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On the Road to 1 Million Trees: VMware’s Journey to Net Zero and You

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Sustainability Isn’t a Cost Center—It’s a Value Driver

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Getting Personal on Leading an ESG Agenda

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Like a lot of people who work in the corporate responsibility space, I have complicated feelings about today.

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Earth Day has helped raise awareness about the health of our planet and our impact on it for decades, earning its spot as a noteworthy day on just about every business’s calendar. In the best-case scenario, it can serve as the cornerstone of a much broader Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) agenda—an opportunity to focus efforts and make progress on ambitious goals. But in the worst-case scenario, it can easily become a vehicle for greenwashing—a marketing push fueled by vague commitments that won’t be mentioned again until next year’s Earth Day. It can be difficult to find the signal in the noise.

But finding the signal is more important now than it has ever been before. The <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/">2022 IPCC Report</a> makes it clear: we are losing the war against climate change. If we’re going to turn the tide, we desperately need to close the gap between good intentions and measurable actions. Demanding a more meaningful Earth Day is a great place to start.

To find solutions to this problem, it’s first important to examine the source of this gap between intention and action. If just about everyone agrees on the need for a healthy and sustainable planet, why are we still struggling to make substantive progress? I see a few things at play here.

First, intention doesn’t cost anything—action does. Improving sustainability requires both financial and human resources that have to come from somewhere. This can mean making new investments or diverting resources away from another priority. This can be perceived as a tradeoff—one that’s especially difficult to make when it’s in service of long-term benefits that are far less tangible than the short-term pain being felt today.

Second, taking action involves some measure of risk—something most organizations try to avoid at all costs. Setting ambitious sustainability goals can open a company up to criticism if they don’t meet them. This can incentivize either staying quiet or setting the bar low enough that there’s no doubt about clearing it.

When you consider both factors, it’s easy to understand why some individual companies make the choice to avoid sticking their neck out. But when every company makes that same choice, it adds up to devastating consequences for the planet. And those consequences pose the greatest possible risk—to the businesses themselves, as well as their employees, customers, stakeholders and communities.

So how do we reverse this equation? How do we make pursuing the collective good outweigh the perceived tradeoffs that hold companies back from delivering more sustainable outcomes? The answer comes down to collective accountability.

Collective accountability happens when corporate, regulatory, and consumer interests are aligned around a shared goal. That may sound like an impossibly high bar to clear, but there are examples of it working. Commercial aviation is the safest form of transportation in the world because of <a href="https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/out-front-airline-safety-two-decades-continuous-evolution">voluntary reporting programs</a> that allow airlines to share information about safety issues without fear of negative repercussions. The system succeeds because airlines, regulators and the flying public are all united around protecting the safety of our skies.

A similar system is needed now too—one that brings together regulators, businesses and individuals in service to our planet. Because as a great Canadian philosopher, Marshall McLuhan, once said, “There are no passengers on spaceship earth. We are all crew.”

The good news is we’re already seeing movement in this direction. The SEC has <a href="https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2022-46">proposed rules</a> that would require publicly traded companies to disclose the risks of climate change to their business and their own contributions to climate change. This would be a gamechanger—one that puts the world’s largest companies on a level playing field and ensures everyone has skin in the game. Imagine a future Earth Day that is a truly meaningful day for climate accountability—because it’s the filing deadline for climate disclosures. That possibility is within reach.

We’re also seeing more consumers vote with their wallets for green solutions. It’s estimated that there are more than $330 billion<a href="#_ftn1" id="_ftnref1">[1]</a> currently in ESG funds. And these investors are expecting more meaningful actions from ESG initiatives—a fact made clear from the pressure<a href="#_ftn2" id="_ftnref2">[2]</a> on ESG funds to respond to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and focus on the geopolitical risks of our dependence on fossil fuels. This level of interest and scrutiny is only going to increase in the years ahead.

And what about corporations? While greenwashing is still far too prevalent, many companies are being recognized<a href="#_ftn3" id="_ftnref3">[3]</a> for their substantive sustainability efforts. At VMware, for example, we’re embedding ESG principles into the core of our business through our <a href="https://www.vmware.com/content/microsites/en/global-impact.html">2030 Agenda</a>. This includes achieving <a href="https://www.vmware.com/company/net-zero.html">net zero carbon emissions</a> for our operations and supply chain by 2030. And speaking of recognition, we’re honored to have recently been <a href="https://news.vmware.com/esg/vmware-named-one-of-americas-most-just-companies">recognized by JUST Capital</a> as the leading company in our industry—rated #1 for the environment amongst our peers.

I’m especially excited about how we’re using Earth Day to inspire engagement among our team this year. We’re asking our employees to join us in taking climate action in ways that are uniquely meaningful to each one of them. For example, we’re challenging employees to download and use the United Nations’ <a href="https://aworld.org/">AWorld</a> app, with special rewards for the most highly engaged participants. We’ve also made Earth Day one of our EPIC2 days off and have encouraged employees to spend the time in service to their communities or reflecting on how they can make more sustainable climate choices.

