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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. There are various interpretations and
a plethora of definitions of what is meant by
and included in the term Corporate Social
Responsibility. For us at Cyta, Corporate Social
Responsibility is the voluntary management of
the social, environmental and economic effects,
positive and negative, of the Organisation’s
operations on its stakeholders, over and above
its legal obligations. We believe that this is a
holistic, balanced approach to CSR since it
takes into account all the stakeholders in an
organisation (e.g. employees,
shareholders/owners, suppliers/associates,
society, etc.) as well as the three dimensions -
social, environmental and economic - on which an
organisation can have a positive and/or a
negative effect.
 Our
Commitment
For the European Commission, and for Cyta, CSR
represents an enterprise’s contribution to
sustainable development. We adopted this
approach by signing the Sustainability Charter
of the European Telecommunications Network
Operators’ Association (ETNO) in 2004 and
committed ourselves to providing products and
services that offer significant environmental,
social and economic benefits. We also made a
commitment to integrate environmental, social
and economic responsibility into our business
activities, reducing wherever possible any
negative effects arising from such activities.
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
have changed the need to 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 lives of
working people through advanced applications
such as telemedicine, tele-education and
teleworking respectively. In the economic
dimension, our services contribute to improving
entrepreneurial skills 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 and is also aware that it
constitutes an integral part of the broader
society in which it operates and whose trust it
wishes to maintain, as a socially and
environmentally responsible Organisation. This
is why, for a number of years, apart from its
usual activities in the field of electronic
communications, 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),
specifically in the "EFQM
Framework for CSR".
The European Union proposes a holistic approach
to the application of CSR, namely its
integration into 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 an Integrated CSR Management
project. This project is ongoing and aims to
make CSR an integral part of the way the
Organisation operates, rather than a separate,
add-on activity. In 2008, with the help of an
external consultant, we began the process of
formulating a CSR Strategy for the Organisation.
At the first workshop, the Management Team was
briefed and a CSR self-assessment exercise was
carried out based on the EFQM Framework for CSR.
At the second workshop, the draft CSR Strategy
was presented and discussed. In 2009, the
Organisation’s CSR Strategy will be finalised
and work will begin on its implementation.
Cyta’s CSR Strategy is based on four pillars:
society, personnel, customers and the
environment. Below are details of the most
important activities and projects that were
carried out in 2008 with regard to each of these
pillars.
Cyta's
Responsibility to Society
Cyta has adopted the
EFQM Business Excellence Model, which prescribes
self-assessment in the area of an enterprise’s
contribution to society, beyond its financial
results and customer/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 by educating 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 and Technical
School leavers graduating at the end of the
2008-2009 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.
Since we care about the welfare of those manning
the National Guard, every year we issue and
distribute "Camouflage"
phonecards free of charge to newly-drafted
National Guardsmen on their first day of
military service. We also offer phonecards at
Christmas to Greek officers and soldiers serving
in the National Guard and the Greek Contingent
in Cyprus, to needy National Guard soldiers and
to prisoners.
Regarding health, for the fifth successive year
we supported the Centre for Preventive
Paediatrics, donating equipment for the
detection of hearing impairment in newborn
babies.
We remain consistent in our support for those
less fortunate than ourselves. For the third
successive year we supported the Cyprus Multiple
Sclerosis Association, sponsoring its week-long
campaign of information about the condition. At
the same time, Cyta sponsored the printing of
information leaflets on, among other topics,
breast cancer prevention, thalassaemia and
congenital heart disease. Also, during the
Christmas holidays, Cyta officials visit
hospitals and children’s homes with gifts for
the children.
In the context of its strategy to provide
substantial assistance to social groups
requiring special treatment, Cytamobile-Vodafone
sponsored Hearing-Impaired Information Week. The
week featured activities and events to inform
the public and make everyone more aware of
people with impaired hearing and also to
strengthen the self-esteem and self-confidence
of the hearing-impaired. Moreover, mobile
telephony was used as an alternative solution to
communication in sign language. Specifically, 3G
technology was used for videocalls which enable
simultaneous visual and auditory communication.
In 2008 we continued to support the annual
Radiomarathon as an Official Sponsor, by
providing free of charge all the services
required for its smooth and successful
operation. At the same time we participated in
various related activities, such as the "Love
Fairs"
and the fundraising kiosks. Combining the
sectors of health and technology, we once again
supported Medlook, the online health information
website.
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
In 2008 the Pefkios Georgiades Primary School
was officially opened and, with Cyta’s help,
transformed into a Model Electronic School.
