NVIDIA CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY REPORT 2019
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2019
NVIDIA
CORPORATE
SOCIAL
RESPONSIBILITY
REPORT
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
01 EXECUTIVE
LETTERS
03 Message from our CEO
06 SOCIAL
25 PRIORITY: Supply Chain
Management and Product Quality
28 PRIORITY: Talent Strategy
04 Message from our EVP of Operations
31 Employee Engagement
33 Diversity and Inclusion
02 PRIORITIES 37 Employee Health and Safety
38 Product Safety
05 Setting Priorities 39 Societal Impacts of AI
07 UN Sustainable Development Goals 40 Philanthropy and Volunteerism
03 STAKEHOLDER
ENGAGEMENT 07 ENVIRONMENTAL
41 Greenhouse Gases and
Climate Change
43 Energy, Water, Waste
04 GOVERNANCE
13
14
Board Governance
Compliance
46
47
50
Facilities Management
Environmental Impacts of Products
Materials Availability
50 Packaging, Transport, and Logistics
14 Ethical Conduct
15 Anti-Corruption
08 GOALS AND
16 Transparency
PERFORMANCE
05 ECONOMIC
17
18
PRIORITY: Innovation
PRIORITY: Business Model
52
55
56
FY19 Goals and Performance
FY20 Goals
Economic Performance
and Competitiveness 57 Diversity and Workforce
19 PRIORITY: Cybersecurity Performance
61 Supply Chain Performance
20 PRIORITY: Trade Issues
63 Environmental Performance
21 Business Continuity Management
68 Philanthropy and Volunteer
22 Customer Relations
Performance
23 Brand and Reputation
68 GRI Index
24 Public Policy Engagement
ABOUT THIS REPORT
2
NVIDIA 2019 CSR REPORT
01 Executive Letters
Self-driving cars are only part of the
autonomous machines story. Our
work in robotics will revolutionize
manufacturing, agriculture, and
space exploration. Robots can play
an important role in assisting people
in their homes and at work, and in
making our cities safer, more secure,
and more efficient.
These inventions and ideas help
NVIDIA contribute to society and
industry at the global level. But
the people of NVIDIA also share a
commitment to improving our local
communities. We balance our near-
term business goals with long-term
commitments to improving lives,
protecting our environment, and
LETTER FROM Better energy efficiency goes beyond
making supercomputers more
creating a workplace where bright
OUR CEO sustainable - it reduces their costs
and democratizes access to them,
minds of all cultures can build their
families and do their life’s work.
Our invention of the GPU reinvented empowering a new generation of Making a positive impact on the
computer graphics and set computing scientific explorers. world is the highest purpose a
on a new trajectory. GPU computing company can have. We’re honored
has since evolved to advance the In healthcare, researchers use our
that we can help create a better future
fields of high performance computing systems to develop AI techniques
for generations to come.
and artificial intelligence. And those that improve disease diagnosis and
technologies, in turn, are empowering increase the success of targeted
scientists, doctors, creators, and treatments. We created the NVIDIA
engineers - the da Vincis and Clara computing platform, named
Einsteins of our age - to create for Red Cross founder Clara Barton,
positive change in the world. to bring AI to medical imaging
systems and make it easier for
High-performance computers are all hospitals to adopt them. The
essential instruments of scientific American College of Radiologists Jensen Huang
is making Clara available to nearly CEO and Co-Founder
discovery. Supercomputers use
40,000 radiologists to develop and NVIDIA
intense computing power to simulate
the world. They help us understand deploy AI at their own institutions.
global weather patterns and seismic
activity to prepare us for natural Autonomous machines, perhaps the
disasters. They predict the interaction greatest expression of AI’s potential,
of molecules so that we can develop can protect and improve our lives as
new drugs, create hyper-efficient well. The life-saving potential of self-
batteries, and design new materials driving cars is especially powerful.
that improve the safety of our cars NVIDIA DRIVE is a platform to deploy
and airplanes. autonomous vehicles, combining
a powerful in-car computer, AI
NVIDIA GPUs make these discoveries software, and a VR-based simulator
possible by accelerating the to train cars in the safety of the data
performance of computers while center. Automakers like Toyota, Volvo,
reducing the energy they consume. and Mercedes-Benz are using DRIVE
NVIDIA powers 22 of the 25 most to make vehicles that sense their
energy-efficient supercomputers. environments both inside and outside
the car to keep drivers safe.
3
NVIDIA 2019 CSR REPORT Executive Letters
feedback from key stakeholders and >> A performance-based award
prioritizing risks and opportunities. system for suppliers that
Our board of directors oversees our includes their active efforts
CSR efforts and is briefed annually on to improve social and
risks and progress. environmental performance
>> Adding CSR to the oversight
Our annual disclosures adhere to
responsibilities of the
the Global Reporting Initiative’s
Nominating and Corporate
Sustainability Reporting Standards,
Governance Committee of our
and we continue to align our
Board of Directors
social impact activities with the
United Nations’ Sustainable >> Holding annual meetings with
Development Goals. top shareholders to provide
updates on our CSR efforts
Our CSR priorities revolve around and performance
the following key business areas: >> Continued recognition in
competitiveness and business innovation, CSR, and “best
model, cybersecurity, innovation, place to work” rankings, including
supply chain and product quality, Fast Company’s Most Innovative
talent management strategy, and Companies, Fortune’s Best
LETTER trade issues. To execute these
priorities, our efforts follow three
Places to Work, the Bloomberg
FROM EVP OF
Gender Equality Index,
primary objectives: JUST100, and the Dow Jones
OPERATIONS >> Operational efficiency
and excellence
Sustainability Index
Our ability to tackle these challenges
Our mission is to develop >> Employee recruitment
enables NVIDIA to increase our
revolutionary technology that and retention
operational effectiveness, attract and
improves lives, and this is reflected >> Risk and reputation management retain top talent, manage our risk,
in our two most fundamental and bring greater long-term value to
commitments: to integrate social and With these objectives in mind, we: our stakeholders.
