Our Commitments in Action: Symantec’s 2013 Corporate Responsibility Report

I’m excited to share that our Corporate Responsibility Report for fiscal year 2013 has been published. This annual report provides an opportunity to review our goals from the previous year, acknowledge successes, and reflect on how we can continue to refine our corporate responsibility strategy. We hope that you will take a look and let us know what you think (in exchange for your opinions, we're giving you a chance to vote on how we should direct a $50,000 USD grant - so be sure to visit our stakholder feedback survey!)

We're also hosting our first-ever live stakeholder call on Wednesday, September 18th at 1pm Pacific - I hope you can join us to learn more.

The explosion of information and its accessibility to people all over the world is creating more opportunities to learn, grow, work, and play than ever before. Our mission is to protect and manage that information, which means our business goals are tied to the greater social purpose of helping to make people, businesses and governments safer in a complex digital world. In our approach to corporate responsibility, we focus on this interconnected nature of society, along with our internal culture and core business strengths, to define the three pillars of our strategy: Our People, Your Information, and The World. Below, we highlight some of the specific achievements we’ve made in each of these areas.

Our People (employee satisfaction, talent management and diversity and inclusion):

• We’ve put our commitment to employees in writing through our Employee Value Proposition (EVP), outlining what they can expect in return for building their careers with Symantec. Our EVP framework is specifically designed to allow more fluid communication between employees working at different levels in the company. It encourages employees’ pursuit of career paths that move vertically (increasing seniority) as well as horizontally (increasing scope of responsibility).
• We saw a 41 percent increase in employee volunteer hours, as corporate responsibility is becoming more embedded within our company culture.
• Women in leadership is up from 25 percent to 27 percent, consistent with the overall percentage of employees who are women.

Your Information (cybersecurity, online safety and privacy):

• Symantec regularly releases studies and findings that aid the public and law enforcement in understanding the state of cybersecurity.
  
  • This year we released our first Digital Information Index, which highlights the significant impact that cloud computing and mobility are having on businesses today. The 2012 State of Information Reportreveals the benefits but also the growing challenges of "information sprawl" as organizations increase the level of information stored and accessed outside of their firewalls.
  • Our Internet Security Threat Report, Volume 18, highlights issues such as an increased focus on social media and mobile device malware and small business targeted attacks.
  • The annual Norton Cybercrime Report, with findings based on self-reported experiences of more than 13,000 adults across 24 countries; the 2012 edition of the Norton Cybercrime Report calculates the direct costs associated with global consumer cybercrime at US $110 billion over the preceding 12 months.
• We continued to make Norton Family software globally available, free of charge, in 25 languages. We have launched Norton Family Premier in 50 countries so far.
• We successfully implemented privacy and information security training for all employees and made it company policy for these trainings to be repeated every 18 to 24 months.

The World (climate change, responsible sourcing and community investment):

• We donated more than USD $24 million in cash and software to organizations worldwide, demonstrating our continued commitment to our nonprofit partners and philanthropic initiatives.
• We made significant commitments to supporting science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education, cyber awareness and literacy around the world, particularly in ways that contribute to equal opportunity for girls and women.
• We continued to implement GHG emission/energy reduction strategies to reduce our carbon footprint.
• We received three LEED certifications in FY13, including our first Platinum, and one new ENERGY STAR certification; we now have 20 LEED certified facilities and 16 certifications.
• In FY13, we expanded sub-metering to 73 percent of the square footage of our owned and long-leased lab and data center facilities.
• We completed integration of human rights language from International Labour Organization (ILO) core conventions into standard training for all employees in FY13, and issued a revised human rights policy statement addressing the principles set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

In the coming years, we will continue to address the underrepresentation of women in technology fields by working with our philanthropic partners and making STEM education opportunities more accessible to girls and minorities. As cyber threats become more sophisticated, so will our cybersecurity initiatives to match these threats. And as our company continues to grow in its global presence, so will our pledge to green IT, resource conservation, responsible sourcing and human rights.

Because we are a company whose mission is to protect and manage information, our very business goals are tied to the greater social purpose of helping people, businesses and governments secure their information in a complex digital world. I’m so proud of the work we have done to date, and I can’t wait to see where we’re going.

For more information on our CR work and to view our complete 2013 Corporate Responsibility report, please click here.

Next in this series: Game Plan: Keeping Your Family Safe Online. A look at Symantec’s cybersecurity and online safety initiatives…