2019-2020 尼尔森非财务重要性评估
Updated responsibility & sustainability non-financial materiality assessment highlights Nielsen’s commitment to proactive engagement with its stakeholders
执行摘要
作为我们对整个业务进行有意义的持续改进的承诺的一部分，我们与尼尔森内外的利益相关者进行了接触，以创建我们的第三次非财务实质性评估。这些主动倾听利益相关方意见的机会，对于我们从战略高度不断了解尼尔森在当前和未来通过业务和社区直接和间接创造价值的能力至关重要；我们致力于将他们的反馈意见纳入我们的整体流程、业务战略以及全球责任和可持续发展计划中。除了寻求更好地了解利益相关者对尼尔森当前的看法之外，我们还利用这些反馈来识别未来的潜在风险和机遇，包括任何可能影响尼尔森业务成功和利益相关者关系的新问题。为了进行这一评估，我们直接或通过代理与我们价值链所有方面的利益相关者进行了接触。
The results of this assessment inform our strategic approach in a variety of ways: our ongoing communications about Nielsen’s overall commitments; how we proactively respond to environmental, social and governance (ESG)-related inquiries from investors, clients, and other stakeholders; and how we allocate resources to areas of greatest impact and importance to Nielsen. These issues cut across all aspects of our business, operations, and value creation through our client and industry relationships, our employee base, and our communities.
The issue areas highlighted through this materiality assessment are naturally interconnected with the ESG issues that matter most to our business, such as our commitment to employee engagement and development; diversity across our workforce and approach to measurement; Nielsen Cares projects that leverage our data and associates’ talents to make a social impact; our work to ensure our suppliers operate sustainably; and our commitment to helping our clients embed sustainability into their product and consumer engagement strategies. Through responsible, sustainable business practices, we’re committed to connecting key ESG best practices with our core purpose as a company to deliver greater value for all of our stakeholders. The responsibility to deliver on our key ESG commitments, aligned with the material priority areas identified in this assessment, is shared by all of our functional teams and leaders across our global business.
在评估过程中，我们通过深入访谈和焦点小组，以及审查现有文件、网络评论、调查、ESG 标准制定者、评级者和排名者的反馈、社交和传统媒体内容以及网络研讨会，收集利益相关者的反馈意见。我们的主要利益相关者群体包括但不限于：员工、客户、行业贸易团体和有影响力者、监管者和政策制定者、社区组织和非营利组织、投资者、供应商和战略业务合作伙伴。我们力求平衡多个地区的内部和外部意见。我们将反馈意见记录在案，并由内部团队和外部专家确定了数百个相关主题领域。然后对这些问题进行排序，考虑的因素包括强度、利益相关者群体的提及频率，以及对利益相关者、社会和我们业务的相对影响。优先考虑尼尔森能够以最独特或最直接的方式解决利益相关者感兴趣的领域以及对我们业务具有重要意义的领域。
We’ve linked our ESG strategy and external reporting efforts as part of a cohesive cycle focused on continuous improvement, enabling us to transparently share our ongoing journey through our Nielsen Global Responsibility Report 和 regular updates. Our next Nielsen Global Responsibility Report, planned for publication in 2020, will cover each of these material topic areas in greater depth. We will continue to publish regular updates on these and other priorities via Nielsen News Center and other outlets.
我们的战略方针
As with our previous two assessments, we intend to use this information to guide both how we prioritize and resource continuous improvement efforts, and how we publicly report on these ongoing initiatives. This is our third non-financial materiality assessment; the most recent previous assessment was published in 2017. Going forward, we are committed to continuing this practice of conducting these assessments on a periodic basis.
We’ve decided to use a new visual format to distill our priority issue areas for this assessment, as we feel this more appropriately conveys the overlapping and dynamic interactions among our most material issue areas. Rather than the traditional horizontal/vertical axes we’ve used in previous years, we chose instead to use a Venn diagram format to show how these key strategic areas are inherently interconnected and interdependent. Much has changed in our business and operating environment since we published our last assessment in 2017. Shifting market and industry dynamics, increased pressure on our clients’ business models, new and emerging data privacy regulations, and the rapid pace of technological innovation are some of the key factors that we’ve highlighted with our stakeholders as forces of change for our business. While change creates opportunities for evolution, we also recognize the enduring importance of foundational elements of our brand—integrity, trust, transparency, and quality data representative of all consumer populations—aligned with the key areas that came out of this most recent assessment.