environmental responsibility into all >> Design power-efficient products
aspects of our company, and to create with a strong social impact Thank you for joining us on this
value for all our stakeholders. journey to create a better, more
>> Increase employee diversity and
sustainable future. We promise
Corporate social responsibility foster inclusion
to continue pushing the limits
(CSR) is integral to our mission, our >> Minimize risk in our supply of possibility.
unique culture, and our business chain and uphold the highest
success. We strive to provide a great quality standards Sincerely,
place to work and partner with our >> Engage in opportunities to reduce
employees to develop innovative our energy footprint and address
products. Through our business climate change
practices, we work hard to safeguard
and protect the human rights of all >> Evaluate emerging risks and Debora Shoquist
workers in our supply chain. We aim opportunities related to growing EVP, Operations
to build the most energy-efficient our brand NVIDIA
technologies possible, and we >> Set goals and monitor our
conduct our business using sound progress toward them
environmental practices with an eye
toward mitigating climate change. We We’ve made strong progress against
invest in and give back to our local these objectives over the past few
communities and global society years. Highlights include:
at large. >> Growth in our self-driving car and
AI healthcare businesses
Each year, we reassess our CSR
>> Continued development of
priorities to inform our strategy. At
generous parental benefits,
the helm of this work is a committee
including expansive leave of
of employees that meets regularly
absence policies and coverage for
and works closely with executive
adoption, in vitro fertilization, and
staff. Together, they identify our
egg freezing
annual priority issues by integrating
4
NVIDIA 2019 CSR REPORT
02 PRIORITIES
SETTING A strategic focus on these areas
enables us to build a more agile,
To arrive at our internal priorities
and ensure that our executive
PRIORITIES future-oriented company. We leadership’s views are reflected in
annually implement several the analysis, we conduct individual
We update our issue analysis each initiatives related to our priorities, interviews with members of our
year to ensure that our priorities each of which provides varying executive staff. During these
continue to align with stakeholder levels of return according to the interviews, we evaluate the risk
expectations, market trends, and business goals assigned to it. factors identified in enterprise
business risks and opportunities. risk discussions with NVIDIA
Guided by the leadership of NVIDIA’s executives and in reports filed with
Board of Directors, we continue the U.S. Securities and Exchange
In FY19, we identified to find new ways to integrate CSR Commission. This year, we added
six priority issues as efforts into our business strategy. a new level of engagement: an
essential to our continued The Nominating and Corporate internal survey to a select group of
business success. Governance Committee of our subject matter experts. The insights
Board oversees our CSR efforts gleaned from this engagement
These issues reflect the
and keeps current on our execution added new depth to our company
topics of highest concern to
strategy. The full Board is informed analysis and confirmed that our
NVIDIA and our stakeholders:
annually about our CSR priorities. internal priorities are aligned.
>> Competitiveness /
Business model
>> Cybersecurity
>> Innovation
>> Supply chain management /
Product quality
>> Talent Strategy
>> Trade Issues
5
NVIDIA 2019 CSR REPORT Priorities
NVIDIA FY20 CSR PRIORITIES
Innovation
HIGH
Supply Chain Management/
GHG Emissions and Climate Change Talent Strategy
Product Quality
Competitive/
Water Energy Supplier Working Conditions Business Model
Trade Issues
Diversity and Inclusion Cybersecurity
Waste
Community Engagement
Envioronmental Business Continuity
Impact of Products Materials Availability
Customer Relations
STAKEHOLDER CONCERN
Employee Health and Safety
Societal Impacts of
Artificial Intelligence
Public Policy Engagement
Supplier Environmental Corporate Governance
Management
Ethical Conduct
Brand and Reputation Transparency
Employee Engagement
Transport and Logistics
Facilities Management
Recycling and E-waste Product Safety
Compliance
Anti-corruption
LOW
LOW HIGH
IMPACT ON COMPANY
We mapped the results of our
internal and external analyses The findings from our FY19 priorities assessment resulted in the
on a matrix to highlight the following changes from the prior year:
most important issues from the >> To reflect the current dynamic operating environment, we
perspective of our internal and added two priority issues: competitiveness/business model and
external stakeholders. trade issues.
The matrix includes the entire list >> On the stakeholder analysis, employee engagement and waste
of issues considered for inclusion increased in priority, and transport and logistics decreased slightly
in the analysis. The issues with the in relationship to other issues.
highest priority are shown in the >> On the company analysis, public policy engagement increased in
top right highlighted quadrant of the importance to our stakeholders.
matrix above.
Our priorities are addressed in subsequent sections of this report. We
define each issue, discuss why it’s important to NVIDIA and how we
manage it, and disclose any relevant performance data.
6
NVIDIA 2019 CSR REPORT Priorities
MAPPING TO THE UNITED NATIONS
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
GOAL #3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
ISSUE INITIATIVES
AI-Driven 3D Cell Modeling: AI is completely reshaping life sciences, medicine, and healthcare as
an industry. Researchers are harnessing the power of NVIDIA GPU and AI computing technology to
create the first predictive 3D model of a live human cell. Using the model, scientists can digitally
visualize and even manipulate cell behavior on a computer screen. These GPU-accelerated capabilities
give the model the potential to impact drug discovery, disease research, and basic studies involving
human cells.
The Future of Radiology: NVIDIA Clara Platform: NVIDIA ClaraTM is a computational platform that
makes it easy for developers to build, manage, and deploy intelligent medical imaging workflows and
instruments. From improving processing speed and image quality to AI-enabled clinical workflows,
medical imaging developers are adopting the Clara platform to improve patient outcomes and reduce
the cost of care. NVIDIA is working with dozens of healthcare companies, startups and research
hospitals to implement Clara, transforming the field of radiology by saving time and money for
healthcare organizations while improving patient care.
NVIDIA Xavier, World’s First Single-Chip Self-Driving Car Processor: Safety is the whole point of
autonomous vehicles. And it starts with a new class of computer, a new type of software, and a new
breed of chips. Xavier’s safety architecture was created over several years by more than 300 architects,
designers, and safety experts who analyzed over 150 safety-related modules. Inventing technology
that will one day eliminate accidents on our roads is one of NVIDIA’s most important endeavors.
