Telefónica is committed to respecting and promoting Human Rights across its value chain, with governance and oversight at the highest level.
Human Rights must be respected in all circumstances, both by Telefónica and our partners. We are actively working to ensure this, whether when we deploy telecommunications networks or use technologies such as Artificial Intelligence.
Given the nature of our business, we work to ensure the respect of digital rights, such as privacy, data security, and freedom of expression, as well as rights related to the responsible use of new technologies and the respect of social aspects throughout the value chain, among others.
To achieve it, it is essential to have support from the highest level of the company. Therefore, the ultimate responsible body is the Board of Directors. This body is responsible for approving the Global Human Rights Policy and the Responsible Business Plan, which set the strategic objectives related to sustainability.
On the other hand, the Sustainability and Regulation Committee ensures the fulfilment of the Human Rights objectives outlined in this plan.
Our Due Diligence
We have a robust due diligence process in place to identify, prevent, mitigate, and remediate human rights impacts across our value chain.
Our due diligence approach is guided by the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct, and various international human rights conventions and frameworks.
We have a Global Human Rights Policy, approved by the Board of Directors, which reaffirms our commitment to respecting and promoting human rights and sets out general guiding principles.
In turn, this commitment to human rights in emboied in other specific policies such us the Supply chain sustainability policy and the Global Environmental and Energy Policy, among others.
Global Impact Assessments
We conduct human rights assessments to identify actual and potential Human Rights impacts arising from our products, services, and business activities.
Local Impact Assessments
We assess whether the issues/ impacts identified globally materialise at a local level within our key operations.
Once impacts are identified, we carry out initiatives to prevent, mitigate or neutralise them. For example:
- We implement recommendations, gathered from impact assessments.
- We provide a mandatory human rights training course for all employees, and offer additional courses through our training portal.
- We integrate human rights considerations into the design of our products and services.
- We require all suppliers within our procurement model to meet minimum sustainability standards.
We define and track key indicators, which are included in the Responsible Business Plan. Progress on implementation is reported to the Board of Directors through the Sustainability and Regulatory Commission.
We publish an annual sustainability report, along with ad hoc reports tailored to business developments and the evolving context.
We have the Queries Channel and the Whistleblowing Channel which enable any individual or entity to raise concerns or complaints related to human rights, among other aspects.
Both channels are public, available in several languages, accessible 24/7 and allow users to submit queries anonymously if they wish.
All information received is handled securely and confidentially, and we are committed to addressing concerns diligently, working to provide appropriate remedies for every case.
Key areas of action
- Some key actions for the respect and promotion of Human Rights:
We assess the impact of human rights on 100% of our operations
We train all employees on HR issues
We audit suppliers even beyond level 1 to improve their sustainability performance
We require 100% of suppliers within the procurement model to accept our code of conduct
We work on multi-stakeholder initiatives to promote human rights
- We are part of some initiatives such as:
Joint Alliance for Corporate Social Responsibility (JAC): Association of telco companies promoting respect for sustainability in the telco supply chain
B-Tech: United Nations Initiative promoting HR and digital rights
- We are proud of our leading position in:
Ranking Digital Rights: 1st place place in the latest edition of the Ranking Digital Rights Telco Giants Scorecard
World Benchmarking Alliance: Telefónica has been recognised as a global leader in inclusion by the World Benchmarking Alliance
Human Rights Policy
We promote respect for the rights of customers and employees, and seek to contribute to the progress of society.