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Sustainability at Sprout as of October 30, 2022

Impact matters

Building best-in-class software and a beloved brand is not just about our product and services. It’s about prioritizing integrity, sustainability and humanity in every area of our business.

Our philosophy: Values-driven and future-minded

At Sprout, the decisions we make about our product, our people and our business are always guided by our values and our vision for the future. We’re committed to making sustainable and equitable choices that leave an impact we can be proud of.

Click here for important disclaimers regarding the statements made by Sprout Social regarding ESG matters.

Environmental impact

From electricity consumption to energy conservation to waste reduction, here are the steps we’ve taken to minimize our impact on the environment.

More on environmental impact
Social impact

From DEI to employee satisfaction to philanthropy, these are the initiatives we’ve implemented to positively impact our people and communities.

More on social impact
Governance

From team structure to data privacy, here’s how we ensure the policies and practices of our company align with the interests of our stakeholders.

More on governance

Caring for our environment

Sprout’s largest impact on the environment is our consumption of electricity. Our strategy for minimizing these impacts is to purchase energy efficient equipment, operate energy efficient offices and partner with suppliers that share our commitment to environmentally sustainable practices. In addition, we invest time in consolidating our machinery wherein possible to reduce the amount of energy being utilized.

We’re also passionate about waste reduction. We utilize compostable plates and utensils, recycle paper, plastic, glass and electronics in our US locations. We even have a “Green Team” dedicated to educating and empowering fellow employees to make environmentally friendly choices.

>90%

of the electronics we purchase are Energy Star Certified.

>50%

of the orgs in our supply chain are carbon neutral or have pledged to be by 2050.

100%

of our US locations are Energy Star Certified buildings.

Frequently Asked Questions

What steps has Sprout taken to conserve energy?

Sprout is committed to purchasing energy-efficient equipment. More than 90% of the electronics Sprout purchases are Energy Star Certified.

All of Sprout’s US locations are Energy Star Certified buildings. Our Seattle location is a LEED Platinum-rated building.

What steps has Sprout taken toward using suppliers committed to environmental sustainability?

We’ve adopted a Supplier Code of Conduct which gives preference to suppliers that share our commitment to environmentally sustainable practices.

More than 50% of our supply chain is with organizations that are carbon neutral or have pledged to be carbon neutral by 2050.

What are the largest climate change risks and opportunities facing Sprout Social?

In terms of risks, the effects of climate change (such as sea level rise, drought, flooding, wildfires, and increased storm severity), could have significant negative effects on the financial condition and business operations of both our customers and suppliers. This in turn could decrease our revenue and increase our costs.

Sprout’s greatest opportunity to combat climate change is to further diminish the effect of our electricity consumption through improving electrical efficiency.

Putting people first

At Sprout, we’re committed to building a diverse team, fostering an inclusive culture and investing in equity across our organization. We also know that outside our walls, the world isn’t always as equitable. That’s why Team Sprout is also working to help diversify the tech industry and engage in our communities.

While we’re happy with our progress, we still have work to do. We’re continuing to invest in equity by partnering with our leaders to make systemic change, educating our team and continuing to support our community through philanthropy, service, allyship and action.

Learn more about our current social responsibility efforts in our
2022 Social Impact Report

$500K

Our annual donation commitment to organizations that fight discrimination and support marginalized communities.

$1MM

in annual donated software to more than 75 nonprofit organizations around the world and in our communities.

1,200+

prospects from our priority identity groups added to our talent pipeline in 2021 as a result of intentional equity.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Sprout practices and statistics in the area of diversity, equity, and inclusion (“DEI”)?

Sprout publishes an annual DEI report, which discloses our current efforts in these areas—including the makeup of our team and how we will continue to champion DEI moving forward.

What are Sprout’s positions and practices regarding human rights?

This information can be found in our Human Rights Policy.

Does Sprout have training or professional development for its employees?

Yes, Sprout takes a holistic approach to employee development and creates a culture of learning across the organization. This includes continuous development programs for employees, people leaders and department-specific learning initiatives.

