Sharing the Microsoft 2011 Citizenship Report

I'm pleased to share with you the Microsoft 2011 Citizenship Report. The report provides an overview and assessment of our work over the past fiscal year (July 2010 to June 2011) to serve communities and work responsibly.

We release our Citizenship Report at the same time as our Annual Financial Report to give our broad base of stakeholders a full view of Microsoft’s financial and non-financial performance. Corporate responsibility means more than returning value to shareholders – it means engaging with stakeholders to address our responsibilities in the areas of environmental, social and governance issues. We believe all corporations have, as part of their license to operate, a responsibility to contribute positively to society on a global scale. To quote our company’s founder, Bill Gates: “It takes more than great products to make a great company.”

Our Citizenship Report details our efforts to increase business value while also benefitting society. Our goal is to provide continued transparency and accountability across our business operations. To support this, we have evolved our reporting to candidly and thoughtfully discuss our social and environmental performance, our progress against goals and our focus going forward. We clearly share where we are on track, where we are falling short and how we intend to close the gaps.

Throughout the report you will find examples of how our Citizenship efforts are influencing how we conduct our business, engage with partners and stakeholders, and fulfill our commitment to strengthening communities and providing opportunities for individuals around the world.

I’m proud of the progress we made this past fiscal year. The following are just a few examples:

• We continued to invest in using technology to create opportunities for youth, encourage lifelong learning and support economic growth. Together with our partners, we reached nearly 16 million students and teachers through Partners in Learning, and provided technology skills training to 23 million people through the Community Technology Skills Program.

• We have increased corporate charitable giving year-over-year since fiscal year 2008, despite economic challenges. Our employees volunteered more time—more than 380,000 hours in the U.S. alone. We also contributed more cash and in-kind support to nonprofits—$949 million globally.

• We recognize our responsibilities as a global citizen and remain committed to enhancing our operations; from how we manage our supply chain to how we support our people. In FY2011, we enhanced stakeholder engagement, strengthened our political giving principles and updated and strengthened our Vendor Code of Conduct.

The report also discusses areas where we have opportunities for improvement, such as continuing to diversify our workforce and reducing our carbon footprint. The data and analysis in the report and the conversations they inspire will inform continued improvement in our business and Citizenship performance.

I hope you can take a few moments to review the report online, and I also encourage you to visit the Microsoft Local Impact Map to find stories of individuals and communities that have been impacted by our programs. For more on our strategies, areas of focus, and latest news, visit www.microsoft.com/citizenship.

Finally, I hope you will share your thoughts with us and provide feedback on our report, please e-mail us at: mcitizen@microsoft.com. 

Posted by Dan Bross
Senior Director, Corporate Citizenship, Microsoft

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