We’re doing this because that’s what collective accountability requires. Each of us working together toward the same goal. Each of us owning our piece of the problem and taking action. I’ve always believed in setting higher standards for yourself than the ones the world sets for you. If we all embraced and embodied that mindset, there’s no question that it would create a virtuous cycle that turns the tide in our battle against climate change. So, I hope you’ll join me today in creating a more meaningful Earth Day—one that’s not defined by our intentions, but by our actions.

This article may contain hyperlinks to non-VMware websites that are created and maintained by third parties who are solely responsible for the content on such websites.

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<a href="#_ftnref1" id="_ftn1">[1]</a> Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, “ESG: 2021 Trends and Expectations for 2022,” February 2022.

<a href="#_ftnref2" id="_ftn2">[2]</a> Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance, “War in Ukraine: Is ESG at a Crossroads?”, March 2022.

<a href="#_ftnref3" id="_ftn3">[3]</a> JUST Capital, “America’s 32 Industry Leaders for Environmental Performance in 2022,” April 2022.

We can create a more meaningful Earth Day by aligning corporate, regulatory and consumer interests around a shared goal.

Happy Earth Day! We're working towards a more meaningful Earth Day—one defined by our actions, not by our intentions.

A More Meaningful Earth Day Demands Collective Accountability

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Creating A More Meaningful Earth Day- VMware News and Stories

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Nicola Acutt

How can we create a more meaningful #EarthDay — one defined by our actions, not by our intentions? It all starts with collective accountability—when corporate, regulatory and consumer interests all align around a shared goal. #VMware2030 #ESG

How are your New Year’s resolutions going? If this is the first time you’ve thought about them in weeks, you’re not alone. We’re now in March, which means <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/markmurphy/2020/02/11/this-is-the-month-when-new-years-resolutions-fail-heres-how-to-save-them/?sh=481413e5272f">80%</a> of New Year’s resolutions have already failed. It always goes the same way. You kick off January full of energy and action plans about how this year is going to be better than the last. Then life starts to get in the way, your old habits beckon and your good intentions for the new year start to feel like good enough.

Corporate Responsibility programs have long functioned like New Year’s resolutions—born in a flurry of excitement and commitments that eventually give way to periodic reports and a few feel-good events. And for a long time, this was good enough.

But expectations have changed dramatically in recent years with the rise of ESG. It is no longer a “nice to have.” It’s a necessity. Investors use ESG to decide where to invest their money. Customers use ESG when they choose who to do business with. Employees use ESG to evaluate where they want to work. And these stakeholders aren’t just looking for a company’s commitments—they’re looking for action. In this environment, good intentions don’t cut it anymore.

I’m not the first person to point this out. And I won’t be the last. But if the writing is on the wall, why do <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/07/study-worlds-biggest-firms-seen-exaggerating-their-climate-actions.html">so many companies</a> still fall short?

The answer is pretty simple and even a bit cliché—creating substantive and systemic change is really difficult. It is not enough to have a plan. It requires a strategy and a theory of change.  And that requires buy-in from every level of your organization and the resources to operationalize it. It requires having tough and sometimes uncomfortable conversations. It can even require making tradeoffs between short-term needs in the pursuit of long-term benefit.

I’ve spent the past few months talking about <a href="https://news.vmware.com/esg/2030-esg-agenda">VMware’s 2030 Agenda</a> and why its three outcomes—<a href="https://news.vmware.com/sustainability/sustainability-is-a-value-driver">sustainability</a>, <a href="https://news.vmware.com/esg/equity-requires-doing-a-little-bit-good">equity</a> and <a href="https://news.vmware.com/esg/intersection-of-trust-digital-ethics-esg">trust</a>—are important. Now I want to get into the nitty gritty and talk about how we’re going to make our goals a reality. We’re rooting our efforts in:

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I’ll talk more about transparency, accountability and innovation in the weeks ahead. In the meantime, what’s the biggest obstacle you see between your organization’s <a href="https://www.vmware.com/company/esg.html">ESG</a> goals and your ability to implement and deliver progress on them?

Why do many companies fall short of their ESG commitments? Substantive and systemic change is very difficult and requires more than a plan.

Why do many companies fall short of their ESG commitments? Because substantive and systemic change is very difficult.

Delivering on ESG Commitments

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Delivering on ESG Commitments - VMware News and Stories

When Good Intentions Aren’t Good Enough: Delivering on ESG Commitments

Why do many companies fall short of their #ESG commitments? Because substantive and systemic #change is very difficult and requires more than just a plan. #VMware2030

I never imagined working for a tech company at the start of my career. For the longest time, I thought my path would keep me in academia. I set out to inspire class after class of business students at Presidio Graduate School to care about sustainability. I made sure they all read <a href="https://debram.people.stanford.edu/book">“Tempered Radicals” by Debra Meyerson</a>, a guide to driving positive change from inside organizations. And I encouraged them to be those change agents for a better, greener world when they entered the corporate space.

What led me to give up teaching and become a corporate change agent myself? I’ve always been motivated by the desire to make a difference in the world—to create as much good as I possibly can. And when the chance to join VMware came up in 2010, it was clear to me that the future—of sustainability, education and business—would be shaped by technology. So I had to say yes to the opportunity and jump in with both feet. I wanted to be part of making sure the future of technology could also support a better future for the world.

More than a decade later, technology has become more enmeshed in the fabric of our lives than I could have anticipated. It’s part of the foundation for how people learn, work and connect with each other, especially in the past two years. But with this centrality comes mixed feelings.

