BT 1997 Annual Report Download - page 12

BUSINESS REVIEW
12
This year, the BT Board has
doubled the allocation of shares to
the BT Employee Share Ownership
Scheme to two per cent of annual
pre-tax profits. This move
underlines the Board’s commitment
to recognising the significant
contribution that BT people make
to the company’s success and
strengthens the link between
company performance and
individual reward.
BT takes the health and safety of all
its people very seriously and has
adopted a wide-ranging strategy,
Health and Safety 2000, to promote
this into the new millennium.
The company remains committed to
providing equal opportunities for all
its people and continues actively
to encourage the employment,
training and career development
of people with disabilities.
Employee opinions are actively
sought and an annual company-
wide attitude survey gives people
full scope to air their views. Some
75 per cent of BT people
participated in the last survey and
results overall continue to improve.
Managers are required to develop
appropriate action plans to address
the issues raised by their teams.
BT continues to consult and
negotiate with recognised unions
in the UK as an integral part of its
approach to employee relations.
Building on this platform, the BT
European Consultative Council met
for the first time, in June 1996,
under the chairmanship of Chief
Executive, Sir Peter Bonfield. This
provided the opportunity for
dialogue with employee
representatives from the UK and
other European operations. The
second meeting is planned for
July 1997.
Corporate citizenship
BT is pledged to make a fitting
contribution to the community and,
during the year, made contributions
in cash and kind worth £15.6 million,
includingtotaldonationstocharity
exceeding £2.7 million. No
contributions were made to any
political party.
At the European Business
Excellence Forum in Edinburgh, BT
was one of just four companies to
win a European Quality Awards
prize. BT, the largest company ever
to be awarded a prize at the first
attempt, was praised by the
assessors for having a long-term
commitment to Total Quality
Management, a well-defined human
resources policy and a positive
impact on society.
In the annual Management Today
survey of the UK’s most admired
companies, BT’s overall ranking
moved up from eighth to fifth
and, on issues of community
and environmental responsibility,
we moved up from tenth to seventh.
There is a clear link between the
health of the community and the
well-being of our business, so it
makes good business sense for BT
to be active in the community. BT’s
latest corporate advertising
campaign focuses on BT’s
contribution to the community. The
advertisements show, for example,
how BT satellite links enabled
soldiers in Bosnia to keep in touch
with their families, and how we
have supported ChildLine, which
takes more than a million calls
each year.
Through our BT Community
Partnership Programme, we
support a variety of organisations
and good causes in partnership.
Theprojectsthatwesupportmust:
1be of positive relevance to BT;
1bring demonstrable benefit to
the community;
1offer clearly understood and
recorded mutual benefits;
1provide opportunities for BT
people to be involved; and
1enhance our reputation.
Participative fund-raising initiatives,
such as the annual BT Swimathon,
demonstrate how BT’s financial
involvement can spur further
funding for good causes. The
main beneficiary this year is the
Prince’s Trust.
The environment
BT is committed to minimising the
impact of its operations on the
environment by continuously
improving our processes
and procedures.
New targets for environmental
improvement are set each year and
progress is documented in our
Environmental Performance Report.
Further information
More information about BT and its
operations can be found on our
Internet site at http://www.bt.com