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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 concerning the role and
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
sensitivities and practices.
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 an enterprise, beyond its
responsibility for profitability and financial
survival. According to the European Commission’s
definition, Corporate Social Responsibility is a
concept whereby companies integrate social and
environmental concerns into their business
operations and their interaction with their
stakeholders on a voluntary basis.
The internal dimension of a company’s CSR covers
issues of human resource management, health and
safety in the workplace, management of change
and 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 stakeholders
(or owners), a broad group of stakeholders such
as partners, suppliers, consumers, public
authorities and Non-Governmental Organisations,
and applies 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
communication 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 has been 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
stakeholders. At CYTA we have been promoting
this holistic approach since 2006 when we set
about implementing a project for the Integrated
Management of CSR. This project is ongoing and
aims to introduce and integrate CSR into the
everyday management/operation of the
Organisation so that it is not a separate,
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 its financial
results and customer and employee satisfaction.
To this end, we have consciously decided to
promote our corporate identity, our products and
services indirectly as well. During 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
On the sensitive issue of road safety, our
policy focuses on the cultivation of road safety
awareness among young people who make up a large
percentage of the victims of traffic accidents
in Cyprus. For this reason, we again organised
road safety seminars for National Guard
conscripts and all Secondary School leavers
graduating at the end of the 2007-2008 academic
year. This initiative confirms CYTA’s commitment
to the European Road Safety Charter (which it
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 fourth 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.
 Since
we care about the welfare of those manning the
National Guard, every year we issue and
distribute "Camouflage"
telecards free of charge 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 Contingent
in Cyprus, to needy National Guard soldiers and
prisoners.
We also contributed to the 2007 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. Through a variety of activities we
supported other charitable events such as the
Telethon, for which CYTA was the Main Sponsor of
a fundraising concert, and the Cyprus Myasthenia
Gravis Association and the Association of
Parents and Friends of Children with Heart
Disease, for whom the Organisation financed the
printing of their information leaflets. We also
supported the Cyprus Multiple Sclerosis
Association, sponsoring the annual week-long
information campaign for the second year
running. At the same time, CYTA sponsored the
printing of Sunflower, an information leaflet on
the prevention of breast cancer. Also, during
the Christmas period, CYTA representatives
visited hospitals and children’s homes with
gifts for the children.
We showed our solidarity with
the victims of the summer fires in Greece
through a contribution of €200.000 towards the
restoration of public service and local
government networks in the provinces of Ilia and
Arcadia. 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 the charitable organisation of
their choice. 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 nine
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
trained in Information Technology due to the
present shortage.
On the subject of activities that have become
institutions, since 2001 CYTANET has made
presentations to junior, secondary and technical
schools on the subject "The
Internet: A Tool for All"
with the aim of educating students about
electronic communications and promoting Internet
usage in schools. So far, we have made over 260
visits to schools where the presentations have
been attended by 28.000 pupils and teachers.
We also make presentations on "The
Internet and Our Children - Safe and Responsible
Use" which are aimed
primarily at parents with the purpose of
informing them about correct Internet use, its
traps and dangers, and how to deal with them.
Some 500 parents have attended these
presentations.
Also, in recent years CYTA has sponsored
"JOTI-JOTA"
(Jamboree on the Internet, Jamboree on the Air),
the annual online event of the Cyprus Scouts
Association.
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).
 Moreover,
CYTA marked Safer Internet Day with a seminar at
which it announced the free availability of its
Safe Internet service to all CYTANET customers.
We provide equipment and services to the Youth
Board of Cyprus’ Youth Information Centres and
we are in the process of setting up a mobile
Youth Information Centre in collaboration with
Microsoft. We also sponsored the creation of the
first school teleconferencing room at the Ayios
Neophytos High School in Paphos.
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 and distributed to
all pre-school and primary schools.
In the framework of its support of
extra-curricular activities for children, CYTA
opens its doors to many schoolchildren. Usually
they visit the Makarios Satellite Earth Station
in order to learn about the Organisation, its
services and history. We also welcome pupils and
students on work experience projects while
during 2007, CYTA sponsored the Pharos Trust’s
music education workshops for secondary school
pupils.
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.
Our Organisation was the main supporter and
telecommunications services partner in the
creation of the Virtual Bus mobile Internet
unit. The Virtual Bus aims to study the digital
divide between rural and urban areas and,
through research, to promote measures and
activities to spread Internet use and its
benefits, as well as information and
communication technology throughout Cyprus,
particularly outside the capital. The Virtual
Bus also took part in the 2007 Radiomarathon.
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.)
To this end, it implemented a publicity campaign
urging the public to protect the environment
which was promoted via all the Cypriot media.
Today there are CYTA Parks in almost every
district of Cyprus, created in collaboration
with the respective Municipalities or Local
Authorities. The development of CYTA Parks stems
from an earlier decision by the Organisation to
create green spaces in various urban areas.
A 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"
education 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 thematic
competition is held among junior and senior high
school students, the winners of which are
awarded prizes by our Organisation at a special
ceremony.
Since 2001, we have instituted the provision of
special paper recycling collection boxes (which
we also use in our own offices at CYTA) and the
relevant posters to eco-schools and other
interested schools. Specifically, between 2001
and 2007, around 1,300 such recycling boxes and
posters have been donated to 70 schools for use
in classrooms in order to develop the children’s
environmental awareness.
