Frequently asked questions

Deutsche Telekom awards #GreenMagenta and #GoodMagenta to in-house products, services, or initiatives that demonstrably offer one or more sustainability benefits. Decisions on awards are made by the inter-divisional board. In advance, the product or service must be checked for its ecological and social impact as part of an impact measurement. The process has been validated and certified by TÜV Rheinland.

#GreenMagenta and #GoodMagenta make our small victories on the path towards a sustainable Deutsche Telekom more apparent. They are not supposed to be a certificate – in fact, it’s a small step on the path to ensuring more transparency. They help our customers and other stakeholders to make decisions. At the same time, #GreenMagenta and #GoodMagenta motivate our employers to set new standards in the categories “Environment” and “Digital Participation”.

We use two labels, because we award in two different categories: “Environment” and “Digital Participation”. #GreenMagenta stands for the category “Environment”. This category takes in products, services, projects, actions, and initiatives that make a positive contribution towards better climate protection and more responsible use of resources. #GoodMagenta indicates the category “Digital Participation”. This category describes services, projects, actions, and initiatives that make a positive contribution to meeting social challenges in the digital world.

The board is currently made up of Deutsche Telekom in-house experts working in such areas as sustainability, climate protection, and social responsibility. We aim to further develop the #GreenMagenta and #GoodMagenta label based on an open dialogue with the wider community. We have sought the advice of external sustainability experts to guide us in drawing up the conceptual design for the label. The entire awarding process of Deutsche Telekom’s two sustainability labels has been validated and certified by TÜV Rheinland.

The awarding process also includes professional impact measurement, that records ecological and social impacts of the product. The criteria we use in the category “Environment” include such successes as achieving significant reductions in power consumption and supporting the circular economy – measures reducing the CO2-Footprint. Examples of criteria for the category “Digital Participation” include efforts to promote media literacy and barrier-free accessibility. Our assessment is based on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

We are constantly developing #GreenMagenta and #GoodMagenta and the underlying criteria. We welcome all feedback containing new ideas, comments, and suggestions for improvement – all in the spirit of our #takepart campaign.

We set out clear rules when awarding #GreenMagenta and #GoodMagenta. All employees can nominate Deutsche Telekom products, services, or initiatives, use the professional impact measurement tool to assess their environmental and social impact and apply for the label. Using our defined criteria, our expert board then reaches a decision as to whether the label is awarded or not. The awarding process, including the impact measurement, has been validated and certified by TÜV Rheinland.

The criteria were developed by an internal expert team in cooperation with external experts. Together with our stakeholders, we constantly develop further criteria. By now, the awarding process also entails a professional impact measurement. 

The criteria were chosen in such a manner that they address our sustainability goals and current social challenges. We also used Stakeholder feedback and advice from independent experts for the further development of the criteria. The awarding process, including the impact measurement, has been validated and certified by TÜV Rheinland.

No, we don’t believe it is, because, with #GreenMagenta and #GoodMagenta, we want to contribute towards more transparency and, at the same time, promote sustainability awareness. We only use #GreenMagenta and #GoodMagenta for relevant, verifiable progress in the “Environment” and “Digital Participation” fields. What #GreenMagenta and #GoodMagenta refer to is specifically described on a brief sentence located beneath the icon. The awarding process and the impact measurement have been validated and certified by TÜV Rheinland. As the market evolves and progress can be caught up with time, the sustainability benefits need to be re-evaluated after 12 months.

No! Of course, some products may offer sustainability benefits in both categories. In such a case, we will only award #GreenMagenta and #GoodMagenta for the category in which the greatest sustainability benefit is achieved.

The “Digital Participation” category describes services, measures, and initiatives that make a positive contribution towards solving social challenges in the digital world. Digitalization opens so many new ways to participate in society. However, it must also be possible to realistically assess the risks associated with digital communication. It is important to us that nobody gets left behind in the digital society. That is why we promote initiatives designed to improve media literacy among children, young people, and adults of all ages.

Even for children and young people, it is important to learn how to safely and competently use digital media and be able to understand and assess information. They shouldn't just consume information; they should use it with purpose and create it themselves. This is how they can participate in our digital world. Deutsche Telekom promotes digital media competence with various initiatives and projects – not just for children and young people but for people of all ages.

No, of course not! It goes without saying that we are striving to achieve sustainability standards with our other products too. Among other things, this is demonstrated by the strict requirements our suppliers must meet. The primary objective of #GreenMagenta and #GoodMagenta is to highlight particularly positive examples of environmental and social sustainability. Labelled products and solutions must demonstrate significant environmental or social benefits compared to other products available on the market.

No. For instance, a large percentage of our fixed-line products bear the “TÜV Green Product” label. This has not changed following the introduction of #GreenMagenta and #GoodMagenta.

In case you have a question beyond the frequently asked questions listed here, please feel free to send us a message via the "Corporate Responsibility" contact form. 

The original idea of our own label - to make our commitment more recognizable and to create more transparency - remains the same. The extensive award process by a committee also remains. Only the labeling of the products and services changes to #GreenMagenta and #GoodMagenta. Less “we care”, more “we do” - this is how the change to the new labels for particularly ecological or socially sustainable offers can be described.