The A1 Group’s target is to reduce its carbon emissions to net zero latest by 2050 and to cut energy consumption per terabyte transferred (in MWh/terabyte) by 80% over the same period, thereby increasing its energy efficiency.

The topic of energy supply is approached from two perspectives. On one hand, the aim is to reduce or stabilize electricity consumption in order to maintain the most energy-efficient operation possible and avoid carbon emissions before they even occur. This goal and the path to achieving it are in line with scientific findings and have been verified by the Science-based Target Initiative (SBTi), which aims to reduce emissions and strives to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees in all sectors. On the other hand, the required electricity should be generated by or purchased from renewable sources as far as possible in order to minimize the environmental impact of electricity consumption. In our Clean Energy Strategy, we have defined specific goals and measures to continuously reduce our electricity consumption and steadily increase the share of renewable energy in our energy mix.

Data-Security and Protection

Compliance with stringent data protection standards is a basic prerequisite for the A1 Group. It ensures the trust of customers in the Group. The A1 Group strictly adheres to the current legal framework in the area of data protection and information security.
 
Personal data is processed in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation of the European Union (GDPR) and national data protection laws, as well as with specific provisions of national telecommunications laws. In the event of a breach of the protection of personal data, a report is made to the data protection authority as required by law and the persons affected are informed of this event.
 
Data of customers, employees, shareholders, suppliers, and sales partners of the A1 Group will only be passed on to third parties if there is a legal basis for doing so. In the event of requests for the transfer of data by courts, public prosecutors, police, or other authorities, these are checked for their legality. Only in the case of a legally compliant request will data be passed on in accordance with legal and regulatory requirements. If necessary, the data subjects are informed about this process in accordance with the legal requirements.
 
In addition to legal requirements, all subsidiaries of the A1 Group are obliged to comply with the information security standards created for this purpose as well as other country-specific data protection guidelines. Almost all companies in the A1 Group already comply with the ISO 27001 standard, and the management systems are regularly evaluated. For example, the ISO certifications are reviewed annually. Adaptations are also made during the year if necessary.
 
The network operators of the A1 Group are part of the critical infrastructure in all countries. The Group is aware of the special responsibility that this entails. For this reason, the company is committed to initiatives that go beyond what is required by law in order to constantly improve security and availability. In November 2021, A1 Croatia opened a new data center in Zagreb. It is the most modern one in the region, meeting the requirements of Tier III (classification of data centers, divided into 4 Data Center Tiers) and withstanding earthquakes up to magnitude 9 on the Richter scale. The A1 Group is particularly committed to cybersecurity. Particular attention is also paid to promoting young talent in the field of cybersecurity. Every year, vocational trainees are given the opportunity to experience the challenges of a critical infrastructure operation in practice.

Human Rights

Having joined the UN Global Compact, the A1 Group is committed to implementing fundamental requirements in the areas of human rights, labor, the environment, and combating corruption. This commitment has been acknowledged by being integrated into the Austrian subsidiary’s Terms and Conditions, for example. In some countries in which the A1 Group operates, national laws can make it difficult to ensure that human rights are respected in full. Where national law diverges from the A1 Group’s commitment to human rights and sets a lower standard, the Group always endeavors to achieve the higher standard, with the well-being of employees being the top priority. In the event of a conflict, the A1 Group applies national law, at the same time attempting to respect human rights as much as possible.
 
Human rights complaints can be submitted on the compliance whistleblowing platform “tell.me portal” – including anonymously if so desired – and are carefully processed in conjunction with compliance processes.

Human Rights Policy

Compliance Management System

Equal Opportunities and Diversity

Equal opportunities and diversity are important components of the A1 Group’s corporate philosophy. With great awareness of its responsibility in society, the company helps to create an inclusive working environment in which all employees are respected, valued, and supported, regardless of gender, age, ethnic origin, religion or belief, sexual orientation, or disability.
 
The A1 Group values diversity and believes that talent is not subject to norms. Diversity means contributing and shaping with one’s full potential. After all, the more heterogeneous, diverse, and varied teams are, the more different perspectives, ideas, and skills they bring to the table. This is an essential milestone, because diversity makes the company more innovative, more efficient, and more changeable – and thus more stable and well equipped for a successful future.
 
Equal opportunity also continues to be a significant issue in society. At the A1 Group, we not only draw attention to this issue, but also actively address it. The A1 Group strives to offer its employees equal opportunities in order to be successful. The A1 Group is committed to gender balance at all levels of the company and has set itself the goal of increasing the proportion of women, particularly in management positions, and achieving pay equality. Not only are the targets regularly reviewed, but measures are also developed to promote diversity on an ongoing basis and across all A1 countries.
 
The A1 Group recognizes that unconscious bias is a major barrier to diversity, equality, and inclusion. Therefore, in order to create awareness for diversity and inclusion in the company, a cross-border e-learning course was rolled out in 7 languages in 2021, which provides comprehensive information and aims to counteract unconscious biases on different levels. In addition, workshops are offered to create new framework conditions and better processes through discussion and exchange.
 

Our Initiatives Concerning Equal Opportunities and Diversity

Various measures are taken at the A1 Group to promote equal opportunities and diversity. Firstly, the A1 Group is committed to ensuring the well-being of its employees and a good work-life balance. Secondly, the company wants to raise awareness among its employees of the different characteristics and needs of their customers.

