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Corporate Responsibility

Committed to communities through responsibility.

 

Our Approach

At Three, corporate responsibility is about showing a strong and visible commitment to the communities in which we work across Ireland – maximising the benefits that we as a mobile operator can bring to communities. Our commitment to corporate responsibility begins with a simple and straight-forward commitment to principled decision-making in all that we do.

As our business connects people to the things they need and care about, we also think it’s important to address the wider social and environmental issues that concern our customers. At Three our CSR programme is about doing the right things in communities to develop our business and our customer relationships. We’re also committed to creating an engaging and inclusive culture by embedding diversity and inclusion into our business. Our corporate responsibility activities help us to better meet our customers’ needs, enhance employee engagement, reduce our environmental impact, grow community support and ultimately build a stronger company.

 

Three CSR

Some of
our activities
Charity

We believe in supporting charities and giving back to the community.

Child Safety

We are committed to creating an environment in which kids can use their mobile phones safely.

Environment & Health

Living more sustainably and being committed to the highest scientific and safety standards.

Accessibility

Ensuring all customers get the best from Three, whatever their age, needs and ability.

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Aware

Three’s Charity Partner.

Three has chosen mental health organisation Aware as our charity partner. Aware aims to create a society where people affected by stress, anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder and mood related conditions are understood, supported, free from stigma, and are encouraged to access appropriate therapies.

Each year Aware run an annual awareness campaign – Aware Mental Health Week. The goal of Aware Mental Health Week is to further increase awareness and understanding of depression, encourage people to reach out for support if and when they need it – and importantly – provide hope.

Aware Mental Health Week 2024 will run from the 7th – 13th October, incorporating World Mental Health Day on Thursday 10th October.

During this week, Aware are presenting a powerful series of portraits by photographer Enda Bowe named ‘Home In Focus’ which is designed to highlight the unique yet universal experience of depression, while celebrating the resilience and multifaceted lives of those of us who are affected. Hope in Focus will be unveiled at the Royal Hibernian Academy of Arts (RHA) on World Mental Health Day, Thursday 10th October, remaining open to the public until Sunday 13th October.

Learn more about activities during Aware Mental Health Week here.

 

Samaritans Ireland

Three is a supporter of the Samaritans free to call number, 116 123.  This number makes it possible for people who are struggling to access the Samaritans support service round the clock, free of charge. The free to call number has been made possible by a partnership between Samaritans and the telecommunications industry.

 

School’s Business Partnership

Three is a member of Business In The Community and a supporter of its School’s Business Partnership programme.  We are partnered with St. Joseph’s School in Fairview, Dublin.  Each year, employee volunteers work with students to impart education and career advice over a series of workshops.
 

Likecharity

The Likecharity platform uses the latest in mobile technology to collect donations from phone network operators worldwide. In Ireland, Three supports the Likecharity platform and we do not charge any fees on text donations made through Likecharity – ensuring that all proceeds go directly to your chosen charity. 
 

Employee Support

We know that many of our employees support their own charities and causes that they feel passionate about so Three has an Employee Community Fund in place to provide support for these initiatives. Our employees can also avail of paid leave to volunteer for our charity partner or their own individual supported charity.

 

‘Connect to STEM’ Scholarship

 Three Ireland and Trinity College Dublin have a STEM scholarship partnership that funds the creation of 25 Three Ireland Scholarships for Women in STEM at undergraduate level over five years and two Three Ireland Trinity Access Teacher Fellowships for three years. The Trinity Access Teacher Fellows will play a crucial role in efforts to encourage the study of higher level mathematics in schools. The scholarships, valued at €20,000 each (over a 4-year undergraduate degree) are aimed at attracting women from Ireland and across the world to study STEM subjects at Trinity College Dublin.
The two Trinity Access Teacher Fellows will be funded by Three Ireland as part of the Trinity Access Pathways to STEM Programme. The fellows will work closely with Trinity’s link Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) schools to enhance the teaching of maths in the Junior Cycle to encourage more students to continue with higher level mathematics to the Leaving Cert. Each Trinity Access Teacher Fellowship will be valued at €75,000 over 3 years starting in 2022.