We are inspired to tackle this grand computing challenge that will have great social impact.
GOAL #5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
ISSUE INITIATIVES
Recruiting 9 to 5, What AI Way to Make a Living: Silicon Valley-based Eightfold is changing recruitment
and retention with its artificial intelligence (AI)-powered talent management platform. Through the
use of algorithms, Eightfold also offers diversity help for recruiters. The diversity function allows
recruiters to blind screen—remove gender and ethnicity barriers—in order to reduce bias in their
recruiting process and increase applicant diversity.
Grace Hopper Conference Inspires Women in Computing, Technology: AI and how it can help
machines and humans unite in tackling some of society’s biggest challenges was our theme in Houston,
where 40 NVIDIANs recently joined the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing conference.
Women at every stage of their careers attended highly technical sessions that covered AI, computer
systems engineering, and data science.
7
NVIDIA 2019 CSR REPORT Priorities
GOAL #8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive
employment, and decent work for all
ISSUE INITIATIVES
Keep on Rocking: Startup Develops AI for Mapping Tunnels and Mineshafts: The Toronto-based
startup RockMass is developing an NVIDIA AI-powered mapping platform that can help engineers
assess tunnel stability in mines and construction. The startup’s Mapper AI device now offers a safer
way to keep engineers farther away from a possible tunnel collapse and offers a faster system for
gathering and processing data.
GOAL #9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and
foster innovation
ISSUE INITIATIVES
How AI and Machine Learning are Advancing Academic Research:
Universities and research institutes around the world are key drivers of discovery and innovation, and
professors and researchers are looking for answers to the biggest questions facing each academic
discipline. With powerful GPU computing resources, academics can use AI, machine learning, and data
science to more swiftly advance knowledge in fields such as astrophysics and astronomy, biology, earth
and climate science, humanities, medicine, and physics.
GOAL #11: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
ISSUE INITIATIVES
Safety is What Drives Us: Introducing the NVIDIA Self-Driving Safety Report: Self-driving cars will
dramatically change the future of transportation, making driving safer, reducing carbon emissions,
and transforming how cities are designed. At the heart of autonomous driving technology is safety,
and we have integrated it into every step of the development process. Our Self-Driving Safety Report
details how computing performance translates to safety at all stages, from initial data collection to
public road testing.
Clean Machines: Startup’s Bots Sweep Up Corporate Campuses: Thanks to robotics, outdoor
maintenance is becoming more sophisticated, safer, and less costly. Silicon Valley-based ViaBot has
created an entirely autonomous robot that uses sensors, cameras, object detection algorithms, and
NVIDIA Jetson-powered navigation capabilities to clean and recycle waste in outdoor spaces. ViaBot
aims to serve multiple needs for maintenance outdoors with their efficient, productive, and cost-
effective robotic solution.
8
NVIDIA 2019 CSR REPORT Priorities
GOAL #11: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources for
sustainable development
ISSUE INITIATIVES
No Barrier to this Reef: Dazzling Film Brings Coral to Life in GPU-Powered Museum Show: Expedition
Reef, the San Francisco museum’s GPU-powered coral reef experience, immerses viewers in a
dramatic 3D video re-creation of reefs as they live, reproduce, and struggle to survive. Because these
complex ecosystems demand a highly realistic approach to help people engage with them, the film
posed unprecedented challenges for the museum’s visualization studio, which relied heavily on NVIDIA
Quadro GPUs (the same technology used by movie studios). With dazzling visual effects, Expedition
Reef seeks to highlight the vital role coral reefs play in the world’s ecosystems.
GOAL #11: Protect, restore, and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems,
sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and
halt biodiversity loss
ISSUE INITIATIVES
AI Offering Fertile Ground for Biodiversity Informatics: Researchers at Smithsonian Institution and
Costa Rica Institute of Technology are using a combination of big data analytics, computer vision,
and GPUs to deepen science’s access and understanding of botanical information. Their use of
GPU-accelerated deep learning promises to hasten the work of researchers, who discover and
describe about 2,000 species of plants each year and need to compare them against the nearly
400,000 known species. Both sets of researchers expect their work to fuel a revolution in the field
of biodiversity informatics.
9
NVIDIA 2019 CSR REPORT
03 Stakeholder Engagement
Engaging our diverse stakeholders on with stakeholders and transparently
important issues is integral to how we respond to their concerns. Although
do business. We define stakeholders we do not have a formal stakeholder
as entities or individuals who can be advisory panel for CSR issues, at least
affected by NVIDIA and whose actions one member of the CSR Committee
can affect the company, and we evaluates each stakeholder request to
engage with them in numerous ways determine what type of response
on a variety of topics through the year. is appropriate.
We rely on our annual priority issue The chart below lists our
assessment to help us understand the stakeholders, how we engage with
issues that matter most to them. This them, and examples of how we
allows us to focus our engagement interacted with them in FY19:
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
ENGAGEMENT APPROACH FY19 INTERACTIONS
The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of We presented our CSR strategy, programs, and risks to the
the Board oversees CSR. Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.
The full Board receives our annual priority In early FY20, we provided a diversity and inclusion overview
issues assessment. to the Committee.
COMMUNITIES
ENGAGEMENT APPROACH FY19 INTERACTIONS
We interact with local governments to receive approval and We engaged with the Santa Clara, Calif., and Bangalore,
update community members on any facility construction. India, county departments on the development of a new
corporate campus.
We invest in communities where we have offices through the
NVIDIA Foundation. See the NVIDIA Foundation annual report for
FY19 activities.
CUSTOMERS / DEVELOPERS
ENGAGEMENT APPROACH FY19 INTERACTIONS
Through the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA), we We received several compliance requests per week from
provide customers with self-assessment questionnaires and customers regarding product and social compliance, legal,
collaborate with them through various working groups. and regulatory issues.
