Global Child Forum Gives Telenor Top Score on Corporate Benchmark in Protecting Children’s Rights

The Global Child Forum, a Swedish non-profit foundation headquartered in Stockholm, has released its latest Corporate Responses to Protecting Children’s Rights report, examining the work of companies operating in the Nordic region. The report was conducted in collaboration with Boston Consulting Group, who, together with the Global Child Forum, established the Corporate Sector and Children’s Rights benchmark. This year’s report has cited Telenor Group as a best practice example with its work in child online safety and transparent reporting on child labour in Telenor’s supply chain.

“I’m really pleased to see Telenor cited as a best practice example in the Global Child Forum report. Especially encouraging is the focus on our work with child online safety and digital birth registration – where we have educated 2,200,000 children to date globally and have digitally registered 580,000 births in Pakistan – as well as our ongoing transparent reporting of child labour in the supply chain. Huge credit goes to my colleagues across the group, from Norway to Myanmar, having worked long-term in these areas and doing so with integrity and passion,” says Mai Oldgard, SVP and Head of Telenor Group Sustainability.

The report highlights in particular Telenor’s work in Myanmar and Pakistan, where it partners with UNICEF and government authorities to improve birth registration rates through the use of mobile technology. The aim is to empower unregistered children with legal documentation which can, among other things, curtail child labour and trafficking, cites the report. The report also highlights Telenor’s practices, including regular supplier assessments and audits to identify potential child labour risks.

The Global Child Forum brings together thought leaders and influencers from business, civil society, academia and government in order to spur action for social change around children’s rights. In particular, we focus on the power of business to be a driver of change, and we encourage businesses to take approaches in their operations and their communities that best advance children’s rights.

The Global Child Forum’s work is underpinned by the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Children’s Rights and Business Principles as well as by our own research and tools.

In 2016, Global Child Forum, in partnership with Boston Consulting Group, published a benchmark study of the 299 largest companies in the region. This report is a follow-up to that study. An updated benchmark analysis has been conducted on 20 of the region’s largest companies.

The report and its methodology can be read in full here: https://www.globalchildforum.org/resources/corporate-responses-protecting-childrens-rights-nordics/