Alliance Data 2016 Corporate Responsibility Report Highlights Progress In Key Performance Areas, Establishes 2020 Goals

PLANO, Texas, July 26, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Alliance Data Systems Corporation (NYSE: ADS), a leading global provider of data-driven marketing and loyalty solutions, today released its annual Corporate Responsibility report for 2016, which looks back over the last three years and reveals new 2020 goals across all three of the company's lines of business – Alliance Data's card services business, Epsilon and LoyaltyOne -- as well as the parent company. This year's report focuses on sustainable growth, recognizing the importance of the continued and lasting endeavors made across all of Alliance Data's businesses in order to maintain a strong track record of success. Download a copy of the highlights report or the full report.

"2016 was another year in which Alliance Data demonstrated our strong commitment to operating responsibly, which means doing what it takes to ensure sustainable long-term growth. With a diverse and enormously talented team of nearly 18,000 associates, we have rallied around the goals and initiatives that guide our progress and successes," said Ed Heffernan, president and chief executive officer of Alliance Data. "Being in business carries with it duties to the clients we serve, the people who invest in our company, those who work with us and for us, and those whose communities we share. And just as the world around us evolves, our approach to operating responsibly will continue to evolve."

In 2014, Alliance Data set three-year goals related to the responsible use of data, investment in its people and communities, and the protection of the environment. Among the three-year accomplishments highlighted in the report:

• Data: Alliance Data built a new security operation center with security analysts and engineers to safeguard consumer information and privacy.
• People: Alliance Data invested more than one million hours and $17 million in associate training and development programs to maintain industry‑leading levels of engagement and enablement.
• Community: The company made strong progress in community investment and volunteerism, investing more than $25 million and 70,000 volunteer hours.
• Environment: The company saw a 28 percent reduction in carbon emissions over the three-year period through improved data collection and consolidation of office space.

As Alliance Data looked ahead to 2020, these top goals were identified, including:

• Data: Alliance Data aims to integrate and apply best practice privacy and information security techniques among its people, processes and technology, and proactively monitor cyber threats to prevent data breaches.
• People: The company will leverage new, more frequent associate feedback, internal analytics and insight to identify opportunities for targeted, relevant programs that benefit our associates and enhance our culture.
• Community: By 2020, Alliance Data will invest an additional $60 million in the communities where its people live and work. $20 million will go toward "data for good" initiatives that help nonprofits build mission critical capacity leveraging data-driven insights.
• Environment: Establish a task force and action plan to reduce GHG emissions and the environmental impact of Alliance Data's operations. In addition, Alliance Data will focus on building relationships with non-government officials to participate and invest in conservation initiatives.

Alliance Data conducted a robust materiality assessment to identify and evaluate the issues most critical to our business and our stakeholders. As part of the process, more than 200 internal and external stakeholders participated in a perception survey where they ranked issues in terms of their significance to stakeholders and the potential impact to the long-term sustainability of Alliance Data's business. The findings helped shape the company's corporate responsibility strategy and informed the 2020 goals, which will be benchmarked in Alliance Data's 2017 Corporate Responsibility Report.

To learn more about each of the existing businesses programs addressing top priorities, future goals and progress, view the full 2016 Corporate Responsibility Report.

About Alliance Data
Alliance Data^® (NYSE: ADS) is a leading global provider of data-driven marketing and loyalty solutions serving large, consumer-based industries. The Company creates and deploys customized solutions, enhancing the critical customer marketing experience; the result is measurably changing consumer behavior while driving business growth and profitability for some of today's most recognizable brands. Alliance Data helps its clients create and increase customer loyalty through solutions that engage millions of customers each day across multiple touch points using traditional, digital, mobile and emerging technologies. An S&P 500 and Fortune 500 company headquartered in Plano, Texas, Alliance Data consists of three businesses that together employ more than 17,000 associates at approximately 100 locations worldwide.

Alliance Data's card services business is a leading provider of marketing-driven branded credit card programs. Epsilon^® is a leading provider of multichannel, data-driven technologies and marketing services, and also includes Conversant^®, a leader in personalized digital marketing. LoyaltyOne^® owns and operates the AIR MILES^® Reward Program, Canada's premier coalition loyalty program, and Netherlands-based BrandLoyalty, a global provider of tailor-made loyalty programs for grocers.
Investor information about Alliance Data's businesses may be found here. Follow Alliance Data on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube.

Forward Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements give our expectations or forecasts of future events and can generally be identified by the use of words such as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "intend," "project," "plan," "likely," "may," "should" or other words or phrases of similar import. Similarly, statements that describe our business strategy, outlook, objectives, plans, intentions or goals also are forward-looking statements.

We believe that our expectations are based on reasonable assumptions. Forward-looking statements, however, are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the projections, anticipated results or other expectations expressed in this release, and no assurances can be given that our expectations will prove to have been correct. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, factors set forth in the Risk Factors section in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the most recently ended fiscal year, which may be updated in Item 1A of, or elsewhere in, our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed for periods subsequent to such Form 10-K.

Our forward-looking statements speak only as of the date made, and we undertake no obligation, other than as required by applicable law, to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, subsequent events, anticipated or unanticipated circumstances or otherwise.

Contact:
Danielle Ricketts 
214-494-3782 
[email protected]

SOURCE Alliance Data Systems Corporation

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