Ethical Statement

'The Phone Co-op is committed to following environmental best practice, where practical and within the resources available, in all its activities and in the provision of its services.'

More specifically The Phone Co-op is committed to:

1. Offsetting all the carbon dioxide generated by its activities and those of its telecoms suppliers through payment of a voluntary levy to Climate Care which, in turn, invests in renewable energy and re-forestation projects.

2. Purchasing electricity from a green source.

3. Using recycled paper and stationery.

4. Developing systems which significantly reduce paper usage.

5. Promoting the use of public transport by its employees.

6. Recycling waste products such as paper, toner cartridges, cardboard, etc.

7. Encouraging its staff to consider the environment in all aspects of their work.'

The Phone Co-op pays a voluntary levy to offset all the carbon dioxide emissions resulting directly from its activities, as well as from the activities of the upstream telecoms providers whose networks we utilise in the provision of our telephony service. The levy is paid to Climate Care, which uses the funds to finance projects which result in a sustainable reduction in carbon dioxide emissions, or in increased fixing of carbon from the atmosphere. Examples of the projects supported include the provision of subsidised low-energy light bulbs to people in Mauritius, a country in which all electricity is generated from fossil fuel (this project also has the benefit of reducing poverty by cutting the electricity bills of low-income people), and a project to restore natural rainforests in Uganda.

In addition, we purchase most of our electricity from a green supplier, which sources its supplies from renewable generators.

It is our policy to encourage the use, where practical, of public transport for business journeys, rather than cars. During the year under review, over half of recorded business journeys were made by rail or bus.

We purchase almost all of our paper and envelopes from Paperback Ltd., a worker co-operative which specialises in recycled paper products.

We recycle our own paper office waste.

We are planning that our next office move will be to a new, purpose-built environment-friendly building.

Journeys by public transport as a proportion of total recorded business journeys Means of transport Recorded journeys Percentage of total Rail (including underground and tram) 172 39% Bus 56 13% Sub-total - less environmentally damaging transport modes: 228 52% Personal car 170 39% Taxi 38 9% Air 4 1% Sub-total - more environmentally damaging transport modes: 212 48% Total (all recorded journeys) 440 100% Based on an analysis of expense claims for travel. Where more than one transport mode has been used in any one trip, each one has been counted as a separate journey.

Other ethical issues ·We aim to trade as much as possible with other co-operatives and organisations with similar values. Examples include our partnership with the Ethical Property Company, which provides affordable office space for voluntary and campaigning groups. We have worked with them to provide a low-cost telecommunications service for their tenants, as well as generating revenue for EPC to cover overheads. During the year we made purchases (including payments of agent and affinity commissions) from other co-operatives and co-op movement organisations totalling Ł46,345, or 12.2% of non-personnel overhead costs. Sales of telecoms services to other co-operatives and co-op movement organisations totalled Ł286,758, or 9.8% of total sales .

We aim to act fairly in our dealings with others. For example, unlike many telecoms providers, we do not impose sales targets on our agents or affinity partners as a condition of their continuing to receive revenue.

* The RISC phone affinity is managed by MWM