We’re long past the rose-colored heyday of people thinking Silicon Valley would save the world. Yes, technology can enable extraordinary advancements that make our lives easier, solve complex problems, and improve productivity, connection and communication. But it can just as easily cost jobs, sow social divisions and exacerbate inequality.

These tensions have only been amplified in recent years. Increased regulatory scrutiny, misinformation on social media, and incidents like Cambridge Analytica, SolarWinds and the recent Log4j vulnerability have sent trust in tech plummeting. The 2021 Edelman Trust Barometer found that trust in technology reached <a href="https://www.edelman.com/sites/g/files/aatuss191/files/2021-03/2021%20Edelman%20Trust%20Barometer%20Tech%20Sector%20Report_0.pdf">all-time lows</a> in 17 out of 27 countries last year. This was particularly pronounced in the United States, where tech dropped from first to ninth place in trust by sector between 2020 and 2021.

In short: Tech is playing a bigger role in our world than ever before—and collectively, we’ve never trusted it less. So where do we go from here? Answering this question is a key reason why trust is the third and final outcome we’re pursuing as part of VMware’s <a href="https://www.vmware.com/company/esg.html">2030 Agenda</a>.

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I’ll confess: The inclusion of trust within an ESG framework has caused more than a few furrowed brows, even inside our own organization. Shouldn’t trust be table stakes for any reputable company? And of course, the answer to that is yes. We care about customers trusting us with their data, relying on the security of our products and counting on our people. But we also recognize that our obligations are much bigger than that.

VMware is part of a larger tech ecosystem whose rules and norms are still being created. As an industry, we have yet to reach a consensus around what constitutes digital ethics. I’ve heard some say that you can’t attribute problems enabled by technology to the technology itself—that it’s an agnostic tool wielded by individuals who are ultimately responsible for what they do with it. But this has always struck me as a misleading argument. Tech can’t be neutral because it’s created by people. And people aren’t neutral. Acknowledging this is the first step in our industry getting real about what we owe a world we’re fundamentally reshaping by the day.

We also can’t ignore that the digital infrastructure we create is under unprecedented levels of malicious threat. Cybersecurity has traditionally been viewed as a technology issue. But with so much information being shared online and so many industries relying on digital tools to conduct business-critical operations, cyberattacks and data breaches can have significant societal impacts.

This issue is especially top of mind for me this week, during Data Privacy Week. It’s an annual opportunity for businesses to reflect on how they can be more intentional and transparent about collecting, using and securing personal data. And it gives me hope that one day, cyber resilience will be part of every company’s ESG strategy.

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That’s what we’re doing at VMware. We’re holding ourselves to the highest transparency and reporting standards not only because it’s the right thing to do, but because we want to raise the bar for our entire industry. We’re embedding ideas like <a href="https://news.vmware.com/releases/vmworld-2021-security">Zero Trust security</a> and <a href="https://cio.vmware.com/2021/08/future-proof-your-modern-apps-using-privacy-by-design.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=future-proof-your-modern-apps-using-privacy-by-design">privacy by design</a> into our products not because we want them to be competitive features, but because we know it’s what we owe our customers, the end users for our products, and society as a whole.

I’ve previously written about why <a href="https://news.vmware.com/sustainability/sustainability-is-a-value-driver">sustainability</a> and <a href="https://news.vmware.com/esg/equity-requires-doing-a-little-bit-good">equity</a> are part of the 2030 Agenda. They’re not unique. These two issues are so universal and so urgent that they should be on every company’s agenda, no matter what your business or product is. But being stewards for trust, security, and privacy in the ever expanding and encompassing digital world is a responsibility that uniquely falls on the shoulders of the tech industry. It’s time to start bearing the weight.

Where is the intersection of trust, digital ethics and ESG? Read why trust is an important outcome of our 2030 Agenda.

Why should cyber resilience be part of every company's ESG strategy? Because cybersecurity is a key ESG concern.

The Intersection of Trust, Digital Ethics and ESG

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The Intersection of Trust, Digital Ethics & ESG - VMware News and Stories

What Does Tech Owe Society? The Intersection of Trust, Digital Ethics and ESG

Why should cyber resilience be part of every company's #ESG strategy? Because more companies are starting to recognize #cybersecurity as a key ESG concern. #vmware2030 #trust

Once you see inequity, there’s no way to unsee it. The first time I really understood this was during my first year at the University of California, Berkeley. College in America was a culture shock—so different from the life I’d left behind in Johannesburg, South Africa. But what surprised me most was just how much my classmates knew of and cared about what was going on back home.

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Berkeley had been at the center of America’s anti-apartheid movement in the 1980s, with protests held on Sproul Plaza against South Africa’s racial segregation policy. I had spent my entire life up until that point in Johannesburg, and I had never really grappled with the injustice playing out in my own country. Going to Berkeley rocked my world view.

I had grown up in a bubble. And by the next time I returned to South Africa, that bubble had burst. I saw my homeland through new eyes. I still loved my country—but I now understood the systemic injustice for what it was. How it needed to change. And how I needed to change with it too.

