environment
environmental management
TELUS’ commitment to environmental leadership is demonstrated in the way we integrate environmental considerations into business decisions, including the build-out of our network, power management, property transactions and purchasing. It is also evident in innovative communication solutions, such as teleconferencing, distance learning and telecommuting, all of which help reduce the impact to our environment. Our goal is to meet – or exceed whenever possible – regulatory standards, and to realize continuous improvement in the processes we have in place to protect the environment.
We work to achieve our goals through our environmental management system (EMS), which is based on the ISO 14000 model. We are constantly reviewing our environmental risk exposure, developing policies and targets to minimize our impact, and monitoring our progress toward these targets. We had planned an audit of our EMS by an external consultant in the third quarter of 2005. Due to the labour disruption, the audit has been rescheduled for 2006. Environmental risk management (e.g. site assessments, site remediation, fuel systems and Halon) continues to form part of the enterprise-wide risk assessment; however, an initial review of our EMS in late 2005 indicated that further improvements to the assessment of our environmental aspects are necessary and will be explored in 2006.
TELUS International – In 2005, TELUS acquired controlling interest in Ambergris, a call centre operation located in the Philippines. In 2006, we expect to evaluate the environment, health and safety aspects of this operation.
Application of EMS (policies, objectives, targets) – Environmental policies have formed the backbone of our EMS since the early 1990s. Our current corporate environment policy was adopted in 1997 and modified in 2003. All policies are supported by specific procedures and targets for key aspects of our business including spills and releases, Halon, fuel storage, remediation of sites and waste management. An annual review of our metrics relative to the prescribed targets gives us a pulse check for our EMS and facilitates continuous improvement. Our environmental policy is available at about.telus.com/publicpolicy/environmental.html.
To ensure good governance, we present environmental reports to the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors each quarter. In addition, selected environmental indicators in our 2005 corporate social responsibility report have been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers, and a portion of the Management’s discussion and analysis (MD&A) section of our annual report is devoted to environmental risk.
Stakeholder engagement
At TELUS, we have numerous environmental stakeholders, including team members, customers, investors, regulators, suppliers and non-government organizations. We are committed to engaging these stakeholders to determine how they are affected by our business. We use input from stakeholders to make better business and environmental decisions. As an example, after consulting with Corporate Knights, we were made aware of the social implications in Africa of the mining of tantalum, which is used in semiconductors. This has led us to investigate our use of tantalum to ensure our equipment is sourced from sustainable tantalum suppliers, which our two major cell phone suppliers have confirmed is the case.
While we believe we have good engagement with our environmental stakeholders, much of the input is received through informal channels and interactions. We will explore a more formal stakeholder engagement strategy in 2006.
Environmental concerns not addressed by this report can be relayed to TELUS through sustainability@telus.com, and general information regarding TELUS’ environmental policy can be found at about.telus.com/publicpolicy/environmental.html.
Workforce engagement – We encourage dialogue with our team members through interactive training sessions and information sharing. Our internal environmental website contains comprehensive information about TELUS’ environmental policies and practices, and features a feedback mechanism for team members to identify environmental issues or concerns.
Another critical resource that is part of our EMS is an online environmental information system (EIS) accessible through the website. The EIS gives all team members 24-hour access to our catalogue of site environmental risks, as well as material safety data sheets (MSDS) for chemicals used at TELUS sites. Our 24-hour emergency reporting process ensures advice is always available and that information is communicated as needed to government regulators and the environment team. We communicate our environmental sustainability performance to external stakeholders through our corporate social responsibility report and annual report, both of which are available in printed and online versions.
Environmental training – Environmental training is a priority at TELUS. This is increasingly important as TELUS uses more contractors in its non-core operations. We continually look for best practices in corporate environmental training, which extends to numerous areas including spill response, chemical management, water awareness and the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS). In 2005, approximately 7,380 environment-related courses were completed, a 23 per cent decrease over 2004. The decline was due to the labour disruption, and improvement is expected in 2006.
Outreach – TELUS’ environmental stakeholder engagement also involves outreach into the communities in which we work. The TELUS team participates in various environmental and sustainability groups, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, the Business Council of British Columbia, United States Telecom Association, Conference Board of Canada Governance group, the Greater Vancouver Regional District Sustainable Cities Initiative, Remediation Technologies Group, Women’s Leadership Forum and ARCSACC (Assessment and Remediation of Contaminated Sites in Arctic and Cold Climates). Team members are also involved in committees that deal with contamination in utility rights of way. This includes leading a committee on utility rights of way in the Vancouver area and ongoing contributions to Alberta Environment and the cities of Edmonton and Calgary in their work on the protection of utility corridors from hydrocarbon damage.
In 2005, we continued to support the Conference Board of Canada and its publication of “The National Corporate Social Responsibility Report – Managing Risks and Leveraging Opportunities.” We are also members and sponsors of the Recycling Council of Alberta, Canadian Business for Social Responsibility (CBSR) and the Environmental Managers Association of BC. We fund and/or participate in stakeholder surveys, including Stratos Inc., which result in sustainability rankings and benchmarking criteria for corporate social responsibility reporting. We use the results of these surveys to drive improvement in our reporting process.
Environmental awards
In 2005, we were named for the fifth year in a row to the Global Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), and to the inaugural North American Sustainability Index, both of which provide rankings of companies that are recognized leaders in economic, social and environmental performance. TELUS continues to be the only North American telecommunications company, and one of only 12 Canadian companies, on the global index. TELUS remained on both the Jantzi Social Index and the London Stock Exchange FTSE4Good Index Series, which identify companies that are working toward environmental sustainability, developing positive relationships with stakeholders, and upholding and supporting universal human rights. Visit www.jantzisocialindex.com and www.ftse.com for more information.
In October 2005, TELUS was recognized for our participation in eTree. This innovative program was launched in 2004 by Computershare and the Tree Canada Foundation, a national conservation organization that supports companies in increasing stakeholder acceptance of electronic communications. Through eTree, when a TELUS shareholder registers for electronic report or statement delivery, a tree is planted in his/her name in one of Canada’s urban forests. Nearly 10,000 trees have been planted in the name of TELUS shareholders as part of the eTree program.
Environmental problems
Despite our best efforts and care, we do, from time to time, uncover examples of deficient environmental practices. In 2005, TELUS team members emptied the contents of a manhole directly into the storm sewer, leading to a small fine from the city of Port Moody. We also received two warnings, one in Rimouski for failing to properly train team members working with dangerous goods and another one in Calgary for the late submission of a report on air emissions from a generator plant. These incidents have reinforced the need to expand our environmental, health and safety training in 2006, and demonstrate the importance of constant management of environmental risk. Our financial environmental non-compliance over the past three years is summarized below.
