BT 2006 Annual Report Download - page 22

The following table shows BT’sCO
2
emissions as defined in the
Greenhouse Gas Protocol and therefore includes not only CO
2
emitted directly by BT, but also that emitted in the production
of the electricity purchased by the Group.
CO
2
emissions
2006 2005 2004 2003
Total (UK only – million tonnes) 0.64 0.76 0.92 0.96
% below 1996 60% 53% 42% 40%
Tonnes per £1m revenue 33 41 50 51
During the 2006 financial year, we received an income of
£3.2 million from our recycling activities, offset against the
£8 million we spent managing our waste contracts, recycling
our waste and sending waste to landfill.
Waste
2006 2005 2004 2003
Total waste (tonnes) 102,005 110,622 107,303 117,688
Total waste recycled (tonnes) 42,340 37,421 27,626 27,809
% recycled 42% 34% 26% 24%
During the 2006 financial year, our commercial fleet – still one
of the largest in the UK – increased by 1.7%, but our fuel
consumption decreased by 1%.
Transport
2006 2005 2004 2003
Number of vehicles (UK only) 32,516 31,969 32,663 33,979
Fuel consumption (million litres) 51.38 51.97 53.85 56.12
Digital inclusion
Following research that showed that, if not addressed, the
digital divide would, by 2025, become even wider, particularly
among older and disabled people, we are working with Age
Concern to support their digital inclusion strategy. This includes
providing support to develop further their network of Silver
Surfer clubs and providing training for volunteers and staff.
The EverybodyOnline initiative continues in a number of the
most deprived communities around the UK, successfully
demonstrating that digital inclusion makes a positive difference.
Internationally, our Lifelines India initiative helps developing
world farmers access essential advice and information over a
digital network.
Community investment
We commit a minimum of 1% of our UK pre-tax profits to
activities which support society. We provided a total of
£21.3 million designed to benefit society in the 2006 financial
year, of which £2.5 million was charitable donations.
Our community investment strategy aims to help individuals
and communities make a better world through communications
skills and technology. Examples include an education
programme which provides free resources for teachers, pupils
and parents, and in-school activities with drama groups and BT
volunteers, both in the UK and internationally. To date, we have
involved over two million pupils at more than 12,000 schools.
We also helped Comic Relief, Children in Need and the
Disasters Emergency Committee run successful telethons which
raised millions for good causes around the globe.
ChildLine, a UK charity, answers 2,500 calls every day but
many hundreds more go unanswered. We are working with
ChildLine on a campaign to ensure that every child’s call for
help is answered.
Our response to major world disasters included sending a
specialist team to the Pakistan earthquake disaster zone to
install emergency satellite telephone equipment.
Disability services
Our age and disability action team promotes equal access to a
wide range of products and services. We work directly with
older and disabled people and their representatives to raise
awareness of BT’s inclusive approach and are continuing to
develop our processes to ensure that new products and services
are accessible by as many disabled people as possible.
Our age and disability action website, for example, now
includes information about broadband in British Sign Language.
BT is the first commercial organisation to provide online
information in this format, opening up access for deaf people.
GROUP RISK FACTORS
In common with all businesses, BT is affected by a number of
risk factors, not all of which are wholly within our control.
Although many of the risk factors influencing our performance
are macroeconomic and likely to affect the performance of
businesses generally, others are particular to our operations.
This section highlights some of those particular risks but it is
not intended to be an extensive analysis of all risks affecting the
business. Some risks may be unknown to us and other risks,
currently regarded as immaterial, could turn out to be material.
All of them have the potential to impact our business, revenue,
profits, assets, liquidity and capital resources adversely.
They should also be considered in connection with the
statement on internal control and risk management in the
Report of the directors – Internal control and risk
management on page 45, the forward-looking statements in
this document and the Cautionary statement regarding
forward-looking statements on page 133.
Regulatory controls
If our activities are subject to significant price and other
regulatory controls, our market share, competitive position and
future profitability may be affected.
Most of BT’s fixed network activities in the UK are subject to
significant regulatory controls. The controls regulate, among
other things, the prices we may charge for many of our services
and the extent to which we have to provide services to our
competitors. In recent years, the effect of these controls has
been to cause us to reduce our prices. We cannot assure our
shareholders that the regulatory authorities will not increase the
severity of the price controls, nor extend the services to which
controls apply (including any new services that we may offer in
the future), nor extend the services which we have to provide to
our competitors. These controls may adversely affect our
market share, the severity of competition and our future
profitability. In response to Ofcom’s strategic review of
telecommunications, we proposed a number of legally binding
Undertakings under the Enterprise Act 2002. These
Undertakings were accepted by Ofcom and came into force in
September 2005. In the case of a breach of the Undertakings,
Ofcom has the right to seek an injunction through the courts or
issue a direction. Third parties who suffer losses as a result of
the breach may also take action against BT in the courts for
damages. The timescales for achievement of a number of the
milestones in the Undertakings are very challenging. Further
details on the regulatory framework in which BT operates can
be found in Regulation, competition and prices.
BT Group plc Annual Report and Form 20-F 2006 Operating and financial review20