Blackbaud Forms Steering Committee to Advance ESG Practices

Rhea-AI Impact

(No impact)

Rhea-AI Sentiment

(Very Positive)

Tags

02/04/2021 - 09:00 AM

CHARLESTON, S.C., Feb. 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB), the world's leading cloud software company powering social good, today announced it has expanded its environmental, social and governance (ESG) program to further its commitment of building a better world. For nearly four decades, Blackbaud has driven impact for social good, providing cloud software, services, expertise and data intelligence that empower and connect people around the world.

Building on its mission of helping good take over, Blackbaud has:

Formalized executive sponsorship of its ESG program with CEO Mike Gianoni, including future oversight from the board of directors
Launched an employee-led ESG steering committee consisting of cross-functional company leaders representing:

Environmental: Resource Use, Emissions and Innovation
Social: Workforce, Community Impact, Product Responsibility, Data Privacy and Cybersecurity
Governance: Management, Shareholders and Corporate Responsibility Strategy

Created an ESG Program Manager role to take on the responsibility of ESG measurement and reporting
Committed to reporting in alignment with recommended SASB standards for the software and IT services industry and further aligning with other global ESG reporting frameworks as they evolve

"Our company exists to provide purpose-built solutions that help the social good industry build a better world," said Mike Gianoni, president and CEO, Blackbaud. "For years, we've been a proud partner in purpose, creating lasting value for our customers, employees and communities. The challenges of the past year have proven that social good and corporate responsibility are more important than ever. Now, we've made an even bigger commitment to our ESG program, which is a natural extension of the values that have always been in our DNA."

Blackbaud is committed to governing its business ethically, being a caring employer, contributing to causes and communities through corporate philanthropy and pursuing sustainability. The company's longstanding history of driving social impact is demonstrated by the fact that:

Social good organizations that use Blackbaud technology raise, invest, manage and award more than $100 billion each year.
One out of three Fortune 500 companies relies on Blackbaud to power its employee giving and volunteering programs, which includes more than eight million employees and over $800 million transacted through Blackbaud.
Blackbaud employees are highly involved—25% serve on nonprofit boards and 92% volunteer, logging over 100,000 hours annually in community support and also qualifying for time off through Blackbaud's Volunteer for Vacation program.
Blackbaud opened a new world headquarters in June 2018 that has achieved Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold status from the U.S. Green Building Council. In 2020, with the rollout of a new, flexible workplace strategy, the company right-sized its real estate portfolio, leading to approximately 50% workspace footprint reduction globally.
The company continues to prioritize diversity and inclusion in the workplace, supporting employee-led business affinity groups, including veterans, LGBTQ+, women in technology, women in sales, African American employees, remote employees and employees interested in sustainability.
Blackbaud is proud to have appointed its first Diversity and Inclusion Officer and established a Global Diversity and Inclusion Council over the past year.

In April, Blackbaud will release its third annual Social Responsibility Report, which will provide more details on the company's ESG efforts and disclosures. More information on Blackbaud's Corporate Social Responsibility program can be found here.

About Blackbaud
Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB) is the world's leading cloud software company powering social good. Serving the entire social good community—nonprofits, higher education institutions, K–12 schools, healthcare organizations, faith communities, arts and cultural organizations, foundations, companies and individual change agents—Blackbaud connects and empowers organizations to increase their impact through cloud software, services, expertise and data intelligence. The Blackbaud portfolio is tailored to the unique needs of vertical markets, with solutions for fundraising and CRM, marketing, advocacy, peer-to-peer fundraising, corporate social responsibility, school management, ticketing, grantmaking, financial management, payment processing and analytics. Serving the industry for more than three decades, Blackbaud is headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina, and has operations in the United States, Australia, Canada, Costa Rica and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit www.blackbaud.com or follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.

Media Inquiries
media@blackbaud.com

Investor Inquiries
IR@blackbaud.com

Forward-looking Statements
Except for historical information, all of the statements, expectations, and assumptions contained in this news release are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including statements regarding expected benefits of products and product features. Although Blackbaud attempts to be accurate in making these forward-looking statements, it is possible that future circumstances might differ from the assumptions on which such statements are based. In addition, other important factors that could cause results to differ materially include the following: general economic risks; uncertainty regarding increased business and renewals from existing customers; continued success in sales growth; management of integration of acquired companies and other risks associated with acquisitions; risks associated with successful implementation of multiple integrated software products; the ability to attract and retain key personnel; risks associated with management of growth; lengthy sales and implementation cycles, particularly in larger organization; technological changes that make our products and services less competitive; and the other risk factors set forth from time to time in the SEC filings for Blackbaud, copies of which are available free of charge at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov or upon request from Blackbaud's investor relations department. All Blackbaud product names appearing herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of Blackbaud, Inc.