Digital Competences

The A1 digital.campus offers numerous free innovative workshops ranging from “Coding”, “Robotics”, and “Media & Design” for children and young people to special educational events, hackathons, and holiday camps as well as the Start Up Talents Summer Lab.
 
These events are held at the A1 digital.campus in Vienna and at schools throughout Austria as well as online. The courses are offered for different age groups from 1st to 8th grade. In addition, parent information evenings and training sessions for educators are held in cooperation with SaferInternet.
 
The range of digital education initiatives was rolled out to all subsidiaries of the A1 Group. The topics of “Internet safety” and “digital skills” were also the focus of initiatives at A1 Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, and Northern Macedonia. The offerings ranged from workshops for school classes and students to parents’ evenings, specially designed workshops for girls, and learning videos including e-quizzes. A1 Bulgaria in particular picked up on the growing influence of influencers and produced its own learning videos with a well-known Bulgarian YouTuber on topics such as IoT, 5G, NFC, and digital payment options. A1 North Macedonia launched its own “A1 Academy” for students with a focus on marketing automation, digital marketing, agile working environments, IoT, and 5G.
 
Since 2011, the initiatives have already recorded a total of 353,292 participations in over 18,400 workshops. Despite these successes, the A1 Group wants to give even more people the opportunity to learn more about digitalization. The ambitious goal is to reach a total of 500,000 people in all A1 Group operating countries through digital education initiatives by 2030. This will double the A1 Group’s ambitions over the next 10 years compared to the previous decade.

More information about the A1 digital.campus initiative and the current course program can be found here.

For the older generation, A1 Austria offered a wide range of online workshops as part of the “A1 Seniors’ Academy,” giving people over 60 information on relevant security issues, how to use WiFi correctly, and the latest advice on using cell phones when traveling, video calls, and cell phone parking. Similarly, A1 Bulgaria’s “Internet for All 55+” program produced online videos on issues such as security on the Internet, fake news, phishing, and practical tips on the right way to use mobile devices. In Belarus as well, the #ionline campaign was continued to actively help senior Internet beginners as they take their first steps in the digital world.
 
 More information about the initiative and the current course program can be found here.

Telecommunications technology has always been characterized by constant change and innovation. New technical components are constantly being added, which connect even more people, optimize our existing technologies, and increase our performance. These are pleasing developments, but they also have an impact on the environment.
 
That is why the A1 Group attaches great importance to basic ecological principles. This is reflected in our high ambitions for greenhouse gas reduction in general and in the transformation toward a circular economy in particular. By avoiding waste and conserving resources, we want to keep valuable raw materials in the material cycle for as long as possible. To make the transformation from a linear economy to a circular economy measurable, we use the 9Rs (Refuse, Rethink, Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Refurbish, Remanufacture, Repurpose, Recycle). A framework according to which we align our initiatives and increase our level of circularity. But it is not enough to commit to these principles on our own. It is fundamentally important to cooperate with partners because resource consumption occurs along the entire value chain.
 
According to the principle of “the best kWh is the one that is not used in the first place,” it is also our goal to implement measures within the circular economy throughout the A1 Group in such a way that resources are actively reduced and, if possible, not used at all. For example, artificial intelligence adapts network operation and thus the electricity demand to the actual use and places unused network layers in standby mode in order to save energy. Further steps toward energy-efficient operation are the cloudification of IT and smart energy management systems, which are being introduced step by step.
 
If it is not possible to reduce certain resources, the A1 Group takes care to keep products in the material cycle for as long as possible or to enable a further life cycle. If old devices or equipment can indeed not be used any further, those devices are dismantled at their locations, systematically separated into fractions such as printed circuit boards, copper, iron, or sheet metal, etc., and professionally recycled. The zero-waste-to-landfill goal is being pursued in order to also check previously less relevant waste streams for recyclability and, if necessary, to adapt the waste recycling steps. This should subsequently lead to no more non-recyclable waste being generated and all recyclable materials being returned to a utilization cycle.

The A1 Group’s largest refurbishment and recycling center was opened in Bulgaria in 2016. The refurbished equipment comes not only from Bulgaria and Austria but also from A1 Group customers and can be reused after refurbishment.

The A1 Group is aware of its responsibility toward the environment. Therefore, we are pursuing an ambitious climate vision: the A1 Group has set itself the target of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions from their own operations (Scope 1 and Scope 2) to net zero by 2030 and increasing energy efficiency by 80% over the same period. This CO₂ goal and the path to achieving it are in line with science and have been verified by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).

This confirms that the A1 Group is contributing to the achievement of the Paris Agreement and the 1.5°C target. Most recently, significant savings successes were already achieved from 2021 to 2022, such as a 30% reduction in CO₂. In addition, the A1 Group is also an official supporter of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD) and of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosure (TNFD).
 
Our Group-wide GHG emissions accounting is aligned with the GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard across all Scopes and follows the Operational Boundary approach. Measures in the areas of CO₂ reduction, energy efficiency, and the circular economy set the necessary tone. Initiatives such as the A1 trade-in bonus or the free return of old equipment also encourage customers to make a small contribution.