What are the material issues the company has identified?

In its 2018 Sustainability Report Transcom identified a range of material issues, such as customer data protection and security, community engagement, equal opportunity and diversity among employees, non-discriminatory and ethical conduct towards end-customers. Among these, combatting corruption stands out as a key material issue for Transcom.

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:

“The reporting organization shall identify its stakeholders, and explain how it has responded to their reasonable expectations and interests.”

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 Transcom engages with:

Stakeholder Group

Employees

Owners

Investors

ESG analysts

Equity analysts

Clients

How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues

To identify and prioritise material topics Transcom carried out stakeholder dialogues through surveys, where stakeholder groups were asked to prioritise sustainability aspects.

What actions were taken by Transcom to combat corruption?

In its 2018 Sustainability Report Transcom reports that it took the following actions for combatting corruption:

• Providing training and addressing risks
• Transcom’s zero tolerance approach to fraud and other unethical behaviour is solidified with the help of rigorous steering and policy documents, which include Transcom’s Supplier Code of Business Conduct and Code of Business Conduct for employees. The Codes of Business Conduct are based on 13 principles covering human rights, labour rights, environmental protection and anti-corruption practices that are essential in Transcom’s daily operations. A mandatory part of the Code of Business Conduct training is the training of all new employees in anti-corruption and, after completion, all employees must provide a signed confirmation of their understanding of the Code of Business Conduct. Additionally, as Transcom is a global company exposed to country-specific risks, it makes sure, in its global operations, that all risks of corruption are addressed in each country through the countries’ risk register, in the scope of Transcom’s internal audits and in strategic risk assessments for business developments. Thus, to reduce the likelihood of corruption, Transcom lets its internal audit department carry out risk assessments of all its operations, according to Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index.

• Implementing a whistleblower policy
• Transcom has a whistleblower policy in place to make sure that employees, agency workers, contractors, and home agents feel safe when reporting corruption and malpractices. Employees can file complaints via email, mail, or fill out a form via Transcom’s The system allows for anonymous reporting and all complaints and malpractices are put through a confidential assessment process, where they are investigated in detail. The length and scope of the investigation depend on the subject matter of the concern and, if appropriate, the investigation will be escalated to the Chairman of Transcom’s Board of the Audit Committee, an independent auditor, the police or other law enforcement authority. If the concern is of urgent matter, action is taken before the investigation is conducted. The employee who reported the concern will, unless circumstances do not permit it, be notified what action Transcom decided upon, and must treat any such information with the strictest confidence. Transcom is happy that in 2018, its review, escalation process and whistleblower system all jointly showed no indications of any cases of corruption.

Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?

The GRI Standards addressed in this case are:

1) Disclosure 205-1 Operations assessed for risks related to corruption

2) Disclosure 205-3 Confirmed incidents of corruption and actions taken

 

Disclosure 205-1 Operations assessed for risks related to corruption corresponds to:

• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
• Business theme: Anti-corruption

 Disclosure 205-3 Confirmed incidents of corruption and actions taken corresponds to:

• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
• Business theme: Anti-corruption

 

78% of the world’s 250 largest companies report in accordance with the GRI Standards

SustainCase was primarily created to demonstrate, through case studies, the importance of dealing with a company’s most important impacts in a structured way, with use of the GRI Standards. To show how today’s best-run companies are achieving economic, social and environmental success – and how you can too.

Research by well-recognised institutions is clearly proving that responsible companies can look to the future with optimism.

FBRH GRI Standards Certified & ISEP recognised Sustainability Course | Venue: London LSE

By registering for the next 2-day FBRH GRI Standards Certified & ISEP recognised course you will be taking the first step in gaining the many benefits of sustainability reporting.

 

References:

1) This case study is based on published information by Transcom, 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 original on the Global Reporting Initiative’s Sustainability Disclosure Database at the link:

http://database.globalreporting.org/

2) https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/gri-standards-download-center/

Note to Transcom: With each case study we send out an email requesting a comment on this case study. If you have not received such an email please contact us.