Responsible Management Report 2020
(GRI 102-14)
Throughout the world, 2020 was an atypical year, when we faced new challenges due to the COVID-19 crisis. However, at Telefónica Movistar Colombia (Colombia Telecomunicaciones S.A. E.S.P 1 ) we worked tirelessly to meet our stakeholders’ expectations, giving our customers connectivity so they could continue with their working, academic and personal lives; offering digital services that enabled them to be at the cutting edge and be productive in the new context; taking unprecedented action; being one of the first companies in Colombia to activate the work from home protocol to protect its employees and partners; and focusing on meeting the expectations of our shareholders and investors.
In this context, we confirmed our potential to contribute to Colombia’s sustainable development and economic recovery, especially because our work has the capacity to have a positive and cross-cutting impact on the whole of society through products and services that improve people’s quality of life. Now, aware that this recovery based on digital transformation needs to be sustainable and fair, we proposed a new digital pact between governments, people and companies, under five cornerstones: driving digitalization for a more sustainable society and economy; addressing inequality by investing in education and digital skills; creating inclusive and sustainable connectivity; ensuring balanced connectivity; and improving trust through ethical and responsible use of technology.
Therefore, aware of our role in light of the challenges of our proposed digital pact, we have invested around COP 15.2 trillion in infrastructure since 2006. In 2020, we invested in increasing the fiber-optic coverage in Colombia, reaching almost 1.3 million homes with connection and contributing exponential increases in connection speed, as well as continuing to work to connect and support the digital transformation of our more than 19.4 million customers.
Additionally, because customers are at the heart of our strategy and the raison d’être of everything we do, in 2020, we established ourselves as the leading company of the telecommunications sector, as demonstrated in our 8.06 score in the Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) and Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 31%, which increased two percentage points from 2019.
These financial results are just as important as non-financial management, and we are convinced that it is not just what we achieve that matters, but also how we achieve it. In this report, we also describe the Company’s management in 2020 as part of our #Reconecta (Reconnect) strategic plan and the Responsible Business Plan 2019-2021 (our sustainability strategy), consolidating the operation of Metrotel and Telebucaramanga, which had already been operating under the Movistar trademark since 2018.
Therefore, in light of the need to face the pandemic’s challenges with technology and connectivity, we launched the first truly unlimited cellphone plan in the country: IlimiDatos. This revolutionized a market where innovation capacity is normally limited by the presence of a dominating operator, and we developed services to promote the digitalization of the sectors most affected by the pandemic. Additionally, we installed the first 5G node in Colombia in the Bogotá District Secretary of Health, connecting a thermal camera to measure people’s temperature inside the building, as well as installing technology solutions for temperature detection in the temporary Corferias hospital center and in the Soacha Transmilenio station. We gave employees and customers access to the 1DOC3 application, an enterprise driven by Movistar’s open innovation arm, which enables consultations with a health professional in real time. With our spirit of solidarity, through the #YoDono (I donate) initiative, the Company’s employees donated a percentage of their salary to benefit 79,478 people affected by the crisis, while Fundación Telefónica Movistar’s #SumaFuerzas (Join Forces) campaign donated 13,520 grocery packages to vulnerable people, as well as biosafety kits to health entities.
It is important to highlight that in 2020, we successfully achieved the international Integrated Management System Certification (environmental management, quality management, occupational health and safety, and information security), as well as implementing agile work methodologies, which meant greater promotion of leadership, as well as a more innovative, efficient and timely response to the needs of our customers and of the market. Similarly, our work practices were recognized by different organizations and monitors, such as Aequales, the Colombian LGBT Chamber of Commerce, the National Consultancy Council, Women Economic Forum, Employers for Youth and MERCO. In our work to close the gender gap, we were one of the two first companies in Colombia to recertify itself in the Gold Labor Equality Seal awarded by the Ministry of Labor, the Presidential Council for Women’s Equality and the UNDP.
In 2020, we also positioned ourselves as leaders in innovation in the country. Our Innovation Management System was acknowledged by the Global Compact Network Colombia and the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce (CCB, for the Spanish original) for contributing to the Sustainable Development Agenda. Additionally, the CCB and Icontec certified us in good innovation practices, we were acknowledged as one of the ten most innovative companies in Colombia by the Innovation Ranking of the National Business Association of Colombia (ANDI, for the Spanish original) and the Dinero magazine, and the World Economic Forum acknowledged our innovation in sustainable mobility.
To learn about these achievements in detail and, in general, about the Company’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) management, I invite you to explore this report and to let us know your comments. Finally, I would like to thank the around 22,000 people who work with us, whether directly or indirectly, and all the public and private partners who, despite the great challenges brought about by the health emergency, made it possible for us to keep achieving our mission in 2020 to make our world more human, connecting people’s lives.
