Better Health for All
0
Freenet AG's principal goods and services, such as mobile communications, internet access, and digital television, have no significant direct positive or negative health impact on consumers. While the company implements various health and wellness programs for its employees, these initiatives, along with workplace safety and worker rights, fall outside the scope of the 'Better Health for All' value. Similarly, the company's efforts in environmental impact reduction, such as CO2 emission targets and energy consumption reductions, are not explicitly linked to health externalities in the provided articles, and environmental pollution control is outside the scope of this value. The company's data protection measures pertain to general customer data, not specifically health data. There is no evidence of the company's involvement in health-related innovation, education, crisis response, or addressing addiction potential of its products.
Fair Money & Economic Opportunity
0
Freenet AG is a telecommunications and media company, primarily operating as a mobile virtual network operator. The provided articles detail its ESG strategy, employee matters, environmental protection, and customer satisfaction, but do not contain any evidence that the company offers lending, deposit, or other financial services to consumers. Therefore, all KPIs related to financial products, services, or their impact on economic opportunity are not applicable to the company's core business as described in the evidence. The company is not regulated as a lender, nor does it generate customer finance data or revenue from high-cost financial products, and does not provide debt products or operate financial service access points.
Fair Pay & Worker Respect
-20
The company reported a gender pay gap of 14.3% in 2024, meaning women earn 85.7% of men's pay, with a roadmap to close this gap by the end of 2026.
1
Employee satisfaction, based on surveys, was 67.0% in 2023.
2
The total group voluntary turnover rate was 25.4% in 2024.
3
Two incidents of discrimination against employees were reported in 2024, with no severe human rights impacts or fines.
4
Approximately 13% of the total workforce (445 employees) were on fixed-term contracts in 2024.
5
All employees are covered by Germany's social security systems, which include health and long-term care insurance.
6
Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing
-40
Freenet AG reported no substantiated findings of forced or child labor in 2024 and no violations in its own business area, direct, or indirect suppliers during 2023.
1
The company includes a Supplier Code of Conduct in its contracts, which has been in place since 2018 and is regularly updated.
2
However, there is no quantitative data on the percentage of suppliers whose contracts include enforceable ethical-sourcing clauses.
3
Honest & Fair Business
0
Freenet AG has not incurred any ethics-related regulatory fines in the past three years (2021-2023), with no sanctions for data protection violations in 2023 and no confirmed cases of corruption in 2022 or 2023.
1
The company's whistleblower system is available 24/7 to employees and external parties, complies with German and EU whistleblower protection acts, allows anonymous reporting, and is managed by a committee that examines reports and initiates investigations.
2
The system is widely communicated through various internal and external documents and mandatory training programs.
3
The company had one financial restatement in the past three years, adjusting 2022 values due to changes in electricity and heating consumption determination in 2023.
4
Approximately 80% of the business is covered by external audits, including key subsidiaries, with the Federal Network Agency auditing IT security in 2021 without objections and the Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information conducting an inspection in 2019 without significant objections.
5
The company's ESG controversy score was 24.6 in FY 2024, 24.3 in FY 2023, and 24.9 in FY 2022, all categorized as 'Medium risk'.
6
The data protection department ensures customer and third-party claims are fulfilled promptly, and in 2023, there was one substantiated complaint relating to a breach of customer data protection.
7
Freenet AG maintains a zero-tolerance policy for criminal offenses, has a compliance management system with uniform Group standards for anti-corruption, and requires employees to report benefits exceeding EUR 20 quarterly.
8
The non-financial statement, including GRI disclosures and EU Taxonomy disclosures, was subjected to a voluntary assurance engagement to obtain limited assurance, and Media Broadcast holds ISO 27001 certification.
9
Kind to Animals
0
No evidence available to assess FREENET AG on Kind to Animals.
No War, No Weapons
-40
Freenet AG, a telecommunications and media company, has no reported revenue from arms or defense contracts, nor any involvement in dual-use technology or sales to embargoed regimes.
1
The company states it is not involved in activities related to controversial weapons, and this has been the case since its policy inception.
2
The Management Board is responsible for compliance with due diligence obligations.
3
The company's purchasing guidelines have required ethical, social, and environmental aspects to be considered in procurement decisions since 2017, and a Supplier Code of Conduct has been in place since 2018.
4
However, the company has not provided a compliance rate for these standards.
5
Human rights due diligence is conducted annually in high-risk regions, and the Executive Board receives information on human rights-related risk management at least once a year.
6
Freenet aligns with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, but third-party audits note major gaps in implementation.
7
The company began systematically examining suppliers for human rights and environmental risks in 2022, with annual analysis of direct suppliers.
8
Freenet holds manufacturers and suppliers of mobile devices accountable for the exclusion of conflict minerals, but less than 10% of its supply chain is verified conflict-free.
9
The company has direct business relationships with approximately twenty Chinese companies, and abstract risk is assumed if a supplier is not based in an an OECD member state and purchases goods from a high-risk sector, indicating procurement from conflict-affected or high-risk areas between 25-30%.
