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About the company Odido, previously T-Mobile Netherlands, is a major Dutch telecommunications provider offering mobile and internet services to consumers and businesses. As part of its operations, Odido installs, maintains, and manages segments of the Dutch mobile and fiber-optic networks. With a renewed brand identity and a growing focus on sustainability, Odido is committed to aligning its business practices with international standards on responsible business conduct.
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The challenge: Navigating stakeholder demands and regulatory change
Odido, one of the Netherlands’ leading telecom providers, partnered with ERM to strengthen its responsible business conduct across its value chain. In response to growing stakeholder expectations and upcoming EU regulations, Odido sought to better understand its environmental and human rights risks, both at a company-wide level and within specific product groups. The company aimed to understand its maturity against the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, respond to stakeholder requests for product-specific risk assessments, and identify priority areas for mitigation.
To support this ambition, Odido engaged ERM to conduct a comprehensive assessment of human rights and environmental risks across its value chain. ERM delivered a structured, saliency-based assessment that provided Odido with clear visibility into its risk landscape and actionable insights to guide mitigation efforts. This project showcases how ERM applies proven methodologies to help major clients navigate complex sustainability challenges with confidence and clarity.
What we did: A comprehensive overview on Odido’s value chain risks
ERM designed and delivered a three-pronged approach tailored to Odido’s needs. First, we carried out a gap assessment against the OECD Guidelines, combining a detailed document review with interviews involving key internal stakeholders. This helped establish a baseline of Odido’s current practices and identify areas for improvement.
Second, we conducted a risk assessment to identify, assess, and prioritize the most salient environmental and human rights risks across Odido’s full value chain. This included a value chain mapping exercise, engaging suppliers to describe activities carried out by Odido and its business relationships, from raw material extraction to end-of-life disposal. Where visibility was limited, we developed assumptions about geographies and materials likely to be involved. Using methodologies aligned with the OECD Guidelines, we assessed potential impacts on rightsholders and the environment, and prioritized risks based on their saliency. The outcome was a set of targeted recommendations to help Odido mitigate its most pressing risks.
Finally, we conducted two product-specific risk assessments focused on customer premise equipment (CPE) and optical fiber cables. These assessments followed the same saliency-based methodology and provided Odido with actionable insights into the risks associated with these key product groups.
Partnering with ERM on our sustainability due diligence combined their deep expertise with a collaborative approach, giving us clear insight into our value chain and key human rights and environmental risks, allowing us to focus our resources where they matter most
The impact: Building resilience through proactive risk management
Through this engagement, Odido gained a clearer understanding of human rights and environmental risk exposure across its operations and value chain. This insight enables the company to take more targeted and resource-efficient mitigation actions. The work also supports Odido in aligning with stakeholder expectations and preparing for upcoming EU regulations, including the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), and the EU Taxonomy. By proactively addressing these issues, Odido is enhancing its sustainability performance while strengthening its operational resilience and competitive position in the market.
