VODAFONE’s case

CRITICS Bleuen MALLEJACPauline MARCFanny VERON28/02/2012

Content

1) A responsible, ethical and honest behavior: are you sure ?

• The Egyptian Revolution case• Clients complaints : luring, lying• Lay offs

2) Eco-efficient: really ?• A dazing way of communicating… !• Pollution

3)Creating sustainable societies

1) A responsible, ethical and honest behavior:

are you sure ?

The Egyptian case

• A three-minute video extracts from Vodafone's "Our Power" ad campaign helped inspire the Egyptian Revolution

• According to many pro-activists changes this ad is « sickening » and an « attempt to push up sales by "riding the revolutionary bandwagon", and an insult to the hundreds who died in the struggle to bring down Mubarak.”

• What does this advertising say exactly?? Impossible to find this video, it has been

removed from every internet server

The Egyptian case

Something to hide?

• Moreover, they used the name of a pro-change activist and former Google executive Wael GHONIM in the ad without permission

The Egyptian case

• As a consequence of its interference in political Egyptian life: Vodafone created hatefulness from the Egyptian population. A website has been created:

The Egyptian case

ihatevodafoneegypt.com/

• Many complaints about Vodafone’s services on blogs and on consumers’ websites

• Several billing issues and no answers“I do not know how much money I have already wasted to get this issue resolved and this is a MENTAL HARASSMENT by Vodafone”

“I am being cheated by Vodafone. They have imposed me a huge bill which is wrong and they are not listening to me at all to solve my issue”

Clients complaints

Clients complaints

• Unethical practices: misleading advertisement, luring customer with wrong promises and selling wrong products

“…Yet again, I make 4 calls to 4 different Champions, and they all give me different info and solutions to my problem.Come on Vodafone. You have had enough time now. Sort it out!!!”

Lay offs

• In 2010 in the United Kingdom, closing of Banbury Vodafone call centre

lost of 400 jobs locally• Whereas the company presented in 2009 a

net income of 3,3 billion and mutliplied by 3 compared to 2008

OUTSOURCING

LOWER PAYLOWER WORKING CONDITIONS

Is it what we call ethical behavior?

2) Eco-efficient: really ?

Any comments ?

A nice way to communicate… ?

Brick kiln in rural Indian-Administered Kashmir

Factory pollution in China

• Heavy metal poisoning in the supply chains of global IT companies, such as Vodafone

• low-cost manufacturing is not conducted at the expense of local people’s health“Shanghang Huaqiang Battery, which was implicated in the lead poisoning of 121 children in Fujian province last year, was a key equipment manufacturer for Narada Power Source, which is a key supplier for Vodafone, BT, and other leading global mobile telecoms brands”

• No response to the coalition of Chinese NGO’s

As a result:

Chemical waste water discharged into the Yangtze River from the Anhui Tongling steel plant. Photograph: Lu Guang/Greenpeace

Another kind of pollution

electromagnetic wave

radiation

Noise pollution

Norms violated

3) Creating sustainable societies

Lack of sustainabily in creating sustainable societies

• Every year, the company published the annual sustainable report: a complete, strategic and well established report

• BUT NO long term strategy concerning the creation of sustainable societies appears in the report

• How can we say that? Thanks to the curvy materiality matrix presented every year in the sustainable report

2008/09 Vodafone sustainable report

Most important issue in 2008/09: Communication

Direct impacts on energy usages…

Lack of coherency

2010 Vodafone sustainable report

Change in strategy: Climate change, energy and renewables seems to be the most important issues…

2011 Vodafone sustainable report

What about health risks? Radiation safety? Electronic waste?

The Egyptian Case

Clients complaints

Electromagnetic waves

Pollution in China

Lack of sustainabilityLay offs

Summary

References• http://www.environmentalleader.com/2010/05/10/vodafone-bt-

accused-of-pollution-in-china/• http://broadbandforum.in/vodafone-3g/74897-unethical-trade-

practices-wrong-advertisements/• http://techbuddy.in/2011/04/11/vodafone-robbing-customer-on-

unethical-bills/ • http://www.grahakseva.com/complaints/9496/vodafone-

harassment • http://www.qatarliving.net/node/1610398• http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/may/06/global-it-

brands-china-pollution • http://www.complaints-india.com/complaints/11328/POLLUTION-

DUE-TO-INSTALLATION-OF-MOBILE-TOWER-OVER-OUR-BUILDING.html