Specifically, we installed an extensive
communications network in classrooms, consisting
of computers, printers, interactive blackboards
and digital screens. It is linked to the
Ministry of Education’s educational network
while all teaching areas have safe, monitored
Internet access.
In the framework of a special agreement between
Cyta and the Ministry of Education and Culture,
we have connected all the island’s schools to
the Internet free of charge and offer a special
low monthly subscription fee as well as free web
hosting of school and teachers’ websites (with
educational content).
Since 2001 Cytanet has made
presentations to primary, secondary and
technical schools on the subject "The Internet:
A Tool for All" with the aim of educating
students about electronic communications and
promoting correct Internet usage. During the
2007-2008 school year we made 71 visits to
schools and a total of 6.887 pupils and teachers
attended the Cytanet presentations. From 2001
until 2008, we made over 330 visits to schools
where the presentations were attended by 35.500
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. From 2006 until 2008 some 805 parents
attended these presentations.
Also, in recent years Cyta has sponsored
"JOTA-JOTI"
(Jamboree on the Air, Jamboree on the Internet),
the annual online event of the Cyprus Scouts
Association.
Cyta also provides equipment and services to the
Youth Board of Cyprus’ Youth Information
Centres.
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 in which
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.
On the occasion of the adoption of our new
corporate image, the 2008 edition of "Playing,
having fun and learning with Telis"
was a special one with more pages and subjects
from the primary school curriculum.
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.
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 Cytamobile-Vodafone’s 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
communications technology throughout Cyprus,
particularly in rural areas.
Environment
Our Organisation wishes to contribute to the
strengthening 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.)
In this context and with the aim of raising
pubic awareness, particularly among young
people, Cyta carried out an environmental
protection campaign via a TV film, the press and
outdoor placements. The theme of the campaign
was "What
kind of world are we leaving to our children?"
Today there are Cyta Parks in almost every
district of Cyprus, created in collaboration
with the respective Municipalities or Local
Authorities. The development of the Cyta Parks
stems from a decision taken by the Organisation
in 2001 in the framework of its 40th anniversary
celebrations.
Another well-established institution is our
sponsorship of the activities of the Cyprus
Marine Environment Protection Association (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 thematic competition is held
among junior and senior high school pupils, the
winners of which are awarded prizes by our
Organisation at a special Cyta ceremony.
It is also worth noting that we supported the
first International Sea Festival which was
organised with great success by the Evagoras and
Kathleen Lanitis Foundation in Lemesos (Limassol)
in September-October 2008. At the same time we
enriched the event with additional activities of
our own such as a Pupils’ Treasure Hunt aimed at
making young people aware of the need to protect
our seas and, more generally, the environment.
Since 2001, we have provided special paper
recycling collection boxes (which we also use in
our own offices at Cyta) and related posters to
eco-schools and other interested schools.
Specifically, between 2001 and 2008, around
1.700 such recycling boxes and posters have been
donated to 140 schools for use in classrooms in
order to develop environmental awareness in
children.
 Culture
In 2008, Cyta
continued its
"Let’s
Go to the Theatre"
sponsorship programme of support for all of
Cyprus’s independent professional theatre
companies. In this context, it offered members
of staff and the public some 3.000 free
invitations for two to any production by one of
the sponsored companies. At the same time, it
carried out an advertising campaign aimed at
encouraging the public to embrace the theatre
and to applaud the theatre companies’ efforts.
Also, in an effort to bring
people closer to the theatre, on 27 March we
celebrated World Theatre Day with the sponsored
companies, offering everyone in Cyprus the
opportunity to obtain a free ticket to a
performance of their choice. This gesture was
warmly received and the public responded with
such enthusiasm that all seats for the
performances in question were taken on the very
day the special offer was announced.
In 2008, Cyta supported one
of the biggest events ever held in Cyprus, the
hosting by the CyBC of the Junior Eurovision
Song Contest, by providing all the necessary
telecommunications equipment and services free
of charge.
In its role as a sponsor of
the arts and culture in Cyprus, Cyta supported
the production of three CDs by Cypriot artists:
"Welcome
to our Guests"
by Michalis Terlikkas,
"The
Dear Land"
by Vasos Argyrides and
"Cyprus"
by Stavros Hadjisavvas and Leonidas Malenis.
We were also particularly
proud to present to the Cypriot public a work
reflecting our culture: George Theophanous’
concert performance entitled “I Sing of my
Island”.