Although this graphic does not include the traditional axes of “importance to stakeholders” and “importance to society,” we have applied these fundamental considerations to our analysis and issue prioritization per the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Sustainability Reporting Standards. Each issue area contains a myriad of nuanced topics that were specifically cited by our stakeholders, which we recognize as critical for Nielsen to monitor and lead on as we seek to create economic, social and environmental value within and beyond our business, both today and over the long term. We have included definitions for each issue area below to reflect our stakeholders’ feedback and to clarify their unique meaning in the context of our business.
While the most material topic areas highlighted in this narrative are those that ranked highest among the hundreds of inputs we received from our stakeholders, all should be considered important. Topics at the center of the diagram—“Data,” “Trust,” “Transparency,” and “Diversity & Inclusion”—were recognized across stakeholder groups as the foundation on which all of the other issues are based.
At the center, “Data” was most prominently and frequently cited by all stakeholder groups. Data is at the core of our business, and it is fundamental to how we create value across all the other issue areas. Given the nature of our business across more than 90 years, the central importance of data is no surprise. The data we collect, analyze and share with the clients and industries we support each day is the lifeblood of our business. Our clients expect our data to be unbiased, accurate, trustworthy, and collected according to the highest standards of privacy, security, and integrity so they can rely on our insights for their important business decisions. Our shareholders expect us to continue to adapt our use of innovative new technology to the rapidly-changing end-markets in which we work. Our data must also represent all consumers, and we are similarly focused on ensuring that our own workforce represents the communities we seek to measure in order to harness the power of diversity to drive better business outcomes. We also recognize the unique opportunity for data to help communities and nonprofits more effectively deliver on their missions; we seek to contribute to these efforts through our Data for Good initiatives.
对于我们的许多利益相关者而言，某些议题被视为任何成功的、可持续发展的公司以负责任的方式运营的基本 "赌注"。对于尼尔森而言，这些议题包括但不限于
- 保持我们的经济业绩和长期增长；
- Addressing climate change-related issues that impact our global footprint;
- Mitigating any negative ethical, social or environmental impacts that flow through our end-to-end business and supply chain; and
- 参与我们的社区活动，特别是通过员工志愿服务和实物捐赠，通过 "数据造福"（Data for Good）项目提供我们独特的见解，产生积极的社会影响。
确定关键问题领域
我们的维恩图格式显示了我们所有的重要主题是如何相辅相成、相互依存的。例如，我们通过诚信行事、遵守法规以及与利益相关者透明沟通，建立并保持对我们数据的信任。多样性和包容性支持我们留住、吸引和聘用人才，最终帮助我们的业务模式不断发展，以反映不同地域和文化的所有消费者。透明度让我们的客户和股东相信，我们的业务模式（以及我们提供的数据）是合理的，我们遵守了影响我们数据收集和使用的现行法规和新法规。鉴于这些优先领域之间的内在联系，它们对我们的未来发展都同等重要，不可或缺。
正如我们的图表所示，我们的利益相关者帮助我们确定了以下优先非财务材料主题领域：
数据
For close to a century, Nielsen has provided data and analytics based on scientific rigor and cutting-edge innovation, continually developing new ways to answer the most important questions facing the media, advertising, retail and fast-moving consumer goods industries. Since data powers Nielsen’s business, it must be of the highest quality: consistent, reliable, and representative of all consumers and channels. The business of data creates responsibilities—a responsibility to protect the consumer, a responsibility to protect the marketing ecosystem, and a responsibility to manage it all with integrity and transparency.
Clients, in particular, expressed interest in how Nielsen ensures that the consumers who provide information to us are representative of a broad range of perspectives, with a special focus on multicultural consumers. On the analytics side, they expect transparency on how we confirm that our insights are unbiased, and that consumers’ privacy is protected through our approach to privacy by design. All stakeholder groups emphasized the importance of protecting the confidentiality of the data and information we collect, and utilizing the latest technology and practices to secure it. We will continue to invest in wide-ranging data privacy, security and integrity safeguards to ensure quality and security are never compromised.
