The growth in mobile phone use has been accompanied by increasing concern about exposure to radio waves from masts as well as from the phones themselves.
Members of the public have associated various symptoms with exposure to radio frequency (RF) from mobile phones and masts including headaches, impairment to short-term memory and mental illness. Although at present the available scientific evidence does not suggest that mobile phones represent a general health threat, each new study has the potential to generate damaging media coverage. Investors may be concerned that mobile phone companies take appropriate steps to address these issues and hence manage the risk to reputation, the risk to their licence to operate, the risk of litigation and risks regarding regulatory issues.
EIRIS identified 16 key indicators for assessing companies’ management of mobile phone health concerns which fell into three broad categories:
. strategy and responsibility
. public information
. community engagement measures
EIRIS looked at how European mobile service providers measured up to the key indicators and found that they were unable to assess any company as advanced and only four companies out of 18 as good. “We are extremely pleased to provide this research as it is something for which we have seen significant demand from ethical investors. Additionally, the issues are now being seen as relevant by a broader range of investors interested in their potential financial impacts” said Mary Paterson, EIRIS’ Head of Research.