Materiality assessment
Telenor has performed a double-materiality assessment, supported by BSR™ - a sustainable business network and consultancy focused on creating a world in which all people can thrive on a healthy planet. The assessment was conducted in line with the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (EU CSRD), the associated draft European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) and the guidance of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) 2021.
The scope of the assessment was a corporate-wide qualitative assessment and a high-level strategic prioritization. Risks, opportunities and impacts were identified depending on where the impact lies in the value chain – direct operations, business partners, or end-users. Where risks, opportunities or impacts differed, the assessment highlighted the highest risk.
The materiality assessment process consisted of five main steps:
- Identification of sustainability topics relevant to Telenor based on guidance and requirements as set in the relevant reporting standards including GRI, EU CSRD and ESRS (drafts), SASB, TCFD recommendations, GHG protocol, SDGs, UN Global Compact, etc.
- Desktop research and draft scoring based on:
- Internal Telenor documentations including previous assessments conducted by Telenor such as the Corporate-wide Climate and Human Rights Impact Assessments
- Public resources and BSR expertise
- The risks identified by Telenor’s enterprise risk management process
- Feedback from external analysis and rating of Telenor’s ESG performance
- Focus group interviews to identify and assess impacts and collect feedback on draft ratings:
- Methodology aligned with Telenor’s Enterprise Risk matrix (severity and likelihood)
- 20 internal stakeholders interviewed from across different levels and regions in the Telenor organisation
- Seven external stakeholders interviewed – including business partners, investors, industry associations, Non-Governmental Organisations
- Identification and analysis of the impacts in each material topic:
- Impact on Society and Environment - the criteria for assessing impact on society and the environment are set by global standards (GRI, EU CSRD, etc), considering scale, scope, and remediability
- Impact on Business (risks and opportunities) - the criteria for assessing impact on business leverage Telenor’s Enterprise Risk Management framework (severity and likelihood)
- Revising assessment based on quantitative and qualitative input from stakeholders.
- Validating results in a workshop with internal stakeholders.
The analysis identified a long list of 20 topics, split into Environmental, Social and Governance factors and prioritised the top 12 most material topics for Telenor, based on the significance of impact to society and environment, impact on business, and the link to the company’s strategic objectives. These top priority material topics include: Climate mitigation & energy Use, Climate adaptation, Digital skills & inclusion, Online safety, Diversity, equity & inclusion, Occupational health, safety & wellbeing, Forced labour, Cyber security, Data protection, Freedom of expression & privacy, Anti-corruption and Responsible supply chain.
Telenor focuses efforts on further embedding the material topics in the company’s strategy and risk management processes, concentrating on the topics with the highest impact as identified by the materiality assessment. The purpose is to ensure that risks, opportunities and impacts are understood, measured, and mitigated in line with strategic objectives.