Latin America

• ARGENTINA: Internal monitoring audit of the Environmental Management System

In November 2008 we conducted the second internal audit of the Environmental Management System (EMS). A highlight was the strong progress made by the EMS to maturity, based on environmental awareness-raising aimed at employees via a range of internal media.

• BRAZIL: Telesp diagnoses its environmental situation

In August 2008 the Telefónica, S.A. Corporate Environment Unit oversaw a diagnostic appraisal of the environmental situation at

Telesp.

Over the course of a week, meetings were held with various departments of Telesp - human resources, quality, engineering, external and internal networks, legal, procurement, logistics and assets - and buildings were inspected. The outcomes were a situation map and the introduction of an environmental management system at Telesp in line with Telefónica's global model.

The visits identified the key areas for improvement and laid the groundwork for the proposed actions for each issue.

• COLOMBIA: Update of environmental certification to ISO 14001

From 19 to 23 May 2008, Movistar Colombia underwent its first Environmental Management System monitoring audit, conducted by AENOR Internacional. The EMS earned certification in June 2007. This first monitoring audit involved a five-day visit during which the assessors scrutinised the various aspects of the System, such as operational control, identification and evaluation of environmental issues, compliance with legal requirements, communication, actions in administration buildings, network design, construction and installation, emergency plans, and the internal auditing system.

The audit found that the EMS had considerably improved since it was first implemented in June 2007 thanks to the efforts of the company departments involved in its introduction and development.

• Winning environmental management certification at Telefónica Peru
  

Telefónica Peru earned ISO 14001:2004 international certification for its environmental management of last-mile wireless connectivity: the processes for service provision from the junction box to the customer using technologies that avoid the proliferation of copper wire.

This calls for managing the business's main environmental impacts in a number of areas: waste generation and management, measurement and control of noise, radio wave emissions and greenhouse gases, and decreased use of water, paper and energy.

Certification to ISO 14001 - granted in this case by certifier AENOR - signifies compliance with a highly demanding international standard concerned with monitoring and mitigating the environmental impacts of a company's operations. This achievement is a major milestone for Telefónica Peru.

The target for 2009 is to widen the scope of the company's certification to the rest of wireless fixed telephony technologies operated by Telefónica Peru, such as VSAT and Wi-Fi.