United Internet

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

United Internet supports digital education through its vocational training programmes.

United Internet discloses how cybersecurity is handled at the senior level in the company. The company considers data privacy a key topic in its materiality analysis. It also reports data breaches. Furthermore, United Internet supports child safety by providing content control in its products as well as having educational initiatives for children’s online safety.

United Internet shows its support for innovation by participating in open standards projects. The company also uses the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a framework to measure its own progress in sustainability.

There is an opportunity for the company to show how it supports universal and affordable access to digital technologies for vulnerable groups, digital inclusivity for women and girls, and digital accessibility for people with disabilities. United Internet should also demonstrate how it distributes the wealth it creates among its stakeholders and its employment and the taxes it pays in its main markets of operation.

No evidence was found that United Internet undertakes initiatives to promote basic and technical digital skills development or to increase school connectivity. There are opportunities for the company to contribute to these areas.

The company should make a commitment to child online safety.

United internet can support start-ups and social entrepreneurship. The company can also demonstrate diversity by disclosing the number of women employed in its research and development (R&D) teams.

The company has a grievance mechanism for employees to raise human right concerns. However, the company could extend this to all external stakeholders. Furthermore, the company can make a public commitment to respect human rights and the ILO core labour rights and place the same expectation on its business relationships. Additionally, the company has an opportunity to provide information on how it assesses and mitigates human rights risks.

United Internet promotes best practices by disclosing the breakdown of its workforce by age and gender for different employee categories. Furthermore, United Internet discloses that 33% of its governing body is composed of women. Nevertheless, the company can publicly commit to promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment. Further, United Internet has the opportunity to disclose its commitment to respect workers’ health and safety as well as the mechanisms by which it monitors health and safety. In addition, the company can disclose its approach to labour topics such as living wages, working hours and collective bargaining.

No company policies or commitments related to key ethical business topics – tax, bribery and corruption, and lobbying and political engagement – were found in the public domain in English.