Warsaw, 30 May 2022

I am pleased to confirm that the Ringier Axel Springer Polska reaffirms its support of the Ten Principles of the United Nations Global Compact in the areas of Human Rights, Labour, Environment and Anti-Corruption.
In this our second annual Communication on Progress, we describe our actions to integrate the Global Compact and its principles into our business strategy, culture and daily operations. We also commit to share this information with our stakeholders using our primary channels of communication.
Yours sincerely,
Mark Dekan
CEO

Ringier Axel Springer is a leading media-technology company operating in Central and Eastern Europe. We combine classical media and modern technologies. Our portfolio includes recognised media brands like Onet, Fakt, Newsweek, Forbes and Przegląd Sportowy. We offer our customers advertising services and a digital publishing platform. We also operate in the advert market and e-commerce. The mission of Ringier Axel Springer Poland is to “…empower free decision”. We help to understand the world, to find answers to important questions and make independent and informed decisions.
The philosophy of sustainable development is to us an important benchmark in the management process but also the foundation of the values we cherish as a company. So, minimising the negative and maximising the positive influence on the social and natural environment are inseparable elements of our business goals for the years to come. The rules defined as part of the Global Compact initiative will serve as our signpost on this path.
We have been following the idea of sustainable development for a long time.In December 2019,we were the first Polish publisher to join the UN Global Compact initiative; we are also among the 100 publishers in the world who have joined the SDG Media Compact. Our goal is to promote the 17 principles of sustainable development developed by the UN. For a long time, our brands have supported the 17 principles of sustainable development.
Below we describe how the 10 Global Compact principles have been implemented. We provide information about the policies and procedures we applied in 2021 and the activities we launched to apply the principles. The report contains also measurable results of our commitment to the Global Compact initiative which we regularly support.

HUMAN RIGHTS
Principle 1 Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights.
Principle 2 Make sure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses.

In Ringier Axel Springer Polska #We care for others and #We play for a team. Our values include being mindful of each other and building strong, diverse and close-knit teams. As an employer, we take responsibility for building a company that fosters a culture of open dialogue and supports diversity of points of view. As a publisher, we’re proud of our portfolio brands that use their strong voice to represent the excluded, the discriminated and the underrepresented. We give voice to those who are still not heard loud enough. We are a strong voice (for good). 
We recognise how cooperation of  people with different experiences, and coming from different backgrounds  makes us more innovative.  Diversity&Inclusion is not a sprint but a marathon and together with all employees, we want to and will explore it every day - together and separately - by listening, experiencing and developing together.
 

• We invited Polish marketers for an Impact Day conference about Diversity&Inclusion The international event (with sign language interpretation) featured 12 presentations that were a source of interesting insights, inspiration and examples of successful D&I actions.
• Forbes Women Polska champions 'Equal Companies'. The aim of the campaign is to prepare a set of principles to be followed by companies wishing to create equal working conditions for women and men. 
• Our biggest brand Onet has entered in a content partnership with the only Polish LGBTI magazine “Replika” to help them reach wider audiences with their message. Now content from Replika is available on the main page of Onet. 
• We’ve created an “EqualVoice factor”, monitoring representation of women and men in the content we publish. Using the technological expertise of RAS TECH and Ring Publishing's digital publishing platform, we have already implemented monitoring of women's presence in the content of all our websites in 2020. 
• We’ve been supporting & mentoring aspiring women in IT in cooperation with Women in Technology 
• Ofeminin argued for change towards equality happening faster than it now is.. because at a current pace we’d equal status in… 107 years. And “we don’t want to wait 107 years” 
• A series of events for marketing directors, HR directors, brand managers, agencies and advertising and media houses, aimed at mobilising brands to work towards the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. All events organised in partnership with the UN Global Compact 
• A webinar on intercultural communication.

The company’s care for the safety and health of its employees involves protection of their health and life by ensuring works safety, protecting them from accidents at work, vocational ailments and other diseases related to the work environment.

• Organising work and a workplace that ensures safe conditions.
• Acquainting the employees with the OHS and fire protection rules, coupled with regular employee training.
• Training in first aid, fire protection, trial evacuation, scheduled training on occupational safety and health.
• Expiry dates of medical check-ups; taking care of safety of work rooms and the technical equipment as well as the means of collective and individual protection of the employees and use thereof as intended.
• A programme for Supporting the Employees’ Health – an all year long plan of regular webinars conducted by external experts, dedicated to various health-related issues: videos, job sheets and information artwork to support developing new habits; free-of-charge benefits to encourage periodic medical examination.