 Sport
Cyta is a major
sponsor of sport in Cyprus. Since 2007 it has
been one of the institutional sponsors of the
Cyprus Olympic Committee and the Olympic House.
It is also an official sponsor of the Cyprus
Referees Association and the Cyprus
Sportswriters Association as well as of other
single but important activities of various
sports associations and clubs.
We actively support Cypriot
football with a sponsorship programme that
covers the Cyprus Football Association, all the
teams in Division 1 and the 2nd, 3rd and 4th
Division championships. We also sponsor the
Cyprus Basketball Federation and all the 1st and
2nd Division teams.
Every year Cyta also supports
the biggest event in the local motoring
calendar, the Cyprus International Rally, by
providing the organisers with all the
telecommunications equipment required by this
major event.
Technology and Research
As an organisation
operating in an area of activity that is
directly linked to technology, Cyta supports
activities which are aimed at its development
locally.
An innovative project to
which we contributed with equipment, services
and technical support in 2008 was the
transformation of the Pefkios Georgiades Primary
School into a Model Electronic School. The
school makes optimum use of IT and electronic
communications, thereby developing the
Information Society in Cyprus.
Wishing to encourage young
people to take up technology, we awarded prizes
for the first time in 2008 to all graduating
Lyceum and Technical School students who
excelled in IT.
Furthermore, we continue to
support the TechCulture website run by the ARTos
Cultural and Research Foundation.
We also sponsored a number of
conferences of which a main part of the work
concerned technology and research, and the 3rd
ICT Conference organised by the Cyprus
Information Technology Enterprises Association.
 Cyta's
Responsibility to its Personnel
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.
Among other things, 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,
work-related stress, etc.), implementing an
advice and support programme through the
services of a social worker, offering financial
assistance to needy employees, pensioners,
employees’ widows and orphans, providing
low-interest student and housing loans, and
through other activities that are described in
detail in the "Management"
chapter of this report under the "Human
Resources"
heading.
In the context of protecting and promoting good
health among its personnel, in 2008 Cyta
strengthened the institution of Occupational
Physician with the services of a nurse and
officially opened its Professional Health
Centre. Also during 2008, the second Health
seminar, aimed at all members of the
Organisation’s personnel and their families, was
held with great success.
For the children of staff members, every year we
organise Christmas parties, give prizes to the
top students in secondary and tertiary education
and award scholarships.
For our employees’ entertainment, we subsidise
their subscription to the Cyprus Theatre
Organisation and offer 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 voluntary
blood donation sessions. Every year these are
held on a regular basis in all districts in the
workplace and during working hours. Members of
Cyta’s personnel make other voluntary social
contributions in a variety of ways, such as, for
example, the holding of a sale of Christmas
dishes and plants by the Volunteer Group to
raise funds for the children of the Evangelismos
Special School and the children of the
Organisation’s personnel.
More details and additional information on
activities undertaken by the Organisation for
the benefit of its personnel are included under
"Human Resources"
in the “Management” chapter of this report.
Cyta's
Responsibility to the Environment
As a modern
European business enterprise which respects the
environment in which it operates, Cyta 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 have been
active in this sector since 2001 when we drew up
our Environmental Policy.
One of our strategic
objectives in this area is the implementation of
an Environmental Management System. In 2008, we
continued work on a project for the introduction
and ISO14001 certification of an Environmental
Management System. The first stages of this
project include the identification of and
compliance with legal environmental obligations.
We continued to examine environmental
legislation, to identify sections applicable to
our Organisation and to proceed with relevant
action in order to comply with their provisions.
Specifically, during the year under review, we
proceeded to take measures for compliance with
legislation on packaging and packaging waste,
end-of-life vehicles and batteries.
In collaboration with Green
Dot Cyprus, we implemented a programme for the
collection and recycling of domestic packaging
waste (plastic water bottles, soft drink cans,
juice cartons and cardboard boxes) from the
Organisation’s offices in 17 of our buildings
which house 1.200 employees, i.e. 50% of our
personnel. Cyta also implemented a programme for
the collection and recycling of commercial
packaging waste (cardboard and plastic) from its
Central Stores. It is worth noting that, for
many years, Cyta has been recycling waste paper
in all its buildings, discarded or obsolete
cables, obsolete electrical and electronic
equipment and vehicles and all the old telephone
directories returned by customers.
We drew up the environmental
requirements for new vehicles and their
suppliers, which must be included in the
purchasing specifications and must comply with
the provisions of the relevant legislation on
vehicles and vehicle maintenance waste
management.
