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When you think of the most sustainable corporations in theworld, Bell Canada may not jump to mind. Nonetheless, CorporateKnights listed Bell as one of only eight Canadian companies tomake the Global 100 list of sustainable compa- nies for 2011. BellCanada Enterprises (BCE) was also namedbyMaclean’s/Jantzi-Sustainalytics as one of Canada’s Top50 Socially Responsible Corporations. It also made the prestigiousFTSE4Good Global Index. It is not surprising that it is an activemember of the United Nations Global Compact and that it adheres tothe Compact’s principles on human rights, labour, the environment,and anticorruption.

Bell is Canada’s largest communications company, providingconsumers and businesses with solutions to all of theircommunications needs. Bell is wholly owned by BCE Inc. It has anumber of divisions including Bell Mo- bility and Bell Media(Canada’s premier multimedia com- pany with assets in television,radio, and digital media, including CTV, Canada’s number-onetelevision network, and the country’s most-watched specialtychannels).

Bell takes social responsibility and sustainability seri- ously.It has no doubt that acting responsibly is central to achieving thesustainable business success that is essential to achieving itscorporate goal of being recognized by custom- ers as Canada’sleading communications company. “Corpo- rate responsibility is nota program at Bell. It is a way of life,” said Michael Sabia, Bell’sformer CEO. “Our success as a company—and as a country—will bedefined by the sustain- ability of the communities in which we liveand work.”

In achieving sustainability, the company stresses that eachemployee has a part to play in accomplishing this agenda. GeorgeCope, Bell’s current president and CEO, adds that Bell operates“according to the highest ethical principles and remain[s]committed to the highest standards of corpo- rate responsibility”in all of its interactions with customers, shareholders, suppliers,and team members as well as to the broader communities in which wework and live.

Bell’s sustainability vision is one of contributing to thewell-being of society by enabling responsible economic growth,connecting communities, and safeguarding the natural environment.As Canada’s largest communications company, Bell believes that ithas a responsibility to make its services accessible to all membersof society, including those with disabilities or living in remoteareas. The com- pany takes pride in the fact that its founder,Alexander Graham Bell, was driven by the conviction that he couldhelp deaf people hear and communicate better. “That same spirit— ofinnovation, of altruism, of service”—remains at Bell

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today, more than 130 years later. Not only does it still helpthose with disabilities to communicate easily and more efficiently,it also provides telemedicine, telepsychiatry services, ande-learning services to remote communities.

Bell has a multifaceted sustainability program. It begins withthe workplace, where it strives not only to have a safe and healthyworking environment, but also to have fully engaged employees. Itinvested almost $15 million in training and development, and washonoured in 2011 for its excellence in workplace diversity and in-clusiveness. Bell conducts trend analysis and bench- mark studies,monitors stakeholder feedback, and un- dertakes surveys to ensurethat it is responding to issues relevant to Canadian consumers. Its2010 survey re- vealed that privacy and data security, responsiblemar- keting practices, protection of children in the online world,reduction of energy consumption and emissions, and the use ofresponsible suppliers were among the is- sues of greatestimportance to its customers.

Bell has a wide range of responsible marketing pro- grams.First, protecting privacy and the use of customer information isnever taken lightly at Bell. In addition to having all of its teammembers review and sign its code of ethics on an annual basis, itsrepresentatives undergo privacy training so that customer rightsare carefully protected. It has developed an easier-to-read privacystatement and has posted answers to privacy questions its customersfrequently ask on its website.

Bell has been working to improve telemarketing prac- tices andhas been working with the Canadian Radio- television andTelecommunications Commission (CRTC) to encourage companies torespect the National Do Not Call List. It works with the CRTC toinvestigate complaints.

