Philosophy

Corporate responsibility is a philosophy that embraces our core company values and ensures we produce smart solutions that respect our people and our planet. This philosophy finds form in three key pillars:

• Environmental: We value the world in which we live—and continually work to minimize the environmental impact of our operations and products.
• Social: We value the human rights of our employees and work diligently to improve the wellness and personal safety of our professionals and positively contribute to the communities near our facilities.
• Governance: We value integrity and transparency—and work diligently to maintain the highest standards of ethical business practice.

Governance

As a global company, CommScope is exposed to risks at many levels. We are governed by multiple teams to create, direct and implement our sustainability strategy and maintain a thorough system of checks and balances designed to minimize social, environmental, physical and ethical risks.

• The Board

  CommScope’s board of directors has ultimate responsibility for environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies and practices.

• The board’s committees

  The board’s three standing committees provide oversight and guidance for different aspects of ESG:
  - The Audit committee oversees our ethics and compliance program and matters related to ESG disclosures.
  - The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee is responsible for environmental matters and the integration of ESG into governance matters.
  - The Compensation Committee oversees our ESG-related compensation incentives and targets, and strategies related to diversity, equity, inclusion and well-being.

• The Executive Sustainability Council (ESC)

  Comprising individuals from our senior management team, members of the ESC meet at least annually, determine the overall Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability (CR&S) strategy, mission and goals, review corporate strategy and performance, and approve company-wide strategies and initiatives.

• The Ethics, Compliance and Sustainability (ECS) Teams

  Team leaders and specialists who provide subject matter expertise and program management. They are responsible for determining best practices based on social, political, economic and environmental trends in the market and society, and legal and customer requirements; developing and maintaining company policies and initiatives; conducting internal audits; monitoring and reporting on CR&S performance; and coordinating with local teams at each facility to implement strategic initiatives, activities and best practices.

• Support teams

  Senior-level cross functional leaders and local support teams who represent our internal functions and help translate our sustainability strategy into practice. Teams include roles like site director, HR manager, ethics officer, EHS specialist and supplier quality engineers (SQEs).

• All employees

  Support the sustainability program and strategy, provide feedback and suggestions to drive improvement.

Progress

At CommScope, we periodically review the sustainability issues we face and capture input from our stakeholders to identify risks and opportunities, shape our strategy and clarify where to focus our resources. We consider a wide range of economic, environmental, social and governance topics. We set short-term and long-term goals related to several of our most relevant and material topics/aspects/issues and identified key performance indicators (KPIs) to manage performance and track progress.

Materiality Assessment, Strategic Priorities, Goals

The topics in the top-right quadrant of the materiality matrix were ranked highest in importance for both our stakeholders and our business success. This was based on qualitative and quantitative data from the materiality assessment. As a result, we have focused our CR&S strategy around these key material issues. This addresses our most significant impacts, while also aligning with the needs of our customers and stakeholders. The topics below the materiality threshold are not covered in as much detail but remain important to CommScope.

The identified ESG material topics were summarized in five material topic groups. Which we then used to outline our new CR&S strategy, strategic priorities and objectives and targets.

2024 Objectives and Targets

Waste Management

Social performance—labor practices and decent work, human rights

Global statistics by employment contract reflect the nature of employment relationship in the countries where we operate.

Diversity

* Employee diversity by age is tracked for CommScope’s permanent/regular employees and internal temporary employees. In mid-2023, CommScope moved to a new tool (Employee Central) which only tracks information for employees with direct employment relationship with CommScope. Other tools/applications are used by various regions/countries for managing information about external temporary employees, these don’t include age tracking only a confirmation that workers are above the legal minimum age.

CommScope EHS Management System definitions
Incident
An unplanned event which has had an impact and the severity of that impact is such that an evaluation is required to determine if the event shall be dealt with using internal resources, external resources and/or the ‘Corporate Crisis Management Team’.

First Aid Incident
Incident where the only treatment required by the injured person is first aid or less.

Recordable Incident
Incident that the injury/illness requires more than first aid treatment. The treatment may begin with first aid but then goes onto more advanced care.

Lost Time Incident
Incident that most likely requires more than first aid and includes:
   • At-work Restricted Work Day(s),
   • Days Away / Lost Work Day(s),
   • Injuries/Illness resulting in job transfer duties.

Fatality
Death due to work related incident.

Lost Work Day(s)
Any days that an employee is unable to work because of a work-place injury. Lost Work Days are counted on the calendar year, which also includes weekends, holidays, company shut-downs etc., regardless if the employee is required to work any of these days. Subsequent days after the injury date qualify as lost time injury cases.

