About this report

The CR Report 2021 is a Communication on Progress that looks at the key developments during the reporting period and provides additional information about the latest developments. We use different formats to reach the various target groups: 

• The landing page gives a brief and interesting introduction to three issues that are relevant to society. Readers can access comprehensive information about these topics by following the links to the pages that follow. Readers who are only interested in Deutsche Telekom’s progress during the reporting period can follow a link to access our “Management & Facts” Communication on Progress directly. 
• A news ticker provides continual updates on the latest events and activities. It can be reached from our start page, and it appears topic-specifically, focusing on individual news items, in our themed pages and the profiles of our national companies.
• At Nachhaltig #DABEI (#TAKEPART sustainably), we look at key sustainability issues, from various perspectives, and in multimedia presentations. With plain, clear language, Nachhaltig #DABEI is aimed at a general audience. The in-depth themed pages it presents are grouped in keeping with the four societal trends “Good stewardship,” “New way of working,” “Digital life” and “Green future.” We take a look at a new topic every quarter. All themed pages, which are shown in magenta in the menu, are available in simplified language. 
• In our Management & Facts progress report, we provide information, in the four main categories (“pillars”) Strategy, Economy, Environment, and Social, about Deutsche Telekom’s sustainability-oriented management structures and about its progress in the year under review. In some topic areas, we invite interested readers to engage in direct discussion with Deutsche Telekom experts. With the report, we meet requirements pertaining to conventional accountability reporting. 
• The Management & Facts progress report also includes a section on key performance indicators (KPIs). In addition, we offer an interactive KPI  tool that lets users pick and choose indicators to create a customized compilation. 
• In our national companies section, a majority of our national companies whose CR activities are described in this report also present their own CR profile. 
• The report also includes search, “read-aloud” (text-to-speech) and “share” functionality, for added user convenience. What’s more, an “info cart” lets readers select different content and create a customized PDF file.
• The report is supplemented by the new CR facts format, which individual Deutsche Telekom departments use to report directly on their sustainability-related projects and measures. Readers can access the CR facts section at any time by clicking on the link in the report's footer.
• The report’s footer includes links to a download center, dialog functions, a glossary, and other relevant websites.

The report is a Group report that also covers many national companies in which Deutsche Telekom holds a majority stake. The Communication on Progress for 2021 (Management & Facts) follows up on the 2020 report. All quantitative data, key performance indicators, and descriptions of key events and activities under “Management & Facts” refer to the year 2021. Any deviations are marked accordingly. 

Our #TAKEPART themed pages are oriented to current social trends, and they are updated and supplemented throughout the year as necessary.

The current report is specifically addressed to Deutsche Telekom stakeholders. These include analysts and investors; CR ranking and rating agencies; NGOs; customers, employees, and business partners; and representatives from the worlds of business, science, research, education, and politics.

Deutsche Telekom’s CR Report 2021 complies with the internationally recognized guidelines (GRI Standards) of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). We also highlight our contribution to achieving the SDGs in many places. This year, for the first time, we show, with the help of a special index, which content in the 2021 report contributes to meeting the criteria established by the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB). The CR Report 2021 also serves as a Communication on Progress (CoP) from Deutsche Telekom as part of the United Nations Global Compact. Deutsche Telekom also issues an annual, detailed Declaration of Conformity with the German Sustainability Code.

Independent Practitioner’s Report on a Limited Assurance Engagement on Sustainability Information¹

To Deutsche Telekom AG, Bonn

We have performed a limited assurance engagement on the disclosures denoted with   in the Corporate Responsibility Report of Deutsche Telekom AG, Bonn (hereinafter “the Company”), for the period from 1 January to 31 December 2021 (hereinafter “Report”). Our engagement in this context relates solely to the disclosures denoted with the symbol  .

Responsibilities of the Executive Directors
The executive directors of the Company are responsible for the preparation of the Report in accordance with the principles stated in the Sustainability Reporting Standards of the Global Reporting Initiative (hereinafter “GRI-Criteria”) and for the selection of the disclosures to be evaluated.

This responsibility of Company’s executive directors includes the selection and application of appropriate methods of sustainability reporting as well as making assumptions and estimates related to individual sustainability disclosures, which are reasonable in the circumstances. Furthermore, the executive directors are responsible for such internal controls as they have considered necessary to enable the preparation of a Report that is free from material misstatement whether due to fraud or error.

Independence and Quality Control of the Audit  Firm
We have complied with the German professional provisions regarding independence as well as other ethical requirements.

Our audit firm applies the national legal requirements and professional standards – in particular the Professional Code for German Public Auditors and German Chartered Auditors (“Berufssatzung für Wirtschaftsprüfer und vereidigte Buchprüfer“: “BS WP/vBP”) as well as the Standard on Quality Control 1 published by the Institut der Wirtschaftsprüfer (Institute of Public Auditors in Germany; IDW): Requirements to quality control for audit firms (IDW Qualitätssicherungsstandard 1: Anforderungen an die Qualitätssicherung in der Wirtschaftsprüferpraxis - IDW QS 1) – and accordingly maintains a comprehensive system of quality control including documented policies and procedures regarding compliance with ethical requirements, professional standards and applicable legal and regulatory requirements.

