Activision Blizzard

Activision Blizzard states that it supports women in becoming the next generation of leaders in engineering and tech through its donation to the non-profit Women in Games. The company also incorporates accessible design principles into its products. Additionally, it has partnered with AbleGamers, a non-profit that advocates and works to improve accessibility of games for people with disabilities.

The company supports basic digital skills development through its partnership with the non-profit Hello World, which equips students from underrepresented groups with basic coding skills.

The company has a committee with clear responsibility for cybersecurity. It also considers data privacy a key topic, stating that it is committed to maintaining the privacy of its employees and customers. The company provides parental controls for its products.

No evidence was found of the company having leading practices in this area.

No evidence was found that Activision Blizzard undertakes initiatives that contribute to inclusive digital access. The company should consider disclosing the number of people with disabilities it employs. It should also report employment and taxes paid in its main markets of operation.

The company has an opportunity to support intermediate and technical digital skills development. It can also deepen its contribution to increasing school connectivity.

As a digital company that has users all over the world, the company should make a high-level commitment to cybersecurity in its business codes and improve its disclosure of how cybersecurity is managed within the company. Furthermore, no evidence was found that the company has information security certification. Activision Blizzard should disclose data breaches and publish a transparency report. Also, being a video game company, whose products are used by young people, Activision Blizzard should make a high-level commitment towards child online safety.

The company has an opportunity to demonstrate how it practises open innovation and supports the tech start-up ecosystem. It can also demonstrate how it collaborates with other organisations on sustainable development research as well as how it supports inclusive and ethical research and development (R&D). While Activision Blizzard reports the number of women employees at the company, it should also disclose the number of women employees in tech roles.

Although the company has a publicly available policy statement regarding human rights, the language used in the policy is vague and does not express a clear commitment to respect human rights. The company has a publicly available policy statement against forced labour, child labour and discrimination, but it does not commit to respecting all of the ILO core labour rights, specifically the rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining. Furthermore, no evidence was found that the company describes the processes it uses to identify and assess its human rights risks and impacts, nor does it disclose what it considers to be its salient human rights issues. Activision Blizzard does, however, have a grievance mechanism accessible to both workers and external stakeholders to raise human rights concerns and complaints.

In its 2021 environmental, social and governance (ESG) report, Activision Blizzard includes a statement regarding respect for worker health and safety. However, no evidence was found to indicate that this is a formal policy that has been approved and signed off by the highest governance body. Nevertheless, the company does have a publicly available policy statement that expects its business relationships to commit to providing a safe and healthy working environment for their workers. The company should specify whether it requires workers to work more than the regular and overtime hours. It should also improve its disclosure of workforce diversity within each employee category using different indicators of diversity, such as age group. The company demonstrates a commitment to promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment and discloses its goal to increase its percentage of women employees by 50% over the next five years.

While having a global tax strategy, the company can also disclose its income tax payments made in individual tax jurisdictions. Activision Blizzard has a confidential and anonymous channel accessible to all stakeholders to raise bribery and corruption concerns and complaints without fear of reprisals. Moreover, it discloses its lobbying and political engagement approach.