Our aim is that students graduating from STEM will enter a more diverse environment across science and will pursue a variety of career opportunities in technology and industry.
Read Trinity’s Impact Report on Year 2 of the programme here.

 

Sustainability

Sustainable Connections – Three’s Sustainability Strategy

We’ve called this strategy ‘Sustainable Connections’ to reflect the mutual connectedness between our business and our planet, our people, and the communities where we work.

You can find our full Sustainability Strategy here.

 

Our Planet

Take Action on Climate Change

To minimise the effects of climate change, it is imperative that everyone, including businesses actively manage their carbon footprint. Since 2021, we have measured and monitored emissions to identify and avail of improvement opportunities.

These include energy reduction such as switching to LED lighting in our Limerick contact centre, trialling the roll-out of solar panels at our mobile radio sites, and a focus on maintaining our high-levels of renewable electricity.

Three Ireland has set environmental targets and identified programmes of work that build on our work to date to lower our direct emissions.

In 2022, our parent company CK Hutchison Group Telecoms set science-based targets aligned to a 1.5 degree pathway, verified by the Science Based Targets initiative. Three Ireland’s emissions footprint sits within this target. Three Ireland is currently developing a detailed emissions reduction pathway for 2030 to support the delivery of the group target.

 

Our Planet

Promote a Circular Economy

A circular economy focuses on eliminating waste in product design and extending a product's useful lifetime. It aims to maximise the elements within a product and the embodied energy involved. Models include sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing, and recycling.

We will focus on offering circular economy products and services to our customers over the lifetime of our sustainability strategy. We have a trade-in programme for reuse, repair, and recycling phones to extend their lifecycles and reduce e-waste. We are also developing a Device as a Service (DaaS) programme for business customers who can lease devices rather than own them. We will grow both of these programmes over time. In addition, we will continue to work with our suppliers to identify sustainable products and accessories to include in our range. Finally, we will focus on responsibly managing network waste equipment.

 

Our Planet

The targets to support our planet

Emissions Reduction

  • Develop and implement local emissions-reduction strategy to support the delivery of the CKHGT Science-Based Targets

Business Travel

  • Implement sustainable travel programme: By 2030, achieve a 25% reduction in business travel emissions per FTE

Circular Network

  • By the end of 2025 Ensure that 100% of decommissioned network equipment is reused or responsibly recycled

Circular Products

  • Ensure that 100% of our new Three Ireland consumer SIMs are Eco-SIMs by the end of 2023
  • Introduce eSIM offering by the end of 2023

IOT

  • Support Ireland’s decarbonization targets through the deployment of 2.6 million smart meters across Ireland by 2026 to enable consumers to better manage their energy usage

 

Our People

Create Great Places to work

We recognise that our people are our greatest asset. Two of our core values are how we 'Appreciate each other' and 'Work as one team.' We also believe hybrid post-pandemic employees have additional flexibility, development, and engagement needs. We are constantly refining our employee proposition to match these.

We know the value of developing our people, and we’re delivering our development initiatives in many new and exciting digital ways. We’re also using insight from our employee surveys and from sponsors across the business, to enhance our already comprehensive development programme that caters to our people on an individual level.

We recognise the importance of a diverse workforce that reflects society and the positive impact this has on employee culture and business performance. At Three, we want people to feel comfortable being their authentic selves at work. We believe an inclusive culture underpinned by respect is the foundation of a diverse organisation. Reflecting this, in 2022,Three Ireland received an Investors in Diversity Gold award from the Irish Centre for Diversity. Providing everyone with this kind of workplace environment is a journey and a long-term commitment. It's one we're excited to make.

Finally, we understand the dual benefit of employee volunteering and fundraising to Three Ireland and our charity partners. Therefore, we identify opportunities for employee involvement to broaden and deepen our societal impact.