That experience taught me that inequity thrives in darkness and misinformation. It feeds off fear. It is amplified by systems of all kinds. So when people ask me why equity is important to me and why it plays such a prominent role in VMware’s <a href="https://www.vmware.com/company/esg.html">2030 Agenda</a>, the answer is simple: because it has to. Because combating inequity is a shared responsibility. Because there is no such thing as a sustainable future without an equitable future.

Equity, of course, comes in different shapes and forms. It can be a complex concept with multiple dimensions. VMware’s own origin story can be traced back to one such dimension: digital equity. Our co-founders laid out a simple vision: that our technology free people and businesses from the digital constraints holding them back from reaching their full potential.

VMware’s approach to equity today is rooted in this simple idea. And today we’re going much further by striving to embed equity into every part of our business, from the products we make to the outcomes we create for all our stakeholders.

Our efforts span from the individual to the organization and industry. It starts with creating a diverse and inclusive work environment that allows every person in our organization to feel a sense of belonging and part of a community. Creating this environment is a collective effort that we empower every employee to take part in. For example, our numerous <a href="https://www.vmware.com/company/diversity.html">geographic- and identity-based employee groups</a> called PODs (Power of Difference) help to connect, network and grow our diverse community of leaders.

Responsibility also spans to the team. One of the most profound insights I gained from our very first diversity training at VMware was that unconscious biases are part of the human condition. Even when you recognize them and work to combat them, they can be persistent. As leaders we therefore must create systems that short circuit these biases to drive more equitable outcomes in our teams. This is where VMware is concentrating a lot of our efforts, particularly when it comes to how we recruit, hire and promote people.

Expanding outward, we have commitments to driving equity as an organization and within our industry. As a big company that makes a lot of purchasing decisions each year—and by prioritizing supplier diversity through our <a href="https://www.vmware.com/company/responsible-sourcing.html">Responsible Sourcing</a> program—we can intervene in the procurement system and direct our dollars to have an impact in our communities. As part of our 2030 Agenda, for example, we have committed to spending a cumulative $1.5 billion with diverse suppliers by 2030.

At the product level, we’re making equity a desired outcome for our solutions by focusing on accessibility. And at an industry level, our technology like <a href="https://www.vmware.com/solutions/anywhere-workspace.html">Anywhere Workspace</a> solutions are supporting social equity by enabling people to work where and how they choose and access greater opportunities through remote and distributed work.

Finally, we recognize that technology is driving fundamental changes in the world and that it has the potential to serve as a bridge—or as a wedge—between people. That’s why we’ve made the conscious decision to do our part to be a bridge—using our expertise and technology to promote digital access and transformation for communities that need it. We’re doing things like providing students and women returning to the workforce with digital skills training, and helping nonprofits design and build technology that helps them accomplish their missions.

VMware—like all companies and organizations—still has a long way to go before we can achieve true equity. Equity work is a constant practice that requires ongoing learning and action. And even with all the good work we’re doing, we recognize that we most likely still have unconscious biases and areas we could improve. But we are committed to remaining curious—to being part of a community of learning that is constantly asking questions, testing assumptions and striving to get better.

In the end, the only way to make progress against inequity is through dedicated, consistent and collective action. There’s a quote I like from Desmond Tutu, one of the world’s most prominent activists and a key figure in finally ending apartheid. He said, “Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”

As I reflect during this time of year, I can say with confidence that people at VMware are doing their little bit of good. There is certainly more to do. And my great hope is that our actions can inspire—and enable—others to do the same.

Why is equity so prominent in our 2030 Agenda? Because there’s no such thing as a sustainable future without an equitable future.

Why is equity so prominent in our 2030 Agenda? Because there’s no sustainable future without an equitable future.

Equity Requires Doing a Little Bit of Good, Wherever You Are

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Equity Requires Doing a Little Bit of Good - VMware News and Stories

Why is #equity so prominent in our #VMware2030 Agenda? Because combatting inequity is a shared responsibility. Because there’s no such thing as a sustainable future without an equitable future. #ESG

VMworld was a huge success due to the participation of all of you: our customers, suppliers, employees and shareholders. As the leader of VMware’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Office, I am especially proud of all those who participated in the <a href="https://octo.vmware.com/vmworld2021-setlist/">Inspire Change</a> track, which included sessions to deepen understanding of the connection between digital transformation, technology, and business imperatives of sustainability, equity and trust. Together, we learned new skills and ways of thinking to build our careers; how to be an ally for diversity, equity and inclusion; and how to be a change agent for a better planet.

Whether you had the opportunity to take part in the Inspire Change sessions or not, each participant at VMworld made a tangible contribution to VMware’s environmental sustainability efforts as we planted trees in honor of our attendees. Trees are a nature-based solution to climate change and part of our <a href="http://www.vmware.com/company/net-zero">journey to net zero emissions</a>, which includes a goal to plant and protect 1 million trees by 2030. Conserving, restoring and growing trees around the world helps clean the air we breathe, filter the water we drink and complement emissions reduction efforts to reverse climate change.

For this year’s VMworld, we planted 80,000 trees to thank our attendees! 

We partnered with <a href="https://www.1t.org/pledges/one-million-trees-for-a-thriving-planet">1t.org</a> to support our tree planting initiatives, part of the World Economic Forum’s work to accelerate nature-based solutions in support of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.

