Ziff Davis’ Five Pillars of Purpose

Our Five Pillars of Purpose are the areas in which we focus our efforts to support Ziff Davis employees, sustainably grow our businesses, care for the planet, and best serve our customers, clients, and shareholders.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Reinforce our diverse workforce, reflect our diverse audiences, and expand upon our inclusive culture

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Environmental Sustainability

Environmental Sustainability

Reduce our environmental footprint and help our customers and users reduce their footprint

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Community

Community

Support our employees worldwide and positively impact the communities around us

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Data Privacy & Security

Data Privacy & Security

Protect our data and customer data, ensure our product security, and respect the data privacy rights of our users

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Governance

Governance

Represent stockholders’ best interests with our rigorous and transparent corporate governance structure

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2023 ESG Report

2023 ESG Report

Ziff Davis’ 2023 ESG Report includes findings and actions relating to our commitment to environmental and business sustainability, including findings from our most recent third-party verified greenhouse gas inventory.

READ THE REPORT
2023 DEI Report

2023 DEI Report

Ziff Davis’ 2023 DEI Report shares diversity and representation statistics of the U.S. employee base and describes the programs and actions helping to ensure the company remains broadly representative and inclusive.

READ THE REPORT

ESG & DEI Report Archive

ESG Reports: 2023 | 2022 | 2021
DEI Reports: 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020

Ziff Davis Maintains “AA” ESG Rating from MSCI

Ziff Davis Maintains “AA” ESG Rating from MSCI

In June 2023, Ziff Davis maintained its “AA” rating from MSCI’s ESG Ratings Assessment. The AA rating positions Ziff Davis among the leading companies worldwide for action across ESG matters. MSCI ESG Research provides in-depth research, ratings, and analysis of the ESG-related business practices of thousands of companies worldwide.

Awarded for “Sustainability Leadership”

Awarded for “Sustainability Leadership”

Ziff Davis is proud to be a winner in the “Sustainability Leadership Award” category from Business Intelligence Group’s 2024 Sustainability Awards program, which honors organizations, products, people, and initiatives across industries that have prioritized sustainability as a core element of their business practice.

Awarded “Best CSR Strategy”

Awarded “Best CSR Strategy”

Ziff Davis is proud to be awarded Silver for “Best CSR Strategy” in the 2024 Stevie Awards for Great Employers (2023 Bronze winner), which recognizes the world’s best employers and the human resources professionals, teams, achievements, and HR-related products and suppliers who help create and drive great places to work. More than 1,000 nominations from organizations of all sizes in 35 nations and territories for consideration across categories.

Top 10 Human Resources Team Award

Top 10 Human Resources Team Award

Ziff Davis’ human resources team is honored to have won a 2023 OnConferences Icon Top 10 Human Resources Team Award, a peer- and community-voted recognizing HR teams that positively impact their organization, make strong contributions through thought leadership, foster innovation, and exhibit exceptional leadership.

Building a Diverse Workforce

Building a Diverse Workforce

Ziff Davis’ Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) goals, strategies, initiatives and programs are a priority for our CEO, Global Head of Human Resources, Executive Leadership team and Board of Directors – driven by the input and participation of our employees. Our ongoing actions to increase diversity across our workforce include:

  • Maintaining a DEI Council who develop recommendations for the company across employee recruiting, mentorship, and advancement.
  • Doubling the referral bonus paid to employees and senior leadership when we hire a person of color they recommend.
    • In 2023, we activated 100% of the $1 million committed to hiring POC freelancers by year-end.
  • Adding non-financial DEI targets, based on internal talent goals, to the annual compensation plans of executives with substantial hiring oversight. The bonus plans of certain senior executives include a hiring, retention, and leadership component based on the achievement of Ziff Davis’ diversity and inclusion objectives.
  • In 2023, our Black@ZD ERG participated in AFROTECH, the largest Black professional conference for the tech and internet sectors, for the second year in a row.
  • Continuing our annual eight-week summer internship program with the City University of New York Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism to attract diverse talent.
  • Posting open roles on job boards with organizations that serve individuals who identify as people of color, including the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, the National Association of Black Journalists, the Asian American Journalists Association, the Native American Journalists Association, the Association of LGBTQ Journalists, the South Asian Journalists Association, and Writers of Color.

