Press Releases

Budapest, August 18, 2016 11:00

• The complete Magyar Telekom Group operated in a carbon neutral way in 2015
• In 2015 the 200th Digital Bridge was organized, the You Should Also Be an IT Expert! Initiative was launched and the SmartDigital program was continued, with tens of thousands of students trained
• The 9th Sustainability Day will be held on September 24

Magyar Telekom published its Sustainability Report about 2015, introducing the results of the third 5 year (2011-2015) sustainability strategy. Achieving carbon neutral operation is part of them, as well as increasing revenues derived from products and services considered to lead to sustainability to 21 percent, while in 2015 the establishment of the sustainable supply chain management process was also completed. Similarly to last year, the sustainability report of Magyar Telekom was compiled again based on the fourth generation GRI G4 guidelines comprehensive attestation level of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). Attestation was made by PricewaterhouseCoopers Auditing Ltd. based on the ISAE 3000 international standards. Globally speaking, beside Magyar Telekom only 3 companies published comprehensive reports within the telecommunication sector about their 2015 operation.

„I consider it one of the greatest sustainability achievements of year 2015 that the operation of the whole group became carbon neutral. We were the first large company to achieve this in Hungary, and there are only a few companies which can claim the same all around the world” – said Christopher Mattheisen, CEO of Magyar Telekom on the subject of the 2015 Sustainability Report. This result was achieved by the complete Magyar Telekom Group (including Hungarian and foreign subsidiaries) by replacing the total CO2 emission. The Group on the one hand used electric energy in Hungary completely, in 100 percent generated through renewable energy sources, while on the other hand the emission from using fossil energy was neutralized by supporting green projects.

The associates of Telekom also contributed directly to sustainable operation: using the TeleBike bike rental available to associates the total distance covered in 2015 was 15 226 kilometers, replacing 2,862 kg of CO2 emission. In 2015 2,372 colleagues worked from home altogether on 54,342 –saving about 1.8 million kilometers, equaling travel-time of 10 years. Paper usage of the Magyar Telekom Group also decreased by more than 15%, maintaining the trend going back to years. Telekom having introduced the e-signature solution in its shops also contributed to this. Almost half a million transactions are completed in the shops each month, requiring about almost 3 million printed pages. The company restructured the operation of shops in order to reduce the related paper usage and simplify processes. The objective of Magyar Telekom is to implement the fully electronic customer service solution, replacing all paper based agreements by electronically signed, authentic documents. Following the introduction of e-signature, the company in early November started to deliver and install the General Terms and Conditions tablets, to replace the paper based agreements.

Within the Sustainability Strategy of Magyar Telekom until 2015, one of the highest priority tasks was to increase the ratio of sustainable products in the portfolio. Each year the revenues of Telekom generated from products and services considered to lead to sustainability increase, from 13% of total revenues in 2011 to 21 percent in 2015. 16% of the sustainable revenues of Telekom derived from terminal sales and 84% from selling services. The objective of the sustainable supply chain management process established in 2015 is that the commitment of Magyar Telekom toward sustainability also becomes organic part of the activities of the suppliers to our company, with suppliers also adhering to our sustainability basic principles.

Already for two decades, Magyar Telekom has been paying key attention to selecting and implementing its social responsibility and support activities. In 2015 this included altogether 10 voluntary programs, involving 649 Telekom volunteers working for 4,412 hours. Through these programs we provided 21.8 million HUF worth theoretical voluntary contribution to the society. In 2015 already for the fifth time, on the subject of the international volunteers’ day,  Magyar Telekom – jointly with members of the Sustainability Media Club - organized the Giving Makes You Feel Good! Cookie promotion. The promotion benefitted the Autistic Art Foundation, supporting residential homes for young people living with autism, as well as organizing art therapy activities. During the event – held simultaneously at numerous sites – almost 1.7 million HUF was collected, which was supplemented by Telekom with a donation of 3 million HUF. T-Systems Hungary – owned by Magyar Telekom in 100% - supported several initiatives in 2015 that contribute to establishing a renewable social environment. In cooperation with the Inter Church Aid Association, the company contributed to the goals of the organization in the total value of 15 million HUF, continuing the cooperation started in 2013. Amounting to HUF 5 million, the company continued its support to the Social Development Center in Kastélyosdombó, by purchasing another „House to Turn Lives Around”. Another 5 million HUF was contributed to establish the IT room to close the digital gap in the Orosháza institution – available to both children and adults – while in Szolnok in the temporary home for families the sustainable operation was supported with a subsidy of 5 million HUF, to modernize the heating system.

In the frame of the program titled Magyar Telekom Digital Bridge in Small Settlements – targeting the elimination of the digital divide – the volunteer professional team of the company visits underdeveloped settlements with a population less than 3,000 offering tailor made and efficient IT training to residents. In 2015 the digital bridge builders of Telekom held their 200th Digital Bridge event. At the end of 2015 Magyar Telekom launched its program called You Should Also Ne an IT Expert! – concentrating on students facing career planning, introducing possibilities in the IT profession. Training is held in 435 minutes classrooms, voluntary presenters are IT experts of Magyar Telekom and T-Systems Hungary. The SmartDigital program also continued in 2015: our 52 associates held presentations to school kids all around Hungary in more than 300 schools and within more than 485 hours. In 2015 this made information related to safe internet usage and mobile communication available to 12,576 children.

Magyar Telekom also considers it important to emphasize the importance of sustainability in general public and in the media, therefore in cooperation with the Sustainability Media Club the company announced the Sustainability Press Award again, appreciating the activities of journalists in three categories, actively supporting this objective. The results of the competition will be announced on September 9, at the 9th Sustainability Day.

The 2015 Sustainability Report is available this URL.