 

Our People

The targets to support our people

Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging

  • By 2030 achieve a 50/50 gender balance in leadership

 

Our Business

Create a thriving digital economy

Continuously upgrading our network and investing in network security are of utmost importance to us. Three has to date invested over €2 billion in building our business in Ireland. This includes a €820 million investment in upgrading and expanding our network and in Three’s digital transformation, which will deliver a cutting-edge experience for both our customers and our employees. .
Annually, Three continues to invest over €100 million into our business to ensure we continue to deliver the best network, experience and service for our customers. This has resulted in 99% 4G coverage and Three’s 5G network being available to customers in every county.
Our digital economy goal also focuses on digital inclusion – ensuring people can access and engage with digital technologies. We realise the importance of digital upskilling alongside digital access. In addition to access, we also want to ensure that people across Ireland can engage in the digital economy. Through our Sustainability Strategy, we will develop a digital inclusion programme with a focus on skills in order to maximise our impact. To enable a positive digital experience.

 

Our Business

Operate responsibly and with integrity

Good governance, transparency, and accountability are the cornerstone of our business. ‘Take responsibility’ is one of our core values. We ensure we have the correct systems, policies, and procedures to manage our business responsibly and ethically and support and protect our colleagues, customers, and stakeholders.

Cybersecurity is paramount for us as a telecommunications company. We make sure our network, IT, and services are secure, reliable and high performing for our customers to enjoy their experiences

Our customers and stakeholders put their trust in us to protect their data. We have stringent data privacy policies and procedures to ensure this trust is upheld.

Our enterprise risk management system allows us to identify critical risks and opportunities across the business. In preparation for the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) reporting, we will focus on climate scenario analysis and the associated climate risks and opportunities for Three Ireland.

 

Our Business

The targets to support our business

Sustainable Procurement

  • Complete sustainability assessment across our supply chain to cover 95% of our spend by the end of 2023
  • Introduce mandatory sustainability training for Three Ireland employees and achieve a 95% compliance target by 2023

 

Recycle

Three Recycle

We operate a mobile phone recycling service for electronic and electrical devices. It’s a postal service. To use the service please email contactus@fonua.com and request an envelope for the mobile phone or device that you wish to recycle. Fonfix will then be in touch to arrange details with you, to get your device to their facility for recycling. Please make sure that you all your data and contact numbers have been deleted from your mobile phone.
Alternatively you can recycle your phone at any WEEE Ireland local civic amenity centres. You can view a list of locations here.
Producer Register No.756 WB

 

Accessibility

Accessibility at Three means supporting our people and our customers with additional needs, to ensure they have access to and use of communications technologies so they can participate fully in society and enjoy the same services and opportunities as all. We want to make sure that all our customers get the best out of our network and services – whatever their age, needs and abilities.

Click here for the Accessibility statement.

Website Accessibility

We have created this section, to provide you with some practical advice and information on using our services. This section of our site is designed to comply with the  Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). Our accessible pages are structured so that they can be easily navigated with a keyboard (using tab, return and space keys).

Accessibility options for different browsers

Your normal browser will have its own accessibility options or free downloads to increase accessibility options and improve your browsing experience.

Accessible Device Support

Device Support Hub 

Our device support hub has information on a range of different devices and their key features, including their accessibility functions.

Audio Support

Irish Text Relay Service

Three provides access to the Irish Text Relay Service (ITRS), which is a service we have developed and funded in partnership with other industry operators to facilitate deaf or hard of hearing people to make and receive calls. The full details of the service are available at the ITRS official website.

Accessible Directory Enquiries

If you have a vision impairment and have difficulty reading the phone book you can register to avail of a free directory enquiry service. You can contact 1800 574 574 to obtain a registration form. As part of registration, you will need to provide certified confirmation that you are eligible to register for the 196 service. Once you are registered, you will be allocated a special PIN number, which you then provide, to the 196 operator each time you make a directory enquiry.

