Shareholders

Shareholders are another group of stakeholders. A shareholder is someone who has a financial stake in a company. Shareholders provide finance for the company by buying shares. They then receive a share of the profit that the company makes. Shareholders may be internal stakeholders (for example, employees who have purchased or been given shares in the company). They may also be external stakeholders (for example, members of the public who buy shares through a stockbroker).

Shareholders support Vodafone’s commitment to recycling. Through its emphasis on recycling and other initiatives, it is becoming a Corporate Responsibility leader.

CSR reporting

Vodafone’s ethical stance is illustrated in the way that it reports to shareholders and other stakeholders. The company produces an annual Corporate Responsibility Report. The report not only sets out financial performance data. It also includes a summary of data relating to environmental and social performance. A brief summary of recent reporting is shown below, with comparison to the previous year to show changes in performance.

Like employees and other internal stakeholders, shareholders want to know that they are part of a leading company. As a result, they are interested not only in figures for sales and profit. They also want to know how the company behaves in other areas. They are interested, for example, in how effective the company is in recycling handsets and reducing the impact Vodafone has on the environment.