Press Releases

Budapest, September 21, 2009 14:30

Magyar Telekom is to hold Sustainability Day for the second time on September 25, 2009 under the motto "Taking responsibility = Positive Energy". The objective of the event is to focus on solutions, opportunities and activities serving sustainable development. The full-day event will be held at Magyar Telekom's headquarters where visitors will find panel discussions, exhibitions and interesting presentations.

The Sustainability Day 2 will be opened by Magyar Telekom Chairman-CEO Christopher Mattheisen, then WWF Sweden consultant Dennis Pamlin will give a keynote speech to start panel discussions about the sustainable future. The forums will be based on the three pillars of sustainability (society, environment, economy). Participants include representatives of Amnesty International Hungary, Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, Energy Club, Transparency International, as well as Delta TV program presenter Sándor Fiar, Origo Chief Editor Balázs Weyer, Creative Director of Republic Advertising Gábor Fabricius and Vice Chancellor of Corvinus University Dr. Sándor Kerekes. Péter Novák will be the activation manager of the event again this year. Magyar Telekom's cooperating partner will be KultúrPart.

The professional program will address individual responsibility in everyday life, opportunities for alternative energies, reduction of travel, new technologies, or even conscious consumption, equal opportunities, civil rights, transparency, and responsible advertising. The organizers will attempt to make the hard-to-grasp theory of sustainability more readily understandable through discussions and exhibitions: visitors can test drive vehicles with alternative power, test a real videoconference service called Telepresence with national team swimmer László Cseh and sports reporter Dávid Szántó. Fair trade coffee and tea, organic syrup and recyclable cups, compost bins, a wind generator, solar panels, and creative objects made from waste will be exhibited.

In the Sustainability Day program Magyar Telekom has announced a competition in the categories film, music and picture/design. Entrants can submit songs connected with sustainability, short films on responsibility, and any creative works of fine arts, applied arts or architecture connected with the above themes. A new feature is that short films - even ones shot with a mobile phone - can be submitted on the day and at the venue of the event in the Film Live! category. Jury members: Magyar Telekom Chairman-CEO Christopher Mattheisen, KultúrPart Creative Director Péter Novák, MOME Professor Csaba Szegedi and Film Director Ferenc Török. The Sustainability Day Earth Ball with a diameter of 3 meters, earlier exhibited at the Sziget, VOLT and SZIN festivals, will start on its last journey at 7 pm after the professional program. It will be transferred to the afterparty to be held at Millenáris Theatre where the bands Maszkura és a Tücsökraj and Zuboly will provide the music for dancing after the presentation of awards.

Further information about the Sustainability Day program is available on the website http://www.fenntarthatonap.hu.

Magyar Telekom and its subsidiaries have been paying special attention to management of social and environmental problems since the 1990s; Company's sustainability strategy was elaborated in 2005.

The recognition of the threefold interdependent system of environment-society -economy and its reinforcement by positive activities is a long-term strategic principle for Magyar Telekom Group.
This year, Magyar Telekom issued its annual sustainability report for the sixth time. Our sustainability report for 2008 fully complied with the international guidelines, thus it received the highest (A +) rating as announced on September 1, 2009 in our press release. Magyar Telekom's sustainability report has become the first in Hungary to obtain the highest (A +) rating that means full compliance with the third generation guidelines of Global Reporting Initiative (GRI GR3).