A total of seven telecommunications companies were listed in the 2020 Refinitiv Diversity and Inclusion Index, including Vodafone Group plc (20), Telefonica SA (21), Infrastrutture Wireless Italiane SpA (22), Singapore Telecommunications Limited (35), DiGi.Com Bhd (37), Deutsche Telekom AG (55).
However, taking the industry lead TIM ranked in eighth position, marking its third consecutive year in the top 10. The list was topped by investment bank BlackRock, Inc.
In a statement, TIM said: “TIM was one of the first companies in Italy to instinctively understand the importance of the relationship between sustainability and business, and it now confirms this by anchoring sustainability to the group's strategic plan. So it is not just a question of diversity and inclusion, but a variety of concrete actions covered by ESG criteria in order to create a sustainable business culture in all aspects, starting with innovation which makes TIM a top player in the country.”
The index ranks more than 7,000 companies across 24 countries and identifies the top 100 publicly traded companies with the most diverse and inclusive workplaces, as measured by 24 separate metrics across four key pillars.
These include ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) data, which is assessed annually by Refinitiv using public sources such as sustainability reports, financial reports, corporate websites and press news. Only companies with scores across all four pillars are assigned an overall score (the average of the pillar scores).
The top 100 ranked companies with the best overall D&I scores are selected for the Index.
The data is used by financial professionals to evaluate the sustainability-related risks and opportunities of companies across their investments, as well as empower diversity-lens investing strategies.
However, when compared to the 2019 index, the telecommunications space as whole is slightly worse off. Last year, nine telecommunications companies made the top 10, with TIM in sixth place and Infrastrutture Wireless Italiane SpA in 11th.
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