Magyar
Telekom Nyrt.

Awards and accolades achieved in 2021:

• Membership of the FTSE4Good Index  Series and rating as a TOP1% performer
• Membership of the CECE SRI Index of the Vienna Stock Exchange
• ISS ESG  rating “B” Prime 
• MSCI rating result: AA
• Sustainalytics result: 19.1 Low risk
• Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP ) result: Climate change: B, Supply chain: A.

We are aware that the world is about to undergo a major transformation, in which sustainability and digitization will play key roles. We have therefore defined long-term goals until 2030, which we continuously monitor and adapt to the trends as necessary.

Our main objective: Magyar Telekom is to continue to play a leading sustainability role as a company and as an ICT  provider. 

We do more and more to achieve this goal and empower more and more people to achieve this as well. We remain the leading sustainable company in Hungary to make digitization a catalyst of growth for people, families, and businesses, as well as for environmental protection.

In addition to full sustainability compliance, our three main strategic priorities are as follows:

• Digitalization
• Climate protection
• Diversity

New Strategy: We keep our direct and indirect emissions (scope 1 and 2) at net zero by means of an 84 percent decrease (by 2015), and reduce the part of the emissions of our suppliers and customers attributable to us (scope 3) by 30 percent (by 2017).

We provide ICT  services applicable as climate protection solutions so that our customers are able to take action and reduce emissions on their own – and make the commitment that at least half of our revenues should come from services that support climate protection by 2030.

Magyar Telekom stays carbon neutral for the seventh year in a row
Magyar Telekom Group stayed carbon neutral in 2021, repeating its success from the previous six years. This achievement has put the company ahead of the largest telecommunications companies around the world. Our success is based on the purchase of 100 percent renewable energy with Guarantees of Origin for the Hungarian member companies, enhancing energy efficiency, implementing carbon offset, and saving energy. In 2021, we used CO₂ certificates to offset 18 220 metric tons of CO₂.

Since 2020, we have received approval for our Science-Based Target and updated to align with the IPCC 1.5°C goals.

Community Solar Project for Employees
In 2021, we continued the community solar project. Our colleagues were able to rent solar panels which were then installed at our training facilities. They received benefits such as an extra day off as a reward for their efforts and their contribution to our climate protection activities.

Green 1 GB
We would like to offer a choice of service to our customers who consider fighting against climate change as important as we do. Since 2019, they have been able to pick a service that protects the climate. This is the globally unique ExtraNet Green 1 GB option. If a customer goes for the ExtraNet Green 1 GB data extension option, we guarantee that we will generate the same amount of green energy as the one required to transmit the customer’s data using our solar power plants. 6.5 percent of the 1 GB data extensions were the Green option in 2021.

#GreenMagenta
In order to reduce the harmful effects of waste on the environment: 

• We make sure that unused equipment gets reused within the company, by selling it to employees or external partners, or by renting, leasing, or transferring it without compensation (donation)
• We collect waste selectively at more sites
• We improve the equipment’s effectiveness by upgrading our existing contracts, regularly updating collection points, and through communication

The principal aim of the company is to carry out its operations with minimum impact on the environment. We pay special attention to upgrading, repairing and reusing the equipment in our network. The reuse rate of CPE  devices is 31 percent.

We comply with statutory regulations in force and inform our customers about the various waste-disposal options for used equipment and batteries on our websites. The volume of such waste showed a decreasing trend even though we provide customers with an opportunity to exchange returned waste and receive a discount on the price of new devices.

All of the products we sell are certified with energy efficiency certificates in conformity with the requirements of the European Union. They are also in compliance with the environmental standards defined by Hungarian law. Manufacturers’ statements with detailed information about life cycle, reuse, recycling of the product, used materials, and repairability features are available in all our stores. All of our procured network equipment needs to meet our high standards of energy efficiency. 

