Swisscom

Swisscom is committed to applying accessibility principles in designing its products. This is evidenced through the company’s extensive list of product features and services that accommodate the needs of people with disabilities. The company also reports the number of people with disabilities that it employs. In addition, Swisscom reports how it distributes the economic value it generates among its stakeholders as well as its employment and the income taxes it pays in its main markets of operation.

Through its Swisscom Academy, the company has been teaching people in Switzerland how to use mobile devices and the internet since 2005. It also trains children in media literacy.

Swisscom demonstrates leading practice by providing a public copy of its information security management certificate and by reporting the data breaches it experiences. The company also provides a mechanism for parental control of content for children and cooperates with the Swiss national authorities on protection of minors.

Swisscom partners with various universities on projects focusing on topics such as youth media consumption and the contribution of 5G to climate protection. Furthermore, it promotes innovation in Switzerland by offering developers anonymised data from its operations. Swisscom also supports start-ups through venture capital and consulting, coaching programmes and other services. In addition, Swisscom discloses the ethical principles it follows for Artificial Intelligence.

There is limited evidence of Swisscom’s efforts in ensuring universal and affordable access to digital technologies. While the company reports some activities, such as an annual event, to advance the digital inclusivity of women and girls, it can consider expanding its support in this area by introducing ongoing programmes.

Swisscom has an opportunity to extend its support for digital skills development through initiatives advancing intermediate and technical digital skills.

Next to publishing its information security management certificate, Swisscom can demonstrate high-level accountability for cybersecurity as well as report its approach to information security management. The company should also report the government requests it receives for user information. Additionally, Swisscom can make a high-level commitment to child online safety.

Swisscom has an opportunity to expand its support for open innovation by participating in projects advancing open-source technologies and open standards. It can also extend its support for the tech start-up ecosystem by supporting entrepreneurs from underrepresented groups. Although the company reports the number of its employees working in research and development (R&D), it can provide information on their gender breakdown.

Swisscom commits to respecting human rights, but it does not have a publicly available policy statement committing to respect the ILO core labour rights. The company has a grievance mechanism accessible to both workers and external stakeholders to raise human rights concerns and complaints. However, it does not disclose a process to identify, assess and act on the salient human rights risks in its own operations. Swisscom describes the stakeholders it engages with in general, but it does not specify whether it engages with stakeholders whose human rights could be affected by its activities. 

The company does not disclose a policy commitment stating that it does not require workers to work more than the regular and overtime hours, and it does not explicitly state whether it requires its business relationships to make this commitment. The company publicly commits to promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment and has time-bound targets on the subject. It does not, however, provide breakdowns to report the workforce diversity within different employee categories.

Swisscom 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. The company does not disclose its income tax payments in individual tax jurisdictions. Swisscom states that it does not make political contributions. However, it does not disclose its lobbying expenditures.