Additionally, stakeholders across the board see continued opportunities for Nielsen’s data to be used for societal and environmental good. To deliver on this, we plan to continue to focus on Data for Good projects where we can make a unique impact through our data, insights, and capabilities, as part of our $10 million annual commitment to pro bono work and our overarching Nielsen Cares volunteer platform.
We believe that our commitment to high-quality, science-backed data is an essential service to the marketplace. The ability to provide useful data, independent of bias towards buyer or seller, will only become more crucial. We also anticipate our ability to make a positive social impact will grow as we continue to work with key nonprofits across our priority cause areas.
信任
我们的使命是为全球消费者和市场提供最全面、最可信的信息。要让消费者愿意与我们分享信息，他们必须信任我们。我们认真履行承诺，保护所有个人和机密数据的私密性。
信任是我们在尼尔森所做的一切的基础，对于我们的社会运营许可来说仍然至关重要，尤其是当不断变化的消费者期望和监管环境影响着所有公司收集、使用和销售消费者信息的能力时。我们在运营、产品和员工方面建立并必须保持的信任基础，仍然是我们在竞争中脱颖而出的关键因素。我们认识到，在客户利用我们的洞察力来引导其资源并塑造广告、消费品、媒体等市场时，我们为客户提供的数据必须具有代表性、准确性，并有助于客户进行预测分析。
As it is critical to providing independent measurement services for the industries we support, trust is also a key aspect of our talent engagement and retention strategy. Our employees are especially interested in the future evolution of our business as it aligns with their own unique opportunities for career growth. We’re committed to openly sharing new opportunities for learning and development as we seek new ways for our associates to be engaged and grow in their careers alongside our company’s continued evolution.
透明度
透明度 is key to our ability to showcase the differentiating value of our data, and to share our progress on how we innovate to better meet the imperatives of our world today by connecting with existing and new clients, entering new measurement channels and evolving into a new phase of Nielsen’s overall growth. Specifically, stakeholders expect continued transparency around data collection methodologies and analysis, strategy and future plans, financial reporting, leadership changes and ambitions, and diversity representation. Employees, too, want to continue to be engaged in our long-term growth plans and the resulting opportunities for career development.
Media buyers and advertisers need transparency in order to effectively negotiate and trade in an open marketplace. In using rigorous, independent measurement that provides a source of truth, they want to understand just how effective their efforts are and how they can improve upon them. More clarity ultimately means more trust that they are getting exactly what they paid for. The consumers who provide this data—with every click, every like, and every transaction—also want to know that they are protected. Consumers are more aware and concerned about how data about them is being captured and used today than ever before.
Our success is dependent on stakeholders’ confidence that our data, business practices, forecasting, and financial reporting are unimpeachable. Our business practices, professional behavior, approach to corporate governance, codes of conduct, Global Responsibility Report, public filings, 洞察力 和 新闻中心, are all a part of our focus on transparency toward our commitment to build and maintain trust across all of our stakeholder groups.
Diversity & inclusion
Diversity & Inclusion remains critical to our business, in terms of our ability to include all consumers across our measurement solutions, to ensure that our workforce represents the changing demographics around the world, and to enable all associates to perform to their full potential. As artificial intelligence and machine learning evolve and present new use cases for measurement, we recognize the importance of ensuring that these tools are used in a responsible way that is representative of all consumers.
The importance of nurturing a diverse and inclusive workplace touches every aspect of Nielsen’s business. A diverse talent pool creates a more productive environment with a broad range of thoughts and experiences that spurs innovation. Clients expect Nielsen to consistently evolve and deliver to provide new insights about multicultural consumers, audiences and media. We can’t effectively measure these audiences without ensuring that our own workforce also reflects a diversity of viewpoints, backgrounds, and life experiences. Outreach to diverse communities also gives us access to new talent pools and a deeper understanding of multicultural communities as we expand our consumer panels.
我们还希望我们的所有供应商和业务伙伴都能体现多元文化，反映我们所要衡量的世界。
Beyond our own value chain, our recent public position opposing the proposed citizenship question in the 2020 U.S. Census was cited by various stakeholder groups as a welcome example of leadership in support of upholding strong data science principles and representing diverse populations.