We are committed to helping six million people to achieve responsible digital maturity between 2021-2030. We will work on the digitization of the country and make gigabit access available to 100 percent of our customers. For this purpose we implement the following programs:

• Become a Member of Generation Now!  
• Being a digital parent
• Hello Biznisz education platform (SMB)

In addition, we donate digital devices and prepaid services to disadvantaged people. Magyar Telekom and the NIOK Foundation have launched a joint not-for-profit initiative to distribute smartphones to people in need. Many of us have unused smartphones lying around at home, while at the same time other families don’t have a single working device. This means that many people in Hungary are suffering serious disadvantages in this day and age. These people are not able to participate in digital education. They can’t access information, medical care, or even find a job. We realized this state of affairs and decided to join forces with a not-for-profit organization out of a sense of solidarity to address the lack of tools for people in need. At the end of 2021, Telekom offered used equipment worth 137 000 euros through the Mobildonor program.

In 2019, Magyar Telekom started a new program, digital education customized for pensioners, delivered by students. Our goal is to enable everyone regardless of their age to access the benefits offered by digitalization, not only by providing access, but also by developing their digital competence.

A representative survey conducted by Magyar Telekom shows the specific needs of pensioners open to innovation. Many of them already have some digital skills: among people above the age of 65, 53 percent use the Internet regularly, and 35 percent do so on a daily basis. Senior citizens mainly read the news (74 percent), correspond by email (67 percent), and 26 percent visit media sites, while 14 percent also make online purchases.

Respondents all believe that life is harder if you have no Internet skills: 55 percent of them fully, 28 percent partially agree with that statement. However, only six percent of respondents have sufficient knowledge about the Internet. Those who do not use the Internet would like to learn about it, but they admit that they need help with that. What is more, they would be happy to get that help from young people. So much so that as many as 38 percent of those who do not use the Internet would be willing to accept help from teenagers, and even among people above the age of 80, 40 percent would be open to the initiative.

Older people must not miss out on the advantages of the digital world, and we are aware that they need support and guidance. Obviously, they should receive that help from those who navigate the field with the greatest confidence, i.e. from high-school students who are happy to spend their time providing assistance. We have designed a program promoting cooperation with high schools and inviting students to hold digital training classes for members of retiree communities as part of their community service. During these classes, they introduce the elderly to digital solutions that can help them in their everyday lives. While bringing the two generations closer together the “Become a Gen NOW grannie!” initiative also provides an alternative volunteer opportunity to students. This has a low entry level but still generates significant value for society and gives students a real sense of achievement. The young participants can also learn a lot because cooperation is a decisive factor in the development of their personality, and helps them build skills like critical thinking, complex problem-solving, creativity, and communication. We support the students in their preparation by providing them with a detailed syllabus and preparatory sessions for which they can register online. The seniors can take a quiz to determine what they need to learn.

In 2021, the program was modified in line with the circumstances of the coronavirus pandemic. We transformed the training classes into online events so as to maintain social distancing and provide safety for the elderly citizens. Innovative solutions, e.g. live video chat using Viber, Messenger and Zoom applications enabled us to create a new online opportunity for retirees to ask questions and for students to transfer their knowledge. Students have also created easy-to-learn online tutorials and e-learning materials that are shared with seniors through online channels.  70 short videos and illustrated guides broken down into eight topics were published on the program’s own website to help reduce the isolation experienced by the elderly citizens staying at home during the quarantine period. The “Become a Gen NOW grannie!” program was rolled out nationwide from 6 November 2019 and now covers several schools and retiree communities in 16 towns. This transformation and the opportunity provided by online training allows anyone to join the initiative from any location. The program has reached more than 25 700 pensioners.

Magyar Telekom launched an educational program under the title “Being a Digital Parent” in partnership with the Hintalovon Foundation, an organization protecting children’s rights. The objective of the campaign is to draw parents’ attention to the potential threats of their kids’ presence in the online space and provide them with guidance on how content can be consciously and safely shared on social media. We firmly believe that parents’ informed decisions and conscious conduct is beneficial in more ways than one, as it not only decreases the digital footprint of their children, but also serves as guidance and support to increase their online awareness.

The primary platform of the campaign was a dedicated microsite. By filling out our online survey parents can assess their own posting habits and receive help from professionals in the topic. Our role was to highlight the issue, identify cause and effect, raise important questions, and generate a social dialog. Several popular Hungarian opinion leaders who feel responsible for proper online conduct supported the cause. Their posts and the issues they raise have proven very effective in increasing our reach and in engaging people. In addition to our posts, we also addressed the topic in Instagram lives with the experts of the Hintalovon Foundation. The Instagram GIF  pack specifically designed for the program and accessible with the “digital parent” search term has also become very popular.

