Approach
Our directors are focused on managing sustainability risks and opportunities at both the full Board level and on multiple Board committees. At the committee level, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee is charged with reviewing and assessing the company’s environmental, social and governance initiatives and making recommendations to the company to further its sustainability goals (NCGC Charter). The committee reviews sustainability matters at two or more meetings each year. In addition to the mandate of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, important aspects of managing these risks and opportunities are a focus for the following committees:
- Risk Committee – Cybersecurity and climate related risks
- Compensation Committee – Human capital management issues, including diversity and pay parity
Each committee briefs the full Board on topics addressed at the committee level and the full Board further discusses issues as needed.
Our overall strategy is guided by a Sustainability Governance Committee comprised of senior officials from across the company, including the:
- President
- Chief Financial Officer
- Chief Operating Officer
- Corporate Risk Officer
- General Counsel
- Human Resources Officer
- Chief Regulatory Officer
- President, New York Stock Exchange
- President, Fixed Income & Data Services
- President, Mortgage Technology
- Senior Vice President, Futures Exchanges
- Vice President, Corporate Affairs & Sustainability
This committee meets quarterly and communicates frequently to assess ESG risks and opportunities across the company.
Several departments play a critical role in our approach to sustainability, including the human resources, facilities, risk management, operations, finance and business continuity teams. Our Vice President of Sustainability coordinates these efforts and oversees our disclosures and strategy.
We believe that the success of our business relies on our ability to deliver on our purpose as a company for each of our major stakeholders. Good shareholder returns go hand-in-hand with engaged employees and satisfied customers.
To ensure we fully understand the views of our stakeholders we gather feedback through multiple channels, including formally through a materiality analysis every few years. In between formal exercises we are in constant dialogue with our stakeholders to ensure we understand what they view as our largest sustainability risks and opportunities.
Our sustainability reporting focuses on the areas deemed to be most relevant for our business and stakeholders based on this analysis.
We began publishing annual sustainability reports in 2016 and we continue to evolve and refine our reporting each year. Our website also includes additional details that are updated throughout the year to provide a more real-time view of what we are doing. Additionally, we use reporting standards to enhance our disclosures, including:
- Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)
- Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP)
- Sustainable Accounting Standards Board (SASB)
- UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
In addition to the actions we take within our own business, we monitor the impact we can have through our supply chain, including:
- Vendor Onboarding - Through our vendor onboarding and assessment processes we are collecting data points to inform our decision making. ICE suppliers are required to complete a sustainability questionnaire during initial onboarding and, in certain cases, annually thereafter.
- Code of Conduct - Our business partners and third parties are an extension of our organization. We expect that our suppliers, agents and business partners will follow ethical standards similar to our own when working with us or on our behalf. This means that we will consider terminating contracts with vendors or partners that do not strive to meet our high standards or contractual obligations.
- Human Rights - Our Code of Conduct and Modern Slavery Act Policy reflects our commitment to acting ethically and with integrity in all ICE business relationships, and to implementing and enforcing effective systems and controls to help ensure slavery and human trafficking is not taking place anywhere in our supply chains.