The involvement of all employees is essential in order to allow CSR to penetrate the very core of our organisation. A new management-level CSR committee provided a powerful framework for sustainable development. This guarantees the resources and support needed to allow CSR to develop within each department.

Mobistar does not just want to integrate CSR within departments, but also in all its areas of activity. The four pillars – employees, customers, society and the environment – thus form the basis of our CSR strategy. The achievements made within each of these pillars are presented below.

Interview with Paul-Marie Dessart, Secretary General

“In 2012, Mobistar took major steps in terms of corporate social responsibility.” says Paul-Marie Dessart.

“We created an advisory group last year for discussing our role in society with our stakeholders. This turned out to be an extremely successful and instructive project. Alongside this, we also strengthened support for CSR at the management level. As of now, a top level CSR platform establishes guidelines in collaboration with the company’s CSR ambassadors.

Yet social responsibility is not just a matter concerning management at Mobistar. For example: it was at our staff’s request that we increased our volunteer projects in 2012. So there is certainly plenty of enthusiasm for the idea... This is why we are confident that all departments and employees will do their best to succeed in our CSR challenges for 2013.”

“Social responsibility is not just a matter concerning management at Mobistar”.

In late 2011, Jean Marc Harion became Mobistar’s new CEO. His arrival brought about some changes. The number of ‘sponsors’ on the Management Board was reduced from two to one. Similarly, whereas there were previously two CSR officers, this was reduced to one who will be known as the ‘CSR manager’ from now on.

Mobistar thought it was also important to give CSR more weight within the management board. This is why the management board now has its own CSR committee. The CEO, Secretary General, Chief Marketing Officer, Chief People Officer and Chief Technology Officer all sit on this committee.

This does not mean that the old CSR committee will dissolve. The team of approximately 20 employees will continue to manage social and environmental projects. Yet it is important to avoid any confusion in the names, which is why this group will be referred to as the ‘task force’ from now on. In 2012, the two groups—the CSR committee and the task force— met at every fourth session to examine the evolution of the CSR action plan.

An action plan for sustainable development like this is not just some random document which will not have any impact. Several actors are influenced by it, or have an influence on Mobistar’s activities. This is why it is interesting to listen to their needs. What do those parties—Mobistar’s stakeholders— expect in terms of CSR ? And are those expectations consistent with the existing CSR strategy? Mobistar answered these questions in 2012 with a new initiative: the stakeholder dialogue—in other words, a series of interviews with internal and external stakeholders. Employees from 15 different teams within the company were interviewed. Mobistar also invited professionals from the political, social and financial world for an interview.

The results show that the majority of stakeholders most value customer service, transparency, fair prices and high-quality networks. According to them, telecom companies should focus in the first place on their core business. According to the stakeholders, other important topics are the safe and responsible use of products and services as well as Mobistar’s contribution to local economic development.

The stakeholder dialogue allowed us to identify stakeholders’ expectations. Mobistar is now aware of the issues that are important to them. This helps the company to set the 2013 CSR strategy. As a consequence, Mobistar will focus on customer experience, transparency and accountability by supporting local ecosystems in the next action plan.

In 2013, Mobistar will be establishing an ‘Advisory Board’ consisting of professionals from outside the company. Their mission is to inform Mobistar of any innovations in the field of sustainable development and make suggestions on improving its CSR strategy.

CSR is a continuous improvement process. This does not just require feedback from stakeholders, but also a thorough evaluation of the results.

In 2012, Mobistar continued to improve its reporting on its CSR policy. An internal audit had already been conducted in 2011 covering forty CSR indicators in social and environmental areas. This audit was repeated for the 2012 results.

New findings indicate a good overall management of the indicators. However, the indicators for ‘waste’ need to be clarified and strengthened. This is why Mobistar is planning to improve the management and monitoring of these indicators in 2013.

It is encouraging to receive recognition for the CSR activities it has already implemented. For example, last year, the organisation was awarded both the Ecodynamic label and Top Employer België - Belgique 2012 certificate. That does not mean that Mobistar can rest on its laurels, because there is still a lot of work to do. Both awards are primarily a motivation to keep working on CSR.

• Ecodynamic label

  In 2012, Mobistar launched the procedure required to obtain the ‘Eco-dynamic Enterprise’ label, an official award given by the Brussels Institute for Environmental Management.

  One, two or three stars are awarded, depending on the environmental performance of the company in question. These are allocated by a panel of representatives from government agencies, environmental and consumer associations, business federations and universities. Mobistar received the Brussels Institute for Environmental Management label, as well as the maximum of three stars. Even though this is the best result possible, Mobistar has not put its commitment to the environment on a back burner. On the contrary, these are long-term efforts and are implemented with a view to continuous improvement.

• Top Employer België – Belgique 2012

  Mobistar is one of 54 companies who were awarded a certificate for ‘Top Employer België - Belgique 2012’ this year. This label is only awarded to organisations that have achieved the highest level required in HR ; in other words: the best Belgian employers to work for. The independent analysis was carried out by the CRF Institute, a centre for expertise in international research into Primary and Secondary Benefits and Working Conditions, Training and Development, Career Opportunities and Organisational Culture. The institute awarded top points to Mobistar for its excellent working conditions and very good organisational culture.