Verizon

Verizon offers discounted broadband internet services to low-income households in the US through its Fios Forward programme. Moreover, Verizon has products that accommodate users with hearing and visual disabilities, such as its hearing-aid compatible phones and its TV text-to-speech feature.

The company’s Verizon Innovative Learning programme has provided free technology, internet access and a technology-driven curriculum to 511 schools across the US since the programme’s inception, exceeding its goal to reach 350 schools by the end of 2021. Additionally, the company supports programmes for enhancing technical digital skills through its non-profit partner. Generation, an organisation offering a reskilling programme for people looking for jobs in fields such as digital marketing and web development.

Verizon demonstrates leading cybersecurity practices in its operations. It has a high-level commitment on the topic and assigns responsibility for cybersecurity. The company also shows leading practice by reporting the government requests it receives for personal information by country. Additionally, Verizon demonstrates strong support for online child protection with its guidance on reporting any illegal activity involving children and with its partnerships with key international and regional authorities.

Verizon demonstrates best practice in promoting open and sustainable innovation. It discloses the source code for its products through a single platform, and it collaborates with academia on developing the 5G ecosystem as well as on research addressing sustainability and environmental concerns. The company provides early-stage strategic investments through Verizon Ventures. It supports start-ups in the form of funding, organising business challenges and offering the use of its 5G technology. Verizon also discloses its carbon emissions across all scopes and offers customer solutions that make the grid less resource intensive.

The company can disclose the financial and non-financial resources it contributes to its digital access programmes, and participation numbers and resulting impacts. Although the company describes how it adapts its workplace to meet the needs of its employees with disabilities, it can also report the number of people with disabilities it employs. Additionally, Verizon can enhance transparency by reporting how it distributes the economic value it generates among its stakeholders and the income taxes it pays and its employment in its main markets.

Verizon has an opportunity to support other initiatives that advance digital skills. In addition, the company can publish a third-party impact assessment of its skills and school connectivity programmes.

Verizon has an opportunity to increase its transparency by reporting the number of data breaches it experiences and making its information security management certificate publicly available. Additionally, the company should adopt a group privacy policy that applies uniformly to all customers regardless of their location.

Verizon has an opportunity to improve its performance in the area of innovation by extending its venture capital funding to businesses owned by people from underrepresented groups. Further, as a leading company in digital inclusion, Verizon should disclose how it ensures its innovation activities are inclusive, including the number of women it employs in tech roles. In addition, as a company that applies new technology in its operations, such as 5G and artificial intelligence (AI), Verizon should disclose publicly available principles which it commits to for ethical AI development.

Verizon commits to respecting human rights, and it has a publicly available human rights statement that expects its business relationships to commit to respecting the human rights and the ILO core labour rights. The company provides a publicly available policy statement committing to respect all of the ILO core labour rights; however, in some cases the commitment does not go beyond compliance with applicable laws. Verizon indicates that it conducts human rights due diligence and impact assessments through its dedicated Business and Human Rights Program. The company also identifies the stakeholders it engages with. However, it should specify which of these stakeholders’ human rights could be impacted by its operations. Verizon has a grievance mechanism available to both employees and external stakeholders to raise human rights complaints and concerns.

Verizon publicly commits to respecting worker health and safety. It also requires this commitment from its business relationships and monitors their performance. However, the company can also disclose quantitative information on health and safety for its workers. Additionally, Verizon can disclose a policy commitment stating that its workers are not required to work more than the regular and overtime hours. Despite its efforts on empowering women in the digital economy, the company does not provide evidence of a policy commitment towards promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment. Verizon provides a breakdown of employees in different categories by gender, race and ethnicity. However, it can improve its disclosures on workforce diversity by reporting the number of employees per employee category by age group as well.

Verizon has a policy prohibiting bribery and corruption, and it includes anti-bribery and anti-corruption clauses in its business relationship contracts. Moreover, the company has a global tax strategy. It discloses the income taxes it pays in three categories – US federal, US state and foreign taxes. However, it does not disclose its income tax payments for all its individual tax jurisdictions. Verizon discloses its approach to lobbying and political engagement. The company states that it allows political contributions by exception and clearly states the criteria for making them. However, the company does not disclose its lobbying expenditures for its global operations.