VMware’s Journey to Net Zero

Nature-based solutions are an important part of VMware’s commitment to achieving net zero carbon emissions for our operations and supply chain by 2030. As part of our <a href="http://www.vmware.com/company/esg">Environmental, Social and Governance</a> strategy, our net zero goal builds on approved <a href="https://sciencebasedtargets.org/">science-based targets</a> and expands the scope of our climate commitments. In addition to implementing nature-based solutions to achieve net zero, we also participate in renewable energy initiatives like the <a href="https://rebuyers.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance</a> and <a href="https://www.there100.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">RE100</a>, a global collaborative representing businesses committed to using 100% renewable electricity. VMware is proud to be a <a href="https://www.carbonneutral.com/news/vmware-becomes-a-carbon-neutral-company-two-years-ahead-of-schedule" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Certified CarbonNeutral® Company</a> since 2018, and we are excited to announce signing <a href="https://www.theclimatepledge.com/content/amazonclimatepledge/us/en/Signatories/vmware.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Climate Pledge</a> to further our net zero progress alongside companies around the world and across industries.

The ability to drive and inspire change is paramount to my role leading ESG at VMware. However, ESG is a team sport, and we are only as successful as the people that participate in these sustainability efforts. My personal gratitude to everyone who attended VMworld and to the trees that will grow in your honor.

VMware's journey to net zero as part of our 2030 Agenda continued at VMworld 2021 as we planted trees in honor of our attendees.

ESG is a team sport. Read about our latest net zero partnerships as we continue on our path to 2030.

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The Road to 1 Million Trees: Net Zero and You - VMware News and Stories

#ESG is a team sport. Read about our latest #netzero partnerships as we continue on our path to #VMware2030.

VMware is committed to embedding <a href="https://www.vmware.com/company/esg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)</a> into everything we do<meta charset="utf-8">—throughout our technology strategy,  business model and culture. We are applying the same strategic focus to ESG that we’ve used to launch our most innovative products and services and fueled by our EPIC2 culture to make sure our progress is meaningful and transparent.

Baking ESG outcomes directly into our operations, products and solutions is The Next Normal. We’re doing this because we see <a href="https://news.vmware.com/sustainability/sustainability-is-a-value-driver" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ESG as a value driver.</a> The Next Normal reflects both our responsibility and opportunity to support customers and partners in achieving their own ESG goals through VMware technology solutions. It’s the kind of big picture perspective that every company, in every industry, should be thinking about right now.

Our <a href="http://www.vmware.com/content/dam/digitalmarketing/vmware/en/pdf/company/vmware-esg-report-2021.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">2021 ESG Report</a> highlights our ESG performance over the past fiscal year and showcases our <a href="https://www.vmware.com/company/esg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">2030 Agenda</a><meta charset="utf-8">—our decade-long ESG commitment to foster a more sustainable, equitable and secure world. We believe transparency is crucial to keeping ourselves accountable, which is why we routinely share our progress. VMware has a long history of leveraging data to improve our decision making and capacity for innovation and has shared our ESG performance annually since VMware’s inaugural report in 2015 (formerly known as the Global Impact Report).

While we are less than a year into our 2030 Agenda, we’re starting to see results, and some highlights over the past fiscal year include: 

VMware has embraced both an “outside-in” and “inside-out” approach to driving ESG that not only addresses our internal operations and supply chain, but also focuses on our ability to support customers in achieving their own ESG goals through VMware technology solutions. As our technology solutions have grown, so too has our ability to drive ESG outcomes through decarbonization of digital infrastructures, equity through distributed workforce technology, and enhanced security and privacy to build trust with our customers and their stakeholders.  

This year’s report showcases inspiring customer stories such as Fujitsu, Moderna, WVV and Zoom, who have used our digital foundation and digital workspace solutions to help empower their distributed workforces while prioritizing employees’ health and safety as part of The Next Normal in 2021.  

Enabling our customers and partners is a cornerstone of how we amplify our impact and demonstrate transparent progress towards our 2030 goals. We also align our performance data to leading ESG frameworks, including the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), Sustainable Accounting Standards Board (SASB), Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), and the Principles of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC). We have also mapped the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) to our 2030 outcomes of sustainability, equity and trust. Something I am especially proud of that is new this year is incorporating accessibility considerations into the visual design of the report to ensure that all stakeholders can read it.

Our leadership in ESG has been acknowledged over the last year through awards and recognition from leading organizations, including: 

While we have made lots of progress, we know we have a long way to go to 2030 and we won’t get there alone. The path forward requires rethinking the way things were in the past and that means co-innovating with our stakeholders—employees, customers, communities, shareholders and partners—because together, we will redefine the future and advance sustainability, equity and trust for all. 

Read our <a href="http://www.vmware.com/content/dam/digitalmarketing/vmware/en/pdf/company/vmware-esg-report-2021.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">2021 ESG Report</a> and learn more about <a href="https://www.vmware.com/company/esg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Environmental, Social and Governance at VMware</a>.

VMware's 2021 ESG Report highlights the company's ESG performance over the past fiscal year and showcases its 2030 Agenda.

Our 2021 ESG Report tells the story of how we’re integrating sustainability, equity and trust into the core of our business.

