Climate Change Data

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Climate Change
• Workforce Development
• Diversity and Inclusion
• Data Privacy and Security
• Ethical Business Practices
• Human Rights

Environmental Achievements

• Achieved 27% renewable energy in India in 2019 (goal was 20% by 2020)
• Energy savings in several Indian offices in 2019 and 2020 through equipment upgrades and efficiency improvements
• Initiated internal steps to execute net-zero goals in 2020

Social Achievements

• Reached 100,000 women employees globally by 2020 (ahead of target)
• Launched a five-year, $250 million initiative to advance economic mobility, educational opportunity, diversity, equity, and inclusion, and health and well-being in communities around the world in 2021
• Provided $10 million in philanthropic commitment to help communities respond to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020
• Introduced a corporate partnership with HealthifyMe in India, engaging over 50,000 associates in wellness programs

Governance Achievements

• Became a signatory to the UN Global Compact in 2021
• Developed new human rights and environmental, health, and safety (EHS) policies
• Embedded ESG risk assessment into acquisition due diligence procedures
• Implemented ISO 14001 certification across facilities (targeted for completion by end of 2022)

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• COVID-19 pandemic impacted energy savings initiatives and office-based programs
• Skills gap in the technology sector
• Ransomware attack in April 2020

Mitigation Strategies

• Enabled remote work for the majority of employees
• Invested in additional compensation for employees in India and the Philippines
• Implemented additional IT security controls to reduce the risk of future cyberattacks
• Developed pre-employment programs to bridge the skills gap
• Partnered with organizations to improve diversity and inclusion

Supply Chain Management

Responsible Procurement

• Supplier Diversity Statement
• Supplier Standards of Conduct
• Human Rights Policy

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks

• Extreme weather events
• Flooding
• Droughts

Transition Risks

• Carbon pricing regulations
• Changes in fossil fuel subsidies
• Strengthening ESG compliance and reporting requirements

Opportunities

• Development of energy-efficient products and services
• Helping clients transition to low-carbon economy

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: SASB, TCFD, GRI

Certifications: ISO 22301 (US, Canada, India, Philippines)

Third-party Assurance: PwC (limited assurance on select GHG emissions and energy consumption metrics)

Awards & Recognition

• Brandon Hall Group HCM Excellence Award (Millennial Council)
• Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry award for Best in Health and Wellness in IT/IT Enabled Services

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Reducing greenhouse gas emissions
• Attracting, hiring, developing, and engaging diverse talent; building an inclusive workplace
• Ethical compliance, data privacy and security, and Board oversight of financial reporting, risk management, and investor communication

Environmental Achievements

• Announced a net zero emissions goal
• Set a near-term target to source 100% renewable energy for all global offices and facilities by 2026
• Donated over 50,000 computers, keeping them out of landfills

Social Achievements

• Covered the cost for more than 300,000 vaccinations for associates, their dependents, and contingent staff
• Awarded more than $2.5 million to support global communities impacted by natural disasters and COVID-19
• Trained more than 150,000 associates across a range of digital skills
• Provided nearly 13,000 internships in India
• Exceeded the goal of putting 1,000 high-performing women through its leadership program Propel

Governance Achievements

• Launched a cross-functional steering committee and working group dedicated to improving third-party risk management
• Implemented new Supplier Standards of Conduct
• Published a global Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) policy
• Enhanced security access protocols and control technologies

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Supply chain disruptions due to climate events
• Transition risks including regulatory changes and market shifts
• Physical risks such as extreme weather events
• Meeting stakeholder expectations regarding ESG performance

Mitigation Strategies

• Developed alternative sourcing strategies
• Implemented a cloud-first strategy to reduce data center footprint
• Engaging top suppliers to set their own net zero emissions reduction targets
• Implementing a global risk assessment program and incident response plans
• Established a client-facing team to provide Sustainable Solutions

Supply Chain Management

Supplier Audits: ESG supply chain assessment conducted in 2021; engagement with top 150 suppliers in 2022

Responsible Procurement

• Supplier Standards of Conduct
• Supplier Diversity Program (US)

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks

• Extreme weather events
• Rising sea levels

Transition Risks

• Regulatory changes
• Market shifts
• Reputational damage from failure to meet climate commitments

Opportunities

• Increased client demand for climate solutions
• Development of energy-efficient products and services

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: SASB, TCFD, GRI

Certifications: ISO 14001, ISO 45001, ISO 27001

Third-party Assurance: Third-party attestation procedures performed on GHG emissions

UN Sustainable Development Goals

• SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy)
• SDG 13 (Climate Action)
• SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth)
• SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities)
• SDG 4 (Quality Education)

Cognizant's initiatives contribute to these goals through various programs and commitments related to renewable energy, emissions reduction, skills development, diversity and inclusion, and community investment.

