Eike Luetjen

Sustainability in the telecommunications industry: A comparative analysis between five major European firms Eike Luetjen

Seminar paper from the year 2011 in the subject Business economics - Business Management, Corporate Governance, grade: 2,3, Humboldt-University of Berlin (Internationales Management), language: English, abstract: In the current business world, corporations are dedicating continuously growing attention to matters of social and environmental engagement. As a result, various terminologies have appeared and gained much popularity in the field, such as 'Corporate (Social) Responsibility' and 'Sustainability'. In the telecommunications industry, as in many other industries, the evolution of CR can be observed through the various instruments utilized by corporations to manage issues of responsibility towards stakeholders. Moreover, the industry offers a very interesting analysis possibility due to the recent growth of the industry and the importance of the analysis is further highlighted by nine telecommunications companies being represented in the DJSI (Dow Jones Sustainability Index) in 2006 and in 2007 whereas 65 companies participated in the Global Compact. Throughout this paper, sustainability management by telecommunications firms shall be analyzed more closely. The main aspects that shall be investigated are concerned with the governance structures introduced by telecommunications firms. In this light, the management of sustainability is perceived to take place at three levels within the organization. First, the level of corporate governance; which is mainly concerned with the individuals, departments and/or boards dealing with sustainability issues within the firm. The second level determines the areas that are addressed in the company's strategy i.e. employees, customers, environment, etc. At last, the third level contains the specific tools and initiatives launched by each firm to implement its strategy in each area. The analysis shall be carried out by conducting a comparison between five major firms in the European market that are considered the most domin