Bell knows that customers want clear price informa- tion, so itworks to ensure that it provides clear descrip- tions of rates andcharges for its products and service plans. Bell seeks outsuppliers who have a commitment to sustainable development,environmental protection, health, safety, ethics, and fair labourpractices. All sup- pliers have to conform to Bell’s Supplier Codeof Con- duct. Rare minerals are critical inputs to many telecom-munication products, but many of these come from conflict-torncountries. Many know the story of conflict diamonds, but other rareminerals also may be mined in conditions that abuse human rights orresult in the support of armed conflict. Bell works with themanufacturers of its products to avoid the use of suchminerals.

Life cycle issues and product disposal are growing inimportance. Bell was the first company to establish a Canada-widecollection program for reusing and recy- cling mobile phones.Customers can drop off their old mobile devices, batteries, andaccessories at Bell’s au- thorized retailers and at participatingCaisse Desjar- dins, or they can ship them back to Bell free ofcharge via Canada Post. Since 2003, Bell has recovered more than879 000 phones. In 2010 alone, it also collected for reuse orrecycling 4.7 tonnes of batteries and accessories that would haveotherwise ended up in landfills. Protecting children from exploitation in a complex communicationenvironment is another of Bell’s priorities. The company foundedthe Canadian Coalition Against In- ternet Child Exploitation. Aspart of this initiative, Bell de- veloped Cleanfeed Canada, whichreduces accidental ac- cess to images of child sexual abuse anddiscourages those trying to access or distribute child pornography.Bell is also a lead partner in www.cybertip.ca, Canada’s tip linefor reporting the online exploitation of children. As well, it isthe founding sponsor of Media Awareness Network’s Be Web Awarewebsite, which promotes the safe use of the Internet for childrenand their parents. Bell plays a leadership role in the telecommunications industry,and it takes environmental protection into ac- count in all aspectsof its operations, including the deploy- ment and maintenance ofits networks and the efficient use of energy and resources. As its2010 Sustainability report notes, “Using energy efficiently notonly helps the environ- ment—it also saves money and supports ourstrategic im- perative of achieving a competitive coststructure.” Bell has been working hard to reduce its carbon foot- print.Since 2003, it has reduced its greenhouse gas emis- sions by 22percent. It recycled 89.8 percent of its waste materials. By usingmore electronic billing, it saved the paper equivalent of 33 000trees, and by using teleconfer- encing instead of travelling todistant meetings, it further lowered its contribution to harmfulemissions. Bell has a large fleet of service vehicles. By equipping6000 vehicles with telematics (integrated use of telecommunicationsand informatics), Bell was able to reduce fuel consump- tion in2010 by 2.8 million litres and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by7777 tonnes (the equivalent of taking 1900 mid-sized cars off theroad for a year). When building new facilities (called campuses at Bell), itstrives to make them as environmentally friendly as possible through the use of natural light, energy recoverycooling systems, water saving devices, and landscaping that doesnot require irrigation. Its new Montreal campus was LEED-certifiedby the Canadian Green Building Council, and its Mississauga,Ontario, campus received a waste min- imization award from theRecycling Council of Ontario. Bell also supports the communities in which it op- erates,including northern communities. Its employees logged more than 256000 hours as community volun- teers. Bell targeted improved mentalhealth, Canada’s most pressing health concern, as its primarycause. In 2010 alone, it contributed $15.8 million to mental healthand centres for addiction across the country. In a 2011 programcalled Bell let’s Talk Day, an anti-stigma initia- tive, Bellcontributed 5 cents for each of its customers’ 66 million textmessages and long distance calls, raising an additional $3.3million for mental health programs. Bell is also one of the chief supporters of the Kids Help Phone.The annual Walk for Kids raised $2.5 mil- lion for the cause in2010 and drew 15 000 participants, including 2000 Bell teammembers. Bell Canada is a company that certainly demon- strates that youcan do well by doing good. It has been consistently profitable, andit does all of these things while sustaining the world for futuregenerations. In- deed, Bell proves that good business and goodcorpo- rate citizenship can go hand in hand. Question: Identification of marketing problems and the nature of theexternal environment?