Business model evolution & innovation
Business Model Evolution & Innovation reflects the importance of continuing to evolve our approach to measurement and the ways that we deliver our data and services across the industries and clients we support. Our data helps clients around the world understand what’s happening now and what’s happening next; to that end, our measurement capabilities and technology must innovate to stay ahead of the rapid pace of change all companies and industries are experiencing today.
我们还必须提供整体市场的视角，衡量消费者购买商品和消费媒体的所有渠道。随着这一生态系统的不断快速发展和壮大，尼尔森作为独立的数据提供商，其数据的一致性和可比性将变得越来越重要。我们将秉承开放、灵活的合作精神，专注于帮助客户和行业实现共同目标的速度，通过不断创新，致力于持续改进我们的技术，拓展我们的测量能力。
Clients and investors are focused on opportunities for Nielsen to stay ahead of the curve through innovation on the cost-side of our business by growing more efficient and developing streamlined ways to collect and synthesize data in an increasingly complex world. Innovation is key to our ability to succeed, and we recognize the importance of protecting our innovations and intellectual property across our entire footprint. Protecting innovation by promptly seeking patent protection on both the revenue-generating side of the business through new products and services and the cost-side of our business through efficiency-generating processes will remain a hallmark of Nielsen’s innovation strategy.
Nielsen’s innovation imperative encompasses the need to leverage artificial intelligence and machine learning to grow our measurement capabilities in new ways, how we engage with our clients, and how we ensure that all channels, categories and consumers are reflected in our coverage. To more seamlessly deliver for our clients and the industries we support, we’ve simplified our organization into two core platforms: Nielsen Global Media and Nielsen Global Connect.
Our focus on innovation also includes opening up to new clients and new end-users of Nielsen data and services as we become more product- and technology-focused as a company. One of these new opportunities is a focus on the sustainability related intelligence we can provide our clients, particularly in the consumer packaged goods and retail spaces.
人才参与
Nielsen’s future relies on a skilled and stable talent pool. Ensuring that all Nielsen associates feel engaged and supported throughout their career journeys—regardless of race, gender, background or any of the other factors covered by our global non-discrimination statement—remains critical to our ability to attract, maintain, and grow top talent at our company in order to create and deliver better solutions to the marketplace.
As it is especially critical that our employees remain engaged throughout their time at Nielsen, in recent years we’ve invested in growing employee engagement in new ways across a variety of different dimensions, such as regular employee engagement “pulse checks,” encouraging associates and their managers to connect through regular check-ins, and expanding the capacity of our internal mentoring and leadership development programs. Employee engagement is the emotional and psychological connection our associates feel about their workplace and the work that we do. It’s about belonging, commitment, growth, and teamwork. And ultimately, it helps lead to both individual and business success.
在职员工表示，他们重视工作保障、支持多元化的企业文化以及未来职业发展和晋升机会的透明度。相关人员认为，持续不断的培训和领导力发展机会是留住和吸引员工的关键方法。
在尼尔森，我们的人才战略与我们的长期业务战略直接保持一致。也就是说，我们对创新、技术和效率的关注，以及与此相关的组织转型，以继续实现我们的宗旨，帮助我们的客户和我们所服务的市场更高效地运营，推动了我们的人才发展和战略性劳动力规划。
Compliance & integrity
Compliance & Integrity complements our cross-cutting focus on trust and transparency. This includes our internal engagement with employees on the need to protect Nielsen’s brand and reputation; the way we engage with our panelists and the consumers we measure; the protections we maintain in our relationships with third-party partners and suppliers; and the end-deliverables we share with our clients. Integrity encompasses good governance, regulatory compliance, and responsible business practices.
As an independent data and measurement company, our clients—and the industries we support—depend on us to be an unbiased arbiter. To serve as a source of truth, integrity must be part of the foundation of all that we do at Nielsen. Maintaining such a culture helps protect the integrity of our data across the clients and markets we serve around the globe, builds a better workplace where employees feel respected and engaged, and increases our stakeholders’ trust in our business and brand. This connection between a strong culture of integrity and increased trust has been critical to our ability to foster a supportive work environment, effectively engage with consumers, provide cutting-edge measurement services, and ultimately to help our clients and markets grow.
随着全球各地数据隐私、网络安全披露要求和法规的不断发展，合规环境正变得越来越复杂。我们将继续在这些重要领域进行投资，以确保我们满足并超越这些要求。