The program reached more than four million people and more than 30 thousand people have filled in the questionnaire. The program generated a lot of discussions during the campaign and this interest has continued. The public and the media actively addressed the topic for nearly two months and we appeared on all relevant digital, print, TV, and radio media. Our unique GIF-pack developed for Instagram achieved 60 000 clicks and the content shared by our influencers was viewed close to 1.5 million times.

Under the name “D Plan,” Telekom is launching a program on its Hello Business educational platform to help the digital development of SMBs. The pandemic showed that digitalization cannot simply be a way to become successful more easily, but often it can be the only way: businesses today realize how important digital tools and solutions are, although not all small businesses are certain about how to use them or they are reluctant to do so. Telekom Hello Business D Plans provide businesses with easy-to-use, copyable, practical guidance, and proven, ready-made digital case studies which are freely available to anyone on the program website.

The digital plans of businesses, or D Plans, were developed for replying to actual customer expectations, and also to actual problems and issues that small businesses are confronted with. All these were monitored by Telekom over recent years. Our representative survey shows that since the pandemic, customers have higher expectations for the digital presence of businesses, since they are increasingly looking for businesses online. Transparent and reliable presence on the web is of key importance when making a choice. Web searches reveal information on pricing, contact information and customer ratings. The practical guides now available empower businesses to take digitalization steps themselves without outside help or even major investment. The steps required are frequently not very big at all.

When designing the Telekom Hello Business digitalization program, the company worked together with Datalyze to map those areas, topics which were recently most interesting for SMBs on social media sites. The first five available areas where help is provided by the D Plans were identified on the basis of social media analyses prepared by Datalyze on a rolling basis since 2019. Their selection was based on the activities of more than 65 000 relevant users during the past two years. This year’s actual business issues were identified on the basis of the activities of 35 000 users and more than twelve thousand posts analyzed on social media and websites.

The topics selected in this way included launching a Facebook advertisement, writing effective advertising text, positioning within the online space, search-engine optimization, or drawing up social marketing strategies. Assigned experts provide practical help to businesses for those topics by giving a step-by-step demonstration for their digitalization. In future, the available materials can be extended further based on actual demand.

All Telekom Hello Business D Plans are based on an existing success story. They enable anyone to draw inspiration for the digital development of their own enterprise. The examples include proven recipes for success. The interested SoHos and SMBs also receive additional digitalization plans. They can use these as a blueprint for taking simple steps to improve their profitability. This can be achieved simply by copying solutions from other businesses and learning from them.

Magyar Telekom and the NIOK Foundation have launched a joint not-for-profit initiative to distribute smartphones to people in need.

Many of us have unused smartphones lying around at home, while at the same time other families don’t have a single working device. This means that many people in Hungary are suffering serious disadvantages in this day and age.

These people are not able to participate in digital education. They can’t access information, medical care, or even find a job. We realized this state of affairs and decided to join forces with a not-for-profit organization out of a sense of solidarity to address the lack of tools for people in need.

At the end of 2021, Telekom offered used equipment worth 137 000 euros through the Mobildonor program.

The key points of our new Sustainability Strategy created in 2021 are to create a 100 percent inclusive workplace and provide 100 percent accessible services in 2030. 

Key results and developments in 2021:

Closing the gap
As a responsible company, we are aware of the social phenomenon of the gender pay gap and we are committed to closing it within our own business environment. Our ongoing Gender Pay Gap analysis allows us to identify root causes and since 2021 it became an integral part of our compensation and benefit planning process. Effective from the third quarter of 2021, all HRBPs are trained to support people managers in using GPG data in annual performance evaluation and/or salary adjustment periods. In 2021, we joined Amnesty International’s “One Step Closer” campaign pledging to communicate our pay gap. The total gender pay gap percentage of Magyar Telekom Plc. was 14 percent in 2021 showing a stable decrease from 18.5 percent measured in 2019.

We are continuing to experience the actual business benefits engendered by the advancement of a corporate diversity culture. We maintain a stable 50 percent female ratio in our senior management and strive to achieve a 35 percent female ratio throughout management by 2025. In the fourth quarter of 2021, our female ratio was 25.8 percent. Since September 2020, we have maintained our female quota showing at least two qualified female candidates on shortlists for all management-level positions. 

