Avaya (NYSE: AVYA) today announced the release of its annual Corporate Responsibility Report, highlighting the progress made during a year dominated by the pandemic, regarding prioritized environmental, social and governance initiatives, including climate, diversity, and cybersecurity and data privacy. The report showcases the policies and programs that drive the company’s commitment to creating value and making a positive and lasting impact for its stakeholders, reducing its impact on the environment, offering a safe and inclusive workplace for all employees and giving back to the communities where Avayans live and work. Avaya was named one of 2021’s Most Responsible Companies by Newsweek and was recognized by Forbes as a 2020 World’s Best Employer.
“Our sense of corporate responsibility has been forged by our global employees, who live and work in thousands of communities in nearly 60 countries representing different languages and beliefs with richly diverse backgrounds,” stated Jim Chirico, President and CEO, Avaya. “To meet the needs of every employee, we have embedded social and corporate responsibility into all aspects of day-to-day business operations. While there is more work to be done, I am very pleased with the progress we are making.”
“We believe that it is our responsibility to ensure we are creating a supportive, inclusive, ethical, and equitable culture of belonging for our employees while at the same time investing in and caring for our communities, creating products that are inherently sustainable, keeping our customers’ solutions and data secure, and increasing our engagement with our stockholders,” added Reeva Kymer, Director, ESG and Philanthropy at Avaya.
Highlights from the Report include:
- Acting quickly and comprehensively to protect its employees from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic while ensuring the continuity of its operations, which are essential to customer operations, Avaya transitioned to a work-from-home model and implemented programs to ensure that employees felt fully supported.
- Supporting the heroes on the front lines and ensuring businesses and educational institutions remain productive, the Company provided critical communication and collaboration services globally, and in many instances at no cost in order to help rapidly address the impact of the spread of COVID.
- Reinforcing its commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB), Avaya enhanced its Global DEIB Policy, expanded employee resource groups and launched a Global DEIB Council in FY21 to progress our mission to build a workplace where individuality is celebrated and harnessed, creating a culture of engagement, innovation, and inclusivity.
- Remaining steadfast in its commitment to combat climate change, Avaya exceeded its 2020 target by reducing Scope 1 & Scope 2 emissions by 65% and Scope 3 emissions from business travel by 49% from 2014 levels.
- Hosting its 7th annual Month of Giving Campaign in October 2020, the Avaya community raised $75,000 to support its partner, Save the Children.
- Driving employee engagement, Avaya sponsored the first #AvayaCares 2020 Employee Hackathon, with 300 participants submitting 58 creative ideas to improve businesses and communities, in areas including education, healthcare and emergency management.
- Avaya continued to roll out systems and conduct mandatory training on key ethical behavior topics.
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