At Salesforce, social impact is core to who we are as a company. As our CEO and Founder Marc Benioff says, “the business of business is to improve the state of the world.” Earlier this week we released a research report which revealed today’s customers and employees want businesses to give back, drive equality, and create social change. Today we are publishing our FY17 Stakeholder Impact Report on our own company’s initiatives to create meaningful impact within our workplaces and the communities where we live and operate.
During my 17 years at Salesforce, I have watched us continuously raise the bar when it comes to being a force for social good — from creating the 1-1-1 model, to supporting nine employee resource groups, to addressing equal pay gaps by spending a total of $6 million to adjust salaries of over 26,000 employees, to achieving our net-zero carbon emissions goal, to standing against discriminatory anti-lgbtq legislation. When I look over all that we have accomplished, I feel proud and humbled to work for a company that puts values at the center of its business.
Even still, we have only just started on our path to a more equal and sustainable world. Achieving this will take time, continued commitment, and collaboration. I am thankful for our entire Ohana — customers, employees, partners and community — who are working together to build a better future for everyone.
Here are some of our key focus areas:
We believe in creating a movement of companies that integrate philanthropy into their company early on. In 2014, Salesforce co-founded Pledge 1%, a global movement to create a new normal where giving back is baked into the DNA of companies of all sizes from the beginning. Thousands of companies have joined, pledging 1% of their equity, time, product, or profit to give back to their communities. I encourage you to join the movement by visiting Pledge1Percent.org.
When it comes to protecting our planet and combating climate change, we know that companies have a key role to play. We understand that making progress on climate change means measuring, taking responsibility for, and mitigating our own emissions. I am proud to announce, that — among our other efforts — as of early FY18, Salesforce achieved net-zero greenhouse gas emissions and now provides a clean cloud for our customers.
At Salesforce, we believe our higher purpose is to create a path towards equality for all. We have a commitment to doing this in four key areas — equal pay, equal opportunity, equal education, and equal rights. This is inextricably connected to philanthropy and sustainability. For instance, environmental issues impact our world’s most vulnerable. At the same time, giving back through workforce development and education programs will help us to build and empower the diverse workforce of tomorrow.
Learn more about all of our programs and initiatives to drive positive change, download the full FY17 Stakeholder Impact Report.