Restricted Work Day(s)
Restricted duty is often referred to as “modified duty” and is defined as: any modification to an employee’s job duties that he or she normally performs at least once a week, or employee inability to work a full shift (restrictions require a physician order). Restricted Work Days are counted on the calendar year, which also includes weekends, holidays, company shut-downs etc., regardless if the employee is required to work any of these days. Subsequent days after the injury date qualify as restricted/lost time injury cases.

New and existing suppliers assessed in 2023:

Americas                                    48
Asia-Pacific                              122
Europe, Middle East, Africa     19
Total                                          189

In 2023, we screened 189 suppliers, including 100% of new suppliers. Supplier screening includes environmental and social criteria. After completing the 2023 audit process, a total of 2% of suppliers were identified as high risk. For active high-risk suppliers, we planned 2024 follow-up audits. Measures we took in the reporting period were intended to help eliminate all forms of forced or compulsory labor. No incidents of forced labor, child labor, slavery or human trafficking were found.

Supplier audits/on-site assessments

Recognizing excellence

We celebrate our company’s recognitions from a variety of respected organizations and publications. View the list of award-winning CommScope professionals and solutions in our Sustainability Reports and Infographics.

Reporting

CommScope’s annual sustainability report (following the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards and guidelines) provides information about our economic, environmental, and/or social impacts—positive or negative—toward the sustainable development goals. The report details our efforts to protect the environment, promote the health and safety of our workforce, and support the communities where we operate. You can find recent reports here.

Risk Assessment

CommScope proactively manages risk. We recently completed a corporate-level assessment using the EcoVadis platform. CommScope was awarded gold-level recognition and achieved an overall scope of 77/100, which certifies:

• Our structured, proactive approach to corporate responsibility
• Our established policies and processes to help tackle important issues
• Our capacity to clearly report on selected activities and key performance indicators

Our manufacturing facilities utilize the RBA Online self-assessment questionnaire to identify risks and opportunities for improvement. We also use Entropy, our primary EHS risk assessment/management tool, to perform a variety of internal monitoring and reporting activities.

Internal Audits

CommScope routinely audits our manufacturing facilities using ISO14001, ISO45001, SA8000 and ISO26000 standards to ensure compliance to the environment, health, safety, labor and ethical business practices. Facilities in high-risk countries are audited for labor and ethical practices by our CoRe team every two years, while facilities in low-risk countries are audited every three years. Our EHS team audits environment, health and safety practices every three years using international and company standards. Each externally certified facility also maintains its own team of internal auditors.

Reporting to the Audit Committee of CommScope’s Board of Directors, our Corporate Audit and Advisory team also performs independent, objective audits of our internal processes and controls following the Institute of Internal Auditors International Professional Practices Framework.

Certifications

CommScope maintains a variety of certifications based on four widely accepted industry standards.

To view a specific certification, select your preferred facility location:

Quality Management System certifications (ISO9001/TL9000):

TL9000 Multisite (TL151045.000)
Apodaca, Mexico | Catawba, NC, U.S. | Claremont, NC, U.S. | Delicias, Mexico | Goa, India | Juarez-Bermudez, Mexico | Juarez-Praderas, Mexico | Reynosa, Mexico | Suzhou, PRC | Tijuana, Mexico

ISO9001 Multisite (ISO111045.000)
Bangalore (ADC), India | Bodelwyddan, U.K. | Bray, Ireland | Brno, Czech Republic | Buenos Aires, Argentina | Claremont, NC, U.S. | Suzhou, PRC | Tijuana, Mexico 

Health and Safety Management System certifications (ISO45001):

Multisite |  Bray, Ireland | Brno, Czech Republic |  Buchdorf, Germany |  Catawba, NC, U.S. |  Claremont, NC, U.S. |  Delicias, Mexico |  Euless, TX, U.S. |  Goa, India  |  Juarez-Bermudez, Mexico |  Juarez-Praderas, Mexico |  Malton, U.K.  |  Reynosa, Mexico |  Rhyl, U.K. |  Suzhou (CSA), PRC |  Suzhou (CSC), PRC |  Tijuana, Mexico  |  Warrington, U.K.

Environmental Management System certifications (ISO14001):

Multisite |  Bray, Ireland |  Brno, Czech Republic |  Burchdorf, Germany |  Catawba, NC, U.S. |  Claremont, NC, U.S. |  Delicias, Mexico |  Euless, TX, U.S. |  Goa, India |  Juarez-Bermudez, Mexico |  Juarez-Praderas, Mexico |  Malton, U.K.  |  Reynosa, Mexico |  Rhyl, U.K. |  Suzhou (CSC), PRC |  Suzhou (CSA), PRC |  Tijuana, Mexico  |  Warrington, U.K.