References

The Group operates with the conviction that business activities must be conducted in a way that considers the expectations of stakeholders, in keeping with the principles established by internationally recognised standards. In defining and implementing its sustainability strategy and programmes, the Group is inspired by the guidelines issued by the main global guidance and standardisation organisations in the field of Corporate Responsibility. The System of Sustainability Management also takes into account the principal reference regulations and international standards:

• European Commission directives, recommendations and communications;
• the OECD guidelines directed at multinational enterprises;
• the ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certificates governing quality and environmental management systems;
• principles of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions on respecting the fundamental rights of workers;
• the Social AccountAbility 8000 standard (SA 8000), aimed at promoting respect for human rights and working conditions by companies and their supply chains;
• Sustainability Reporting Guidelines of the GRI, version G4, comprehensive option;
• AA1000 AccountAbility Principles Standard (APS 2008) drawn up by Accountability, an international organisation which promotes collaboration between stakeholders, and lays down standards and guidelines on matters of sustainability;
• management system ISO 206000 for private and public organisations of all sizes.

[G4-15], [G4-16]  TIM has always been a member of many environmental and social organisations, both national and international, formed to disseminate universally recognised values including respect for Human Rights, employment rights and environmental protection. The main associations in which the Group is involved and some of the charters and codes to which it has signed up are listed below:

• Global Compact, the main global benchmark launched in 2000 by the UN, to which TIM has been signed up since 2002. TIM is a member of the Global Compact Network Italy;
• ITU (International Telecommunications Union) the UN’s main agency for Telecommunications and Information, as well as a reference point for governments and the private sector in the development of networks and services. TIM is also involved in the Environment and Climate Change working group (Study Group 5);
• ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute), the main European standardisation organisation for telecommunications. TIM is involved in the following technical committees and interest groups regarding the environment: TC ATTM (Access, Terminals, Transmission and Multiplexing) and TC EE (Environmental Engineering);
• GSM Association and particularly the GSMA - Mobile Alliance against Child Sexual Abuse Content working group for all technological and communication initiatives aimed at protecting children in the mobile phone sector;
• ICT Coalition for Children Online and Better Internet for Kids (former CEO Coalition) for establishing the principles and technologies required to make the Internet a safer place for children;
• GRI, a body set up in 1997 by CERES, Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies, with the aim of developing globally applicable guidelines for drawing up Sustainability Reports;
• GeSI (the Global e-Sustainability Initiative), a global partnership of ICT companies to promote the sustainable development of new technologies. TIM is represented in the General Assembly and takes part in the initiative’s working groups, particularly the Industry Responsibility Committee, which works on projects associated with monitoring the performance of suppliers and assessing the sustainability of products and services. From the middle of 2012 to the middle of 2014, TIM was also a member of the Board of Directors, performing the role of treasurer;
• ETNO (European Telecommunications Network Operators’ Association), a trade association which aims, among other things, to develop a competitive and efficient European telecommunications market through coordination between operators and dialogue with Institutions. TIM is a member of the Executive Board, which it chaired between 2011 and 2014, and has signed up to Corporate Responsibility Charter of the European Telecommunications Network Operators’ Association. Issues related to corporate responsibility are handled by a Working Group which TIM has chaired since 1997, the tasks of which include promoting and verifying the objectives undertaken through the Asssociation’s Corporate Responsibility Charter. An energy task force coordinated by TIM reports to this working group and is responsible for evaluating and pooling best practices and the most advanced solutions in the field of energy efficiency, as well as task force on child protection online;
• Joint Audit Cooperation, a joint initiative between telecommunication operators to perform sustainability audits of the production plants of their respective suppliers in geographical areas that present a high social and environmental risk. TIM is one of the three founding members and is represented in the Leadership Assembly (which has guidance and auditing
• 12tasks and consists of high level representatives of the Purchasing and CSR departments of its members) and the vice-presidency of the Operational Committee, which develops the strategies to be proposed to the Leadership Assembly, defines procedures and tools and coordinates the auditing of suppliers;
• The European Commission’s Joint Research Centre which, with the help of telecommunications operators, including TIM, has developed Codes for the energy efficiency of data centres and the energy consumption of broadband appliances, both adopted by TIM;
• FOSI, Family Online Safety Institute, an international non-profit organisation formed to make the Internet safer for young people and their families, identifying the best strategies while respecting the freedom of the Web. FOSI also promotes dialogue between heads of government, the world of industry and the non-profit sector in seeking new solutions for the safety of children in the Web 2.0 world. TIM is the first Italian company to have joined this important institution.

TIM is also associated with ANIMA and Sodalitas (entities that deal with sustainability as part of Italian trade associations), CSR Europe, a network of European companies for the development of sustainability in companies and FSG (Foundation Strategy Group), through which TIM participates in the activities of the Shared Value Initiative, a global community that shares themes and projects that generate business value to respond to social needs. Among the other codes relevant to sustainability to which TIM has signed up, we should mention the Equal Opportunities Charter, the Self-regulation code for mobile services, the Code of conduct for premium rate services and the Corporate Governance Code for commercial communication (available on the telecomitalia.com, website).