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Corporate people discussing ethical policies in a meeting

Corporate governance through conviction

Our ethical policies

Our expectations are high...

for ourselves, our actions, and our behavior. This applies to our board of directors as well as to our more than 26,000 employees worldwide.

What does good corporate governance mean to us?

Smiling businessman in the office in front of colleagues

We firmly believe that we, as a company, strengthen the trust of our shareholders, stakeholders, and business partners by adhering to and monitoring our ethical and moral principles (code of practice), legal standards, and compliance guidelines. To this end, T-Systems follows comprehensive principles contributing to good corporate governance. Transparency, accounting guidelines, compliance, and ethical standards are also included in this. These principles correspond with the relevant legal frameworks and fulfill the requirements of our parent company, Deutsche Telekom AG, and the public. For us, corporate governance means publishing transparent financial reports, controlling our subsidiaries effectively, implementing guidelines and rules in full, pursuing sustainable business development, adhering to ethical guidelines, and supporting integrity and engagement.

These principles of corporate governance allow us to:

  • guarantee standards for quality and security within the company,
  • offer products and services with over 100 holdings in over 20 countries, and
  • aim for sustainable economic success, together with our partners.

At T-Systems, good corporate governance is based on the corporate governance rules defined by Deutsche Telekom; the code of conduct; the Group mission statement; the environmental goals of the different business units; and the balancing of finances, the environment, and social matters. In addition, we take on ethical responsibility, such as through sport and cultural sponsorship, corporate engagement, and educational support through the Deutsche Telekom Foundation.

High standards are also applied to our partners

Businessman and businesswoman in the office

For us, corporate governance doesn't stop with our company. We take care to ensure that our suppliers and partners also conform to all legal and ethical guidelines, as well as upholding the same high standards within their business that we do in ours.

T-Systems has internationally adopted behavioral guidelines and ethical standards for the company and its employees through its own code of practice, the code of conduct, and the social charter. We expect that our suppliers, investors, and business partners follow similar codes of conduct and commit to upholding the social charter.

Our collective goal is to create value for people through innovative, reliable products and services. Our Group mission statement encourages excellent performance and integrity. Where necessary, we sanction poor behavior consequentially and decisively. In this way, we aim to succeed in the market and recognize our responsibility.

Corporate governance with our customers

Smiling businessman explains something with gestures to his colleague

With our help, our customers have greater flexibility to concentrate on their core business. We support them with all of their services, including on the subject of corporate governance.

IT governance is corporate governance

With a global infrastructure made up of data centers and networks, T-Systems handles the information and communication technology (ICT) for multinational corporations and public institutions.

T-Systems can help you to implement and maintain corporate governance rules and guidelines with ease. It's evident that IT governance is included in this. We understand that trust in your business partners is very important, especially when outsourcing ICT services. After all, corporate governance rules, such as the US Sarbanes-Oxley Act, require specific business processes and control procedures that the respective company must adhere to and provide evidence of, and this evidence chain also extends to ICT providers and their suppliers.

IT governance and auditing

We document our compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley requirements in data centers that we select with an SAS70 Type II report (SAS = Statement on Auditing Standards). This covers the basic infrastructure of IT systems as standard. Our auditors create these annually after their audits, and we make them available to customers. We also carry out further controls individually, in addition to the report, that support compliance. Professional tradesmen and public authorities, for whom corporate governance guidelines have often previously been more like recommendations, can also benefit from this high level of quality.

Keep on the button with environmental protection with IT governance

Sustainability is also important in the IT sector. In the broader sense, the compliance with environmental goals likewise contributes to corporate governance. T-Systems supports you and your IT managers in pursuing your business goals for your company in a sustainable way. As it belongs to our own set of principles to develop environmentally-friendly and sustainable IT solutions (green IT), along with quantified analyses. Through intelligent data management and IT-based real-time communication, you can reduce economical and ecological costs. Despite all of our control mechanisms and auditing processes, we can't forget the human factor. Should an irregularity or instance of misconduct come to your attention in your business relationships, we ask you to provide evidence in our whistleblower portal. We also count this as part of good corporate governance, alongside IT governance, and as a requirement for a long-term and successful customer relationship.

Whistleblower portal

For us, it's all about also sticking to our high expectations in day-to-day working life, that is, both in terms of business relationships and services. If we don't achieve this for some reason, we expressly ask for evidence of this, whether this be from customers, employees, business partners, investors, or other stakeholders. Moreover, we have set up our own whistleblower portal, through which you can submit complaints on accounting, auditing, and any other subjects. You can also do this anonymously if desired. We will follow up on all evidence provided.

Implementation period for a greater proportion of women in the workforce

Description of the specifications, as well as of achieving the target percentage of women on the supervisory board, executive board, and at both leadership levels beneath the executive board, by the end of the first implementation period

According to §36 and §52 par. 2 GmbhG

In line with the "Gesetz für die gleichberechtigte Teilhabe von Frauen und Männern an Führungspositionen in der Privatwirtschaft und im öffentlichen Dienst" (Law for the equal participation of women and men in management positions in private business and public service), it is mandatory to regularly specify target percentages for women on the supervisory board, executive board, and at both leadership levels beneath the executive board, as well as the deadlines for their implementation. The results of the achieved goals should be reported after the deadline of each respective implementation period.

The responsible bodies implementing this have to meet the legal requirements for the [business] specifications on target percentages and implementation periods. The first implementation period has already ended. The specifications and report on target achievement for the end of the first implementation period are accessible via Deutsche Telekom AG's website.

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