Best Place to Work for LGBTQ+ Employees

Best Place to Work for LGBTQ+ Employees

Ziff Davis earned a top score on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s annual Corporate Equality Index in 2023/2024 and was named one of the “Best Places to Work for LGBTQ+ Employees.” We actively support equal rights and protections for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community by serving as signatories to HRC initiatives, including:

  • “Count Us In” pledge, which brings businesses together in allyship for the LGBTQ+ community, while sending a powerful message to extremist lawmakers advancing anti-LGBTQ+ legislation that equality for all is not negotiable.
  • Business Statement on Anti-LGBTQ State Legislation
  • Respect for Marriage Act Letter to the U.S. Senate

Named One of Mogul’s Top 100 Companies with Inclusive Benefits

Named One of Mogul’s Top 100 Companies with Inclusive Benefits

Ziff Davis was honored to be recognized by Mogul as one of the top 100 companies with inclusive benefits. We are proud of our ongoing commitment in caring for our employees’ health and well-being in and out of the workplace.

Combating Climate Change

Combating Climate Change

Ziff Davis is committed to operating sustainably and limiting any damaging effects our operations may have on climate change, even as our direct operations generate relatively insubstantial greenhouse gas emissions. Our actions include:

  • Receiving validation of our science-based greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets from the Science Based Targets initiative, which commits Ziff Davis to reducing our:
    • Absolute Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions 50% by 2030 from a 2021 base year
    • Scope 3 GHG emissions from purchased goods & services and capital goods 51.6% per USD value added within the same timeframe
  • Performing an annual GHG inventory process using an independent, third-party expert to measure our company-wide energy usage (including energy derived from renewable sources) and GHG emissions
  • Continuing our efforts to reduce the emissions generated in our operations to become more efficient and ensure our services are delivered sustainably
    • Our Scope 3 emissions declined by 38% from 2022 to 2023 due to increased sourcing from CDP and SBTi aligned suppliers, as well as updating the sources of emissions factors for these categories and overall lower vendor spend
    • Our Scope 1 and 2 emissions also declined by 38% from 2022 to 2023 due to a decrease in our operational square footage and an increase in the usage of renewable energy
  • Integrating environmental risk evaluation criteria, including climate change, into the due diligence process for mergers and acquisitions
  • Extending our Climate Change and Environmental policies to our vendors, which we expect to aspire to our company’s own standards

Using Our Platforms to Impact Our Communities

Ziff Davis believes in using our platforms and reach to combat systemic racism and inequality. Our initiatives include:

Ziff Davis

  • Participating in the #BankBlack movement by depositing $10 million in Black-owned banks and credit unions.
  • Formed a strategic partnership with Group Black, a first-of-its-kind media collective and accelerator with a mission to dramatically transform the face of media ownership and investment by building one of the largest collectives of Black-owned media and diverse creators.
  • Member of the Business Coalition for the Equality Act, a coalition of more than 500 U.S.-based companies organized by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) to support the passage of federal legislation that would provide the same basic protections to 2SLGBTQIA+ people as are provided to other protected groups under federal law, and a signatory to HRC’s Business Statement on Anti-LGBTQ State Legislation and their Respect for Marriage Act Letter to the U.S. Senate.
  • Ziff Davis CEO Vivek Shah joined CEOs for Gun Safety, a coalition of CEOs who believe gun violence in the U.S. is not inevitable and are urging elected officials to help prevent it.
  • Pledged more than $1.3 million in media to charities including Sandy Hook Promise, Cxmmunity Gaming, Stop AAPI Hate, and The Trevor Project, through partnerships with our Family, Black@ZD, Asian, and Prism ERGs.
  • Donated to UNICEF and DataArt to support humanitarian efforts in Ukraine.

Humble

  • Since the brand’s founding in 2010, Humble has raised over $250 million, with $14.4 million raised for 7,500 charities in 2023 focused on diverse causes ranging from health & well-being, crisis & disaster relief, equity & inclusion, quality education, climate change, and sustainability.
  • Now in year four, its Black Game Developer Fund, a $1 million dollar annual program to elevate diverse voices in the game industry and help achieve equity for Black game creators, has supported over 40 development teams across the globe. In 2023, they launched Protodroid DeLTA developed by Adam Kareem, an early-stage Fund participant.

Ookla’s Ookla for Good initiative provides its services free of charge to organizations that are seeking to improve people’s lives through internet accessibility.

