|
 CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AT CYTA
WHAT IS CORPORATE
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY?
Globalisation,
political upheavals and technological advances lead to rapid and radical changes
in society worldwide. Society’s expectations about the role and the
responsibilities of business are changing drastically. In the newly-emerging
economy, companies are judged not only on the basis of their financial results,
products and services, but also on their environmental and social practices and
sensitivities.
For these reasons, more and more
companies in Europe and throughout the world are adopting policies on, and are
voluntarily involved in, areas such as working conditions, human rights, the
environment and social issues, over and above their legal and regulatory
obligations. The term Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is used to describe
these broader commitments of a company, beyond its responsibility for
profitability and financial survival. According to the definition of the
European Commission, CSR is a concept whereby companies integrate social and
environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interaction
with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis.
The internal dimension of a company’s
CSR covers issues of human resources management, health and safety in the
workplace, management of change and management of the environmental impact of
its operations.
The external dimension of a company’s
CSR extends to the local community and society and involves, apart from
employees and shareholders (or owners), a broad group of stakeholders, such as
partners, suppliers, consumers, public authorities and non-governmental
organisations (NGOs) and extends to issues such as human rights (e.g. in the
supply chain internationally), and the environment.
CYTA’S SERVICES
CYTA’s products and services have the capacity to impact on all three dimensions
of CSR: environmental, social and economic.
Regarding the
environmental dimension, our services can contribute to reducing the burden on
the natural environment through the substitution of matter (dematerialisation). For example,
e-mail substitutes traditional written communications while teleconferencing
and videoconferencing substitute travel, thereby reducing fuel
consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
In the social
dimension, our services can, for example, improve the provision of medical
services, education and the quality of life of workers through advanced applications such
as telemedicine, tele-education and teleworking respectively.
In the economic
dimension, our services contribute to improving entrepreneurial capabilities and the
development of new business activities and innovative products and services via
applications such as the Internet, e-commerce, call centres, etc.
CYTA, A RESPONSIBLE
ORGANISATION
CYTA was quick to
acknowledge these trends and their potential. It is also aware that it
constitutes an integral part of the broader society in which it operates and,
being a socially and environmentally responsible Organisation, is keen to
maintain the trust of society. This is why, for a number of years, apart from
its usual activities in the field of telecommunications, it has been actively
involved in and contributed to society as described in the Business Excellence
Model of the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM).
The European Union proposes a holistic
approach to the application of CSR, namely its integration in all aspects of
everyday business management and relationships with all its stakeholders. That
is why, in 2006, we set about implementing a project for the Integrated
Management of CSR at CYTA, by carrying out a CSR self-assessment according to the EFQM
Framework for CSR and with the aid of an external
consultant. The self-assessment included stakeholder mapping and
resulted in the identification of areas for improvement in CSR. The objective of this
project is the introduction and integration of CSR in the daily operations of
the Organisation, so that it is no longer a separate or add-on activity.
 CYTA’s
RESPONSIBILITY TO SOCIETY
CYTA has adopted the EFQM Business Excellence Model,
which also prescribes self-assessment in the area of contribution to society,
beyond financial results and customer and employee satisfaction. Thus, we have
consciously decided to promote our corporate identity, our products and services
indirectly as well. In the year under review, in the framework of our Corporate
Social Responsibility, we implemented projects contributing to Health and
Welfare, Education, the Environment, Culture, Sport, and Research and
Technology, thus reinforcing our contribution to society.
Health and Welfare
In the sensitive area of road safety, our policy
focuses on the cultivation of road safety awareness among young people who make
up around 25% of the victims of traffic accidents in Cyprus. For this reason, we
again organised road safety seminars for National Guard conscripts and Secondary
School leavers graduating at the end of the 2006-2007 academic year. This CYTA
initiative confirms, furthermore, our commitment to the European Road Safety
Charter (which the Organisation signed in Dublin in 2004) and to the common
European goal of halving the number of road fatalities by 2010.
Regarding health, we
sponsored the Centre for Preventive Paediatrics for the third successive year,
donating the sum that would have otherwise been used on printing and posting
Christmas cards to our associates which are now sent by e-mail, as well as the
Medlook electronic news bulletin on health matters.