Third Party Account Management

If you need a friend, relative, or third party to manage your Three account, you can register for third party account management. They must be registered as an authorised contact on your account. They will not be permitted to make changes without your additional consent.

 

Visual Support

Accessible Billing

We've partnered with a range of third parties to bring you your bills in accessible formats to meet your needs including braille and large print. If you wish to change your billing format this please reach out to a member of our team by calling 1913, visit a 3Store or contact us here 

Accessible Directory Enquiries

If you have a vision impairment and have difficulty reading the phone book you can register to avail of a free directory enquiry service. You can contact 1800 574 574 to obtain a registration form. As part of registration, you will need to provide certified confirmation that you are eligible to register for the 196 service. Once you are registered, you will be allocated a special PIN number, which you then provide, to the 196 operator each time you make a directory enquiry.

Third Party Account Management

If you need a friend, relative, or third party to manage your Three account, you can register for third party account management. They must be registered as an authorised contact on your account. They will not be permitted to make changes without your additional consent.

112 – The EU Emergency Phone Number: SMS Service

The 112 SMS service lets deaf, hard of hearing and speech-impaired people in the Republic of Ireland send SMS text messages* to the Emergency Call Answering Service (ECAS) where it will be passed to An Garda Síochána, the ambulance service, the fire service, or the Irish Coastguard.

You must REGISTER for the service and you can find out how it works on their website www.112.ie.

Phone Testing & Returns

If you have bought a phone in-store and use a hearing aid/cochlear implant, you can return your device if it does not meet your specific hearing needs. You have a 14-day cancellation right from the date of purchase and you will need to provide certification by a registered medical practitioner. The device must be returned undamaged and in its original packaging. will be responsible for any charges which apply for using Three service.

Picking the Right Price Plan

We have plenty of plans to choose from that suit how you use your phone, whether that’s voice, text or data. You also can choose from a range of price plans and add-ons on prepay or bill pay to suit you. We also provide best tariff advice and end of contract notifications. If you'd like advice on which plan is best for you, please contact us here, call us on 1913 or visit one of our 3Stores.

Have you a Prepay Phone? Topping up is easy with Three with many options:

Register for My3 to check your balance and top up yourself, friends or family with your debit or credit card. Visit My3 or download the My3 app from our website, Apple app store or Google Play. With My3, we can top up once your credit drops below the balance you’ve set. This is done by scheduling a weekly or monthly top up, and is a handy way of keeping track of your spending.

Instant top up

Online: Use your mobile or go online to top up instantly using your debit or credit card at three.ie You can top up friends and family on Three, too.

Call: Free call 1744 and choose the top up option. You can use your debit or credit card and choose the amount to top up by. You can securely save your card details for future use if you like.

Text: Freetext 'TOPUP', the amount and the last four digits of your registered card to 50100 eg 'TOPUP 20 1234'.

Cash top up

Buy a voucher from your local 3Store or at your local shop. Call: Activate your top-up by calling 1744 and follow the instructions. Text: Text TOPUP + voucher number to 50272 to use your voucher. My3: You can also log onto My3 to activate your voucher online.

Need to talk but have no credit?

We'll text your friend asking them to call you. Just free text 'Call Me' followed by the mobile number you'd like to call you back to 50100.

Want to check your balance?

Call 1745 to see your balance on screen or dial 1744 to hear it anytime anywhere - free. Alternatively, visit My3.

Accessibility awareness training

At Three, it’s important that our Customer Care team are trained to support all our customers, regardless of accessible needs. We provide accessibility awareness training to ensure that staff handling queries or complaints have the skills to appropriately handle all our customers’ requirements.

Accessible Customer Care

We are committed to ensuring that all of our customers can access the services they need with ease. If you have any specific accessibility requirements, we invite you to use our dedicated free phone number 1800-944785, where our trained team are available to provide you with support.