We engage with customers directly through quarterly We conducted an analysis of customer contracts to confirm
business reviews and CSR surveys. that our priorities align with their requirements.
For developers, we facilitate interaction through targeted We worked directly with customers to report our supplier
discussion forums and global developer conferences. We status related to conflict minerals.
also provide courses in parallel programming; enhancement
tools for debugging, performance, and testing; access to We responded to several customer surveys and maintained
highly skilled engineers and specialists who provide custom our Sony Green Partner certification for the 13th year.
services and co-design industry-specific applications;
and financial support to university researchers in various We hosted developer conferences in seven countries. We
scientific disciplines. celebrated reaching 1 million developers in FY19.
10NVIDIA 2019 CSR REPORT Stakeholder Engagement
EMPLOYEES AND PROSPECTIVE EMPLOYEES
ENGAGEMENT APPROACH FY19 INTERACTIONS
We engage employees via a global employee survey every Our latest global employee survey from November 2017
18-24 months. yielded a 95 percent response rate.
We administer an online suggestion box and facilitate a We held discussions between our CEO and resource
direct channel between employees and our CEO or any communities (African-Americans, Hispanics, women,
executive staff member through the submission of questions veterans, and early career employees), which resulted
(anonymously, if preferred) prior to our quarterly company in significant expansion of our parenting benefits to fund
meeting, which our CEO can respond to onstage. adoptions, in vitro fertilization, and egg freezing.
We engage with prospective employees through the careers We reached 47,000 underrepresented candidates at
section of NVIDIA’s website and through university, diversity, university and professional recruiting events.
and professional recruiting events.
We created a video series about the societal impact of
We also offer an employee referral program. NVIDIA’s technology for employees and external audiences.
We increased outreach to underrepresented candidates
through an expanded presence at university and
professional recruiting events. See Diversity and Inclusion
in the Social section for FY19 interactions with prospective
employees.
GOVERNMENT / PUBLIC POLICY ENGAGEMENT
ENGAGEMENT APPROACH FY19 INTERACTIONS
We educate policymakers on AI technology and the We deepened our relationship with the Congressional AI
AI enterprise space, translating complex topics into a Caucus, the Congressional Tech Staff Association, the
conceptual framework for policy. Information Technology Industry Foundation, and key
officials in Congress and the Administration.
We amplify our work in areas that resonate with non-
technology-focused policymakers, and work with other We participated in the White House AI Summit and the re-
educational and industry groups to follow the same blueprint. evaluation of the National AI R&D Strategic Plan.
We demonstrate our technology at events in Washington, DC We generated attendance by several federal agencies to our
to emphasize the societal benefits of AI. third annual GPU Technology Conference in Washington, DC.
We collaborate with like-minded companies and We convened policymakers from Congress and six
organizations to create working groups of technologically government departments for policy panels at GTC DC. This
savvy policymakers, introducing them to our experts included bringing together a group of high-profile regulators
and executives. for a discussion around how the industry can safely and
effectively deploy self-driving technology.
We facilitate meetings between our autonomous driving team
and regulators such as NHTSA to discuss our technology and At GTC San Jose, we hosted an interview session
the policy implications. with Representative Jerry McNerney, co-chair of the
Congressional AI Caucus.
We reinforce the tech policy ecosystem, positioning
NVIDIA as a source of expertise and a good faith, We worked with China and the EU to navigate geopolitics and
collaborative partner. local regulations, and provided feedback to inquiries on the
technical and economic implications of their proposed rules.
11NVIDIA 2019 CSR REPORT Stakeholder Engagement
NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS
ENGAGEMENT APPROACH FY19 INTERACTIONS
We partner with NGOs through initiatives like the RBA and We provided information to the Business & Human Rights
Public-Private Alliance for Responsible Minerals Trade. Resource Center for inclusion in its Know the Chain ICT
benchmark, which addresses human rights practices.
RESEARCH/RATINGS ORGANIZATIONS
ENGAGEMENT APPROACH FY19 INTERACTIONS
We respond to regular survey requests on environmental, We were featured for a fifth year as a member of the Dow
social, and governance practices. Jones Sustainability Index and remained on the FTSE4Good
index, Bloomberg Global Equality Index, Global 100, the 100
Best Corporate Citizens list, and Forbes’ JUST 100 ranking.
We debuted on Equileap’s Gender Equality Index, and were
featured again in RobecoSAM’s Sustainability Yearbook.
We were also featured for the third year on Fortune’s 100
Best Companies to Work For list at #38.
Overall, we interacted with 10 research/ratings orgs:
Corporate Knights, FTSE4Good, ISS, MSCI, Oekom, RepTrak,
RobecoSAM, Sustainalytics, Trucost, and Vigeo Eiris.
SHAREHOLDERS
ENGAGEMENT APPROACH FY19 INTERACTIONS
Since 2007, we participate in the CDP. We participated in the CDP for the eleventh year, and
achieved an A- for our investor score and a B- for water use.
We respond to individual shareholder requests as they
arise, and we hold annual governance and ESG calls with We presented CSR issues to shareholders holding 26%
top shareholders. in aggregate of our common stock during the company’s
annual outreach meetings. Topics covered included:
societal impacts of AI, diversity and inclusion, and Board
involvement in CSR.
SUPPLIERS
ENGAGEMENT APPROACH FY19 INTERACTIONS
We engage with suppliers through quarterly business We continued to conduct an ongoing evaluation of our
reviews and allocate points to their performance scores suppliers using RBA analysis tools.
commensurate with their efforts to participate in social
and environmental initiatives. Through the RBA, we analyze We sent an average of 21 requests to suppliers each week.
suppliers’ self-assessment documentation and request
periodic audits.
We reach out to suppliers directly on issues related to
product compliance and conflict minerals.