The key event in which we had a responsibility to act as a medium is Russia's aggression against Ukraine. Our media: Onet, Newsweek, Business Insider, Auto Świat, Komputer Świat and Fakt, as well as Ofeminin and NOIZZ, regularly report on the developments in Ukraine, the situation of Ukrainians and the impact of the war on Poland and the world. A number of initiatives have been launched to support the people of Ukraine.

• On Onet.pl homepage, Onet Ukraina service has been launched. At https://ukraina.onet.pl, Ukrainian users have access to e-mail and announcements, 24/7 live broadcasts as well as articles on the situation in Ukraine and on the Polish-Ukrainian border.
• The Ukrainian section of Onet also offers Onet Email in Ukrainian. The users enjoy free access to email without popping up ads and with bigger mailbox capacity.
• In addition, Onet provides 24-hour live coverage of the latest developments in Ukraine. Thematic panels are also published: Ukraine Podcasts (dedicated to the situation in Ukraine), Foreign Media on Ukraine (the editors’ selection of publications) and special editions of live video programmes
• On Onet.pl homepage, you can watch (free of charge) the biggest Ukrainian news channel Ukraina24 with simultaneous interpretation into Polish.
• Ringier Axel Springer Polska's editors and journalists cover events in Ukraine live 24/7. They report on the Russian attack on Ukraine, the situation of Ukrainians and the impact of the invasion on Poland and the world. Our correspondents report from Ukraine, inform about the situation at the border and the Polish help to Ukrainian citizens.
• "International Report. Ukraine" available on Onet.pl and on podcast platforms. From Monday to Friday, Witold Jurasz, Onet journalist and former chargé d'affaires of the Republic of Poland to Belarus, and his guests - experts on international politics, Polish-Ukrainian relations and journalists - discuss the situation in Ukraine.
•  Onet has published a multimedia reportage "Attack on the free world". It is a multimedia project lauched by Onet journalists, entirely devoted to the events currently taking place in Ukraine.
• The teams of Ringier Axel Springer Polska and Morizon - Gratka Group have jointly created an advertising service for Poles offering help and Ukrainians looking for assistance. 
• Jakdojade application has drawn a list of official donation collections for people from Ukraine. Users of the application receive information about the collection points in all cities by province. The list is updated on a regular basis.
• The Children's Heart Foundation has come to the aid of children in Ukraine. Many of them lost their homes, loved ones and a sense of security in the wake of the war waged by Russia. A special account has been set up for people to donate money to help the young victims of the latest developments. 
• The Business Insider editors have launched a special section "Invasion of Ukraine. Fact Box", dedicated to the deepening crisis and the resulting war in Ukraine.
• In cooperation with the Polish Medical Mission, Medonet service has been engaged in fundraising to purchase the most needed medical supplies, 
• Ofeminin has launched on its homepage a section called Solidarity with Ukraine, providing information about free-of-charge psychological support, also in Ukrainian, and HERstories of heroic women from Ukraine and Poland.
• VOD.PL service provides solutions to help track down films and series available online in Ukrainian.
• As part of the "10% of revenue for 10 days for children from Ukraine" campaign, a portion of the net revenue from sales of RAS Polska premium advertising was to the SOS Children's Villages Association Poland for 10 days in April to take care of children from Ukraine.
• Ringier Axel Springer Polska has launched "Projekt Świetlica" [Community Centre Project] in its offices: an adaptation centre for Ukrainian children and their carers, offering care for the youngest and workshops and orientation training for adults
• Forbes Women has launched a series of webinars for people from Ukraine aimed at helping them find work in Poland: Polish Ukrainian Forbes Women Academy

According to the Great Place to Work employee survey conducted in December 2020, the employees are very positive about the company: the participation rate in the survey in our company was with 74% very high and gives us very strong representation.
• 87% indicated equal sex treatment; the total score for companies in Poland was 63% and 92% for the TOP 12 companies in Poland.
• 95% indicated equal treatment regardless of the sexual orientation; for companies in Poland in general, it was 64% while for the TOP 12 companies - 95%.
• 84% indicated equal treatment regardless of the age; for companies in Poland in general, it was 50%, for the TOP 12 companies 88%.
• 96% indicated equal treatment regardless of ethnic origin; for companies in Poland in general, it was 64%, for the TOP 12 companies 95%.
• 80% of the employees indicated that the company perceives them as humans rather than only employees; for companies in Poland in general, it was 48%, for the TOP 12 companies 78%.

