Corporate ethics

Ethical behaviour is the frame of reference (basis) for everything Swisscom has been doing for many years. The public’s ex­pec­ta­tions of the business community have risen sharply. And stake­hold­ers are making legitimate demands for re­spon­si­ble action.

Swisscom endeavours to act in a way that does not lead to any disad­van­tages for cus­tomers, the economy, the en­vi­ron­ment, the general public, social groups, individuals or the company itself. It acts in the knowl­edge that it can maintain its com­pet­i­tive position not only through offering convincing products and services. Rather, acting responsibly and on the basis of ethical principles is just as im­por­tant for Swisscom. Swisscom is committed to transparency and open dialogue with the public. It also encourages its employees to keep asking themselves whether their decisions and actions comply with the norms and values of both the company and society. Swisscom is only economically successful if there is harmony between the company and society.

As its main shareholder, the Con­fed­er­a­tion expects Swisscom to pursue a corporate strategy that is, to the extent economically possible, both sustainable and committed to ethical principles.

Swisscom lives up to this demand through its commitment to the en­vi­ron­ment, society and the economy, in both the analogue and digital worlds. Swisscom’s ethical standards take equal account of the needs of Swisscom and its stake­hold­ers. Swisscom is aware that there are conflicting objectives associated with this. It actively addresses these and strives to collaborate to identify solutions that accord with its corporate culture.

Ethical standards affect the entire company. Swisscom trusts its employees and expects them to act responsibly in their day-to-day work. Man­age­ment sets an example. The Head of Group Com­mu­ni­ca­tions & Responsibility is also the person re­spon­si­ble for Swisscom’s ethics. He is re­spon­si­ble for ethical issues and impact assessments relating to Swisscom’s business activities, and raises staff awareness. In 2019, Swisscom also set up a Data Ethics Board under the direction of the person re­spon­si­ble for ethics, which meets to discuss data projects and makes rec­om­men­da­tions for projects and management.

The 2025 Sus­tain­abil­ity Strategy creates added value for society, the economy and the en­vi­ron­ment and stands for ethically re­spon­si­ble entrepreneurship. Among other things, Swisscom makes a contribution to energy efficiency and climate protection, aims to improve the quality of people’s everyday lives, advocates fair working conditions in Switzer­land and abroad, promotes the de­vel­op­ment of its employees and champions better media skills in Switzer­land. Swisscom checks projects and engagements not only for profitability, but also for compliance with sustainability standards and long-term impact on the en­vi­ron­ment and society.

Swisscom committed to the following rules and code of practice during the year under review:

• Code of Conduct: taking responsibility, complying with rules, being honest and reporting violations – Swisscom’s Code of Conduct contains the minimum ex­pec­ta­tions that the Board of Directors and CEO have of the managers and employees of Swisscom and its Group com­pa­nies.

• Sus­tain­abil­ity governance: transparency and clear responsibilities characterise re­spon­si­ble corporate governance at Swisscom. Sus­tain­abil­ity governance defines the rules in accordance with which Swisscom employees in charge must manage, organise and control.

• Principles of com­mu­ni­ca­tion: employees adhere to Swisscom’s values and principles of com­mu­ni­ca­tion in their day-to-day com­mu­ni­ca­tion with one another and with cus­tomers, as well as in media and public relations work.

• Data Ethics Board: Swisscom has set up the Data Ethics Board to examine data processing op­er­a­tions based on objectifiable values. The Board, chaired by the Head of Group Com­mu­ni­ca­tions & Responsibility, examines specific ap­pli­ca­tion scenarios from day-to-day business. The principles, processes and composition of the Data Ethics Board were adopted in August 2019 in col­lab­o­ra­tion with the CEO, Head of Strategy, Head of Security and Head of Group Com­mu­ni­ca­tions & Responsibility. The Board consists of rep­re­sen­ta­tives from HR, Customer Care, Data Analytics and Mobile Solutions for Business Cus­tomers. The first meeting of the Data Ethics Board, with its new composition, took place in November 2019. The Board advised on and examined projects relating to Swisscom TV and mobile com­mu­ni­ca­tions.
• Transparency and dialogue: Swisscom seeks to establish contact with the public. It maintains an open dialogue with interested stakeholder groups on specific topics relating to its core business. Swisscom employees have the option of anonymously reporting suspected unfair business practices via a publicly accessible whistle-blowing platform. The incoming notifications are handled by the Internal Audit department.
• Re­spon­si­ble data handling: data-based ap­pli­ca­tions and services provide op­por­tu­ni­ties for society, for the economy and for Swisscom as a company. Swisscom is aware of the trust its cus­tomers place in it when it comes to the handling of data. That is why it has set up a data governance procedure. This procedure systematically formulates mea­sures and processes to establish and promote a re­spon­si­ble data culture at Swisscom. The aim is to ensure that Swisscom processes data in a legally compliant and legitimate manner. Swisscom became a board member of the Open Data Association in 2018. This is an example of how the company is involving itself in the socio-political discourse surrounding the public availability of data.