We also drew up the
environmental requirements for industrial
batteries which must be included in the
technical specifications set out in tenders for
their purchase and comply with the requirements
of the relevant legislation.
In the framework of our
Environmental Policy which, among other things,
provides for the purchase of products that are
more environmentally friendly, we developed
material for a seminar entitled "Promoting
Green Procurement".
The resulting seminars in 2008 were attended by
all members of personnel involved in the
procurement of products/services and aimed at
providing information on the various ways in
which a product or service can be more
environmentally friendly and how environmental
criteria can be integrated into the purchasing
process. At the same time, we drew up our
2008-2009 "Corporate
Action Plan for the Promotion of Green
Procurement".
In response to public concern
regarding electromagnetic fields created by
mobile phone base stations, we continued to meet
with groups of interested citizens, organised
groups, Municipalities and Communities 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, the subject of electromagnetic
fields, the interdepartmental Working Group
which was set up for this purpose in 2007,
proceeded with a number of information
activities, including the publication of a
booklet, participation in a medical conference
with a special session on the topic, the holding
of seminars on the issue for journalists and
local authority representatives, etc. For more
details on this, see "Cyta’s
Responsibility to its Customers"
below.
 Cyta's
Responsibility to its Customers
With the aim of keeping its customers and the
broader public well-informed and protected
regarding the subject of electromagnetic fields
and their effect on health, an interdepartmental
Working Group was set up. In 2008 the Working
Group published a booklet entitled "Mobile
Telephony in our Lives"
which is available at all Cytashops and on
Cyta’s website. It contains information on how
mobile telephony works, mobile telephony and
health, the responsible use of mobile phones
(e.g. in the car, by children, telephone
etiquette) and a Frequently Asked Questions
section.
In 2008, at the 20th Annual Congress of the
Hippocrates Medical Association of
Lefkosia-Kyrenia, Cyta hosted a session on
"Electromagnetic Fields and
Health", the aim of
which was to enable doctors to be presented with
scientifically supported information on the
issue by three academics who delivered papers
on: (a) How electromagnetic fields are measured
and what the results show, (b) The effect of
mobile phones on health, and (c) Interpreting
the results of various studies. The three
speakers recommended the cautionary use of
mobile phones, especially by children, even
though, according to accepted scientific studies
undertaken by international organisations, there
is no proof that electromagnetic fields emitted
by mobile telephone base stations have a harmful
effect on human health.
Furthermore, with the aim of providing timely,
targeted information to specific groups and to
begin a dialogue with them, we organised two
seminars under the aegis of the Ministry of
Health, entitled "Electromagnetic
Fields: Myths and Reality".
One was aimed at journalists from all media and
the other at Local Authority representatives.
The speakers were independent scientists,
academics and government officials.
In 2008, Cyta’s Special Tariff Package for
People with Special Social Needs was extended to
cover individuals with intellectual and
development disability.
In the context of our ongoing efforts to help
our customers as much as possible, in 2008 we
implemented a new practical way of distributing
our telephone directories. The new editions of
the Yellow Pages and the White Pages for each
district are available free from all kiosks in
towns and from village Cooperative Credit
Societies, Community Councils and coffee shops.
We also continued to inform and advise customers
on how to protect themselves from "phishing"
scams via unsolicited, misleading text messages
or e-mails. These either refer to winning a
large amount of cash or a big prize, or they aim
to steal customers’ personal data (ID, credit
card numbers, passwords). This type of fraud is
taking place on a global scale and is being
dealt with in particular by the international
organisations responsible for preventing it,
such as Interpol. Cyta is monitoring and
investigating the problem with its associates
abroad and provides responsible advice to its
customers.
Cytanet introduced its Safe Internet service in
2006, aimed mainly at parents wishing to monitor
their children’s Internet usage and to prevent
them from accessing content they consider
harmful. Since 2007, the service has been
provided free to all our customers. In 2008 the
service was upgraded and we were able to offer
Safe Internet for Business to small businesses
and Safe Internet for Schools to schools and
higher education establishments. The service has
been expanded to cover the needs of business
customers and pupils/students respectively.
Businesses are thus able to limit recreational
Internet use on company computers while schools
and educational institutes are in a position to
offer their pupils and students a safe Internet
experience.
Cytanet also offers free antivirus and anti-spam
protection to its customers who can modify this
facility according to their specific needs.
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. One example is the emporiaLife mobile
telephone which is aimed mainly at the elderly
due to its construction and characteristics,
e.g. a large screen displaying large characters,
large keys, loud sounds, an easy-to-use menu and
a programmable 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..
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