Practitioner’s Responsibility
Our responsibility is to express a limited assurance conclusion on the disclosures denoted with   in the Report based on the assurance engagement we have performed.
Within the scope of our engagement we did not perform an audit on external sources of information or expert opinions, referred to in the Report.

We conducted our assurance engagement in accordance with the International Standard on Assurance Engagements (ISAE) 3000 (Revised): Assurance Engagements other than Audits or Reviews of Historical Financial Information, issued by the IAASB. This Standard requires that we plan and perform the assurance engagement to allow us to conclude with limited assurance that nothing has come to our attention that causes us to believe that the disclosures denoted with   in the Company’s Report for the period from 1 January to 31 December 2021 has not been prepared, in all material aspects, in accordance with the relevant GRI-Criteria. This does not mean that a separate conclusion is expressed on each disclosure so denoted.

In a limited assurance engagement the assurance procedures are less in extent than for a reasonable assurance engagement and therefore a substantially lower level of assurance is obtained. The assurance procedures selected depend on the practitioner’s judgment.

Within the scope of our assurance engagement, we performed amongst others the following assurance procedures and further activities:

• Obtaining an understanding of the structure of the sustainability organization and of the stakeholder engagement
• Inquiries of personnel involved in the preparation of the Report regarding the preparation process, the internal control system relating to this process and selected disclosures in the Report
• Identification of the likely risks of material misstatement of the Report under consideration of the GRI-Criteria
• Analytical evaluation of selected disclosures in the Report
• Inspection of processes for collecting, controlling, analyzing and aggregating selected data at specific sites of the Company
• Comparison of selected disclosures with corresponding data in the consolidated financial statements and in the group management report
• Evaluation of the presentation of the selected disclosures regarding sustainability performance

Assurance Conclusion
Based on the assurance procedures performed and assurance evidence obtained, nothing has come to our attention that causes us to believe that the disclosures denoted with   in the Company’s Report for the period from 1 January to 31 December 2021 have not been prepared, in all material aspects, in accordance with the relevant GRI-Criteria.

Intended Use of the Assurance Report
We issue this report on the basis of the engagement agreed with the Company. The assurance engagement has been performed for purposes of the Company and the report is solely intended to inform the Company as to the results of the assurance engagement. The report is not intended to provide third parties with support in making (financial) decisions. Our responsibility lies solely toward the Company. We do not assume any responsibility towards third parties.

Munich, 24 March 2022

PricewaterhouseCoopers GmbH
Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft

Hendrik Fink                                    ppa. Juliane von Clausbruch Wirtschaftsprüfer
(German Public Auditor)

¹ PricewaterhouseCoopers GmbH has performed a limited assurance engagement on the German version of the Corporate Responsibility Report and issued an independent assurance report in German language, which is authoritative. The following text is a translation of the independent assurance report.

Independent Practitioner’s Report on a Limited Assurance Engagement on Non-financial Reporting¹ 

To Deutsche Telekom AG, Bonn
We have performed a limited assurance engagement on the combined non-financial statement of Deutsche Telekom AG, Bonn, (hereinafter the “Company”) for the period from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2021 (hereinafter the “Combined Non-financial Statement”) included in section “Corporate responsibility and non-financial statement” of the combined management report.

Not subject to our assurance engagement are the external sources of documentation or expert opinions mentioned in the Combined Non-financial Statement.

Responsibility of the Executive Directors
The executive directors of the Company are responsible for the preparation of the Combined Non-financial Statement in accordance with §§ (Articles) 315c in conjunction with 289c to 289e HGB ("Handelsgesetzbuch": "German Commercial Code") and Article 8 of Regulation (EU) 2020/852 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 June 2020 on establishing a framework to facilitate sustainable investment and amending Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 (hereinafter the "EU Taxonomy Regulation”) and the Delegated Acts adopted thereunder, as well as for making their own interpretation of the wording and terms contained in the EU Taxonomy Regulation and the Delegated Acts adopted thereunder, as set out in section “Compliance with the EU taxonomy  transparency requirements” of the Combined Non-financial Statement.
This responsibility includes the selection and application of appropriate non-financial reporting methods and making assumptions and estimates about individual non-financial disclosures of the Group that are reasonable in the circumstances. Furthermore, the executive directors are responsible for such internal controls as the executive directors consider necessary to enable the preparation of a Combined Non-financial Statement that is free from material misstatement whether due to fraud or error.

