Creating a Smart Future Through Impact and Influence

By Erika Varga McEnroe, Sr. VP, Deputy General Counsel, and Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer

Machines can learn on their own, cars can drive themselves, lightning-fast communications deliver real-time interactions. In a world filled with billions of intelligent, connected devices, Synopsys technology is at the heart of ushering in this era of “Smart Everything.” At the same time, we recognize that our role extends beyond our technology to help advance a “Smart Future” that is sustainable, fair, and secure.

Our commitment to a Smart Future provides the structure and focus for our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program. Our program focus is on both addressing our own operational impact on the world as well as our ability to influence others around us. We are committed to taking action on important environmental, social, and governance (ESG) matters, including in the fight against climate change, driving inclusion and diversity initiatives throughout our workforce and on our Board of Directors, and supporting the needs of the local communities in which we live and work. We are proud of our CSR efforts and initiatives to effect meaningful and lasting change.

Driving Progress in a Year of Amplified Challenges

In 2020, multiple challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic, social injustices, growing inequality, and climate change impacts, amplified the need for the private sector’s commitment and action to tackle the world’s most pressing ESG issues. Our 2020 CSR Report shares the progress Synopsys made in addressing these issues and contributing to a Smart Future. This is the first year that Synopsys is reporting on CSR efforts using the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards: Core option and using the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) Software and Services Industry Standard.

Among the achievements we highlighted in the report:

• Our COVID-19 response: during the pandemic, we prioritized the health of our Synopsys team and their families, deployed time-proven business continuity procedures, and cared about the vulnerable in the communities where we live and work. As a result, we supported employees working from home and managing remote schooling, provided robust remote support for our customers and delivered product with little interruption, and contributed more than $1 million towards COVID-19 relief efforts for those with the greatest need.
• Climate action: 2020 marked our second consecutive year of being a certified CarbonNeutral® company in alignment with The CarbonNeutral Protocol. We also announced a science-based greenhouse gas emissions reduction goal to reduce scope 1 and 2 emissions by 25% by 2024 from a 2018 base year.
• Inclusion and diversity: We refreshed and broadened our internal goals to include Black, Latin, and Indigenous (BLI) employees; rolled out an Inclusive Leader training program for managers; and attained an external hiring rate of 27% women and 29% early career hires.
• Synopsys for Good: Our social impact program brings together employee volunteer time and giving, tech expertise, and philanthropy to bring STEM education, essential community needs, and environmental sustainability into the communities in which we work. In 2020, we donated $3.6 million to non-profit organizations worldwide.
• Innovation: Driven to solve tough challenges and find unique solutions to problems, our employees help launch new products and capabilities each year that enable our customers to continue innovating on highly complex electronic designs and software solutions. Product launches in 2020 included our DSO.ai™ design space optimization solution, the world’s first autonomous artificial intelligence application for chip design, and the industry’s first Silicon Lifecycle Management platform.
• Governance: We highlighted a number of actions that demonstrate how Synopsys promotes good governance – 78% of directors are independent, 33% are women, and all are elected annually; we maintain share ownership guidelines for executive officers and non-employee directors; and we have active Board of Directors engagement in managing our human capital.

These highlights capture only a portion of our overall CSR efforts. We invite you to read the report for the full story of what we accomplished in 2020. Shaping a Smart Future entails applying our problem-solving expertise as well as our people and resources to influence our communities, customers, partners, suppliers, and others around us. We’re excited to continue building on our work to foster greater sustainability, fairness, and security in our world.

In Case You Missed It

Catch up on these recent blog posts related to social responsibility initiatives at Synopsys:

• Q&A: How New Sustainability Agreement Helps Synopsys Accelerate Renewable Energy Development
• Celebrating International Women’s Day at Synopsys…Hands Up!
• Advancing Sustainability Through Emissions Reduction and Low-Power Computing