12NVIDIA 2019 CSR REPORT
04 GOVERNANCE
GOVERNANCE
SNAPSHOT
11
of our 12 Board members
are independent
DECLASSIFIED
BOARD STRUCTURE
and all Board members
serve one-year terms
INDEPENDENT
DIRECTORS
compose our Board’s
audit, compensation, and
nominating and corporate
governance committees
BOARD and bylaws form the framework for
governance at NVIDIA. MAJORITY VOTE
GOVERNANCE We have 12 directors on our
practices have been
adopted voluntarily
HOW WE DEFINE IT: Board, and as of April 2019, 11 of
Board composition, independence our 12 directors (91 percent) are SUCCESSION
independent. The sole exception is
of committees and leadership, PLANNING
anti-takeover measures, Jensen Huang, who is our founder,
for the position of
Board and named executive president, and chief executive Chief Executive Officer is in place
officer compensation officer. Our bylaws and corporate
governance policies permit the
ANNUAL
roles of chairperson of the Board
NVIDIA, including its Board of
and CEO to be filled by the same or
PERFORMANCE
Directors, is committed to operating EVALUATION
under sound principles of corporate different individuals, which gives
the Board flexibility in determining of Board and Board committees
governance. Our corporate
governance structure ensures what is best for the company.
robust Board and management At this time, NVIDIA has a lead PUBLIC
accountability and transparency to director, Mark Perry, rather than a DISCLOSURE OF
our shareholders, and promotes chairperson of the Board. In FY19, director nomination process
all directors attended at least 75 proxy access approach to
good decision-making now and for
percent of meetings of the Board Board diversity
the future. To ensure that long-
term interests are being served, and committee on which
our Board oversees management they served. 18%
of our independent
performance. Our overarching code
Director compensation is reviewed Board members are female
of conduct, financial team code of
by the Board’s Compensation
conduct, corporate governance
policies, Board committee charters,
Committee, in consultation with 25%
a third-party firm and evaluation of our Board members are
certificate of incorporation,
of compensation from peer underrepresented minorities
groups, and ultimately approved
by our Board. We design our
13NVIDIA 2019 CSR REPORT Governance
named executive officer (NEO) establishes the minimum receive regular guidance from legal
compensation program to pay standards to which we hold counsel and industry associations
for performance and to attract, ourselves accountable. on issues related to bribery, ethics,
motivate, and retain a high-caliber and hiring and labor practices. The
executive team. NEO pay is heavily We are committed to comporting sales operations team oversees
weighted toward performance- ourselves in accordance with our customers’ environmental,
based variable cash and long-term the highest ethical standards social, and ethics requirements,
equity awards that are earned regardless of whether there is a and works cross-functionally to
only if we achieve pre-established legal requirement to do so. ensure the compliance of all related
corporate financial metrics. Our teams. In all these functions, we
Governmental compliance is a
executive compensation program have established mechanisms to
critical component of our business
requires executives to maintain maintain active compliance,
strategy, because it involves our
meaningful stock ownership, and assess our performance, and
license to operate in markets where
a claw back policy is in place for anticipate impending requirements
we want to manufacture and sell
performance-based compensation and regulations.
our products, manage offices,
and hire employees. We comply
with all mandatory governmental
COMPLIANCE regulations that apply to us in ETHICAL
HOW WE DEFINE IT:
the communities in which we do
business. We also comply with our
CONDUCT
Compliance with all applicable customers’ requirements in order HOW WE DEFINE IT:
policies, laws, and regulations, to meet contractual obligations. Policies, systems, processes, and
including fines/penalties
We employ social and performance relating to ethical
environmental compliance operation, including ethics hotline
We view compliance as the activities
engineers in our worldwide and whistle-blower protection
we undertake and the systems we
establish and maintain to ensure operations organization. These
employees manage issues such We strive to achieve the highest
continual adherence to laws and
as human rights, end-of-life standards of ethical conduct in
requirements of governments
recycling, hazardous substances, all our business dealings. Our
and our customers that address
and conflict minerals. Our global charters, codes of conduct, and
environmental and social issues.
legal and human resources teams policies guide how we conduct
Compliance is the baseline that
ourselves in our professional
14NVIDIA 2019 CSR REPORT Governance
ANTI-
Nearly 100 % of CORRUPTION
employees who have
HOW WE DEFINE IT:
frequent contact Policies, processes, and practices
with customers, related to anti-corruption and
partners, and anti-bribery
suppliers have Our longstanding commitment to
completed additional doing business with integrity means
avoiding all forms of corruption. Our
global anti-bribery anti-corruption practices involve
and anti-corruption the steps the company and its
employees take to ethically conduct
training.
business and avoid negatively
impacting our ability to work with
customers and governments.
We specifically emphasize making
ethical decisions, never engaging in
relationships toward our control, auditing, code of conduct, bribery or insider trading, avoiding
customers, partners, competitors, or other matter of concern, using a conflicts of interest, approaching
vendors, government regulators, corporate hotline, which is hosted competition ethically, complying
shareholder, fellow employees, by an independent third party. By with international trade regulations,
and the community at large. Our using an external organization to practicing transparency, and
longstanding code of conduct host the hotline, we ensure our maintaining accurate business
outlines our core values and employees feel comfortable with records. To protect our company’s
establishes the expectations anonymous reporting. Employees reputation, we have several policies
we have about how we conduct are encouraged to report suspected related to these issues, and we
business. This code applies to all conflicts of interest to their expect employees to comply
our executive officers, directors, manager or human resources with them. Nearly 100 percent
and employees, and we expect all representative or through the of employees who have frequent
third parties we do business with, hotline. We have a strict “no contact with customers, partners,
including consultants, contractors, retaliation” policy regarding reports and suppliers (such as those in
and other service providers, to of activities that run counter to our sales, finance, and procurement)
act in a manner consistent with it. ethical expectations. have completed additional
In addition, we have established global anti-bribery and anti-
a financial team code of conduct All NVIDIA employees receive corruption training.
that applies to our executive ethics and sexual harassment
staff, directors, and members of training. They complete training
our finance, accounting, tax, and on our code of conduct, which
treasury departments. covers environmental and social
responsibility issues, upon hire
Our commitment to promote a and then every two years. As of
culture of integrity means that we April 2019, nearly 99 percent of
aim to foster an environment where employees had completed
everyone is expected to act ethically this training.
and where people can voice
concerns without fear of retaliation.
