In conversation with Dorothee D’Herde, Head of Sustainable Business, Vodafone Group

During this interview, Deloitte’s Global TMT Industry Leader, Ariane Bucaille, has an insightful discussion with Dorothee D’Herde, Head of Sustainable Business at Vodafone Group.

Vodafone has set ambitious targets for sustainability. To reach these goals the company seeks to:

1. Maintain profitability through responsible business practices, strong governance and effective leadership.
2. Leverage efficiencies in expense items such as energy use.
3. Find new value pools through innovation and new product offerings.

The company can point to several examples where these principles have been brought to life.

In Africa and Türkiye, where large mobile gender-gaps exist, Vodafone aims to connect an additional thirty million women to their networks by 2025. The business case lies in the facts that women have lower churn rates and are more likely to recommend Vodafone to others. Greater connectivity has been shown to lead to improved social outcomes in health, education and financial inclusion. Vodafone also sponsors a service that sends mothers text messages with information on childcare.

The popularity of M-Pesa, a mobile payment platform, makes it an important source of revenue for Vodafone, especially in Africa. The service has helped scores of women leave subsistence farming and improve their prospects

Vodafone’s Digital for Green services helps corporate customers reduce carbon emissions through applications that can target energy, logistics and agriculture. In Guadalajara, Vodafone connected 13,000 LED lights to smart systems, resulting in a 68% reduction in energy use.