In 2006 we delivered to
the Cyprus Anti-Anaemia Association cardiac equipment for monitoring patients
with Thalassaemia for the needs of the Thalassaemia Centre, in memory of our
colleagues Paris Demetriou, Vasilis Renko and Pericles Psaroudes and of the
wife of a CYTA employee, Mary Vasos Georgiou, who died in the tragic August 2005
air crash.
It is worth noting that
above and beyond its support of the Association, CYTA was the first major
Organisation in Cyprus to employ Thalassaemics.
In the context of our
interest in public health and welfare, several of our activities have now become
established institutions.
Since we care about the
welfare of those manning the National Guard, every year we issue and distribute
free of charge "Camouflage" telecards to newly-drafted National Guardsmen on
their first day of military service. We also offer telecards at Christmas to
Greek officers and soldiers serving in the National Guard and the Greek Armed
Forces in Cyprus, as well as to low-income National Guard soldiers and
prisoners.
We also contributed to
the 2006 Radiomarathon as an Official Sponsor, through activities such as our
participation in the "Love Fairs" and the participation of CYTA’s mascot "Telis"
in the mobile cash boxes touring schools for fundraising. We also organised for
the first year running a Futsal tournament featuring four teams comprising
Members of Parliament, Sportswriters, Actors and CYTA staff respectively. We
supported other charity fundraising events in a similar way. Also, during the
Christmas holidays, CYTA representatives visit hospitals and children’s homes
with gifts for the children.
With the aim of offering
telecommunications support to charity fundraising events, CYTA has, for some
years now, provided the free Charity Direct service which enables people to make
donations by telephone to charitable organisations. We also operate several
services with a four-digit telephone number via which free calls may be made to
various emergency services.
Education
Once again we sponsored the islandwide "Technology
in Education" competition and we were sponsors of the Cyprus Mathematical
Society. We also provided ten scholarships to non-CYTA employees to obtain the Intercollege Diploma in Telecommunications & Information Technology. The purpose
of these scholarships to employees and third parties is to enrich the labour
market with technicians who are trained in Information Technology due to the
present shortage.
On the subject of
activities that have become institutions, in recent years CYTANET has sponsored
"JOTA-JOTI" (Jamboree on the Air and on the Internet), the annual online event
of the Cyprus Scouts Association. Since 2001 CYTANET has made presentations to
junior, secondary and technical schools on the subject “All about the Internet”
with the aim of educating students about electronic communications and promoting
Internet usage in schools. By the end of 2006, we had made 202 visits to schools
where the presentations were attended by a total of 20.635 pupils and teachers.
In the framework of an
agreement between CYTA and the Ministry of Education and Culture, we have
connected all the island’s schools to the Internet free of charge. They pay a
special low monthly subscription fee and, among other things, receive free web
hosting of school and teachers’ websites (of educational content).
We contributed to the
creation and operation of the Youth Board of Cyprus’ Youth Information Centres
in Nicosia and Agros to which we provide equipment and services. We are also in
the process of setting up a mobile Youth Information Centre in collaboration
with Microsoft.
Every year we publish an
activity book for children entitled "Playing, having fun and learning with Telis"
which is distributed to all pre-school and primary school children throughout
the island. The book contains educational and recreational material approved by
the Ministry of Education and Culture. The book also contains announcements of
painting competitions. The best children’s paintings are subsequently chosen and
prizes are awarded at a special ceremony. The winning paintings are included in
a wall calendar published by CYTA.
In the framework of
extra-curricular activities for children, CYTA "opens its doors" every year to
many children. Usually they visit the Makarios Satellite Earth Station or
the Archive Centre in order to learn about our Organisation, its services and
history. We also welcome pupils and students on work experience projects.
Every year we enable
prospective students to obtain their university entrance examination results as
soon as they are announced by the Ministry of Education and Culture, either from
the CYTANET homepage or by text message to their mobile phones via the
Cytamobile-Vodafone cybee service.
Finally, the soeasy
prepaid mobile telephone service supports the health and correct diet programme
that is implemented in junior schools across the island, having purchased a
MENTOR mobile education unit.
Environment
Our Organisation wishes to contribute to the
development of an environmental awareness among the people of Cyprus as part of
its contribution to society, by implementing a variety of projects and
activities. (Read more about CYTA’s internal environmental management later
on in this chapter.)
There are CYTA Parks in
almost every district in Cyprus, created in collaboration with the respective
Municipalities. The development of CYTA Parks stems from an earlier decision to
create green places in various urban areas.
