Adobe’s annual Corporate Social Responsibility Report — Harnessing the best of Adobe

Artist Credit: Volvo Truck, outdoor performance by Adobe x MoMA Creative Resident DonChristian Jones.

For over 40 years, Adobe has been defined by innovation and growth as we deliver transformational technologies that propel our company and the industry forward. Throughout our journey, our innovation continues to be driven by our steadfast dedication to harnessing our people, platform, products, and creativity to spur positive impact in the communities where we work and live.

Today we’re releasing Adobe’s 2023 Corporate Social Responsibility Report, providing a deep dive into the ways we’re making a difference in our communities. We’re proud to share how we’re making an impact in the areas where Adobe can uniquely drive change for the better: Adobe for All, Creativity for All, Technology to Transform, and Sustainability at Scale.

Adobe for All

Adobe for All is our commitment to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion across our business and in our communities. We work hard every day to achieve the ideal of Adobe for All throughout our workforce, workplace, and ecosystem via inclusive recruiting practices, holistic benefits, continued achievement of pay parity, professional development opportunities, and community partnerships.

• Through initiatives like the Adobe Leader Experience, a regular training to advance people leadership skills, and the Women’s Executive Shadow Program which facilitates connection and mentorship opportunities for women across the company, our employee advancement programs empower people at every career stage to achieve their full potential and foster mutual support.
• Through the Adobe Digital Academy, over 300 career switchers received scholarships and industry experiences through Adobe internships to get the education and experience needed to begin new careers in technology and marketing.
• Collaborating with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), Adobe and the Adobe Foundation provided grants, products, and mentorship to equip students with the resources to build digital and creative skills for jobs in tech and creative industries. This year's renewed funding sparked innovative projects, such as Winston-Salem State University's new Adobe-powered Digital Media Production Lab, promoting digital literacy and creativity for all.
• As the world continues to evolve, we strive to foster a culture of open dialogue and trust through pilot programming, information and “Let’s Talk” sessions that encourage employees to learn, grow, and build empathy
• This year, the Adobe Foundation granted an additional $10 million across its Equity and Advancement Initiative cohort, which supports 11 leading global nonprofits committed to advancing social equity and fostering racial and social justice.
• We actively fostered diversity within our business ecosystem through our Supplier Diversity Program, which ensures that our purchasing strategy prioritizes businesses owned and operated by entrepreneurs from underrepresented groups. In doing so, we achieved 106 percent of our supplier diversity spend goal.

Creativity for All

Adobe is committed to empowering millions of creators of all ages and backgrounds with tools, skills, and platforms to express themselves and share their stories with the world.

• The Adobe Foundation granted funds to the USC School of Dramatic Arts MFA Acting Program to support the production of short films written, directed, and performed by the next generation of storytellers. We also partnered with the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative to produce the Inclusion List, a research effort to measure inclusion in the film industry, with the goal of helping to encourage a more diverse and inclusive entertainment industry.
• Through the Adobe Creative Residency Program, we identified a new cohort of talent artists to work on a creative project at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the MoMA in New York City, championing diverse perspectives, nurturing creativity around the world, and promoting creativity in youth and education.
• We supported 143 emerging filmmakers with essential tools, mentorship, and resources to tell their stories through the Sundance Ignite x Adobe Fellowships, a year-round artist-development program in partnership with the Sundance Insitute.

Technology to transform

As we pioneer transformative technology globally, we recognize our responsibility to ensure its beneficial societal impact. That’s why we champion ethical innovation and are committed to developing AI technologies in a responsible way that respects our customers and communities and aligns with our values.

• As we develop AI systems, we’re guided by our AI Ethics Principles of accountability, responsibility, and transparency that guide every phase of AI development from inception to deployment. Our AI Ethics Committee and governance process work with our product teams to incorporate our AI Ethics Principles throughout product development.
• Adobe leads the Content Authenticity Initiative, a global, diverse, cross-industry coalition whose goal is to combat misinformation and restore trust online through provenance.
• This year, we announced our support for the White House Voluntary AI Commitments to promote safe, secure, and trustworthy AI because creating a safe digital environment requires ongoing collaboration across the software industry, policymakers, customers and our partners.
• We’re focused on removing barriers to people’s ability to fully create and engage with digital experiences, so we developed Accessibility Principles to guide the development of our technologies targeted on co-creating with communities of people with disabilities, being transparent about our accessibility philosophy and progress, and renewing our dedication to innovating new accessible technologies.

Sustainability at scale

Sustainability is at the core of everything we do at Adobe. It’s woven into our products and operations, as well as our advocacy and partnerships.

• In 2023, we increased our ambition to drive sustainable practices, committing to achieve net zero by 2050. We are currently on-target to reach 100 percent renewable electricity by 2025.
• Our newly completed Founders Tower, an 18-story LEED certified all-electric tower, is our latest manifestation of how we are designing the workplace of the future with sustainability, innovation, and design at the forefront.
• Our product development teams have adopted strategies to improve efficiency across our operations such as using low-energy chips, intelligent data tiering for storage, and optimizing processing workloads to minimize energy consumption. Additionally, we prioritize storing and caching minimal data on our physical infrastructure through efficient coding languages.
• In 2023, we quantified that companies can potentially achieve a GHG emissions reduction of 83 percent to 90 percent between virtual prototyping in Substance 3D and physical prototyping across five consumer good products.

Employee impact

In 2023, Adobe’s workforce was undeniably essential to our impact and served as the driving force behind our commitment to effecting change in our communities.

• Our employees provided more than $33 million through employee donations and Adobe’s grant and matching program to 9,500+ organizations globally.
• They also helped us direct $6 million to nonprofits across North America, EMEA, India, and JAPAC through the Employee Community Fund, Adobe’s grant making program for nonprofits directly selected by employees.
• Beyond donations, our employees dedicated more than 200,000 hours of volunteer time to support more than 1,800 organizations worldwide.
• This year, we renewed our Hometown Commitment which encompasses employee engagement, volunteerism, and advocacy, along with product donations and funding from Adobe, helped support 11 San José non-profit organizations working to solve local issues, revitalize the community, and ensure robust cultural institutions.

Our commitments this year did not go unnoticed. We are proud to be recognized as a leading organization creating change and driving positive impact in and outside of our business, ranking onto JUST Capital's 100 Most JUST Companies and Top 10 Companies for Environmental Performance, and earning accolades from Fast Company’s Most World Changing Ideas, and the Dow Jones Sustainability Index.

To learn more about the ways Adobe is making positive change in our industry and our communities, check out the full 2023 Corporate Social Responsibility Report.