Orange

Orange is among the leading companies in providing universal, affordable and inclusive access to digital technologies. It launched the Tarifa Social (Social Tariff) initiative in 2020, offering fibre access, a fixed line and a mobile line at a reduced price to low-income households in Spain. Since 2015, the Women’s Digital Centres initiated by the Orange Foundation have trained more than 50,000 unemployed women with no existing qualifications in the digital space, across its operating markets in Africa and Europe. The company solicits feedback from the disability community in product design. It also discloses the number of people with disabilities it employs, as well as the adaptations it has made to the workplace to meet their needs. Additionally, Orange demonstrates leading practice by reporting how the economic value it generates is distributed among its stakeholders, and disclosing its country-by-country employment and income tax payments. Moreover, it calculates its indirect impact in the markets where it operates.

Orange shows leadership in supporting digital skills development and school connectivity through several programmes. Through its Digital Workshops programme, it provides training to people across Europe on topics such as using smartphones or personal data protection. Since 2014, its Solidarity FabLabs programme has boosted the job prospects of young people by teaching them skills such as modelling and 3D printing. Furthermore, through the Orange Digital Centres, currently open in 15 countries in Africa and the Middle East and in three countries in Europe, the company hosts coding schools. The company also equips schools with digital equipment across 16 of its operating markets as part of the Orange Digital Schools Programme.

Orange demonstrates high-level accountability for cybersecurity and discloses how it manages information security across the group. It also demonstrates leading practice by reporting the government requests it receives for personal information. Further, the company extensively discloses its efforts to keep children safe online.

Orange has a website dedicated to open source projects and public code sharing. It has signed nearly 78 research contracts with universities between 2019 and 2021 and provides non-profit organisations with access to its technology to address sustainability challenges. The company supports the tech start-up ecosystem through venture capital, accelerators and incubators. It also reports the number of women it employs in tech and engineering roles and is transparent about how it applies ethics in its AI activities.

Orange can improve its performance by reporting the financial and in-kind contributions it makes towards its programmes for enhancing access to digital technologies.

Although Orange discloses the contributions it makes towards some of its digital skills programmes, it can do so consistently across all its programmes in the area.

Orange should report the data breaches it has experienced.

Orange can extend support for start-ups founded by people from underrepresented groups.

Orange commits to respecting the ILO core labour rights, and it has a publicly available policy statement that expects its business relationships to commit to respecting the ILO core labour rights. Orange identifies and assesses the salient human rights issues in its own operations and in its business relationships. Furthermore, the company identifies and engages with stakeholders whose human rights have been or may be impacted by its operations. Orange has a grievance mechanism accessible to both workers and external stakeholders to raise human rights concerns and complaints.

Orange places health and safety expectations on its business relationships and monitors their performance. The company also reports the proportion of its total direct workforce that is covered by collective bargaining agreements. Orange commits to promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment and has time-bound targets on the subject. In relation to workforce diversity, the company provides a breakdown of employees in different employee categories by various indicators of diversity.

Orange has a policy prohibiting bribery and corruption and takes steps to identify and address bribery and corruption. It also includes anti-bribery and anti-corruption clauses in its business relationship contracts. Furthermore, the company discloses a global tax strategy and its income tax payments for its individual tax jurisdictions. In its 2021 Universal Registration Document, Orange states that it is listed on the European Union Transparency Register and that its lobbying representatives follow the company’s Code of Ethics. The company also states that it does not make political contributions.