For example, our Grow@Sprout program offers various professional and functional learning opportunities and workshops, as well as access to on-demand learning tools and resources. Leadership development is also a core focus for us at Sprout, given our belief that leaders are crucial to building high-performing teams. We provide a comprehensive leadership development curriculum, GOLD (Growth Oriented Leadership Development), which provides targeted leadership training courses throughout a leader’s journey at Sprout. In addition, we partner with external, on-demand coaching providers to offer 1:1 coaching as a development opportunity for key people and craft leaders.

Does Sprout monitor employee satisfaction and engagement?

Yes, Sprout assesses employee engagement through our annual engagement survey, The Sprout Progress Survey, administered via the Culture Amp survey platform. Sprout’s engagement levels consistently rank within the top 25th percentile of Culture Amp’s Public Listed benchmark, which is made up of approximately 350 organizations listed on stock exchanges globally with up to 100,000 employees. Sprout also ranks within the top 25th percentile of Culture Amp’s Computer Software Top 25% benchmark, which is composed of approximately 60 global software companies comparable in size to Sprout.

Does Sprout make a commitment to respecting the labor and employment rights of its employees?

Yes, through our Code of Ethics and Conduct, employee handbook, Human Rights Policy and related policies, we ensure the rights of employees are respected.

Does Sprout provide employees with anti-corruption, anti-bribery, business ethics, and whistleblower training?

Yes, Sprout requires new employees to undergo these trainings and requires the sales team to undergo periodic additional training.

Does Sprout have appropriate limitations on the ability for its directors, officers, and employees to make political donations?

Yes, Sprout prohibits employees from making political contributions in return for favorable treatment for Sprout and charitable contributions must never be used as a substitute for prohibited political contributions. Personal political contributions must not be made using the Company’s name, letterhead, stationary or funds. All political contributions by or on behalf of the Company must be pre-approved by the General Counsel.

Does Sprout engage in any philanthropic activities?

Yes. Team Sprout gives back through our year-round volunteer initiative, Sprout Serves. Since officially launching in fall 2019, team members across every Sprout location have rallied to reach out to nonprofits of their choosing, volunteer their time and make an impact on the communities they care so much about.

Speaking of communities we care about, in 2021, we donated $200k to ten charities selected by our coworkers during our annual Philanthropy Week and $500K to nonprofits that service BIPOC communities in the US, and maintain relationships with other nonprofits around the globe that serve our priority identity groups—Underrepresented Genders in Tech, LGBTQIA+, etc.

In addition to donating, we work to foster deep relationships with these orgs and build trust with their communities through volunteer opportunities, education sessions, sponsored events and more. In 2021, we launched a $100,000 scholarship fund with the United Negro College Fund (UNCF). We will be awarding a total of eight scholarships, and recipients will be able to apply for a full-time role at Sprout through our Associate Software Engineering program.

Does Sprout donate its software or services?

Since 2014, Sprout has provided select nonprofits with complementary software as part of our technology giving initiatives. Today, our

Technology Giving Program

represents more than $1M in annual donated software to more than 75 nonprofit organizations around the world.

Our mission is to provide technology to growing and impactful causes that reflect our Sprout values and are doing good work to make the world a better place. Organizations are nominated by Team Sprout, reviewed by a peer committee and invited to apply for complimentary access to Sprout’s core products and selected add-ons to improve their social programming.

Through this program, we hope to improve social performance and increase visibility for nonprofit organizations around the world that otherwise might not be able to access a social software solution.

What efforts has Sprout made to diversify the tech industry?

For Sprout, diversifying the industry starts within our own organization. As a software company with thousands of global customers from around the world, we aim to build a team that reflects the diversity of the people we serve while rising above the inequity in our society. That’s why recruitment is one of our core DEI objectives.

Our ongoing commitment has been to cultivate a diverse pipeline that focuses on our priority identity groups: BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, women and underrepresented genders in tech. This year and next, we plan to evolve and solidify our workforce goals with a focus on increasing racial and ethnic diversity in our US team and in leadership roles, as well as global representation of women in leadership roles. We will reassess these focus areas each year based on our progress with representation, recruitment and retention, and will actively mitigate any inequity within our systems and processes.