VMware’s 2021 ESG Report: The Next Normal – Our Path to 2030

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2021 ESG Report—Our Path to 2030 - VMware News and Stories

VMware’s 2021 ESG Report: The Next Normal—Our Path to 2030

We're excited to announce our 2021 ESG Report, highlighting our commitment toward creating a sustainable, equitable and more secure digital world—and how we’re helping customers achieve those same goals. #ESG #VMware2030

I was recently asked what I would do if I was given a magic wand with the ability to solve any problem in the world. I briefly considered saying that I would create my vacuum cleaner that sucks pollution out of the air. But that would only address a symptom of a larger problem; it would get rid of existing pollution, but not change the underlying system that caused it.

So instead, I said I would wish for a true global consciousness—one that would reveal how closely we’re interconnected to each other, to the choices of our past, and to the outcomes of our future. With that kind of awareness of our interdependence, there would be no way humanity could ignore the peril of our planet. We would be driven by a deeper force to action.

Unfortunately, I don’t have a magic wand. And even though the impacts of climate change are well known—and becoming more and more real on a daily basis—we’re still a long way from the sort of collective action that will reverse and mitigate the damage already caused and continue to.

But I’m an optimist by nature. I believe change is possible because I believe in human ingenuity. And one of my biggest sources for optimism personally is the work we’re doing at VMware through our Environmental, Social, and Governance efforts.

Sustainability is one of three outcomes of VMware’s ESG agenda, and I’d argue it’s fundamental. Why? Because, being trained as an ecologist, I tend to look at the world through the lens of science. The world is made up of multifaced complex systems of all types and scales: my household is a system, the community I live in is a system, VMware is a system, the economy we all participate in is a system. And the planet is also an operating system of sorts —it is the ecological system that all human and economic systems rely on. If we don’t maintain the critical functions of the system, everything else falls apart. 

Yet despite how fundamental the planet’s health is to every company, pursuing sustainability strategies has for too long been treated as a tradeoff—a cost to the bottom line that has to be offset somewhere else. But this mindset prioritizes the short-term at the expense of the long-term health and resilience of the organization.

The thing is, it IS possible to be a profitable business and a sustainable business. VMware is in the midst of proving it.

Sustainability has long been inherent in our technology solutions. As companies virtualize their digital operations, they benefit from lower costs, increased flexibility, and more resilience—but also a reduced carbon footprint. In fact, VMware has helped its customers avoid more than 1.2 billion metric tons of carbon emissions to date.<a href="#_ftn1">[1]</a>

But even with these impressive results, the world now demands more from us. So, we’re pushing ourselves to redefine what a sustainable digital future means. We are fundamentally realigning our business model around multi-cloud and SaaS. In the process we’re also making efficiency and decarbonization an explicit goal for products we create.

This shift does so much more than just help VMware achieve its own ESG goals—it also helps our customers achieve theirs. We’re like the center of a Fibonacci spiral. When we create services that are carbon aware, those benefits flow out and are amplified exponentially as customers in countless industries around the world use our products to digitally transform their businesses. It’s a positive environmental ripple—at scale.

Baking sustainability outcomes directly into our products and services reflects a mindset of shared value. We’re doing this because we see sustainability for what it is: not as a cost center, but as a value driver. It’s the thing that’s going to be a competitive differentiator for us. And it’s the kind of big picture thinking that every company, in every industry, should be thinking about right now.

Moving the needle on climate change means more than doing less harm, it means adopting a mindset of sustainability innovation. Every company in every industry is going to have their own unique decarbonization challenges. But those challenges are not insurmountable. Instead, we should use them as a fuel for innovation that will not only improve the bottom line, but help save the planet.

During Climate Week, I hope you’re able to reflect and discuss how we can do more to accelerate climate action. We’ll also be talking about <a href="https://myevents.vmware.com/widget/vmware/vmworld2021/catalog?search=2794&tab.contentcatalogtabs=1627421929827001vRXW">sustainability across product innovations and operations</a> in a couple of weeks at VMworld 2021. Learn more and register <a href="https://www.vmware.com/vmworld/en/index.html">here</a>.

<a href="#_ftnref1">[1]</a> IDC White Paper, sponsored by VMware. “Enabling More Agile & Sustainable Business through Carbon-Efficient Digital Transformations,” August 2020. <a href="http://www.vmware.com/go/VMwareIDCWhitePaper2020">http://www.vmware.com/go/VMwareIDCWhitePaper2020</a>

Moving the needle on climate change means adopting a mindset of sustainability innovation. We need to see sustainability as a value driver.

Happy Climate Week! VMware VP ESG Nicola Acutt explores what a sustainable digital future means.

