Corporate Responsibility Report Assurance Statement

ERM Independent Assurance Report to Vodafone New Zealand Limited

ERM New Zealand Limited (ERM) was engaged by Vodafone New Zealand Limited (Vodafone NZ) to provide independent assurance of its 2010 Corporate Responsibility Report (2010 CR Report), to the scope of work outlined below.

Scope of Work

This assurance statement is intended for Vodafone NZ's stakeholders. The 2010 CR Report covers Vodafone NZ's operations for the 12 months to 31 March 2010, unless stated otherwise in the text. This work was performed in accordance with ERM's assurance methodology, which is based on the international standards ISAE 3000, AA1000 Assurance Standard (2008) and ISO 19011. ERM reviewed Vodafone NZ's performance reporting for the subject matter specified below. To achieve this, we interviewed a number of personnel and reviewed relevant documentation at Vodafone NZ's operations in Auckland.

The subject matter for this assurance process consisted of a representative sample of data and statements for the following material data streams and therefore the related pages of the Online Vodafone 2010 CR Report: CR management; supply chain; social impact; stakeholder engagement; environment; network deployment; Vodafone NZ profile; health and technology; economic impacts; employees and Vodafone Foundation. The scope excluded data and statements relating to financial information as well as data that had been assured in 2009 and not changed for the 2010 CR Report. In addition, Vodafone NZ's 2010 CR Report has been published online, and includes non-assured data which falls outside the above scope of work.

ERM's Independence

Vodafone NZ was responsible for preparing the 2010 CR Report. The ERM team, led by Jo Cain, Partner, Australia & New Zealand, was responsible for expressing assurance conclusions in line with the scope of work agreed with Vodafone NZ. During 2009/10, ERM did not work with Vodafone NZ on other consulting engagements.

Our Conclusion

On the basis of its scope of work, and in consideration of the limitations of the assurance engagement presented above, ERM concludes that, for the specified subject matter, Vodafone NZ's 2010 CR Report appropriately reports CR performance for the 12 months to 31 March 2010.

Key Findings

Based on the scope of work, and without affecting our assurance conclusion, ERM identified the following key findings:

Good Practice

• Continued support for programs to improve the health and wellbeing of young New Zealanders, a major market demographic for Vodafone NZ, including collaboration with Parents Inc.
• Actively addressing issues such as text bullying and cyber-safety through the implementation of technological solutions, including content filters and text blocking.
• Support for national capacity building developments, such as the Rural Broadband Initiative and the Ultra-Fast Broadband Initiative, as well as continued support for market diversification through Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) and a national roaming agreement with 2degrees. These initiatives provide wider socio-economic benefit for New Zealand through increased access to telecommunications services and access to a broader range of service providers.
• Implementing staff recognition and reward programs and opportunities to participate in wider CR initiatives to create a more motivated and engaged workforce in an effort to improve customer experiences.

Areas for Improvement

• Stakeholder engagement workshops were not undertaken in the 2009-2010 reporting period. These have provided an effective mechanism in the past for engagement and the identification of material issues for coverage in the CR Report.
• Executive interviewees highlighted the changing nature of social interactions due to electronic communication methods as a material issue. Discussion of related Vodafone NZ issues and initiatives would add context to future CR Reports.
• Vodafone NZ's direct carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions increased during the reporting period. Whilst this is attributed to an increase in network capacity and energy efficiency initiatives are identified, there is potential for improvement.
• Community investment could be more comprehensively reported, including the "in kind" donation of personnel time to run the Vodafone NZ Foundation.
• Continued reliance on data from external sources that are not independently verified, for example waste data from contractors.

ERM congratulates Vodafone NZ on its 2010 CR Report.

ERM New Zealand Ltd, 15 December 2010, Auckland, New Zealand

ERM New Zealand Limited (ERM) is an independent global provider of environmental, social and corporate responsibility consulting and assurance services. ERM has prepared this statement for Vodafone New Zealand in accordance with ERM's standard terms and the standard practised by members of the environmental consulting profession performing this type of service at the same time. No other warranty, express or implied, is given by ERM as a result of the provision of this statement. To the extent permitted by law, this statement is provided for informational purposes only, without the right to rely, and ERM will not be liable for any reliance which may be placed on this statement by a third party. This statement may not be used by any third party without ERM's express written permission.

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