CEO Jerre Stead Talks About the First Clarivate Annual Sustainability Report
Originally published in the Clarivate Annual Sustainability Report
2020 was an extraordinary year in every regard, leaving us all with a multitude of challenges and opportunities on a global scale.
I couldn’t be prouder of how Clarivate colleagues stayed focused and committed to meet the needs of our customers while continuing to build a foundation for a more sustainable future.
At Clarivate, sustainability isn't something we do. It's everything we do. In fact, our vision is to improve the way the world creates, protects and advances innovation. We believe that the path to achieving our vision relies on steady commitment to our core values: to aim for greatness, value every voice and own our actions.
We are thrilled to publish our first sustainability report, in less than one year of launching our sustainability program. We pledge to remain transparent and acknowledge that we’re continuously evolving, listening and learning along the way. This report is a stake in the ground, enabling us to share what we’ve done so far, highlight our commitments moving forward and outline our plans and goals for the future.
We’ve set ambitious goals to become one of the top companies to work for, to be carbon neutral by 2024 and to be listed on both the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and FTSE4 GOOD Index based on our 2023 performance.
We recognized early on that in order to drive real impact and begin to see measurable results, we needed to employ a comprehensive, holistic approach to sustainability. We needed to honestly examine the governance, social and environmental dimensions of every aspect of our business and how we engage with the world. So far, we formally launched our sustainability strategy which includes a cross-functional steering committee, annual goals and a commitment to ongoing transparency.
We continue to encourage and support our colleagues, helping them turn their passion into purpose. We’ve created four colleague resource groups, helping to advance sustainability initiatives throughout our company and communities worldwide. Every colleague is given 40 hours of paid volunteer time off to share their time and talent to make a positive difference in the world. Sustainability is not something we just talk about or something we sometimes do – it is a part of everything we do. It is the cornerstone of our success, positioning us to continue to do great things for years to come.
Our goals are aligned to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – an important connection to a larger global mission. We’re not going it alone. Instead, we’re collaborating with others around the world to make real changes with the goal of being a role-model for world class sustainability. We are now a signatory to the United Nations Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) and the CEO Action on Diversity & Inclusion, have chosen two colleagues to serve as racial equity fellows, are signatory to the U.K. Stonewall Trans Rights are Human Rights initiative, and we look forward to elevated engagement as we engage with the United Nations Global Compact in 2021.
We are really pleased to share with you what we’ve accomplished in less than a year, and with the positive momentum we’re seeing across all regions as we accelerate our efforts towards world class. Thank you for your interest in sustainability and the progress and commitments we’ve made. We welcome your ideas and feedback as we look to a more sustainable future worldwide.
With deep appreciation,
Jerre Stead
Clarivate Executive Chairman and CEO