The EU Taxonomy Regulation and the Delegated Acts issued thereunder contain wording and terms that are still subject to considerable interpretation uncertainties and for which clarifications have not yet been published in every case. Therefore, the executive directors have disclosed their interpretation of the EU Taxonomy Regulation and the Delegated Acts adopted thereunder in section “Compliance with the EU taxonomy transparency requirements” of the Combined Non-financial Statement. They are responsible for the defensibility of this interpretation. Due to the immanent risk that indeterminate legal terms may be interpreted differently, the legal conformity of the interpretation is subject to uncertainties.

Independence and Quality Control of the Audit  Firm
We have complied with the German professional provisions regarding independence as well as other ethical requirements.

Our audit firm applies the national legal requirements and professional standards – in particular the Professional Code for German Public Auditors and German Chartered Auditors (“Berufssatzung für Wirtschaftsprüfer und vereidigte Buchprüfer“: “BS WP/vBP”) as well as the Standard on Quality Control 1 published by the Institut der Wirtschaftsprüfer (Institute of Public Auditors in Germany; IDW): Requirements to quality control for audit firms (IDW Qualitätssicherungsstandard 1: Anforderungen an die Qualitätssicherung in der Wirtschaftsprüferpraxis - IDW QS 1) – and accordingly maintains a comprehensive system of quality control including documented policies and procedures regarding compliance with ethical requirements, professional standards and applicable legal and regulatory requirements.

Responsibility of the Assurance Practitioner
Our responsibility is to express a conclusion with limited assurance on the Combined Non-financial Statement based on our assurance engagement.

We conducted our assurance engagement in accordance with International Standard on Assurance Engagements (ISAE) 3000 (Revised): Assurance Engagements other than Audits or Reviews of Historical Financial Information, issued by the IAASB. This Standard requires that we plan and perform the assurance engagement to obtain limited assurance about whether any matters have come to our attention that cause us to believe that the Company’s  Combined Non-financial Statement, other than the external sources of documentation or expert opinions mentioned in the Combined Non-financial Statement, are not prepared, in all material respects, in accordance with §§ 315c in conjunction with 289c to 289e HGB and the EU Taxonomy Regulation and the Delegated Acts issued thereunder as well as the interpretation by the executive directors disclosed in section “Compliance with the EU taxonomy transparency requirements” of the Combined Non-financial Statement.
In a limited assurance engagement the procedures performed are less extensive than in a reasonable assurance engagement, and accordingly a substantially lower level of assurance is obtained. The selection of the assurance procedures is subject to the professional judgement of the assurance practitioner.

In the course of our assurance engagement, we have, amongst other things, performed the following assurance procedures and other activities:

• Gain an understanding of the structure of the Group’s sustainability organisation and stakeholder engagement
• Inquiries of the executive directors and relevant employees involved in the preparation of the Combined Non-financial Statement about the preparation process, about the internal control system relating to this process and about disclosures in the Combined Non-financial Statement
• Identification of likely risks of material misstatement in the Combined Non-financial Statement
• Analytical procedures on selected disclosures in the Combined Non-financial Statement
• Reconciliation of selected disclosures with the corresponding data in the consolidated financial statements and group management report
• Evaluation of the presentation of the Combined Non-financial Statement
• Evaluation of the process to identify taxonomy-eligible economic activities and the corresponding disclosures in the Combined Non-financial Statement
• Inquiries on the relevance of climate-risks

In determining the disclosures in accordance with Article 8 of the EU Taxonomy Regulation, the executive directors are required to interpret undefined legal terms. Due to the immanent risk that undefined legal terms may be interpreted differently, the legal conformity of their interpretation and, accordingly, our assurance engagement thereon are subject to uncertainties.

Assurance Opinion
Based on the assurance procedures performed and evidence obtained, nothing has come to our attention that causes us to believe that the Combined Non-financial Statement of the Company for the period from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2021 is not prepared, in all material respects, in accordance with §§ 315c in conjunction with 289c to 289e HGB and the EU Taxonomy Regulation and the Delegated Acts issued thereunder as well as the interpretation by the executive directors disclosed in section “Compliance with the EU taxonomy transparency requirements” of the Combined Non-financial Statement.

We do not express an assurance opinion on the external sources of documentation or expert opinions mentioned in the Combined Non-financial Statement.

Restriction of Use
We draw attention to the fact that the assurance engagement was conducted for the Company’s purposes and that the report is intended solely to inform the Company about the result of the assurance engagement. Consequently, it may not be suitable for any other purpose than the aforementioned. Accordingly, the report is not intended to be used by third parties for making (financial) decisions based on it. Our responsibility is to the Company. We do not accept any responsibility to third parties. Our assurance opinion is not modified in this respect.

Frankfurt/Main, 15 February 2022

PricewaterhouseCoopers GmbH
Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft

Thomas Tandetzki                                    Hendrik Fink
Wirtschaftsprüfer   
[German public auditor] 

¹ PricewaterhouseCoopers GmbH has performed a limited assurance engagement on the German version of the combined non-financial statement and issued an independent practitioner`s report in German language, which is authoritative. The following text is a translation of the independent practitioner`s report.