 Culture
In 2007, CYTA
announced its support for all of Cyprus’s
professional theatre companies. Under the banner
"Let’s Go to the
Theatre", it offered
members of staff and the public some 3.000 free
invitations for two to any production by one of
the sponsored companies.
2007 also saw the completion of "Giorgos
Seferis: The Poet in the Land of Eclipse",
a documentary by the celebrated Cypriot film
director Andreas Pantzis of which CYTA is the
Main Sponsor. The Organisation also sponsored
the International Online Digital Photo
Competition.
 Sport
In 2007 CYTA, as
sponsor of the Cyprus Olympic Committee and the
Olympic House, officially opened the CYTA Hall
in the Olympic House, which is equipped with
state-of-the-art technology and is available for
conferences and presentations.
Since 2005, CYTA has supported football in
Cyprus with significant sponsorships. 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. Every year CYTA also
supports the Cyprus International Rally,
providing the organisers with all the necessary
telecommunications equipment.
Technology and Research
As an organisation
operating in an area of activity with a direct
link to technology, CYTA sponsored the
development of the NEMO museum audio guide
system which is currently undergoing trials at
the Pierides Museum in Larnaka. It also sponsors
TechCulture, published by the ARTos
Cultural and Research Foundation.
We also sponsored a Technology, IT and
Telecommunications Conference entitled "Bridging
the gap between business and ICT - How ICT can
bring evolution to your business".
Finally, on the occasion of Safer Internet Day,
which is celebrated every year on 6 February, we
held a seminar entitled "Towards
a Safer Internet".
Presentations were made on topics including
legal issues, the security of online
communications networks, the protection of
users, young people and the Internet, and the
detection and prevention of e-crime.
 CYTA's
Responsibility to its People
As a responsible, good employer, CYTA manages
and makes the best of its personnel through the
implementation of management systems and
development/support programmes which assist them
in their professional as well as their private
lives.
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, the CYTA Staff Welfare Fund, by holding
seminars on medical and social issues (e.g.
stopping smoking, work-related stress, 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, providing low-interest student and
housing loans and more.
Moreover, in the context of protecting and
promoting good health among its personnel, in
2007 CYTA introduced the institution of
Occupational Physician and began a process that
will lead to the setting up of an in-house
Professional Health Centre during 2008. Also
during 2007, the first Health, Beauty and
Professional Appearance seminar, aimed at all
members of the Organisation’s personnel and
their families, was a great success.
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 subscription
to the Cyprus Theatre Organisation and provide
free tickets to concerts, plays and football
matches.
We also organise special retraining seminars for
retiring members of staff, while the
Organisation’s care for its employees extends
beyond their working life. 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 personnel make
other voluntary social contributions in a
variety of ways, such as the holding of a sale
of Christmas dishes and plants by the
newly-established Volunteer Group to raise funds
for the Nicosia Children’s Home.
CYTA's
Responsibility to the Environment
As a modern
European business enterprise, CYTA respects the
environment in which it operates and does
everything in 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 2007, we continued work on
a project for the introduction and certification
of an Environmental Management System according
to the international standard ISO14001. The
first stages of this project include the
identification of and compliance with legal
environmental obligations. We continued the
screening of environmental legislation, the
identification of legislation applicable to CYTA
and the implementation of the necessary
compliance activities. Specifically, during the
year under review, we took measures for
compliance with the legislation on packaging and
packaging waste, waste from electrical and
electronic equipment, and end-of-life vehicles.
In response to public concern regarding
electromagnetic fields created by mobile
telephony base stations, we continued to meet
with groups of interested citizens and organised
groups in order to keep them properly informed
on this issue.
Moreover, with the aim of informing the public
on the broader issue of mobile telephony in our
daily lives and, in particular, on
electromagnetic fields, we set up an
interdepartmental Working Group which began work
by planning a series of information activities,
including the publication of a booklet,
participation in a medical conference with a
special session on the topic, etc.
In line with our Environmental Policy of
procuring environmentally friendlier products,
we proceeded with measures for the systematic
promotion of "green
procurement" during
2008. Also, as a result of the integration of
environmental criteria in the purchasing process
(especially for paper) we obtained photocopying
paper made from recycled paper for the second
year running.
CYTA's
Responsibility for its Products
With the aim of protecting and informing its
customers and the broader public regarding the
subject of electromagnetic fields, a working
group was set up to study the issue and prepare
an informative booklet.
The Safe Internet service was introduced by
CYTANET in 2006 and is aimed mainly at parents
who wish to monitor and prevent access to any
sites which they consider harmful to their
children. In 2007 the service was offered free
of charge to our customers.
CYTANET also 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.
In 2007, CYTANET introduced the Satellite
Internet service with the aim of providing fast
Internet access to customers residing in areas
where CYTA’s broadband service is unavailable.
In the context of its support for Greek Cypriots
in the occupied north of the island, CYTA
brought in new, reduced call charges for
customers calling fixed telephones belonging to
the enclaved Greek Cypriots.
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, since 2006 we have offered 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.
Further references to the above can be found in
the chapter
"Products and Customer
Service" in the
sections "Internet"
and "Mobile
Communications"
respectively.
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