Reporting: procedure and organisation

This Sus­tain­abil­ity Report complies with the GRI principles on reporting. It therefore contains specific GRI standard in­for­ma­tion in addition to the general standard in­for­ma­tion. The rec­om­men­da­tions of the SDG Compass were again taken into account and im­ple­mented. The SDG Compass is a joint guide produced by GRI, WBCSD and the UN Global Compact. It offers guidelines for determining con­tri­bu­tions by com­pa­nies to the SDGs as well as cor­re­spond­ing mea­sures for im­ple­men­ta­tion and disclosure. Swisscom also took into account the rec­om­men­da­tions of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) as far as possible, namely in the section on more for the en­vi­ron­ment and in the Climate Report.

In the past few years, Swisscom has developed a clear understanding of the issues pertaining to its immediate en­vi­ron­ment. In addition, stakeholder groups present issues directly to Swisscom. Swisscom also uses findings from current studies, market research, trend analyses and benchmark reports. All of these issues are included in the materiality matrix.

Swisscom involves its internal and external stakeholder groups in order to assess the im­por­tance attached to the issues and to determine the strategic priorities. It has conducted a survey of rep­re­sen­ta­tive stakeholder groups for the past three years, with response rates ranging from 70% to over 90%. The analysis of the responses is described in the in­tro­duc­tion relating to the participation of stakeholder groups. The results of the materiality analyses and the responses from stakeholder groups make a significant contribution to the formulation of the sustainability strategy and the definition of thematic focus areas. They form the basis for the report.

The processes and procedures to be used with some stakeholder groups can be defined directly wherever necessary. Swisscom col­lab­o­rates with the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE), for instance, to provide in­for­ma­tion on its contribution to the “Exemplary Role of the Con­fed­er­a­tion in Energy” (ERCE) working group. In addition, it works with the Energy Agency of the Swiss Private Sector (EnAW) and WWF. In col­lab­o­ra­tion with other businesses in the ICT sector and in contact with the Federal Social Insurance Office (FSIO), Swisscom makes a contribution to media skills in Switzer­land.

During the year under review, Swisscom nurtured targeted relationships with the following stakeholder groups or held discussions on topics that are included in this report:

• Cus­tomers: surveys on topics including customer satisfaction (Annual Report, page 34).
• Share­holders and external investors: discussions on financial topics (revenue, dividends, etc.) at the Annual General Meeting on 2 April 2019 or at road shows (Financial Report). Swisscom also had contact with SRI fund managers or investors, e.g. in relation to governance topics or finance issues (“green bonds”).
• Public au­thor­i­ties: dialogue with municipal au­thor­i­ties and other stakeholder groups regarding the topic of antennas and transmitter stations (2019: 265 dialogues), with cantonal au­thor­i­ties (once each per canton) and with members of parliament (twice a year) on topics such as roaming, the FTTH roll-out and the ICT en­vi­ron­ment.

• Suppliers: Swisscom maintains commercial relationships with its suppliers and further contacts within the framework of self-assessments and audits (see under “Fair supply chain” in the section on more for people in the Sus­tain­abil­ity Report).
• Employees and Employee Representation Committees: Swisscom meets once a month with the trade unions and the seven Employee Representation Committees to discuss various topics, as laid down in the collective em­ploy­ment agreement (CEA) or stipulated in the Co-Determination Act. There are also two plenary meetings of the Employee Representation Committees every year. Topic-specific ad-hoc meetings are also held that are organised in accordance with the participation table in the CEA (see page 27 of the Annual Report).

• Partners and NGOs: an exchange with various partners took place within the framework of individual projects in the year under review.

The reporting process comprises the company brochure “2019 at a glance”, the Annual Report, the Sus­tain­abil­ity Report and the Climate Report. The Annual Report and the Sus­tain­abil­ity Report are subject to the same internal validation stages. They are validated by the Disclosure and Review Committees and acknowl­edged by the Audit Committee to ensure the quality of the disclosures. The Sus­tain­abil­ity Report and the Climate Report are independently verified by Société Générale de Surveillance (SGS). Swisscom also voluntarily chose the opting-in option and registered its Sus­tain­abil­ity Report with SIX Exchange Regulation AG. Fastweb, the Italian subsidiary of Swisscom, publishes its own Sus­tain­abil­ity Report and follows the “Core” option in the GRI standards.