "an area we take extremely seriously and put a lot of effort into working through with stakeholders and local communities and addressing their concerns."

The company publishes annual corporate responsibility reports, for both local and international Vodafone operations, which it touts as honest "warts and all" assessments of how it is going on the issues the public tell it are important.

The latest global report trumpets a New Zealand initiative to stamp out text bullying. Grezo says in the fast-moving telecommunications industry, social responsibility issues change frequently.

Her job involves identifying and monitoring new issues, and putting plans in place to manage them.

DR CHARLOTTE GREZO

* Who: Vodafone international group corporate responsibility director.

* Favourite gadget: Blackberry.

* Next big thing: Mobile TV. "All the initial responses to the product are good. We believe people will want to watch."

* Alternative career: Sir David Attenborough's job as a natural history broadcaster. "He's my absolute hero."

* Spare time: Reading, listening to music, walking and spending time with family.

* Favourite sci-fi movie: Star Wars.