Sustainability Is a Value Driver

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Sustainability Is a Value Driver - VMware News and Stories

Happy #ClimateWeek! VMware VP ESG @NicolaAcutt explores what a sustainable digital future means. #sustainability #VMware2030

When I was about 10 years old, my parents took me on a hike into the hills near our home in Johannesburg, South Africa. We climbed until we reached a clearing looking out over the city. I’d never seen it that way before—both sprawling and small at the same time.
My eyes were drawn to a brown haze hanging over the skyline, so I asked my dad what it was. After he told me it was pollution, I said: “When I grow up, I’m going to build a giant vacuum cleaner that sucks all of that pollution out of the sky.”
I’ll be the first to admit: I haven’t built the vacuum. Yet. I still sometimes find myself thinking about how it could be done. But I’ve never lost my connection to that girl on the hill. The one who could envision a future that was different from today, and who wanted to do her part to make it possible.
Fast forward to the moment we are in today. The release of the <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" name="&#038;lpos=content_company : 255">latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report</a> last week is a stark and unequivocal call-to-action for the world. While not unexpected, the report’s conclusions are sobering, even to those of us who have committed our life’s work in pursuit of sustainability. In moments like this, staying grounded in “our personal why” can be a powerful catalyst.  
For me, this is to imagine how empowered that girl would be to see me now: a woman working at one of the most innovative tech companies in the world, leading its first Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) office, determined to make a difference by driving an <a href="https://www.vmware.com/2030agenda/2030-letter-nicola-acutt.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" name="&#038;lpos=content_company : 256">ambitious agenda</a> that aims for nothing short of creating a more equitable, sustainable and resilient world.
In the decade that I’ve worked at VMware, I’ve seen corporate responsibility evolve from being peripheral to the company to being a part of everything at the company. Today, ESG at VMware isn’t a program or initiative—it’s a complete realignment in how we think about the long-term future of our business.
What’s behind this seismic shift? First and foremost, ESG is an overdue business imperative. And while the events of 2020 brought an increased global awareness, the challenges facing our world escalate. It has now become more evident than before that our lives, our business and our communities are interconnected in ways both large and small.
This interdependence means that ESG is also foundational to any business’ resilience and future success. Potential investors, customers and employees aren’t only looking for healthy balance sheets, innovative products and great benefit programs anymore. They want to know what you stand for—and how what you’re doing creates value for people and the planet. And they’re using what they find out to make funding, buying and employment decisions.
Late last year, VMware announced its commitment to ESG with the <a href="https://www.vmware.com/2030agenda.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2030 Agenda</a>: 30 specific, measurable goals we’ll achieve by 2030 that will:
<ul>
<li>Broaden trust in VMware and its products, people, and industry leadership by focusing on security, keeping people’s information safe, working from a privacy-first mindset, and being transparent about how we do business.</li>
<li>Increase equity by enabling our company and our customers can create a distributed and digital workforce future that is accessible, inclusive, and just for all.</li>
<li>Drive sustainability by decarbonizing IT infrastructure for our customers and partners, as well as our own operations and supply chain.</li>
</ul>
The most important thing about these commitments is that they won’t just impact what we do at VMware. We’re baking them into the products we make and the solutions we offer our customers. In this way, we are contributing to support our stakeholders make progress on their ESG goals—like our own Fibonacci spiral amplifying our impact even further.
The 2030 Agenda is ambitious. I’ll be the first to admit it. Achieving our goals will take relentless focus and require not only commitment from the top but also that of our 35,000+ employees around the world. But I’m confident we’ll get there. Because we must get there.
I sometimes think about the girl on the hill and her vacuum. It’s family lore at this point: the moment my passion sparked, and my path was set. But more often, I think of my son. He’s a few years older than I was when I first dreamed of the cleaner, better future I wanted for the world. Now, I dream of the safer, more equitable and climate-resilient future I want for him. I know it’s within our grasp—we just have to seize it.
In the coming weeks, I’ll take a deeper dive into the three pillars of VMware’s 2030 Agenda: sustainability, equity and trust. Until then, why is ESG personal to you?
 
Follow Nicola:
<ul>
<li>On Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/nicolaacutt" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@NicolaAcutt</a></li>
<li>On LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolaacutt/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nicola Acutt</a></li>
</ul>

core/freeform

Getting Personal on Leading an ESG Agenda - VMware News and Stories

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Every April, we have the opportunity to reflect on our environmental priorities and commitments. Sustainability is something many of us aspire to practice every day. But there is something about the seasons changing to Spring and the annual Earth Day celebrations that give us a chance to pause and think consciously about what more we can do.
VMware has a long-held belief that <a href="https://www.vmware.com/company/sustainability.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">environmental stewardship</a> is our responsibility and duty as a global corporate citizen. We’ve made huge strides over the last several years, from being a certified CarbonNeutral company to procuring 100% renewable energy and setting science-based targets. As part of our 2030 Agenda, we are now aiming for <a href="https://www.vmware.com/2030agenda.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">net zero by 2030</a>. Sustainability remains core to our values and future success. We owe it to ourselves, to our children and to the future to do our part in nurturing and caring for our one and only planet.
Over the past year, we’ve had a unique opportunity—the likes of which we haven’t seen in modern history—to reduce our carbon footprint through our new remote work environments. We’ve experienced a huge acceleration to a more distributed future, an <a href="https://www.vmware.com/future-ready-workforce.html?src=ps_5f843775cd327&#038;cid=7012H000001KS01&#038;gclid=CjwKCAjw6qqDBhB-EiwACBs6x5eZuqa2c7FMkGzo6_Uce-1GXMUVcPJPffcnNSMzvcf2mQmpRr_JVhoCusUQAvD_BwE&#038;gclsrc=aw.ds" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Anywhere Workspace</a>, which quickly became a priority for VMware. Our homes have become our offices, daycare, schools, movie theaters, go-to lunch spots and everything in between. Bridging the gap between work and home has taken on new meaning. 
The unexpected lockdown has given our planet a break from the emissions associated with our daily commutes, air travel and energy consumption while in the office. With many of us still working remotely, we continue to be challenged to think differently about creating healthy and sustainable workspaces, experiences and lifestyles. And that is what Earth Month is all about.
Last year, we celebrated Earth Month by introducing our <a href="https://www.vmware.com/company/news/updates/every-bit-counts-earth-day-2020.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Every Bit Counts</a> campaign, building on our belief that small, individual actions add up to significant impact. To continue that mindset, this year we encourage everyone to Save Our Home—Without Leaving Yours.

