Cogent

No evidence was found of the company’s leading practices in this area.

No evidence was found of the company’s leading practices in this area.

No evidence was found of the company’s leading practices in this area.

No evidence was found of the company’s leading practices in this area.

Little evidence was found of Cogent’s activities to make digital technologies widely available, affordable and accessible. The company can support digital opportunities for women and girls. It can also report on how it distributes its direct economic value among its stakeholders.

No evidence was found that the company supports digital skills development and school connectivity. The company has an opportunity to assist with training initiatives for digital skills development and to improve school connectivity for vulnerable and under-represented groups.

Although Cogent reports according to the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) standards, it did not disclose the number of data breaches it experienced over 2020. Its privacy policy states distinct rules for customers based on their location, instead of using best practices globally. Overall, the company can improve across all aspects of use, provide more transparency on how it manages cybersecurity and commit to child online protection.

No evidence was found on Cogent’s activities in relation to open, inclusive and ethical innovation. Cogent has an opportunity to report on its initiatives in this area.

Cogent mentions in a publicly available policy statement that it expects its business relationships to commit to respect the ILO core labour rights. However, it does not commit to the same in its own operations. Nor does it disclose a public commitment to respect human rights. Furthermore, the company does not disclose a process to identify, assess, and take action on the salient human rights risks associated with its own operations and with its business relationships. The company has a grievance mechanism for its own workers to raise human rights concerns and complaints. However, it is unclear if the mechanisms allows users to choose to identify themselves or remain anonymous. Cogent does not have a grievance mechanism for external stakeholders to raise human rights complaints.

Cogent places health and safety expectations on its business relationships and monitors their performance. However, it does not commit to respect worker health and safety in its own operations. The company lacks disclosure in relation to labour fundamentals. For example, the company does not explicitly state that it does not require workers to work more than regular and overtime hours. It does not disclose the percentage of its workforce covered by collective bargaining agreements, and it provides no relevant evidence in relation to paying its workers a living wage. While Cogent provides a breakdown of employees in different employee categories by gender, it does not disclose any other indicators of diversity for its workforce.

Cogent has a policy prohibiting bribery and corruption, but it does not include anti-bribery and anti-corruption clauses in its contracts with business relationships. While the company discloses the income taxes it pays in three categories: federal, state and foreign, it does not disclose income tax payments in individual tax jurisdictions. Furthermore, the company does not disclose a global tax strategy. Cogent does not disclose its approach to lobbying and political engagement. Specifically, the company has no public statement that indicates it does not make political contributions, and it does not disclose its lobbying expenditures.

The below datasheet disaggregates scores within the three core social measurement areas and by specific indicators.