Everyday Health continues its work on #BlackHealthFacts to raise awareness of healthcare inequities among Black Americans, as well as the racism and bias within communities and institutions that have led to these disparities. In June 2023, Black Joy highlighted people who are working to change that and who are inspiring other Black Americans to find joy in the outdoors.

Castle Connolly launched Castle Connolly’s Top Black Doctors list in 2023, adding to its Top Doctors lists featuring, the Top Hispanic & Latino, AAPI, 2SLGBTQIA+, and Women in Medicine.

What to Expect held its 7th annual #BumpDay social media campaign celebrating healthy pregnancies and raising awareness about the urgent need for more equitable, accessible maternal healthcare. In the United States, more than 800 women die of pregnancy-related causes annually, with Black, Alaska Native, and Native American moms making up a disproportionate number of them. In 2023, the #BumpDay campaign was selected for two honors at the Anthem Awards, which celebrate purpose and mission driven work.

BabyCenter’s #WeSeeYou campaign raised awareness of maternal mental health and provide resources for moms struggling with postpartum depression and anxiety.

Ziff Davis’ legal team participated in pro bono efforts, including:

  • Becoming a corporate partner of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP and their Gateway to Good platform, the Ziff Davis Legal team pairs up with organizations nationwide to assist disadvantaged communities.
  • Joining Brooklyn Defenders Services in helping parents whose matters were dismissed in court to get removed from the New York State Central Registry, giving them expanded access to employment opportunities.
  • Sending messages to at-risk voters offering information about registration, aided in research projects like mapping restrictive covenants to identify neighborhoods that had been affected by racism, and more.
  • Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts: Provided free legal assistance to artists and creatives on arts-related legal matters, including intellectual property, copyright law, and non-profit formation.
  • Lawyers for Good Government’s TPS Pro Bono Project for Ukraine: Assisted Ukrainian nationals with applying for temporary protected status in the U.S.
  • Mapping Segregation in Washington, D.C. project: Helped map racially restrictive covenants in the nation's capital to serve as a resource for historians, activists, educators, students, and journalists.
  • King County Records Project Day of Service: Worked with four low-income individuals, including specific populations such as people living with HIV/AIDS, homeless people, immigrants (regardless of immigration status), and those with limited English, to help prepare the necessary forms to vacate their eligible criminal convictions.

Data Privacy

Data Privacy

Protecting the right to data privacy is fundamental to maintaining the trust of Ziff Davis’ customers, readers, subscribers, suppliers and employees. Ziff Davis is committed to implementing leading data protection standards by:

  • Adopting significant governance measures, corporate policies and operating procedures to do so.
  • Abiding by “privacy by default” and “privacy by design,” and conducting privacy impact assessments for major new products, services and other offerings prior to their public launch.
  • Leveraging organization-wide tools to document our data flows, managing data subject access rights and assessing data processing activities.
  • Regularly reviewing our data collection and processing activities across Ziff Davis and its businesses to ensure data is collected lawfully and transparently.

Social Supplier Standards

Social Supplier Standards

Ziff Davis seeks to work with partners, vendors and suppliers whose values and practices are commensurate with our own, including our sustainability and human rights initiatives. We aim to engage minority-owned vendors and suppliers and to procure products and services from local companies in the communities where we operate. To identify appropriate partners, vendors, and suppliers, we take a proactive approach to vendor selection and onboarding. In 2023, we transitioned all business units to use a company-wide procurement software platform to make the onboarding process more efficient. We also work to ensure responsible supply chains by using analytics to track vendor spend, including by diversity categories, and implementing processes to assess supply chain risks and mitigate any potential supply chain disruptions. Our corporate policies detail the non-discrimination practices, health and safety standards and rights to collective bargaining and organization we expect from those with whom we do business.

Transparent and Fair Governance

Ziff Davis is committed to governance practices that maintain the highest ethical standards and make clear the fair and equitable business practices upheld across the company. We are committed to complying with all applicable wage, labor, and employment laws and regulations. Our governance policies and board committee charters detail Ziff Davis' adherence to practices that serve shareholders’ best interests and meet the requirements of all relevant laws. These include a clear code of business conduct and ethics, charters that clearly define board committees’ respective roles and responsibilities — including board-level responsibility for board diversity and ESG oversight — and a whistleblower program which includes a 24/7 confidential hotline available to all employees through which they can anonymously report concerns. Ziff Davis is involved with trade groups, such as i2 Coalition, that discuss and advocate for issues relevant to the company. The amounts spent on such groups are not material.