Three’s Code of Practice

Our Code of Practice sets out how Three are socially responsible and details how we deal with any billing, service or other issues. The Code outlines a minimum set of standards that apply to the handling of complaints by Three. For more information click here.

Should you require a copy of the Code in any particular format, please let us know.

Useful Links

Please see below a list of other organisations that may be of interest:

 

Zero Tolerance Policy

At Three, we believe in a better Connected Life. As part of our mission to connect people, we respect and protect our employees and our customers – and we constantly make sure that Three is a safe place for everyone. We believe that everyone has the right to be treated with dignity and respect, and we have zero tolerance towards bullying and harassment in any form. On that basis, we have implemented a zero tolerance statement for such abusive behaviour, which you can read in full at here.

Discover a better Connected Life with Three.



Child Safety with Mobile Phones and Broadband Access

Three is committed to helping children use mobile phones and broadband safely. We're part of the European Framework for Safer Mobile use by younger teenagers and children, aiming to ensure safe content access and providing options to block or filter internet access upon request.

 

Top tips for parents

1. Internet Access Controls

  • Understand the technology yourself.
  • Set up Parental Controls when setting up the device.
  • Contact your provider to check access and agree on the authorised contact.
  • Consider internet safeguards like filtering technologies and apps. Three can provide internet filters upon request. Contact our Messaging Team or call 1913.
  • Activate parental controls and restrictions on the handset itself through the Google Play Store or Apple App store.

2. Gaming

  • Have your children game where you can see them.
  • Check out any game your child wishes to play first.
  • Set ground rules around use: where, when and for how long.
  • Keep an eye on who they are chatting to in multiplayer games.
  • Be aware of in-app spending or disable it.
  • Be aware of loot boxes.
  • ComReg’s website provides information on Premium Rate Services.

3. Social Media

  • Ensure they know why it is important to only share information with people they know in the real world.
  • Be aware of minimum age restrictions. Common Sense Media is a great resource.
  • Agree ground rules around use.
  • Encourage your child to set their account to ‘private’.
  • Encourage children to keep their friends list to just people they know well offline.
  • Keep an eye on what they are posting and who they are sharing it with.
  • Ensure location services are set to off within the apps they are using.
  • Have regular conversations about what your children are seeing and doing online.
  • Talk to your children about the risks associated with posting information online.

4. Cyberbullying

  • Only give their mobile phone number to people they trust.
  • Advise your child not to respond to a call or text if they do not recognise the number.
  • When signing up to online accounts, always use an email address in preference to a phone number if given the choice.
  • Encourage your child to talk openly about the experiences they encounter while using their mobile phone.
  • Encourage your children to talk to you if they receive a message that is frightening, threatening, rude or makes them feel uncomfortable.
  • Advise your child not to reply to abusive or rude texts, pictures or video messages.
  • Keep a note of the dates and times of any abusive messages and calls, save the messages to their mobile phone, and always tell a parent or a trusted adult such as a teacher.
  • Do not send messages to someone when angry or upset.
  • Request that their operator provide them with a new mobile phone number if they are being bullied or harassed.
  • If bullying is happening through a particular app, then use the block and report functions.

5. Memory cards

  • Ensure you are aware of what is saved on the external memory card (if applicable).
  • To review the memory card files, just go in to ‘My Files’ on the android device.

Other helpful tips:

  • Take note of the IMEI number on your child’s mobile phone.
  • Advise children to take care when using their mobile phone in public.
  • Text ‘STOP’ to end a premium-rate subscription. Contact ComReg if this fails to work.
  • Apply service barring offered by your mobile provider e.g. premium SMS barring.
  • Forward suspected spam messages to your mobile operator’s reporting line.
  • Make your child aware that using a mobile phone in certain places is inappropriate, e.g. a cinema or library.
  • The internet is a public place and children can never be sure who is reading the information they publish online.
  • Photographs and information published online are there forever.
  • Do not trust everything they read or are told online.
  • Get involved in Safer Internet Day: https://www.webwise.ie/saferinternetday/

 

Further Information for Parents