Partnering for impact.

Our approach

Corporate Responsibility & Inclusion is part of how we do business at Thomson Reuters. Our combined approach encompasses Diversity & Inclusion, Community Investment and Sustainability. It is embedded in every part of our organization and impacts how we work with every employee, customer, supplier and stakeholder.

Its goal? To empower sustainable growth for our people, our markets and our world. Long term, we’re driving toward the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and so we’re collaborating internally and externally to demonstrate our role as a responsible business and as a member of the United Nations Global Compact.

Values across the enterprise

Our business is built on responsible values, starting with the Thomson Reuters Trust Principles, an explicit, written expression of our commitment to independent and unbiased news and information. Established in 1941, these principles may be more relevant today than ever. An independent board – the Founders Share Company – ensures that these principles infuse all areas of our business.

In addition, all employees read and agree to adhere to our written Code of Business Conduct & Ethics.

These responsibilities extend to our supply chain as well, with specific details around labor and employment standards, anti-bribery, anti-corruption, non-discrimination, health and safety, and human trafficking.

Partnering with our stakeholders

In 2016, we set out to work closely with our key stakeholders, both internal and external. Many of these impressive partnerships are detailed in our full 2016 Corporate Responsibility & Inclusion Report, and demonstrate that collaborative thinking drives outstanding performance.

Diversity & Inclusion

Our goals around Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) have never wavered: to foster an inclusive workplace where everyone can bring their whole selves to work and feel welcomed, respected and valued.

Linking diversity and financial performance

The D&I Index, a new financial tool using our own Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) data, ranks over 5,000 global companies on the characteristics that define inclusive workplaces. The 100 companies with the highest combined score comprise our Index. It shows that the top D&I performers tend to financially outperform their peers.

Global participation

Across our global enterprise, there are eight employee-led, voluntary networks, open to all. These Business Resource Groups foster a culture of inclusion and openness, and they are an integral part of our culture.

• Women @ Thomson Reuters
• Asian Affinity Network
• Black Employee Network
• Disability Employee Network
• Latino Employee Network
• Pride at Work
• Veterans Network
• Early Careers Network

Shifting the leadership balance

Since 2013, there’s been a marked increase of women in leadership positions at Thomson Reuters with 30 percent of senior executive roles now held by women, a 5.5 percent increase since 2012. This achievement did not happen in a vacuum but was the result of the active support of our Women’s Advisory Taskforce, chaired by our CEO and Chief People Officer.

Based on its success, we are now focusing on our black and ethnic minority groups. We’ve established a Black Talent Taskforce to build the pipeline of black talent across our business. This includes a nine month sponsorship program to support career progression.

In 2016, we held our first “Impact & Influence” program in the US. Fifteen employees were sponsored by their managers and undertook two-day training sessions – a program we will expand, benchmark and track in 2017.

Community Investment

Through both charitable contributions and employee engagement, we make a measurable impact on the communities in which we live and work. Since 2010, our volunteers have committed 515,499 hours to their local communities – a 725 percent increase between 2010 and 2016.

Our Community Support policy helps our employees get involved with the causes they care most about. They use the online My Community platform to find and connect with local programs.

We give employees two paid volunteer days a year, match charitable donations, facilitate payroll giving and reward volunteer time with community grants.

Partnering with our employees

With over 50 Global Volunteer Networks, employees are an integral part of our volunteering story. These networks collaborate with their office locations to match volunteers with local groups.

The Community Champion Awards are sponsored by the Office of the CEO to identify and fund exceptional volunteering efforts. Since 2001, global charities have received nearly $1,500,000 of funding.

In 2016, the Hour Power campaign demonstrated the difference that just an hour of volunteering can make, as spearheaded by our CEO, who volunteered for a local homeless shelter.

Local and global impact

Beyond their many local programs, our Global Volunteer Networks supported overarching campaigns such as Earth Day, World Food Day, Movember and Giving Tuesday in 2016. Through collaborative efforts and partnership, our employees volunteered, raised funds, and increased awareness of global issues such as hunger, the environment and men’s health.

Aligning community investment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, the UN launched the Sustainable Development Goals, an ambitious target to tackle global poverty and alleviate climate change. Our Social Impact Initiative continues to identify partnerships with community groups where we can leverage our people, products and partnerships to create positive outcomes.

Using the Sustainable Development Goals to share our approach, our Global Volunteer Networks will work on a specific goal each quarter throughout 2017:

• No poverty
• Zero hunger
• Quality education
• Climate action

Sustainability

As a global business with a presence in over 100 countries, we know that our environmental responsibilities and opportunities are substantial. Our sustainability story at Thomson Reuters has evolved over the past five years. We’ve made progress in managing our own environmental impacts, and in how we communicate this issue to external audiences through thought leadership.

A smaller footprint, one step at a time

In 2011, we benchmarked our carbon footprint and set targets to shrink it. Over six years—by 2016—we had reduced it by over 30 percent.

We know we can do more. We have undertaken an environmental assessment with a third party to find more ways to have a smaller carbon footprint and greener practices. By working collaboratively with internal and external stakeholders, identifying opportunities and understanding our responsibility as a global employer, we hope to make more great progress in 2017 and beyond.

Partnering with our Green Teams

In 2016, we relaunched our network of Green Team champions on Earth Day, with a call to employees to support our overall carbon reduction and environmental awareness efforts. We now have 26 teams globally, building on the original 14 teams.

Leading the discussion

Our sustainability thought leadership site combines perspectives, news and expertise from across the company, and from a valued community of external partners. This unique group of partners brings insight, balance and facts from experts in climate, finance, energy, health, law, diversity and corporate governance.

The link between gender equality and sustainability

One key milestone in 2016 was the launch of our Leaders of Sustainable Development platform focusing on Sustainable Development Goal 5 and the role women play in driving sustainability. We featured in-depth interviews with individuals from across corporates, non-profits, think tanks, and environmental and governmental departments. Read the full report.

Transparency in global emissions

In 2015, the Paris Agreement was reached to support holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 degrees Celsius. With interest and discussion ongoing on this topic we launched our fifth thought leadership report on Greenhouse Gas Emissions, with a focus on 3,500 companies and their emissions from 2010 to 2015.

We used our own ESG data to map trends in climate emissions across global corporations. The findings were stark: Instead of declines in emissions, companies worldwide have in fact been increasing them. Read the full report.