Better Health for All

RTL Group acknowledges that some of its content can perpetuate unrealistic beauty standards or promote unhealthy body image, and content promoting materialistic values can contribute to overconsumption.

The company has group-wide and local initiatives to raise mental health awareness among employees, including training mental health first aiders, providing global training on managing mental health, and offering apps and support programs. RTL Group emphasizes data protection and the confidential handling of personal data for both media users and employees, ensuring data is processed according to legal requirements and protected against unauthorized access. The company encourages initiatives and events that promote health and well-being, and offers the Phileo app to employees to prevent work-related stress. RTL Group has a diversity policy that prohibits discrimination based on various factors including age, gender, and disability. The company provides information, instruction, supervision, and training to employees for health and safety, and established a European Works Council in 1997 to address cross-border employment issues and represent employee interests, meeting twice a year with senior management.

Fair Money & Economic Opportunity

RTL Group is a media company, operating TV channels, radio stations, streaming services, and production companies.

Its revenue streams are primarily from advertising, content licensing, and subscription fees. The provided articles consistently confirm this business model and do not contain any evidence that RTL Group offers lending, deposit, insurance, or other financial services or products to consumers or businesses. Therefore, all KPIs under the 'Fair Money & Economic Opportunity' value are not applicable to the company's operations.

Fair Pay & Worker Respect

RTL Group reported a CEO median pay ratio of 54 in 2024.

Approximately 30% of the global workforce is covered by collective bargaining agreements, with 81% coverage in Germany and 100% in France. The rate of recordable work-related accidents was 4.71 per 200,000 hours. The company reported a gender pay gap of 13%, meaning women earn 87% of men's pay. The employee turnover rate was 55% in 2024, with an open-ended contract turnover rate of 16%. There were zero fines, penalties, or compensation related to labor violations in 2024, and no convictions or fines for corruption or bribery. The company had 4,671 temporary employees out of a total of 17,612, representing 26.5% of the workforce. Health and safety practices cover 100% of employees, and 99% of employees are covered by employer-funded health insurance.

Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing

No quantitative data was provided in the articles to assess RTL Group against any of the Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing KPIs.

Multiple articles, including the 2024 Sustainability Report, explicitly state the absence of specific data on fair trade certification, audit frequency, forced/child labor incidents, traceability, remediation speed, ethical clause coverage, materials risk, or supplier diversity spend. While policies like a Supplier Code of Conduct are mentioned, no performance metrics or percentages are given.

Honest & Fair Business

RTL Group has a formal whistleblower protection policy with multiple reporting channels, including local contacts, a Compliance Department, a speak-up system, and an external ombudsperson or external Ethics Line.

The policy explicitly prohibits retaliation for good-faith reporting and emphasizes confidentiality. For ethics complaints, the company confirms receipt within 7 days and provides feedback on the outcome within 3 months, or up to 6 months for complex investigations. The company states a zero-tolerance policy for corruption, with a Code of Conduct that includes principles and guidance, and anti-corruption training for relevant employees. The policy covers all markets but lacks customization for high-risk areas.

No War, No Weapons

The company reports no military contracting, indicating no revenue from defense or arms-related activities.

It also reports no involvement in the production or sale of controversial weapons.

Respect for Cultures & Communities

RTL Group has 37 Indigenous businesses under formal contract and contributed to 193 community-led organizations in Australia.

The company reported no significant cultural heritage breaches. However, Indigenous workforce representation is 5.78% across its Australian operations. A speak-up system is available in multiple languages to internal and external stakeholders. The RTL-Spendenmarathon raised €16,619,389 in 2024, and Télévie charity events in Luxembourg raised €1,454,376 in 2024, primarily for children's aid projects. RTL Luxembourg provides content in Luxembourgish, French, and English, and its Code of Conduct is available in nine languages. The compliance department handles cultural incident reports, but the response is reactive. 30% of employees completed cultural competency training, and 59% completed online cultural awareness training. The company engaged 37 Indigenous businesses under formal contract.

Zero Waste & Sustainable Products

RTL Group has implemented several waste reduction initiatives, including a "Food Waste Zero" campaign in its restaurant, which involves daily weighing of discarded food and adjusting menu selections.

The company also reduced more than 90,000 paper forms per year. In 2023, approximately 67.40% of the total hazardous waste was recycled and reused. The company plans a detailed waste audit at projects. No significant (Class 1) environmental incidents, fines, or monetary sanctions were recorded, but three Class 3 legal compliance incidents related to surface water, emissions, and dust limits were reported. RTL Group (Thiess) intends to decrease waste to landfill by 5% compared to 2023 (exclusive of scrap tyres). The company has completed its Supplier Code of Conduct and works with suppliers to reduce packing waste. Customer education efforts include sharing recycling options for products like edge marker posts.