Parental leave and return
Another major step toward retention of the female workforce was development of a new process for parental leave and return to work. The key points of this process are assisted preparation for the parental-leave period, development of stay-in-contact channels, and a back-to-work scheme. Colleagues are provided with a step-by-step guide leading them through the process. It is designed to provide support with information about employee and family benefits and the official preparation process for parental leave. The process also has a strong career-planning feature, encouraging employees to plan their parental leave and return period.

In spring and summer of 2021, we invited our approximately 450 parental leavers to join us on five B@ck to Work Café Sessions. These were live-streamed online discussions focusing on career planning, in-house LD packages, entrepreneurship, life in the agile world, understanding our approach to talent, and CV writing workshops. They were able to follow the livestreams or watch the videos also available on the Intranet.

As supporters of the annual Family-Friendly Companies Gala in November 2021, we have launched a special mentoring award for the newly appointed family-friendly companies. The award allows two selected companies to attend deep-dive workshop sessions and to look into our family-friendly processes and learn how to implement them in their own environments.

Unconscious bias e-learning for all
Our open-source Unconscious Bias Training material in Hungarian has helped many companies here develop their inclusive culture. In 2021, we were working on the development of “boxed” e-learning material that we could donate to any company that wanted to make it a mandatory course within the company.

Inclusion
After a few years we were happy to re-engage in support for the Romaster Foundation, where we provide mentorship and tuition support for two talented Roma students from disadvantaged backgrounds. 

Once again, we were honored to receive the Disability-Friendly Workplace Certification in 2021 (postponed from 2020 due to the pandemic) from the Salva-Vita Foundation and the Social Department of the Hungarian Ministry of Human Resources. Five of our colleagues with disabilities were nominated by their teams and they received DFW honors for their exemplary work. Our D&I expert also received a DFW award saluting her efforts to create a disability-friendly workplace.

In July 2021, our LGBTQ+ allied employee group of 65 attended the Budapest Pride March for the first time in the history of our company. We also introduced the ‘Magenta Pride’ T-shirt to our Brand-Shop which quickly became one of the most purchased items of clothing in the shop. We were honored to be invited as speakers to the launch of Open for Business research about the business benefits of LGBTQ+ inclusion. Since April 2021, we have started the process to become a Trans-inclusive workplace, supporting transgender employees throughout their transition period. We provide inclusive leadership training sessions to people managers and work together with representatives from Telekom Slovakia and the Global Diversity Team we started the Deutsche Telekom Group level initiative. The aim of this was to find an IT solution for transgender colleagues to be able to use their names of choice within employee correspondence regardless of the names in their official documents.

In 2021, we introduced the concept of psychological safety and its connection to inclusive leadership at management and employee levels. Maintaining a psychologically safe space became an integral part of our inclusive management training. Our panel discussion on International Anticorruption Day focused on how inclusive leadership, psychological safety in the workplace, and trust toward whistleblowing could result in a more open, innovative and higher performing company.

Corporate governance
We introduced and implemented the renewed DT Group level Employee Relations Policy and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Policy, and we launched our new 2021-2025 Equal Opportunities Plan.

Since the beginning of the first wave of the pandemic, about 80 percent of our employees have switched to 100 percent telework. Where positions did not allow remote working, such as network setup, troubleshooting technology units, and front-end customer service professionals, we have secured uninterrupted service by providing our employees with equipment and working conditions that meet the requirements of government health and safety rules.

Colleagues who are working parents with children under the age of 14 were provided with an absence supplement if they were unable to organize adequate daycare after schools closed. We also speeded up the processing of corporate emergency assistance and salary advance request applications. At the beginning of April 2020, following an initiative and financial contributions from the Leadership Squad, CEO Tibor Rékasi took personal responsibility and funded the Magenta Alliance Foundation in support of employees facing financial insecurity due to the pandemic crisis. The Foundation also maintained its operations in 2021 and we were honored to receive the Deutsche Telekom Group Team Award in the same year. Tim Höttges generously doubled our prize and donated this sum to the Foundation.