ZTE

ZTE has a programme targeted to promoting affordable technology for the elderly population.

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

ZTE follows best practice by disclosing responsibility for cybersecurity at the senior level. It also has a security incident response team, certification for information security management and reports data breaches. 

ZTE demonstrates its commitment to open innovation through membership of several standards organisations. The company actively contributes to open source projects. In addition, it partners with universities on research projects and has developed green 5G networks.

ZTE has opportunities to support initiatives for universal access to digital technology, digital inclusivity for women and girls, and accessibility for users with disabilities. The company should also report how the economic value it creates is distributed among its stakeholders.

The company has an opportunity to support all levels of digital skills development and school connectivity for vulnerable and underrepresented groups.

As a digital company, ZTE should make a high-level commitment to child online safety and expand its initiatives in this area.

ZTE can enhance support for the technology innovation ecosystem. It should also disclose details about inclusive and ethical innovation, including the number of its women employees working in research and development (R&D), the locations of its R&D facilities and the ethical considerations it applies to R&D and artificial intelligence (AI).

ZTE commits to respecting human rights but does not commit to respecting all the labour fundamentals outlined by the ILO core labour rights, including freedom of association and collective bargaining. Furthermore, the company does not disclose a process to identify, assess, and take action on salient human rights risks in its own operations and its business relationships. ZTE has a grievance mechanism accessible to all stakeholders to raise human rights concerns and complaints, but it does not describe if or how it engages with stakeholders whose human rights could be impacted by its operations.

ZTE publicly commits to respecting the health and safety of workers and places health and safety expectations on its business relationships. In relation to workforce diversity, the company provides a breakdown of employees in different employee categories by age and gender. However, the company lacks relevant disclosure in relation to living wages, working hours and collective bargaining. For example, the company does not specify that a working week should be no more than 60 hours including overtime, and that overtime should be consensual and paid at a premium.

ZTE has a policy prohibiting bribery and corruption, and it includes anti-bribery and anti-corruption clauses in contracts with its business relationships. Furthermore, the company takes steps to identify and address bribery and corruption and has a grievance mechanism for stakeholders to raise concerns and complaints. ZTE states that it does not make political contributions, but it does not disclose its overarching approach to lobbying and political engagement in a public policy document. Furthermore, it does not disclose its lobbying expenditures. Additionally, ZTE does not disclose any relevant information in relation to tax, such as a global tax strategy or income tax payments for all of its tax jurisdictions.