Any employee can confidentially
and anonymously lodge a complaint
about any accounting, internal
15NVIDIA 2019 CSR REPORT Governance
Since 2012,
we’ve engaged
Trucost to assure
that our GHG
emissions data
and contextual
information in our
CDP response
meets the
AA1000 standard.
TRANSPARENCY and supply chain metrics to give
stakeholders insight intoour
HOW WE DEFINE IT: performance. Throughout the
year, we respond to several
Corporate responsibility
requests for information from
transparency and disclosure
customers and share data directly
(policies, level of disclosure,
with shareholders. We have also
performance), external
increased our external positioning
assurance, and direct
by providing data about our
stakeholder engagement performance to environmental,
social, and governance reporting
We promote a culture at NVIDIA
firms, such as Bloomberg,
that values integrity and prioritizes
Carbon Disclosure Project,
transparency across our entire
Corporate Knights, JUST
business. We maintain high
Companies, MSCI, Oekom,
levels of transparency to build
RobecoSAM, and Sustainalytics.
trust in a way that supports our
business success. In this report, In FY18, NVIDIA’s internal audit
we discuss transparency as it group reviewed elements of our
relates to environmental, social, CSR program to ensure it had
and governance issues. We report adequate governance structures.
in accordance with the Global They benchmarked the CSR report
Reporting Initiative Standards at against comparable companies,
the Core level. Since 2012, we’ve and assessed program ownership,
engaged Trucost to assure that our monitoring, and communications.
GHG emissions data and contextual They also evaluated key metrics
information in our CDP response in the CSR report for accuracy,
meets the AA1000 standard. included those related to
community giving, supply chain,
We actively work in our priority
environmental, packaging, and
issue areas to address business
workforce. In FY19, their metrics
risks and improve performance.
evaluation focused on economic,
We publish dashboards of key
environmental, and diversity
workforce, diversity, environmental,
data points.
16NVIDIA 2019 CSR REPORT
05 Economic
GPU-based visual computing and
accelerated computing platforms
can provide tremendous throughput
for applications.
Our two reportable segments —
GPU and Tegra Processor — are
based on a single underlying
graphics architecture. From our
proprietary processors, we have
created specialized platforms that
address four large markets where
our expertise is critical: gaming,
professional visualization, data
center, and automotive.
Our GPU product brands are aimed
at specialized markets, including
GeForce for gamers, Quadro for
MOST INNOVATIVE IN AI NVIDIA snagged the top spot on Fast Company’s Top 10 Most Innovative designers, Tesla and DGX for AI
Companies in Artificial Intelligence data scientists and big data
researchers, and GRID for cloud-
based visual computing users. Our
PRIORITY: About 20 percent of our revenue Tegra brand integrates an entire
INNOVATION in FY19 ($2.38 billion) funded R&D
activities. In total, we have invested
computer onto a single chip and
incorporates GPUs and multicore
more than $17 billion in these CPUs to drive supercomputing for
HOW WE DEFINE IT:
efforts since our inception, yielding mobile gaming and entertainment
Innovation of new products,
inventions that are essential to devices, autonomous robots,
technology, and operational
modern computing. drones, and cars.
practices; enabling innovation
through support of developers NVIDIA has a platform strategy We continuously assess whether
who use NVIDIA products; that brings together hardware, and where to seek formal protection
intellectual property protection; system software, programmable for particular innovations
research and development algorithms, libraries, systems, and and technologies, based on such
services to create unique value for factors as:
The drive to innovate is embedded the markets we serve. While the
>> The commercial significance
in NVIDIA’s DNA. Our invention of requirements of these end markets of our operations and our
the GPU defined modern computer are diverse, we address them with competitors’ operations in
graphics and established us as a unified underlying architecture, particular countries and regions;
the leader in visual computing. leveraging our GPUs and CUDA as >> The location in which our
With our subsequent introduction the fundamental building blocks. products are manufactured;
of the CUDA programming model, The programmable nature of our >> Our strategic technology or
we opened the parallel processing architecture allows us to support product directions in different
capabilities of the GPU for general several multibillion-dollar end countries; and the degree to
purpose computing. We have markets with the same underlying which intellectual property
since extended our research and technology by using a variety laws exist and are meaningfully
enforced in various jurisdictions.
development emphasis to the of software stacks developed
revolutionary field of AI. either internally or by third-party
developers and partners. We
specialize in markets in which
17NVIDIA 2019 CSR REPORT Economic
MOST ADMIRED
COMPANIES
NVIDIA ranked first in the
semiconductor category on
Fortune magazine’s list of the
Most Admired Companies.
PRIORITY: market conditions evolve to exploit our business, revenue, financial
BUSINESS potential market opportunities, our
business will be harmed.
condition, and results of operations
could be adversely affected. We
MODEL AND We devote significant resources to
cannot assure that our strategic
COMPETITIVE- the development of technologies
direction will result in innovative
products and technologies that
NESS and business offerings in markets
where we have a limited operating
provide value to our customers,
our partners, and, ultimately, our
HOW WE DEFINE IT: history, such as the automotive shareholders.
Market and global competitive- and data center markets, which
ness, including NVIDIA’s business presents additional risks to Our full response to this issue is
model, market leadership, and our business. outlined in our FY19 10-K, p. 12.
financial success; issues that We must continue to develop
impact NVIDIA’s fair access to the the infrastructure needed to
market, including: anti-competi- appropriately scale our business
tive practices and global unrest in these areas, including customer
service and customer support. We
Our success depends on our ability
must meet customer safety and
to identify emerging industry
compliance standards, which are
changes and to develop new (or
subject to change. Additionally,
enhance our existing) products,
we continue to make considerable
services and technologies that meet
investments in research and
the evolving needs of markets. Such
development, which may not
activities may require considerable
produce significant revenue for
technical, financial, compliance,
several years, if at all.
sales, and marketing investments.