 One
well-established institution is our sponsorship of the activities of CYMEPA
which, among other things, offers environmental education programmes to
schoolchildren. These include the "Young Journalists for the Environment"
programme which is supported by the Ministry of Education and Culture,
coordinated by the Foundation for Environmental Education in Europe and
sponsored by CYTA. Within the framework of this programme, a competition is held
among high school and lyceum students, the winners of which are awarded prizes
by our Organisation at a special ceremony.
Since 2001, we have
provided special paper recycling collection boxes (which we also use in our own
offices at CYTA) and relevant posters to eco-schools and other interested
schools. More specifically, between 2001 and 2006, around 1.000 such recycling
boxes and posters were donated to more than 50 schools for use in classrooms in order to
develop the children’s environmental awareness.
Culture
In 2006, CYTA sponsored the "Guardian Angel on the
Road" concert which aimed at increasing public and state awareness of Road
Safety issues. The concert featured songs written exclusively by Antonis
Mitzelos and performed by well-known singers including Giorgos Dalaras,
Lavrentis Machairitsas, Margarita Zorbala and others. In the context of our
sponsorship of both the concert and the Road Safety aspect, our Organisation
held a press conference.
We also presented a
performance entitled "Transcendence" dedicated to the work of Cypriot composer
Stelios Pisis who, despite being bedridden and requiring a ventilator due to
muscular dystrophy, writes on a computer. He watched the entire concert from his
home in Lemesos (Limassol) thanks to a live teleconference organised by CYTA. The music
was performed by the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra under conductor Spyros Pisinos
and the songs interpreted by Demetris Fanis, Maria-Elena, George Ioannou,
Christina Pavlidou and Miltiades Paschalides.
Finally, we sponsored
two exceptional concerts in Cyprus by the world-famous Vienna Mozart Orchestra
and the internationally renowned Cypriot baritone Kyros Patsalides. The concerts
took place in Lemesos (Limassol) and Lefkosia (Nicosia) as part of the singer and orchestra’s world
tour and closed a series of international performances to mark the 250th
anniversary of the birth of Mozart.
 Sport
Since 2005, CYTA has been a Major Sponsor of
Football. The sponsorship programme covers the Cyprus Football Association, the
Cyprus national team and all the teams of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Divisions.
We also continued our support of the Cyprus Referees Association and the Cyprus
Sportswriters Association.
For the seventh
successive year, CYTA supported the Cyprus International Rally, one of the
events in the World Rally Championship calendar which is seen by 150.000.000
television viewers and thus promotes Cyprus around the world. CYTA provided the
Rally with technical support, including broadband services and Internet access
via CYTANET as well as mobile phone services through Cytamobile-Vodafone.
Technology and
Research
Recognising public concerns about the topical
issue of Electromagnetic Fields and wishing to contribute to the spread of
information on the subject to authorities and individuals we sponsored a
Symposium on "Electromagnetic Fields - Sources, Health Effects and Regulations",
organised by the Cyprus International Institute for the Environment and Public
Health in collaboration with the University of Cyprus and the Cyprus Scientific
and Technical Chamber (ETEK). The Symposium was addressed by internationally
renowned scientists.
Finally, to mark World
Telecommunications Day (17 May) we organised two seminars on "Safe Internet for
our Children", enabling parents, teachers, pupils and all interested parties to
learn about the topic from experts, free of charge. Speakers from Greece and
Cyprus described to participants today’s situation regarding the Internet,
especially where issues of safe content are concerned.
CYTA’S RESPONSIBILITY
TO ITS PEOPLE
As a responsible citizen and good employer, CYTA
manages and develops its personnel through the implementation of management
systems and programmes for the development/support of their professional and
private lives.
Significant achievements
in this sector during 2006 included the implementation of flexible working hours
in more Units, the continuation of road safety programmes, the implementation of
the Development Centres and the drawing up of personal development programmes
for a number of employees, the broad participation of members of staff in both
internal and external training programmes and others which are described in
detail in the "Human Resources" section of the "Management" chapter in this
report.
Our Organisation offers
its personnel far more than is prescribed in the relevant legislation. It takes
care of the health and welfare of its employees and their families through the
Medical Fund and the CYTA Staff Welfare Fund, by holding seminars on medical and
social issues (e.g. stopping smoking, bringing up children, etc.), implementing
an advice and support programme by employing the services of a social worker,
providing financial assistance to needy employees, pensioners, employees’ widows
and orphans, arranging low-interest student and housing loans and more.