Over the past year, I’ve been inspired by our people at VMware, who, notwithstanding the challenges we face, remain fired up about living sustainably and helping others to do so, as well. It’s up to all of us to do our part to protect the one and only Earth we have. And my hope is that VMware can serve up inspiration to do just that.
On that note, I sign off by channeling the words of Margaret Mead: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it&#8217;s the only thing that ever has.”
It’s time to change the world one home at a time!

This Earth Day, VMware people all over the world are joining in to change the world one home at a time.

Save Our Home—Without Leaving Yours

On the heels of our <a href="https://www.vmware.com/global-impact/2030-letter-nicola-acutt.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" name="&#038;lpos=content_vmware-sustainability-recognition : 311">2030 Agenda announcement</a>, VMware has been recognized on <a href="https://www.cdp.net/en/companies/companies-scores" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CDP’s Climate A List</a>.(1) CDP is a global environmental nonprofit, and its A List recognizes companies committed to reducing carbon emissions and managing climate change risk.
As an A list company, VMware is committed to the transition to a new sustainable economy. We’re proud to have earned a position on CDP’s Climate A List for leadership in environmental transparency—the key milestone in effective climate action and one of our 2030 goals—to accelerate accountability and transparency for the benefit of all stakeholders.
Additionally, VMware has been acknowledged by the <a href="https://www.asyousow.org/report-page/2020-clean200" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2020 Carbon Clean 200</a>™, which ranks publicly traded companies based on their green energy revenues.(2) The Clean 200™ shines a light on companies leading the way to a zero-carbon future. According to The Clean 200™:
“With all this action, we hope that the Clean200 can do two things: 
<ul>
<li>Provide a useful North star for investors looking to pinpoint the companies leading the way to a clean energy future.</li>
<li>To dispel the myth that clean investing is about sacrificing returns.” </li>
</ul>
VMware was also recently named to the <a href="https://ir.vmware.com/websites/vmware/English/2120/us-press-release.html?airportNewsID=4f24c288-63d9-4f27-9ebd-3465107fee9a" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dow Jones Sustainability Index</a> (DJSI).The DJSI is one of the most respected independent sustainability performance evaluation systems and VMware ranked in the 94th percentile in the software category for its leadership in corporate sustainability. Being able to benchmark performance across the industry enables us to assess progress against our strategic goals. This is important because, while we are proud of our performance, achieving a high ranking is not the end in itself.
These recognitions reflect VMware’s longstanding commitment to sustainability. It is also the result of the hard work, dedication and grit of a small, but mighty VMware Sustainability team in the Office of the CTO in 2020. The acknowledgements are humbling and inspiring particularly in light of the tumultuous and challenging year. Looking forward, with resilience as a key theme, we are committed to achieving even more in 2021 with our customers and partners to build a more equitable and sustainable world.
UN Climate Change Secretariat (2010-2016) Christiana Figueres called this decade the “decisive decade for the future of humanity and the planet.” Business and community leaders across the world are called upon to act with resolve on addressing issues of sustainability, equity and trust.
With that responsibility, I am reminded of one of my long-time favorite quotes:
<blockquote>
&#8220;The Peacemaker taught us about the Seven Generations. He said, when you sit in council for the welfare of the people, you must not think of yourself or of your family, not even of your generation. He said, make your decisions on behalf of the seven generations coming, so that they may enjoy what you have today.&#8221;
</blockquote>
—Oren Lyons (Seneca), Faithkeeper, Onondaga Nation
 
Learn more about VMware&#8217;s <a href="https://www.vmware.com/2030agenda.html" target="_self" rel="noopener">2030 Agenda</a>.
1. <a href="https://www.cdp.net/en/companies/companies-scores" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.cdp.net/en/companies/companies-scores</a>
2. According to <a href="https://www.asyousow.org/report-page/2020-clean200" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2020 Carbon Clean 200</a>™, green energy revenues are in USD and assessed “by multiplying a company’s most recent year-end revenues by its clean revenue estimate, primarily sourced from Corporate Knights Research. In order to be eligible, a company must have USD revenue of at least $1 billion (most recent available fiscal year end data) and earn more than 10% of total revenues from clean sources.”

Three recognitions signal milestones in effective climate action and VMware’s 2030 Agenda.

VMware’s Sustainability Team Receives Global Recognition

Trees, a Remarkable Innovation, the Unsung Heroes of Mitigating Climate Change

Mitigating Climate Change

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Today officially marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. For VMware, our rallying cry—Every Bit Counts—is more meaningful than ever.

Every Bit Counts This Earth Day

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