LABOUR
Principle 3. Businesses should uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining.
Principle 4. The elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labour;
Principle 5. The effective abolition of child labour;
Principle 6 The elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.

Our HR policy is based on equal rights, equal responsibilities regardless of sex, age or professional experience. The rules of conduct have been clearly defined and consistently applied thus building up an organizational culture based on honesty, trust and just treatment of all the company’s employees. The company respects all the provisions of the Labour Code.

• Work Regulations
• The employee’s and the employer’s main responsibilities;
• Corporate confidentiality;
• Employee’s material accountability;
• Order regulations;
• Time and place of remuneration payment;
• Awards and accolades;
• Work time, holidays and leaves;
• Work safety and health and fire protection.

1.A new mode of work #discovering the Smart Work philosophy
As the world is changing, so is the mode of our work. Looking for new solutions is a part of our DNA. So we have created the Smart Work programme intended to help to tailor the work tools and environment to the latest challenges. Nothing is lost forever, it just naturally adjusts to the new circumstances. The Smart Work philosophy underpins work in accordance with our natural rhythm and is conducive for building up commitment and partner-like relationships on a daily basis. We all know best what helps us to focus, what drives us and how we work best. Each job has its idiosyncrasies: some tasks require concentration, others call for creativity, or a peaceful environment while some jobs can be done anywhere. The end result is most important. So the goal of Smart Work is to adjust the work environment: the place, the mode of operation, to our natural rhythm by bearing in mind the specificity of our work, ensuring the required competence and habits. #WeCare

2. Work life balance
At   Ringier   Axel   Springer   Poland, we attach special attention to physical and psychological wellbeing, ensuring support for and security of our employees.   We have developed   10  rules of “Work   life   balance” intended to come up with an optimum work model when working from home. Among the rules are: flexible working hours in accordance with an individual’s biological clock and household chores, not expecting replies to emails after 06:00 p.m., ensuring rest, sleep, coping with stress and work with children. Of great importance has been the fact that the rules were suggested and communicated by the CEO.

3. Psychological Support Programme
We have launched a Psychological Support Programme which has enjoyed considerable interest, especially during the pandemic. A team of experienced psychologists are involved in group and individual support (on duty at least twice a week, including holidays). Each employee is entitled to 5 meetings with a psychologists.

4. Appreciating the employees
Appreciation and feedback are very important elements of our organisational culture; consequently, we have a number of corporate tools and initiatives aimed at appreciation and provision of feedback:
• The People Awards competition and gala – the biggest event in the company, held on an annual basis. The goal of the People Awards competition is to promote the employees who are experts in their areas but also inspire other with their passion, attitude and a high sense of propriety.
• The Best of Onet – a competition for the SG Onet editors and journalists. We award the best editorial materials which underpin Onet’s strategic goals like keeping up to date, reliable journalism and effective distribution of content in social media.
• The DemoDays – regular meetings revolving around the Ring Publishing technological product during which teams of software developers together with “business” and product representatives share their achievements and completed projects. This is an opportunity for the RAS Tech specialists to share their knowledge of what other teams are concurrently working on; it is also a time when the CTO, the managers and business representatives have an occasion to spontaneously congratulate, appreciate and take notice of the teams and individual employees.

The results of the Great Place to Work survey are evidence that we have managed to create a good place to work for our employees.
• 72% of the respondents think that we have created a very good place to work; the average result in Poland is 48%, the TOP 12 companies in Poland enjoy 78%;
• 92% of the respondents indicated that the company has created safe work conditions; the result for all of Poland was 77% and 94% for the TOP 12 companies.

ENVIRONMENT
Principle 7 Businesses should support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges.
Principle 8 Undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility; an.
Principle 9 Encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies.

Of key importance are climate-related activities. We place great emphasis on credibility: we believe that every work starts with oneself. For this reason, for Ringier Axel Springer Poland, achieving zero emissions in May 2021 has been an important step in initiating activities and promoting environmentally friendly attitudes among the employees and companies.

