In the extraordinary pandemic year 2020, VodafoneZiggo once again made an important contribution to the top position of the Netherlands in the European digital infrastructure rankings. That is evident from the Impact Report 2020, which the company presented today.
“With our networks, we are playing an important role, together with our partners, in keeping society connected”, according to CEO Jeroen Hoencamp. “With our exclusive range of entertainment, such as Movies & Series and Ziggo Sport, we managed to bring pleasure, passion and excitement to living rooms in this extraordinary year. 2020 was also the year in which VodafoneZiggo made important progress in terms of sustainability and inclusion by laying down a new ambitious CSR strategy under the name People Planet Progress.”
With its state-of-the-art products and services, VodafoneZiggo also contributed once again in the past year to the top position of the Netherlands in the European best digital infrastructure rankings. This concerns both mobile and fixed services. In 2020, VodafoneZiggo was the first to bring 5G to the entire Dutch market. In the field of Internet of Things, the company remains market leader worldwide, as a result of which its business customers are developing innovations that help themselves and society move forward.
Increase in network usage
The total network usage showed an increase of 42 per cent in the coronavirus year 2020. Society was in lockdown for a considerable part of the year. VodafoneZiggo kept its customers connected all that time.
Hoencamp: “The networks were more than able to handle these changes, as well as the increasing demand for our business solutions for smart and hybrid working. The investments that we have made in recent years are demonstrably bearing fruits. It also proves that our strategy to be one step ahead of the customer is working. Our network was even able to easily absorb the sudden impact of a country in lockdown.”
As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, VodafoneZiggo clients started working from home en masse with the help of videoconferencing and related technology. The entertainment services of VodafoneZiggo form an essential part of our strategy. With Ziggo Sport, Ziggo Movies & Series and the exclusive HBO range, VodafoneZiggo customers have a unique range of entertainment at their disposal.
Hoencamp: “Our networks are intricate, strong, fast and stable. We are proud of the way in which our technology can connect people, companies and society and help them move forward in these challenging times."
Innovative cooperation
In the field of Internet of Things, we are developing – in the 5G HUB in Eindhoven together with our partners – innovations that will shape the care sector, business community and society of tomorrow. Thanks to this fifth generation of networks, traffic lights can always turn green if ambulances are on their way to an emergency, a doctor can provide reliable care remotely, and precision agriculture and dyke monitoring are possible remotely.
People Planet Progress
The Impact Report 2020 provides insight into the objectives and results of the new People Planet Progress strategy. In the pandemic year, VodafoneZiggo drew up social ambitions for 2025: halving the CO2impact and helping two million people in society move forward, for example by improving their digital skills. In 2020, VodafoneZiggo helped 161,573 people move forward and a 30 per cent reduction in the CO2 impact was achieved compared to 2018.
Green Bond Report
VodafoneZiggo is also publishing the Green Bond Report today. In 2020, the first Green Bond under a Green Bond Framework was issued. “It gives us the opportunity to invest in an even more focused way in our ambition to become an increasingly sustainable company. This applies to our daily business operations, but also to the investments that we are continuing to make in our network, so that we can continue connecting Dutch society in a high-quality way and help it to advance further”, according to CFO Ritchy Drost.
People Planet Progress is an integrated part of the VodafoneZiggo strategy and is directly based on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) that were created by the United Nations in 2015 in order to make the world a better place by 2030. VodafoneZiggo specifically focused on achieving the following eight goals:
- Affordable and clean energy (Goal 7)
- Responsible consumption and production (Goal 12)
- Quality Education (Goal 4)
- Gender equality (Goal 5)
- Reduced inequalities (Goal 10)
- Sustainable cities and communities (Goal 11)
- Industry, innovation and infrastructure (Goal 9)
- Decent work and economic growth (Goal 8)
Measurable performance
VodafoneZiggo reports in line with the Transparency Benchmark and the standards of the Global Reporting Initiative, focusing on sustainability. VodafoneZiggo has also committed itself, just like parent companies Vodafone Group and Liberty Global, to the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi). This ensures that the goals and ambitions actually contribute to the climate objectives that were made in Paris in 2015 (limiting global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius, with a clear view of 1.5 degrees Celsius).
Hoencamp: “In the coming year, our employees will continue connecting people, households, companies and government agencies throughout the Netherlands. Our aim is and remains to contribute to broad prosperity, with appropriate attention for sustainability and innovation. That requires more cooperation and more openness. As business community, we can still do a lot more. And that is definitely our plan.”