Uber

Uber integrates accessibility features in its services, for example, making wheelchair accessible vehicles available in several cities. The company also engages with local experts and groups within the disability community to innovate on accessibility solutions.

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

Uber demonstrates some best practices in the area of cybersecurity, such as having a Chief Information Security Officer and information security management certification. It also discloses data breaches and government requests for user information. 

The company supports open innovation by sharing open source code and has also developed open source principles and goals. It follows industry best practice by using the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a framework for measuring its own goals and progress. It also discloses its environmental performance. Additionally, Uber reports the number of its women employees working in tech roles as well the number of women in tech leadership roles.

Uber has an opportunity to support digital opportunities for women and girls as well as initiatives that increase digital access for other vulnerable groups. Additionally, the company can consider disclosing the number of people with disabilities it employs and the steps it takes to create an inclusive workplace for them. It should also report how the economic value it creates is distributed among stakeholders, and disclose the taxes it pays and its employment in its main markets of operation. 

Uber lacks initiatives that support digital skills development and increase school connectivity. There is an opportunity for the company to contribute to these areas.

Although Uber has a Chief Information Security Officer, it can also disclose how cybersecurity is managed within the company. It can also make its information security management certificate publicly available. Further, as a digital company, it should make a high-level commitment to child online safety. 

There is an opportunity for the company to increase its support for the tech start-up ecosystem and share relevant data sets to support efforts towards sustainable development. The company can also disclose the ethical principles it follows in its research and development (R&D), including its AI activities.  

Uber has a grievance mechanism accessible to both workers and external stakeholders to raise human rights concerns and complaints. In Uber’s case, it is especially important that external stakeholders can raise human rights complaints, as drivers are not considered to be Uber employees in many jurisdictions. The company, however, does not commit to respecting all the labour fundamentals outlined by the ILO core labour rights, including the rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining. Furthermore, Uber does not disclose a process to identify, assess and act on salient human rights risks in its own operations and in its business relationships.

Uber publicly commits to respecting worker health and safety, and it places health and safety expectations on its business relationships and monitors their performance. However, the company does not disclose a policy commitment stating that it does not require workers to work more than regular and overtime hours, and it is not explicit in requiring its business relationships to make this commitment. Uber commits to paying its UK drivers a living wage, but it is unclear if the company pays the same throughout its global operations. The company commits to promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment and has time-bound targets on the subject, as well as more than 30% women on its board. Uber also reports employee numbers for various indicators of diversity per employee category, but it has an opportunity to provide these breakdowns for additional indicators of diversity, such as age group.

Uber has a policy prohibiting bribery and corruption, takes steps to identify and address bribery and corruption and has a grievance mechanism for stakeholders to raise concerns and complaints on the topic. However, it does not include anti-bribery and anti-corruption clauses in its business relationship contracts. Uber follows best practice by having a global tax strategy. However, the company does not disclose its income tax payments for its individual tax jurisdictions. The company also lacks a lobbying and political engagement approach beyond the US. Additionally, it has no public statement indicating that it does not make political contributions, and it does not disclose its lobbying expenditures.