Sustainable Products & Innovation

• Not disclosed

Awards & Recognition

• Confederation of Indian Industry Water Management Awards
• World’s Best Employers
• America’s Best Employers for Diversity
• Brandon Hall Group Excellence Awards
• Microsoft APAC Partner of the Year 2021
• Best Places to Work for LGBTQ+ Equality
• Top Companies 2021
• World’s Most Admired Companies List

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Environment (GHG emissions reduction)
• Social (diverse talent engagement and training)
• Governance (ESG oversight and transparency)

Environmental Achievements

• Reduced emissions associated with IT infrastructure by 60% since 2019
• 44% of electricity consumption in offices and facilities in India came from renewable sources in 2022
• Kept over 62,000 computers out of landfills

Social Achievements

• 25 million hours of learning completed by associates through professional development programs
• Doubling the number of internships provided in India operations
• Executive Committee compensation included a metric focused on gender diversity globally

Governance Achievements

• Updated Global Trade Compliance Policy and Environmental Health and Safety Policy
• Formalized risk-based assessment criteria to identify suppliers most at risk and subject to modern slavery due diligence process
• Received recognition from Gartner for risk assessment framework and use of analytics

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Climate change impacts on properties, procurement, and people
• Supplier climate change preparedness
• Maintaining high standards of ethics and compliance

Mitigation Strategies

• Facility Risk Assessment Profiling (FRAP) to identify and address property risks
• Engaging top suppliers to set net zero targets and report emissions data
• Robust ethics and compliance policies, training, and reporting mechanisms

Supply Chain Management

Supplier Audits: Risk-based assessment criteria for modern slavery due diligence

Responsible Procurement

• Supplier Standards of Conduct
• Code of Ethics
• Anti-Corruption Policy

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks

• Extreme weather events
• Flooding
• Drought
• Power outages

Transition Risks

• Regulatory changes
• Market shifts
• Increased energy costs

Opportunities

• Increased client demand for climate solutions
• Development of energy-efficient products and services

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: GRI Standards, SASB Software and IT Services Standard, TCFD recommendations, UNGC

Certifications: ISO 45001:2018 (92% of workspace), ISO 14001:2015 (90% of workspace), ISO 27001:2013

Third-party Assurance: Third-party attestation procedures over GHG emissions

UN Sustainable Development Goals

• Goal 4 (Quality Education)
• Goal 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy)
• Goal 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth)
• Goal 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure)
• Goal 13 (Climate Action)

Cognizant's initiatives contribute to these goals through skilling programs, renewable energy use, job creation, technology solutions, and climate action

Sustainable Products & Innovation

• Project-level carbon footprint calculator
• Solving for Sustainability Services

Awards & Recognition

• Brandon Hall Group awards
• India Workplace Equality Index Gold award
• Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index
• Sustainability Magazine’s Top 100 Leaders
• Gartner recognition for risk assessment framework

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Climate Change
• Social Responsibility
• Governance

Environmental Achievements

• 75% Reduction in CO2 emissions from energy since 2008 (IKEA example)
• 96% Reduction in waste production since 2008 (IKEA example)
• 75% of 2018-2030 goal achieved in GHG emission reduction (Unilever example)
• 74.5% of supermarket food waste recycled (Waitrose example)
• 100% Renewable energy usage in 2022 (Waitrose example)

Social Achievements

• Launched Qualitative Behavioral Assessment app to measure emotional wellbeing of farmed animals and fish across 1,800 farms (Carrefour example)
• Donated 1800 tons of surplus food to charity annually (Waitrose example)
• Released sustainability toolkit to suppliers to help them reduce GHG emissions (Unilever example)

Governance Achievements

• Packaging leader converted $420 million of loan facilities into a sustainability-linked loan in 2022 (IKEA example)
• Supermarket chain adopted IBM’s blockchain for end-to-end product traceability (Waitrose example)

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Vast Scope 3 footprint in the retail industry (over 92% of average emissions)
• Difficulty in accurately measuring Scope 3 emissions
• Growing concerns about greenwashing
• Increasing regulatory pressure and penalties for non-compliance
• Data collection, data quality, and data management for KPIs related to Scope 3 and Supply Chain

Mitigation Strategies

• Develop an ESG data strategy to manage and govern ESG data
• Implement streamlined data processes
• Invest in accurate, auditable and insightful ESG data
• Build new ESG capabilities to measure, monitor, report and model ESG data
• Drive ESG collaboration and education, and set SMART targets and actions with suppliers and partners
• Make accurate, data-backed claims on sustainability measures
• Rethink products and business models to drive sustainable outcomes
• Creating a data strategy for collecting Sustainability data from suppliers
• Establishing efficient, secure data models to capture the right data
• Ensuring that the Scope 3 KPIs are properly set
• Creating the blueprint for data architecture and digital solutions necessary for Scope 3 corporate Sustainability reporting

Supply Chain Management

Responsible Procurement

• Assess Suppliers across all tiers and understand the ethical risks of the end-to-end supply chain
• Drive ESG collaboration and education, and set SMART targets and actions with suppliers and partners

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: ISSB (IFRS S1 & S2)

Awards & Recognition

• Compassion in World Farming ‘Best Retailer’ (Waitrose example)

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Sustainability

Environmental Achievements

• Not disclosed

Social Achievements

• Not disclosed

Governance Achievements

• Not disclosed

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Skills shortages, particularly technology skills
• Lack of planning and alignment for adopting technology as a strategic lever of business innovation
• Geopolitical volatility
• Aging and outdated IT

Mitigation Strategies

• Developing an enterprise-wide strategy aligned to business objectives and KPIs
• Transforming the organization (establishing a digital-first mindset)
• Boosting regulatory compliance and cybersecurity
• Partnering with the technology ecosystem

Supply Chain Management

Supplier Audits: Not disclosed

Responsible Procurement

• Not disclosed

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks

• Not disclosed

Transition Risks

• Not disclosed

Opportunities

• Not disclosed

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: Null

Certifications: Null

Third-party Assurance: Not disclosed

UN Sustainable Development Goals

• Not disclosed

Not disclosed

Sustainable Products & Innovation

• Not disclosed

Awards & Recognition

• Not disclosed