Insights from industry leaders, Volume 8: Elisabeth Rochford Head of Social Equity, Value and Impact at Virgin Media
Meet Elisabeth Rochford, the Head of Social Equity, Value and Impact at Virgin Media O2. Over the past five years, Elisabeth has been a pivotal figure in driving Virgin Media O2’s sustainability and responsible business strategies forward and her passion has been a cornerstone of her leadership. With her forward-thinking approach and unwavering commitment to sustainability and social impact, Elisabeth is a force to be reckoned with and an inspiration to all future sustainability professionals. In this week’s series, Elisabeth shares her challenges in her role and the wisdom she has gained over her notable career.
What are the biggest challenges for sustainability in your sector?
“There are currently 2 million households struggling to afford internet access in the UK and 10 million adults lacking the basic digital skills. Meanwhile, the UK is the second largest generator of e-waste in the world and there are millions of unused phones sitting in drawers. Tackling an entrenched and complex social inequity issue like the digital divide is a huge challenge for our sector and one that we can’t do alone. Since 2020, we’ve re-homed over 14,000 devices and over 1.5m GB of free data to people that need it. We want to build on our collaboration with Government and community partners to continue to scale this work and close the divide.”
What is 1 thing you want people to know about sustainability at Virgin Media O2?
“It’s a vital part of how we do business and we’re focused on the things where we can drive the biggest change. Through our Better Connections Plan, we’ve set out a plan to decarbonise our business (and the UK), promote a more circular electronics economy, and tackle the digital divide. We have a sector-leading volunteering programme (our people get up to 5 days a year to volunteer) and an ethical approach to doing business that champions equity, diversity and inclusion.”
What is your biggest roadblock in meeting your sustainability targets?
“The world is in a really difficult place at the moment. In a state of permacrisis, sustainability teams are under more pressure than respond to the various needs of the planet and the societies in which we work in real time, whilst also maintaining focus and resources for our longer term goals and strategies. Balancing responding to shorter term crises alongside meeting longer term targets is a common challenge for many businesses which is why it’s so important to have robust strategies, policies and governance in place that’s embedded in how you do business.”
What is 1 piece of advice you’d give to someone starting their career in sustainability?
“Definitely get your foot in the door; the synergies and intersection between different parts of the ESG agenda mean any role in a sustainability team is useful when starting your career. Perhaps seen as the less glossy of roles, but if you can gain skills in areas like sustainability reporting it will also give you great foundations and experience of the breadth of sustainability.”
MORE SUSTAINABILITY SPOTLIGHT INTERVIEWS
You can read our previous interview with spotlight interview with Claire Brady from, Stand Agency here.
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