Safety, Health and Environment

A healthy, safe and incident-free working environment enhances productivity and contributes towards employee wellbeing. A group health and safety officer has been appointed with the express intention of enhancing the existing health and safety policy, compliance with legislative requirements, monthly health and safety meetings and health and safety audits. Awareness of the company’s health and safety requirements is created for all new employees as part of their induction process. Frequent information updates are circulated via e-mail to all existing employees.

Trained first-aid employee representatives are available on site to assist with any incident. The group had no major safety and health incidents during the year under review.

Blue Label Telecoms has a comprehensive HIV/AIDS strategy to minimise the risk to exposure by way of:

• instilling a prevention culture within the organisation;
• providing employees with an opportunity to volunteer to have an HIV/AIDS test resulting in detection of infections; and
• providing medication and treatment to affected employees as the final element to the strategy.

Workplace awareness programmes include awareness activities, condom distribution, voluntary HIV testing, infection control, counselling and treatment. The company has a partnership with the Bryanston Assessment Centre and all employee matters of a psychological nature are referred and treated accordingly. In addition, as Discovery Health is the chosen medical aid service provider, all employees are referred to the existing disease management forums within Discovery Health such as the oncology, diabetes and HIV management forums.

Environment

Given the nature of Blue Label Telecoms’ business, the group’s environmental impact could be classified as low.

The group’s participation in the JSE SRI Index as a newly listed company highlighted a number of areas requiring improvement including environmental management reporting. Blue Label Telecoms is therefore evaluating the respective reporting areas to ensure a more detailed report going forward. In this regard processes and procedures are being established to improve the measurement and monitoring of the group’s environmental impact including carbon emissions.

We do not currently measure the following environmental impacts:

• Direct and indirect water use
• Environmental supplier standards
• Transportation/logistical impacts
• Overall environmental expenditures.

A number of other initiatives, however, are under way reflecting the group’s commitment to the environment. These are:

Water use

Water consumption and use is limited to drinking purposes and ablution facilities. During the year under review infrared activated touch-free taps were installed in the bathrooms of the main premises situated at 75 Grayston Drive, Sandton.

Land use

The group occupies leased properties comprising mainly office buildings, none of which is situated in biodiversity-rich or ecologically significant habitats as determined by the Global Reporting Initiative. The company reached agreement with its landlord to expand its main office building situated at 75 Grayston Drive, Sandton, in support of management’s objective to retain as many subsidiaries and employees as possible in one environment to enhance communication and to ensure alignment in culture and objectives. The impact of the centralisation of the group’s business location has been considered and management has agreed to overcome this potential challenge by instituting three different work shifts which employees may elect, dependent on their circumstances. The landlord and its architects gave due consideration to the environmental impact of the building expansion and to this end incorporated a wide spectrum of solutions and best practices to ensure an eco-friendly building. On completion, the entire building will be operated to reduce the overall impact on human health and the natural environment by more efficient use of energy, water and other resources, as well as protecting occupant health and improving employee productivity.

Energy efficiency

The energy consumption of Blue Label and its subsidiaries located at the office building on 75 Grayston Drive, Sandton for the 12-month period ended 31 May 2009 amounted to a total to 1 648 186,64kWh. Energy saving initiatives have been identified and will be implemented in the existing building as well as the new building currently being erected.

Recycling

Blue Label continues to recycle its office waste such as paper and printer cartridges in an environmentally friendly manner. Waste paper and scrap, including printer cartridges, associated with an office environment are collected by scrap dealers for disposal in an environmentally friendly manner.

Greenhouse gas emissions

Business activities resulting in greenhouse gas emissions include electricity usage, transportation, waste treatment and disposal and industrial processes such as air conditioning and the like. The group is aware that it is necessary to take reasonable steps to limit the effects of such emissions.

During the year, no prosecutions or fines were brought against the group for the contravention of any environmental laws and regulations.