We have launched many initiatives intended to limit the emissions, namely:
• Press production and distribution are the key areas generating our footprint. Consequently, we have launched large-scale projects aimed at a transition from the printed to the online versions of our products.
• Reducing use of plastic in the company – we no longer use plastic bottles or single-use plastic packaging during our events.
• Introducing standards for production of advertising materials production: we no longer use plastic or single-use products.
• New, environmental solutions in the offices:
- electric power: only LED lighting, motion detectors in the bathrooms, kitchens, corridors, sensors which switch off the AC when a window is open, they
also manage the temperature and ventilation after hours (a BMS system); waste: waste is segregated, no containers on the desks (only segregation
containers which are placed in shared areas); water: water filters in taps to make tap water potable, the water in the sink taps and showers is aerated;
- extended infrastructure for cyclists.

However, we do realise that the potential of our actions is not in limiting our carbon footprint (small in comparison with production companies) but in the ability to encourage millions of Poles and hundreds of companies to act.
Since 2020, Onet has been involved in LONG LIVE THE PLANET, the biggest climate education project that is changing Polish people’s habits and showing how to curb the carbon footprint that we all make on a daily basis. This is the Polish edition of the global ActNow project, a United Nations initiative aimed at encouraging people to taking on 10 challenges. 72% of Poles know that immediate action is needed to save the planet, but only half of them know what they could do about it. During the first and second editions of the campaign, over 500 editorial pieces were written, and over 3 million Poles joined the campaign. The project’s substantive partners: UN Global Compact, Warsaw University and Copernicus Science Centre ensure the materials’ reliability and credibility. On the other hand, the project is also a platform for brands willing to educate Poles and promote a sustainable lifestyle.
However, business engagement is the key to reducing emissions. This is why Ringier Axel Springer has launched ZEROEMISSION ACADEMY with the aim of helping companies to devise their strategies for achieving zero emissions. The programme is based on a series of 6 original webinars held at two-weekly intervals. The webinars include substantive training, but also expert debates and presentations of tools supporting the development of the strategy. In the course of the first edition, we managed to train over 400 companies.

We also involve our employees in climate action - in 2021, our employees planted a forest as part of their employee volunteering - our goal is to continually reduce emissions.

ANTI-CORRUPTION
Principle 10. Businesses should work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery

Ethics are extremely important in running a business. An ethical approach is evidence that we respect our customers and competitors. Meeting the highest standards without any compromise should be any company’s responsibility. We all should take care of the natural environment and the world around us from which we take so much. We mustn’t forget about people, the employees and business partners alike. In everything we do, we need to act responsibly.

Ringier Axel Springer Poland is made of people and shared values that guide us.

They were at the heart of developing the RAS Poland Code of Conduct intended to reinforce and promote the shared and universal standards of conduct. We want all our employees to feel comfortable and safe in their work environment; consequently we encourage every person suspecting that his/her colleague is violating the Code of Conduct to talk, at his/her discretion, with the person or persons involved, an immediate superior, the HR Director or a manager.

What is more, we have launched a special system of communication called SpeakUp. If an employee has noticed that another employee is doing something illegal or unethical, he/she may anonymously inform about the situation by means of SpeakUp: over the phone or online. The information and the insider’s personal data will remain confidential while the system guarantees that the message will be delivered to the persons accountable and that each notification will be duly viewed.
Information and entertainment are at the basis of Ringier Axel Springer’s business operations. Professional integrity is the foundation of journalists’ credibility and that of a media company as a whole. Ringier Axel Springer undertakes to meet the highest ethical standards in all its business ventures and journalist practice, with respect to all the collaborators, the readers and users, partners and competitors, public authorities, institutions and the society. Professional integrity is at the basis of Ringier Axel Springer’s corporate culture which means that ethical conduct is expected from every employee, irrespective of his/her position in the company structure.

In order to reinforce and promote the shared and universal standards of conduct that we intend to achieve and which we hold in high esteem, we have created the Code of Conduct, a compilation of principles and guidelines for everyday professional actions and conduct of all the employees of the Ringier Axel Springer Group in the world. The Code combines the values we share, including the ethical, moral and legal requirements we all need to comply with.

We are a medium; among our key responsibilities is combatting corruption and covering acts of corruption. In this respect, FAKT and Onet brands have played a special role. For years, our journalists have been involved in investigations, covering economic scandals, acts of corruption among politicians, companies and even NGOs. These efforts have garnered many rewards.

The high ethical standards in the company are also confirmed by the results in the following area:
• Integrity in the Great Place to Work survey: RASP 67%, average for Poland 47%, TOP 12 work places in Poland: 77%;
• The company is managed in an ethical and honest way: 84% of positive replies, average for Poland 50%, TOP 12 work places in Poland – 86%.