Salesforce

Salesforce supports access to digital technologies through its Pro Bono Program, where Salesforce employees offer their technical expertise on short-term projects for free. The company supports Girls Who Code, a non-profit providing training in computer skills, as well as summer immersion programmes that provide girls with exposure to tech career opportunities. The company also commits to supporting accessible design for customers and solicits feedback from people with disabilities on making its products more accessible. Furthermore, it reports the number of its employees with disabilities and has several initiatives aimed at making its workplaces accessible to them.

Salesforce contributes to school connectivity through various initiatives. For instance, the company has a programme called Power of Us, which gives eligible non-profits and educational institutions access to ten donated subscriptions and deep discounts on additional subscriptions, products and services from Salesforce.

Salesforce has a high-level commitment to cybersecurity as well as a dedicated cybersecurity committee. It has also published a white paper that details how it manages cybersecurity. The company follows industry norms by having a security incident response team and information security management certification. Additionally, Salesforce has a high-level policy document committing to data privacy and publishes a transparency report once a year detailing government requests for user information.

Salesforce demonstrates support for open innovation through participation in open-source projects and collaboration with universities. The company also contributes to the tech start-up ecosystem by providing mentorship and training, making venture capital investments and supporting social start-ups as well as those whose founders are from underrepresented groups. The company demonstrates leadership in sustainable innovation through collaborative programmes researching the use of digital technology to address social issues and launching the Net Zero Cloud, which helps Salesforce identify the most impactful ways to lower its carbon footprint. Furthermore, it uses the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a framework with which to align its goals. The company also discloses the number of its women employees engaged in tech roles, the locations of its research and development (R&D) facilities and how ethics are applied in its R&D.

Salesforce can enhance transparency around its contributions to digital technology for vulnerable groups. Additionally, the company should disclose how the economic value it generates is distributed among its stakeholders, as well as its employment and income taxes paid in its main markets.

Salesforce has an opportunity to develop and report on initiatives supporting digital skills training.

The company has an opportunity to enhance transparency by disclosing the number of data breaches it experiences. It can also implement a group privacy policy. In addition, as a digital technology company, Salesforce should make a high-level commitment to child online safety.

Salesforce has an opportunity to make a high-level commitment to open-source initiatives and standards.

Salesforce has a grievance mechanism accessible to both workers and external stakeholders to raise human rights concerns and complaints. However, the company does not have public policy documents committing to respect human rights and the ILO core labour rights, including the rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining. While the company states that it identifies human rights risks using a human rights impact assessment, it does not provide further detail regarding its risk identification process. Furthermore, Salesforce does not disclose a process to assess and take action on salient human rights risks in its own operations and in its business relationships.

Salesforce publicly commits to respecting worker health and safety, and it places health and safety expectations on its business relationships and monitors their performance. The company also discloses the proportion of its workforce covered by collective bargaining agreements. However, it lacks relevant disclosure in relation to living wages and working hours. For example, the company does not specify that workers are not required to work more than the regular and overtime hours. In relation to workforce diversity, Salesforce provides a breakdown of employees in different employee categories by gender, race and ethnicity. However, it has an opportunity to disclose information against additional indicators of diversity per employee category. The company has a publicly available policy commitment on gender equality and women’s empowerment and has at least 30% female representation in its highest governance body. However, it has not set any time-bound targets on the subject, nor does it disclose information on gender-based remuneration.

Salesforce does not disclose a global tax strategy. While the company discloses the income taxes it pays in three categories – federal, state and foreign – it does not disclose its income tax payments in individual tax jurisdictions. The company also does not disclose its approach to lobbying and political engagement. Furthermore, the company has no publicly available statement indicating that it does not make political contributions. However, Salesforce does have a policy prohibiting bribery and corruption, and it includes anti-bribery and anti-corruption clauses in contracts with its business relationships. It also has a grievance mechanism for stakeholders to raise bribery and corruption concerns and complaints.