10
Planet-Friendly Business
-30
Freenet AG reported total Scope 1, 2, and 3 greenhouse gas emissions (market-based, after offsetting) of 5,668.9 tCO₂e in 2023, representing a 13.7% decline from 2022.
1
The company aims to reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions by more than 60% (specifically 63%) from 2022 to 2030, aligning with a 1.5-degree target, but these targets are not explicitly stated as SBTi-validated.
2
Scope 3 emissions were fully recorded for the first time in 2024, but no reduction target has been set for them.
3
In 2023, 96.5% of electricity consumption was from renewable energy sources, and in 2024, 80.2% of total energy consumption was from renewable sources, with 100% of electricity and heat from renewable sources acquired via contractual instruments.
4
The company has a goal to become carbon neutral by 2030 for Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions.
5
The taxonomy-eligible portion of CapEx was 4.1% in 2023 and 5.4% in 2024, with 0.0% aligned.
6
Freenet reported zero environmental compliance violations in both 2023 and 2024.
7
The company's Green MNKY initiative eliminates around 97% of packaging waste for screen protectors.
8
The proportion of recycled granulate in the fillers used in logistics was increased to 100% in 2023.
9
12.4% of sites are located in areas worthy of protection for biodiversity.
10
The company's climate risk and opportunity analysis in 2024 considered a 1.5-degree scenario and a high emissions scenario.
11
Respect for Cultures & Communities
10
Freenet AG provides an in-house complaints procedure and a whistleblower system accessible to employees, communities, suppliers, and external stakeholders around the clock, available on the company website.
1
The company has one formal partnership with the town of Büdelsdorf for the "Büdelsdorf goes Multimedia" initiative.
2
Freenet has reinvested EUR 700 thousand since 2001 for the development of network infrastructure and the purchase of hardware and software.
3
The company offers an interpreter customer service via a separate hotline for deaf and hearing-impaired customers.
4
No cultural appropriation incidents have been reported.
5
The company's operations do not inherently involve activities that typically require Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) processes or impact cultural or heritage sites, nor is there specific data on cultural impact assessment protocols, community governance inclusion, cultural preservation investment, indigenous supplier engagement, social license to operate, charitable giving to cultural heritage organizations, community fund allocation, cultural incident response, or cultural sensitivity training completion.
6
While over 95% of new suppliers in 2023 were based in Germany, another EU member state, or the European Economic Area, there is no specific local procurement share percentage.
7
Safe & Smart Tech
-30
In 2023, the company had one substantiated complaint regarding a customer data protection breach, which was immediately rectified and reported to the supervisory authority, with no identified data theft or loss.
1
Media Broadcast, a subsidiary, has held ISO 27001 certification since 2013 and was undergoing recertification, while freenet.de email services received the BSI IT security label in 2022.
2
Since 2022, all Media Broadcast employees receive mandatory annual e-learning training on data protection and information security, concluding with a success check or certificate.
3
In 2023, there was one substantiated complaint related to a breach of customer data protection, which was immediately rectified and reported, with no identified data theft or loss.
4
Customers can view, correct, or delete their inventory data and consents on the freenet website and request information about their stored data.
5
The company began increasing authentication requirements in its call center, requiring a service PIN for all customers before a call.
6
Critical vulnerabilities are patched within 21-30 days on average. Contractually, service providers are ensured to meet data protection and security requirements for customer data processing.
7
External security experts regularly conduct penetration tests of exposed IT systems.
8
The company collects personal data only as necessary for contract fulfillment and service delivery, deleting data when no longer needed.
9
Freenet has implemented GDPR requirements, received no material objections from the BfDI in 2019 or BNetzA in 2021, and no fines for data protection violations in 2023.
10
Zero Waste & Sustainable Products
-30
Freenet AG has implemented several waste reduction initiatives, including a high-precision cutter in shops that eliminates around 97% of packaging waste for screen protectors, increasing recycled granulate in logistics fillers to 100% in 2023 (from 50% previously), offering app-based tariffs that minimize paper use, and using a material mix that saves over 30% plastic in some products.
1
The company disposes of non-marketable appliances through certified specialist companies that recycle raw materials, and may commission ISO 14001-certified suppliers for dismantling transmitters.
2
To date, no fines or non-monetary sanctions have been imposed for non-compliance with environmental protection laws and regulations.
3
Freenet exceeded its target of increasing the proportion of shops offering a trade-in service to around 90% by the end of 2023, and the number of devices traded in increased significantly to over 48 thousand.
4
The company increased the proportion of recycled granulate in logistics fillers to 100% in 2023 and eliminated around 97% of packaging waste for screen protectors.
5
External suppliers are required to consider packaging material composition and transport safety standards.
6
Freenet provides customers with information in shops and online about returning old devices to collection points or through its purchase service, and ensures ordered products include manufacturer's instructions for proper disposal.
7