Additional efforts aim to reach further than our own company. We partner with orgs like re:work (BIPOC tech sales), The Last Mile (tech training for incarcerated folks) and Black Girls Code (tech education for women of color) to provide funds and Sprout services. We also support Howard University’s first Center for Digital Business by providing funds to cover facilities costs and partnering with HubSpot to help build the curriculum.

Staying open, honest and accountable

Ethical conduct is of supreme importance to Sprout’s senior leadership, as is diverse representation among key decision makers. That’s why we’ve formed an ESG committee, which is responsible for growing and guiding our efforts in an intentional and impactful way, and includes several members of our executive team.

Other commitments related to our governance practices include aligning the interests of our employees and stockholders, granting shareholder rights and identifying and mitigating information governance security risks.

55%

of Sprout’s executive team is diverse in terms of gender or race.

43%

of Sprout’s Board of Directors is diverse in terms of gender or race.

71%

of Sprout’s board is independent under applicable legal standards.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is Sprout’s board of directors structured?

Sprout’s board of directors has an independent and diverse structure:
  • 71% of the board is independent under applicable legal standards
  • 29% of the board is diverse in terms of gender
  • 14% of the board is diverse in terms of race

How is Sprout’s executive team structured?

Sprout’s executive team is also diverse:
  • 27% of the executive team is diverse in terms of gender
  • 27% is diverse in terms of race

Has Sprout taken any steps to align the interests of its leadership team and stakeholders?

Yes, Sprout is a stockholder-aligned organization with founder-driven agility. This is reflected in: 1) Our practice of providing all employees with stock-based compensation; and 2) Our high-quality leadership team, which has a history of delivering on behalf of stockholders.

What rights has Sprout granted its shareholders?

In addition to what’s available by law, our shareholders hold the rights contained in our Bylaws and Certificate of Incorporation.

Is there a sunset provision on Sprout’s class B common stock?

Yes, Sprout’s class B common stock will automatically convert to class A common stock on the seventh anniversary of our IPO.

What is Sprout’s approach to identifying and mitigating information governance security risks?

Sprout maintains a formal risk management program that aligns risks to departments, owners and our current compliance controls. Risks are identified, documented and monitored by the Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) Team in partnership with Sprout’s senior leadership and relevant stakeholders.

The risk management program categorizes each risk based on severity and likelihood, including adjustments by our information security team. Sprout’s Security and GRC teams conduct quarterly reviews to maintain and support our annual risk assessments.

Sprout’s senior leadership is regularly updated on the severity, likelihood and level of each identified risk, along with the key risk indicators and mitigation plans in place to minimize and address the risk. The leadership team takes these documented risks and any recommended actions into consideration when planning tasks and goals for the business.

In addition, Sprout has three cybersecurity insurance policies (one primary, two excess) that include a broad range of first-party and third-party liability coverage related to information security risk.

Does Sprout require information security and data privacy training?

Yes, Sprout requires that new employees attend security and privacy awareness training as part of their orientation, which includes topics such as the proper handling of customer data, common cyber-attacks and a review of Sprout’s security policies.

All security and privacy training is followed by an online assessment and is required for all employees, regardless of position. Current employees participate in mandatory general and role-specific training semi-annually on current and/or relevant security and privacy topics.

Does Sprout hold any information privacy certifications?

Yes, Sprout received independent certification of our SOC 2 Type 2 compliance in December 2019 and our annual compliance has been maintained since. Sprout also maintains a PCI SAQ A self-assessment for PCI DSS compliance.

Sprout is a member of the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) and holds a whole company Cyber Essentials Certification under the UK National Cyber Security Centre’s framework.

Additionally, Sprout is compliant with the applicable requirements under the EU GDPR, UK GDPR and CCPA/CPRA. More information is available in our Trust Center.

Are Sprout’s senior leaders and Board of Directors involved in information security matters?

Yes, senior management provides direction and goals for the information security organization and receives quarterly reports about the team's progress toward those goals. The Board of Directors receives an overview of our risk and security posture no less than once annually.

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For this award, companies are assessed on how well they create a great employee experience that cuts across race, gender, age, disability status, or any aspect of who employees are.

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Sprout Social’s 2021 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Report

Open dialogue is imperative to progress, especially when discussing our DEI efforts. Learn how we plan to continue to champion DEI at Sprout.

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