Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company, du, recently released its 6th annual Sustainability Report in line with Global Reporting Initiative, GRI, G4 Comprehensive guidelines, making tangible, sustainable and long term impact across social, environmental and economic pillars in line with the UAE National Agenda.
du’s sustainability report indicates that the initiatives and paths set forth are developing accordingly in several areas, such as Emiratisation and employee engagement, its customers, by providing value that goes beyond telecommunications services, environmental impact through transformation of its BTS (base transceiver station is equipment that facilitates wireless communication) sites, and the community, through a variety of commitments and initiatives.
"Our experience is now a decade strong, and we are pleased to have taken the decision to embrace the strategy whereby we are utilising the power of communications and connectivity to empower both citizens and residents, and enhance life in the UAE. In fact, strengthening our relationship with both our customers and employees has been a key focus for us in 2016," said Osman Sultan, Chief Executive Officer, Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company. "As we chart a new story for our growth, we will continue to adapt our sustainability approach in the coming year in our bid to transform ourselves and our society for the better." Abdulwahed Juma, Executive Vice President, Brand and Corporate Communications, du, said, "2016 saw us expanding our initiatives well beyond connectivity to truly entrench our business as a sustainability leader to watch in the UAE. It has become increasingly important for us to take responsibility for sustainability efforts that extend beyond communications to create an environment that promotes business, people and the environment. The spirit of governance, ethics and transparency remains ever-present throughout all levels of our organisation." According to the report, du adopted 33 percent Emiratisation, with 54 percent Emiratis in senior management positions. The company achieved a Gallup Employee Engagement Score of 4.44 which lands the company in the 76th percentile in the Gallup Global Database.The company increased solar powered mobile signal masts sites from four to eleven in 2016, 100% of du vendors conform to health and safety criteria upon registration and the company eliminated 99 percent of plastic from SIM card packaging.The report says that du committed to a two-year agreement to promote BabNoor, the first Arabic language app supporting communication for children with autism and other speech impairments, including the distribution of 2,200 app licenses to special needs organisations.du supported the ‘#Year of Reading’ initiative by distributing close to 12,000 books across 200 public school libraries, and donated AED3 million in support of the ‘Reading Nation’ campaign which aimed to provide books to refugee camps and schools around the world.