If our investments are unsuccessful
If we fail to anticipate the changing
and we fail to develop new products,
needs of our target markets and
services, and technologies, or
emerging technology trends, or
if we focus on technologies that
if we do not appropriately adapt
do not become widely adopted,
our strategy in a timely manner as
18NVIDIA 2019 CSR REPORT Economic
PRIORITY: executive-level leaders, reviews
CYBERSECURITY metrics and evaluates emerging
threats. We also address NVIDIA’s
HOW WE DEFINE IT:
cybersecurity scenarios in our cybersecurity
resilience planning, document them
Technologies, processes, and
through business continuity plans, efforts are
practices designed to protect
networks, computers, programs,
and follow the processes outlined in managed by a
frameworks such as the ISO 27000
and data from attack, damage, for Information Security Standards. global team of IT,
or unauthorized access;
product safeguards
Against the backdrop of frequent engineering, and
changes and new knowledge, we
continually evaluate and adapt our legal experts.
We define cybersecurity as security measures.
measures designed to protect our
IT assets from unauthorized access We have defined a set of actions
or attack. Included are NVIDIA’s for teams to initiate to determine
products and the privacy of our the type and rigorousness of
customers’ and employees’ data. As our response in the event of a
we become aware of more frequent cybersecurity issue. The team also
high-profile security breaches in leverages external parties, such
business and government, and as computer security firms and
as new dangers arise, we remain those with risk management and
committed to respecting privacy governance expertise. NVIDIA’s
and implementing appropriate Board of Directors receives regular
protections for any personal presentations on cybersecurity.
information we collect or that our
users share with us. We continuously hone our
cybersecurity and data privacy
Our efforts are managed by a training to respond to new
global team of cybersecurity, IT, requirements in global
engineering, and legal experts. A privacy laws.
cybersecurity committee, which
meets monthly and is driven by
19NVIDIA 2019 CSR REPORT Economic
PRIORITY: The global nature of our business If our sales outside of the United
TRADE ISSUES subjects us to a number of risks
and uncertainties, which could have
States are delayed or cancelled
because of any of the above
a material adverse effect on our factors, our revenue may be
HOW WE DEFINE IT:
business, financial condition, and negatively impacted.
Ability to move and sell goods
results of operations, including:
internationally, including export The global economy is constantly
>> International economic and
controls, import duties, quotas, changing, and we are prepared to
political conditions, unexpected
and other trade barriers and changes in, or impositions change with it. To that end, we use
restrictions; regulatory, pricing, of, legislative or regulatory foreign currency forward contracts
and supply chain impacts requirements; to mitigate the impact of foreign
associated with changing political >> Differing legal standards currency exchange rate movements
and trade environment; global with respect to protection on our operating expenses. And
recruitment activities and hiring of intellectual property and we continuously evaluate the
employment practices;
for specific skillsets location of our manufacturing and
>> Local business and cultural sourcing suppliers.
factors that differ from our
Our semiconductor wafers are
normal standards and practices;
produced and packaged by third
>> Exporting or importing issues
parties located outside of the
related to export or import
United States. Revenue from restrictions, including deemed
sales outside of the United States export restrictions, tariffs,
accounted for 87% of total revenue quotas, and other trade barriers
for each of fiscal years 2019, 2018, and restrictions;
and 2017. And as of January 27, >> Disruptions of capital and
2019, approximately 46% of our trading markets and currency
employees were located outside of fluctuations; and
the United States. >> Increased costs due to imposition
of climate change regulations.
20NVIDIA 2019 CSR REPORT Economic
BUSINESS CONTINUITY NVIDIA BCM PROGRAM
MANAGEMENT
HOW WE DEFINE IT:
NVIDIA’s ability to operate without interruption
and robustness of business continuity systems,
IDENTIFY
infrastructure, policies, and procedures RESPOND
RECOVER
Business continuity management (BCM) focuses on
protecting our core values. Our philosophy of BCM is
to identify realistic threats and their potential impact
to our core values and design a formal framework for
responding. We believe that resilience can be achieved by
embedding redundancy and diversity into our response
framework. A BCM steering committee of four executives STEERING
is supported by several business leaders across the COMMITTEE
following functions: Corporate Communications,
Cybersecurity, Facilities, Finance, Global Security, Human
Resources, Information Technology, and Operations. Each
function has a plan to identify and address potential risks.
These efforts are supported by robust infrastructure,
systems, policies, and procedures, and are designed BCM TEAM
to mitigate risk and protect the safety and trust of
our employees and customers when unexpected events
such as cyberattack, business disruption, or natural
disaster occur.
CORE
We believe that BCM is critical to minimizing financial VALUES
and reputational impacts. By anticipating the likelihood
of severe events, we can mitigate these risks and ensure
that the company does not endure unnecessary damages.
21NVIDIA 2019 CSR REPORT Economic
CUSTOMER
RELATIONS
HOW WE DEFINE IT:
Customer satisfaction; customer
relationship management,
including privacy
Our customers include businesses
and consumers. We view our
commitment to positive customer
relations in terms of the role we
play as a responsible supplier,
our commitment to our reseller
partners and their customers, and to
consumers who we sell to directly.
GTC is a global conference providing training, insights, and direct access to experts on the hottest
We support customers through a topics in computing today. Thousands of researchers and professionals attend to learn the latest
on the most dynamic topics related to high performance computing, AI, and deep learning.
comprehensive customer support
site and several NVIDIA-hosted
product forums and communities. quickly and increase customer Business Alliance (RBA) Code of
Our customer service team tracks satisfaction. We also use data Conduct covering labor, environment,
interactions with consumers as gathered from our customer health and safety, ethics, and
they occur and shares bi-weekly forums to give our research and management systems. We use these
satisfaction reports internally. We development organizations a steady standards as our management
measure customer satisfaction in stream of feedback about what is approach for our supply chain.
several ways and use these metrics to working and what improvements our
help promote experiences that delight customers want. Inquiries from our original
our customers. Measurements equipment manufacturer customers
include customer satisfaction rate, We robustly support developers have increased in line with our
percentage of support incidents filed, who want to create innovative focus on supplier responsibility
closed incident survey response rate, applications with our products. We and environmental sustainability.
