Compliance is the foundation of our business

As the word implies, compliance means conformance, observance and adherence.

At Deutsche Telekom, Compliance stands for the lawfulness of a company's actions. It also represents a clear commitment to ethical principles, such as respect and integrity, which are embedded in our Group Guiding Principles and Code of Conduct.

All of Deutsche Telekom's business depends on these principles. Every single staff member - from the Board of Management to employees – is called upon to ensure his or her conduct is compliant. This benefits everyone: The company itself, its employees, customers, suppliers and shareholders.

The program
Deutsche Telekom's Compliance department supports the Board of Management in establishing the structures required to ensure an effective compliance management system within the company and to firmly entrench lasting compliance awareness among all employees. What is more, compliance officers in the international companies and subsidiaries ensure the implementation of the Group-wide Compliance Program. An indepent auditor certified the adequacy and the effective implementation of the compliance organization of Deutsche Telekom in 2010.

Prevent
The primary focus of Deutsche Telekom's Compliance Program is on preventing misconduct and is backed by the entire management. Alongside the provision of policies, staff are given training on compliance-related topics and issues. In addition, a special advisory service is available for employees and executives to make use of should they be uncertain of how to conduct themselves in certain everyday situations.

Identify and respond
In order to expose cases of misconduct such as corruption or breaches of our rules of conduct, Deutsche Telekom has a whistleblower portal. Anyone (from within or outside of the Group) can use this portal to report potential compliance breaches. We carefully and confidentially review every tip-off and take systematic and appropriate action against actual breaches.