Act Responsibly. Enable Sustainability.

What drives us - and what we've driven: Our CR Report 2017
Apr 27, 2018 5:00 AM ET

What drives us - and what we've driven: Our CR Report 2017

It was a great way to wrap up the year: winning the German Sustainability Prize in December of 2017 for our holistic sustainability management approach. The deciding factor for the jury was our partnership-based supplier management and how our core business is contributing to sustainable development. With services such as cloud computing and "plug & play software" we help our customers save energy and resources and reduce their carbon footprint.

There is lots to tell about our activities in 2017, which is the task of our current CR report. New in this report: We will be keeping you up to date about important activities and developments on our home page.

Some highlights in 2017 include:

  • Digitalization for climate protection: On November 14, 2017, our Bonn headquarters were all about climate protection. During the World Climate Summit, we entered into dialog with our stakeholders under the motto "The impact of ICT on climate change – curse or blessing", to identify the opportunities that digitalization offers for climate protection, which have been underestimated up to now. Together with the Global e-Sustainability Initiative and numerous experts, we discussed the possibilities and challenges of ICT for climate protection. Along with partners, we presented products and solutions for an integrated and therefore sustainably designed life and work environment - for example, regarding the subjects of e-mobility, Smart City and logistics.
  • A place on the climate protection podium. In 2017 we qualified for the A list in CDP's international climate protection ranking for the second time. CDP commends companies that are very transparent and detailed in reporting their CO2 emissions. Deutsche Telekom is one of only 120 enterprises worldwide that made it onto the A list.
  • Our Social Charter is now the Code of Human Rights & Social Principles: Protecting human rights is an important issue to us. We once again expressly demonstrated our commitment to this principle and revised our Social Charter in 2017.
  • Parking space search 2.0: We aim to make cities more sustainable. The free PARK AND JOY app is one example of this commitment. Finding a parking space faster is not only easier on drivers' nerves. It also improves the traffic flow and helps save CO2 emissions. The app navigates drivers to available parking spaces. In Hamburg, 100 parking spaces have already been equipped with sensors, with another 11,000 slated to follow by the end of 2019. Bonn, Duisburg, Dortmund, Darmstadt and Moers are also planning to introduce PARK AND JOY in 2018.
  • Energy revolution, powered by 5G: Switching to alternative energy requires intelligent power grids that transport both energy and data. We were able to prove that 5G is a suitable transmission technology for achieving this goal in the spring of 2017 in a practical test. In cooperation with Stromnetz Berlin, a Berlin-based energy provider, and telecommunications company Ericsson, we examined use cases in the power grid within the scope of the 5Grid project. The project showed how highly flexible communications networks could soon be available thanks to 5G, which could accelerate the shift toward alternative energy in Europe.
  • In our midst: One focus of our social commitment is the integration of refugees, to whom we want to offer career perspectives. A total of 340 refugees were working at Deutsche Telekom in 2007 – primarily as apprentices, interns or as part of the "Internship PLUS direct entry" pilot initiative. To permit prospective employees to get to know the company in an informal setting, we introduced the Applicant Days, which was not about finding candidates with perfect prior experience and degrees. The event did, however, enable us to fill the majority of our internship positions in 2017.

These are just some examples of our social and ecological commitment. Our comprehensive online report for 2017 contains lots of additional interesting information. Our non-financial statement, which is part of our annual report, also provides information on sustainability topics. And the supplemental brochure "DIGITALIZATION – CREATING ENDLESS OPPORTUNITIES" (available in May) will provide a quick overview of our commitment.

Our reporting activities have a long tradition. We have been providing information about our commitment and important progress for 20 years. In 2017 our report was honored for the third time with the Platinum Econ-Award. "The excellent quality stems from an intelligent combination of experience, knowledge, a pronounced service mentality and strong topicality," said the jury.

We would like to engage in dialog with you about our reporting activities. You can provide feedback and ask questions about selected topics in the report. Deutsche Telekom experts are on hand to respond to your questions and comments.

The CR Report is available at www.cr-report.telekom.com.

Contact for enquiries:
https://www.telekom.com/en/contact-forms/corporate-responsibility

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