Industry Overview of ESG-Priorities for Global Telecommunications

The SASB ESG-Priority Analysis

Prepare a brief industry overview of ESG-priorities for global telecommunications based on the SASB standard, describing at least 6 specific metrics to measure the ESG-priorities. b. Complement the SASB ESG-priority analysis with brief info from (European) telecommunications bodies e.g. the European Telecommunications Network Operators' Association , the Global e-Sustainability Initiative (http://gesi.org). c. Include a listing of the ESG-priorities as stated by British Telecom OR France Telecom (info from the latest annual reports and websites). d. Include issues which are being reported by non-profit stakeholders. e. Critically evaluate variances between the ESG-priorities listed in the case and those listed above (part of the variance is due to the fact that the case was written several years ago). f. Do you require further information to make a decision? If so, what information and why is it required? g. Assume that you must make a decision based on the available data - explain your recommendation. 2. Argue against the use of ESG to value companies (ca. 1 page - 750 Words) (15%) (ILO 2, 3, 4) Provide 2 well-founded arguments - including citations from at least three academic papers per argument - to support the case against the use of ESG criteria in the company valuation process. 3. Sustainable soft commodities (ca. 1 page - 750 Words) (15%) (ILO 1, 2, 3, 4) Choose one of the following soft commodities and briefly explore the key ESG-priorities, as well as measures being taken to address these priorities. Cite challenges to implement ESG-priorities - operational and investor-related. Information should include insights from industry associations, companies, non-profit associations, and financial institutions. Wild caught seafood Soy Beef 4. Green Real Estate Investment Trusts (ca. 1 page - 750 Words) (15%) (ILO 1, 2) Critically evaluate a green REIT, briefly describing its activity, its financing model, government programs and/or regulations it uses to complement its financial performance, the metrics used to measure its environmental/social impact, the expected impact of environmental/social criteria on the financial performance, and information on the actual financial performance of the REIT. 5. Impact Investing (ca. 1 page - 750 Words) (15%) (ILO 2, 3) Critically analyze an Asian impact investing fund, briefly describing its operating model, the financial model (below-market and/or market-based returns), the metrics used to measure environmental/social impact, and the financial performance of the fund against benchmarks. The remaining 15% of the final mark will be dependent on the quality of Harvard referencing and bibliography, as well as the general presentation of your paper.

The telecommunications industry are scored based on three environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors. Accounting standard under SASB (Sustainability accounting standard) for the telecommunication industries provides the companies with accounting metrics for accounting the performance in terms of sustainability. Wire line and wireless are the two main segments of the telecommunication industry. They are heavily influenced by the data resulting from the expansion of electronic gadgets. When the telecommunication industry are required to make disclosure about their performance with respect to the sustainability, there are identified accounting metrics by SASB (Aziakpono et al. 2014). Concerning the sustainability topic, it is required by companies to make a narrative description of any material factors that is considered essential for ensuring comparability, completeness and accuracy of data being reported. For measuring the ESG priorities of the telecommunication industry, following accounting metrics has been provided in accordance with SASB. Metrics comprised of accounting and activity metrics. Activity metrics needs to make disclosure about contextual information and they are deemed generally useful for some accounting metrics (Benjamin 2013).

European Telecommunications Network Operators' Association has chosen to pursue a systematic approach to integrating environmental, social and governance factors throughout the entire investment cycle for managing risks and enhancing returns. The commitment of association is create a long lasting positive impact and going beyond the business interest and extending themselves as role model in corporate responsibility. It has also adopted the global sustainability reporting guidelines. Organization makes the communication about business and ESG performance in an integrated manner ,