Yelp Releases Environmental, Social and Governance Report

Rhea-AI Summary

Yelp (NYSE: YELP) has released its annual Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Report, detailing notable achievements and goals. The company reduced its carbon footprint by 12.5% year-over-year, mainly by reducing office space and investing in five small-scale solar facilities in Michigan. Yelp aims to achieve net zero emissions by 2031. The company also fostered an engaged and inclusive employee environment, with 91% of employees feeling confident in career progress remotely and 96% affirming an inclusive atmosphere. Additionally, Yelp enhanced its content trust and safety measures by implementing large language model technology to detect inappropriate content and indexing businesses with suspicious review activities.

Positive

• 12.5% year-over-year reduction in carbon footprint.
• Investment in five small-scale solar facilities in Michigan.
• Goal to achieve net zero emissions by 2031.
• 91% of employees feel confident in making career progress remotely.
• 96% of employees affirm Yelp promotes an inclusive environment.
• Enhanced content trust and safety measures, including large language model technology and indexing suspicious review activities.

Negative

• Carbon reduction largely due to decreased office space, which might not be sustainable long-term.
• Dependence on external solar facilities for offsetting emissions, which might face execution risks.

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Yelp Inc. (NYSE: YELP), the leading platform for connecting people with great local businesses, released its annual Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report today. The report details Yelp's continued work in creating an inclusive employee experience, its focus on providing value to businesses and consumers, and the company’s progress towards reaching net zero by 2031.

“This report reflects upon our progress towards reducing our environmental impact, strengthening workplace connections, and continuing to enhance consumer trust and safety on Yelp,” said Jeremy Stoppelman, Yelp co-founder and CEO. “Building on our efforts to reduce our emissions, we are adopting a comprehensive strategy that includes employee education and a deeper analysis of our suppliers' emissions. These steps illustrate our commitment to significantly lowering our carbon footprint and helping others recognize their impact.”

Key highlights from the report:

• Reducing Carbon: Yelp reported a 12.5% year-over-year reduction in its carbon footprint, which was largely attributable to the strategic decision to decrease office space. As part of its work towards achieving net zero by 2031, Yelp is investing in a collection of five small-scale solar facilities being developed in Michigan. Based on our current expectations, we believe the output from these facilities will offset substantially all of the electricity emissions of both our offices and our remote work employees in North America for the five-year duration of our investment.
• Employee Experience: Yelp's latest employee survey data reveals the company’s continued commitment to fostering an engaged and inclusive environment for its employees, with 91% of respondents saying they feel confident they can make career progress in a remote environment and 96% of respondents stating that Yelp promotes an inclusive environment.
• Content Trust and Safety: In 2023, Yelp introduced a variety of new measures to help maintain the integrity and quality of content on its platform, including the use of large language model technology to detect inappropriate content. Yelp also started indexing recipients of Compensated Activity Alerts and Suspicious Review Activity Alerts on its Trust & Safety site to help consumers, regulators and other parties easily identify these businesses.

The full ESG Report can be read here. Additional information about Yelp’s ESG approach can be found at yelp-ir.com.

About Yelp Inc.

Yelp Inc. (yelp.com) is a community-driven platform that connects people with great local businesses. Millions of people rely on Yelp for useful and trusted local business information, reviews and photos to help inform their spending decisions. As a one-stop local platform, Yelp helps consumers easily discover, connect and transact with businesses across a broad range of categories by making it easy to request a quote for a service, book a table at a restaurant, and more. Yelp was founded in San Francisco in 2004.

Forward-Looking Statement

This document contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that, if they never materialize or prove incorrect, could cause our results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The statements contained in this document that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements and include, but are not limited to, statements regarding Yelp’s plans related to ESG initiatives and expectations regarding the achievement of its ESG goals, including its goal of achieving net zero by 2031 and carbon mitigation plans. These statements are based on the beliefs and assumptions of management, which are in turn based on information currently available to management. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause actual results and the timing of certain events to differ materially from future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed under the captions “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in Yelp’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q at www.yelp-ir.com or the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240516382390/en/

Investor Relations Contact:

Josh Willis

ir@yelp.com

Press Contact:

Kylie Banks

press@yelp.com

Source: Yelp Inc.

FAQ

What recent steps has Yelp taken to reduce its carbon footprint?

Yelp reported a 12.5% year-over-year reduction in its carbon footprint, largely due to decreasing office space and investing in five small-scale solar facilities in Michigan.

What are Yelp's ESG goals for the future?

Yelp aims to achieve net zero emissions by 2031, focusing on reducing carbon footprint, fostering an inclusive employee environment, and enhancing content trust and safety.

How does Yelp plan to achieve net zero emissions by 2031?

Yelp is investing in five small-scale solar facilities in Michigan, which are expected to offset electricity emissions for offices and remote employees in North America.

What measures has Yelp introduced to improve content trust and safety?

In 2023, Yelp implemented large language model technology to detect inappropriate content and started indexing businesses with Compensated Activity Alerts and Suspicious Review Activity Alerts.

How is Yelp fostering an inclusive environment for its employees?

Yelp's latest employee survey data shows that 91% of employees feel confident in making career progress remotely, and 96% state that Yelp promotes an inclusive environment.