A Data Company Making the World Better
by Dana Beckman, Director of Corporate Affairs, Alliance Data
Changing technology, societal, and environmental conditions are disrupting and subsequently influencing how organizations – from FORTUNE 500 corporations to local food pantries – operate. As Larry Fink, Chairman and CEO of BlackRock, Inc., described earlier this year in his annual letter to CEOs, organizations must explicitly convey their strategy for long-term growth and value creation, as financial performance is no longer the only measurement of a company’s strength, but instead the overall societal impact of an organization is paramount.
In order to stay competitive in an evolving global marketplace, companies need to have a more integrated view of how they do business. By focusing on defined critical factors affecting a company’s performance, and operating with the long view in mind, an organization can ensure its sustainability through this disruptive environment. In our effort to support Alliance Data’s stakeholders’ expectations, we evolved our corporate responsibility strategy to better reflect our company’s operations today:
Ethics: The best way to ensure stakeholders’ trust and foster long-term success is by always keeping ethics at the forefront of everything we do. Growth with integrity, ethical decision-making and transparency is essential for a sustainable organization. Almost 85% of our associates consider Alliance Data a socially responsible company.
Excellence: We engage with more than 100 million customers across the world through our clients, and we don’t take this responsibility lightly. We reaffirm our commitments as a leader in data-driven marketing and loyalty programs to ensure the secure and responsible use of data, adhere to responsible banking practices, and display an unwavering commitment to service.
Associates: We can’t do any of the work we do for our clients without our committed associates. We strive to cultivate an inclusive, healthy workplace where associates can develop and are rewarded for their contributions. By empowering people to contribute to the organization’s long-term success, our company as a whole benefits. Making the 2018 FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work for list validates our efforts here and only serves as more motivation to continue to get this right.
Communities: Giving back to our communities is an integral part of who we are. It is our responsibility as a successful company to invest in and strengthen our communities. By investing in the long-term vitality of our communities through programs making a measurable impact, we help create a future where business and local economies can flourish. Last year, we invested more than $14 million globally.
Environment: In recent years we’ve seen the strain that our natural environment is under, creating an array of societal and economic problems. We strive to respect our environment through sustainable operations and investments in global conservation efforts, recognizing the importance of aligning our business strategy with those commitments. Using resources efficiently, engaging suppliers, clients and associates, and rigorously tracking performance allows us to continue improving our environmental approach in the future. In fact, we have already reduced our greenhouse gas emissions by almost 24% since 2015.
Our corporate responsibility strategy guides how we operate as a business, so it makes sense to leverage our business expertise in technology and data analytics for social good. We have committed to investing $20 million in Data for Good initiatives by 2020. This commitment allows us to do what we do best, leverage data. By engaging our associates and empowering them to use their expertise for good, we not only help to strengthen our communities, but we create a more innovative and purpose-driven company. To learn more about our long view approach and how Alliance Data is making the world better, read our 2017 Corporate Responsibility report here.