and referral rate. give developers diverse resources, Requests for information have
including courses in parallel predominantly related to conflict
Our customer support organization is programming; enhancement tools for minerals, environmental compliance,
on the front line of communications debugging, performance, and testing; quality, consumer satisfaction,
with our national and international access to highly skilled engineers and ethics.
partners, working with their and specialists who provide custom
engineering teams as they test services and co-design industry- To manage these inquiries and
NVIDIA products in their systems and specific applications; and financial requests, we employ quarterly
devices. For partners that embed support to university researchers in business reviews with key customers,
our hardware in their products, various scientific disciplines. Our GPU and partner with them on various
quality is monitored through ISO Technology Conference advances initiatives through the RBA. Certain
9000 certification. We engage with global awareness of accelerated customers assign points on their
strategic suppliers through quarterly computing, computer graphics, high scorecards to environmental, social,
business reviews, and business performance computing, AI, and and governance performance.
allocation decisions are influenced by deep learning. Customers who are RBA members
quarterly performance. monitor our performance through
Our customers include some of the tools provided by that organization,
Our support organization has taken world’s largest electronics, consumer such as self-assessment
steps to dramatically reduce the brand, and automotive companies. questionnaires, validated audit
time it takes for our software team Consequently, we have integrated processes, and tracking tools for
to incorporate customer feedback, throughout our global operations the carbon, water, and waste.
enabling technicians to respond standards outlined in the Responsible
22NVIDIA 2019 CSR REPORT Economic
AWARDS AND
ACCOLADES
We have been recognized
over the past few years in
several prominent business
publications for innovation
and leadership, notably:
>> Fortune
100 Best Places to Work
>> Fast Company
Most Innovative Companies
>> Barron’s
World’s Best CEOs
>> Fortune
Businessperson of the Year
>> Harvard Business Review
BRAND AND The report noted how we connect
our technology and innovations to
Best Performing CEOs in REPUTATION the projects we support through
the World our CSR.
HOW WE DEFINE IT:
Semiconductor and technology Our annual CSR report forms
industry perception and the foundation of our CSR
reputation, and how that communications and is used by all
influences NVIDIA’s business stakeholders to find the information
activities; brand reputation and they need. It is a resource for
market positioning; integrity of several ratings, rankings, and
indexes we participate in each year.
brand and customer perception;
CSR performance as an indicator These third-party endorsements
of reputation help boost our reputation and
brand as a strong corporate citizen.
As outlined in our 10-K, several Notable recognitions we have
factors can impact our brand and received include: the Dow Jones
reputation. Every day, we build Sustainability Index, CDP, 100 Best
a better business by acting with Corporate Citizens, Human Rights
integrity in all we do. Through our Watch’s Corporate Equality Index,
CSR efforts and reporting, we’ve the Bloomberg Gender Equality
built trust and credibility with Index, and the JUST100.
our stakeholders as we disclose
the metrics they expect. We’re The stakeholder section lists all of
recognized as a great place to the ratings/rankings requests we
work by current and prospective received in FY19. We have seen a
employees, as a respected dramatic increase in the number
supplier to customers, and as a of requests to participate in these
successful long-term investment by lists in the last few years as CSR
shareholders. becomes a central element of
companies’ strategies.
In 2018, we topped a ranking of
50 tech companies in the U.S.
Technology RepTrak report issued
by the Reputation Institute and were
the only company to receive its
highest ranking of “excellent.”
23NVIDIA 2019 CSR REPORT Economic
Autonomous Driving
Regulations
We have participated in sessions
with the U.S. Senate Committee
on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation related to AI’s role
in autonomous driving. During
our FY19 developer conference in
Washington, we convened policy,
tech, and automotive leaders to
discuss how the transportation
industry can safely and effectively
deploy self-driving technology
through collaboration, consumer
At our 2018 developer conference in Washington, DC, U.S. Chief Information Officer Suzette Kent
said the federal government is investing in AI throughout the system, including agriculture, trans-
education, and an emphasis on
portation, healthcare, and cybersecurity. safety. At the conference we issued
a Self-Driving Safety Report
that highlighted how GPUs create
PUBLIC POLICY Core AI Research functionally safe self-driving
systems and how we ensure
ENGAGEMENT In FY19, as part of a panel focused
on the current state of AI and
several lines of defense and
redundancy in our self-driving
HOW WE DEFINE IT: barriers to government adoption,
software systems. Self-driving car
Transparency of political we provided testimony to the
safety is discussed in more detail in
contributions and lobbying U.S. House of Representatives
the Societal Impact of GPUs
efforts, including participation Subcommittee on Information
section of this report.
through industry organizations; Technology. We encouraged the
engagement with policy makers federal government to increase We also brief congressional
research funding in organizations staff and leadership, including
Public policy engagement enables such as the National Science primary decision-makers with
us to affect government action Foundation, National Institutes jurisdiction at the Energy and
and provide thought leadership of Health, and Defense Advanced Commerce Committee and the
to global governments on Research Projects Agency, and Senate Commerce Committee,
issues that directly affect our to adopt AI to boost the nation’s on our technology and the safety
business. It is also a platform for economy and improve government work behind it. We enhance our
educating policymakers through services through the development reach in public policy through
demonstrations of our technology, of faster supercomputers. We participation in organizations
amplifying our work in targeted also submitted comments for the such as the Consumer Technology
areas, and collaborating with National AI R&D Strategic Plan. Association, Entertainment
various organizations on issues of Software Association, Information
shared interest. We focus our public Technology Industry Foundation,
policy activities in AI, specifically and the Semiconductor Industry
to promote the investment in core Association, among others.
AI research and to support the
development of autonomous driving We do not have a political action
technologies and infrastructure. committee. In FY19, we did not
perform lobbying activity or expend
resources that required registration
ACCELERATING AI ADOPTION NVIDIA under the Lobbying Disclosure Act.
leaders use our popular blog to promote
causes of company interest, such as the
government’s adoption of AI.
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