Bread Financial 2021 ESG Report: A Message From CEO Ralph Andretta
Originally published in Bread Financial's 2021 ESG Report
As part of our broader transformation efforts, Bread Financial is redefining who we are and what we stand for as a purpose-driven financial services company. While we remain steadfast in our principled approach to operating as a responsible organization, we have placed a renewed emphasis on prioritizing policies, protocols and practices that will advance our sustainability objectives, strengthen the trust and confidence with our associates and customers, and improve how we deliver on our promises to our valued stakeholders.
Despite continued and unprecedented challenges this past year, which included new COVID-19 variants, rising inflation, worldwide supply chain constraints and other geopolitical disruptions, our team responded with great resiliency to mark a new chapter in our history.
In March 2022, we rebranded from Alliance Data to Bread Financial, representing the culmination of a multiyear transformation, which included simplifying our business model and focusing on assets with the greatest growth potential. This marked a significant turning point for our company as we continued to evolve our operations to reflect a more modern financial services business backed by technology and platform solutions that empower today’s consumers.
During the year, we expanded our product suite and enhanced our digital capabilities to better meet the needs of our partners and customers. Additionally, we improved our capital ratios and reduced our leverage by paying down debt, reflective of our disciplined capital management approach. In 2021, our financial performance was strong, which underscores our belief that sound, responsible business practices and our commitment to ESG (environmental, social and governance) drive positive, long-term financial outcomes.
In conjunction with Bread Financial’s overall transformation, we also revamped our ESG strategy to reflect the increased prioritization of sustainability across all aspects of the company’s operations.
After realizing our previous three-year sustainability goals in 2020, Bread Financial made significant strides in renewing our ESG commitments in 2021. We hired a Head of Sustainability to oversee and lead the development of our enhanced ESG strategy, developed an executive compensation scorecard inclusive of metrics tied to ESG performance and drafted our new Environmental Policy and Human Rights Statement outlining our objectives in these areas.
Additionally, we engaged key internal and external stakeholders to better understand the ESG topics most important to our business and associates. Through this process, we built consensus and developed a new Boardapproved ESG strategy that provides a greatly enhanced framework for our sustainability and corporate responsibility objectives under the following pillars: Governance, Customers, Associates, Environment and Communities.
A lot has changed for our company over the past year, but one thing that has remained constant is the unwavering dedication and commitment of our associates. Their ongoing engagement and advocacy to advance our ESG priorities is what drives our long-term success, and makes me incredibly proud and excited about our bright future.
Our 2021 ESG Report reflects the priorities, ambitions, policies and ideals of a business committed to growing responsibly and profitably for the long term. We are redefining what a financial services provider can be, and I am proud to share the progress and many achievements that make Bread Financial a great employer, sound investment, committed business partner and community champion.
Ralph Andretta
President and CEO