 For
the children of staff members we organise Christmas parties, give prizes to the
top students in secondary and tertiary education and award scholarships.
For our employees’ own
entertainment, we subsidise their subscriptions to the Cyprus Theatre
Organisation and provide free tickets to concerts, plays and football matches.
We also hold special
retraining seminars for retiring members of staff, while the Organisation’s care
for its employees extends beyond their working lives. Retirees continue to be
covered by the Medical Fund and may take advantage of the facilities and
subsidised holidays offered by the CYTA Staff Welfare Fund.
CYTA employees,
sensitive to social issues, also make their own contribution to society. For
some years we have established and promoted regular blood donation sessions in
the workplace during working hours. Members of CYTA’s staff also make other
voluntary social contributions such as the Personnel Department’s organisation
of a Futsal tournament and other activities aimed at raising funds for the
Children’s Oncology Department of the Makarios Hospital and the collection of
aid for Lebanon during the war.
CYTA’S RESPONSIBILITY
TO THE ENVIRONMENT
As a modern European
business, CYTA respects the environment in which it operates and does everything
within its power to operate and promote itself as an environmentally responsible
Organisation.
Recognising the positive
and negative impacts on the environment of our operations, products and
services, we took action in 2001 by formulating our Environmental Policy.
One of our strategic
objectives in this area is the implementation of an Environmental Management
System. In 2006, we continued work on the project for the introduction and
certification of an Environmental Management System according to the
International Standard ISO14001. The first
stages in this project include the identification of, and compliance with, legal
environmental obligations. To this end, we began with the preliminary screening
of environmental legislation and the identification of applicable legislation.
Two such themes are the legislation on waste from electrical and electronic
equipment and the legislation on packaging and packaging waste, regarding which
we have already initiated the necessary procedures for compliance.
In response to public
concern regarding electromagnetic fields from mobile telephony base stations,
we continued to meet with groups of concerned citizens and organised groups in
order to keep them properly informed on this issue.
In line with our
Environmental Policy of procuring environmentally friendlier products and as a
result of the inclusion of environmental criteria in the purchasing
process (especially for paper) we obtained recycled photocopying paper for the
first time. This paper, which is used within the Organisation, is made
from 100% recycled paper.
 CYTA’S
RESPONSIBILITY FOR ITS PRODUCTS
With the aim of protecting our customers from
undesirable and harmful online content, we introduced the Safe Internet service.
Safe Internet is aimed mainly at parents who wish to monitor and prevent access
to content which they consider harmful to their children. Also, to mark World
Telecommunications Day on 17 May, we organised two seminars on "Safe Internet
for our Children" as noted in the section "CYTA’s Responsibility to Society" in
the paragraph on "Research and Technology".
CYTANET provides free
e-mail anti-virus and anti-spamming protection to all its customers. Internet
users who are CYTANET customers can adapt this particular facility to their own
requirements.
Recognising the dangers
arising from mobile phone use while driving, we supported the Police in their
campaign to inform the public about this issue through a Cytamobile-Vodafone
leaflet called "Mobile Telephony - Instructions for Safe Driving" for
distribution by the Police as part of their campaign.
Aware of the needs of
special groups of customers, under the banner "Everyone has a right to
communication", CYTA provides special telephone handsets for individuals with
impaired hearing, vision and movement. A recent example is the "emporiaLife"
mobile telephone which is aimed mainly at the elderly due to its construction
and characteristics, e.g. a large screen, large keys, loud sounds, an
easy-to-use menu and an SOS key.
As a follow-up to this,
wishing to make mobile telephony more accessible to the visually impaired, in
2006 we introduced the Speaking Phone service. Special software for the mobile
phone enables users to hear the menu, the telephone directory, SMS messages,
etc. The service is provided free of charge to customers with visual impairment.
References to the above
can be found in the chapter "Products and Customer Service" in the sections
"Internet" and "Mobile Communications" respectively.
PUBLIC PERCEPTION
INDICATORS FOR CYTA
Apart from having a positive impact on society and
its stakeholders, CYTA’s involvement in Corporate Social Responsibility is also
reflected in its corporate image and adds value to the Organisation.
We use a yearly market
survey to monitor public perception with a series of indicators in the field of
Corporate Social Responsibility. The 2006 survey revealed that CYTA remains one
of the first three organisations cited most frequently by the public as being
socially responsible.
^ top |
