Case study: How Cogeco creates economic value for its stakeholders
Rooted in the communities it serves, Cogeco celebrates 65 years of service in the telecommunications and media sectors with a significant presence in both Canada and the United States, providing Internet, video and telephony services to 1.6 million residential and business customers in Québec and Ontario in Canada as well as in thirteen states in the United States. Being the organisation that delivers the best and most sustainable value to its stakeholders, is a top priority for Cogeco. Tweet This!
This case study is based on the 2022 ESG and Sustainability Report by Cogeco, prepared in accordance with the GRI Standards, that can be found at this link. Through all case studies we aim to demonstrate what CSR/ ESG/ sustainability reporting done responsibly means. Essentially, it means: a) identifying a company’s most important impacts on the environment, economy and society, and b) measuring, managing and changing.
Abstract
In addition to aiming for strong financial results, Cogeco also seeks to generate a positive economic impact for its stakeholders and society. In order to create economic value for its stakeholders Cogeco took action to:
- create economic value for employees
- create economic value for suppliers
- create economic value for governments
- create economic value for providers of capital
- create economic value for communities
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With this case study you will see:
- Which are the most important impacts (material issues) Cogeco has identified;
- How Cogeco proceeded with stakeholder engagement, and
- What actions were taken by Cogeco to create economic value for its stakeholders
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What are the material issues the company has identified?
In its 2022 ESG and Sustainability Report Cogeco identified a range of material issues, such as data security and privacy, customer experience, diversity and inclusion, community engagement and philanthropy. Among these, creating economic value for its stakeholders stands out as a key material issue for Cogeco.
Stakeholder engagement in accordance with the GRI Standards
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) defines the Principle of Stakeholder Inclusiveness when identifying material issues (or a company’s most important impacts) as follows:
Stakeholders must be consulted in the process of identifying a company’s most important impacts and their reasonable expectations and interests must be taken into account. This is an important cornerstone for CSR / sustainability reporting done responsibly.
Key stakeholder groups Cogeco engages with:
| Stakeholder Group |
| Customers |
| Shareholders |
| Employees |
| Suppliers |
| Communities |
| Governments |
| Providers of capital |
How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues
To identify and prioritise material topics Cogeco engaged with more than 1,100 stakeholders through digital surveys and interviews.
What actions were taken by Cogeco to create economic value for its stakeholders?
In its 2022 ESG and Sustainability Report Cogeco reports that it took the following actions for creating economic value for its stakeholders:
- Creating economic value for employees
- In FY22, Cogeco paid $516M for employee wages and benefits.
- Creating economic value for suppliers
- In FY22, Cogeco paid $962M for goods and services purchased.
- Creating economic value for governments
- In FY22, Cogeco paid $39M in taxes.
- Creating economic value for providers of capital
- In FY22, Cogeco paid $164M in interests.
- Creating economic value for communities
- In FY22, Cogeco paid $17.4M in donations and sponsorships and $83.5M in network investments in underserved and unserved communities.
Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?
The GRI Standard addressed in this case is: Disclosure 201-1 Direct economic value generated and distributed
Disclosure 201-1 Direct economic value generated and distributed corresponds to:
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
- Targets: 8.1, 8.2
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
- Targets: 9.1, 9.4, 9.5
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References:
This case study is based on published information by Cogeco, located at the link below. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses. However, we made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the report’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original please revert to the following link:
https://cdn.corpo.cogeco.com/cgo/5616/7776/8964/M821_ESG_2022_ENG_F.pdf
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