Heidrick & Struggles Continues Advancing on ESG Journey, Focusing on Placing Diverse Board Members and Executives, Promoting DE&I in the Workplace and Reducing GHG Emissions

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Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc.

Sep 27, 2022, 14:51 ET

Heidrick & Struggles' second ESG report details ongoing focus on addressing ESG priorities, including diversity, equity and inclusion, governance and sustainability for its clients, employees and the firm's own operations

CHICAGO, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Heidrick & Struggles (Nasdaq: HSII), a premier provider of global leadership advisory and on-demand talent solutions, today released its 2021 ESG Report. Referencing both Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) frameworks, the firm's second ESG report highlights how it has advanced on its ESG priorities and initiatives through its client work and for the firm's own employees and global operations.

"In our role as trusted leadership advisors, we have the privilege of working with the world's leading organizations on their most important talent, leadership, culture and organization needs," said Krishnan Rajagopalan, President and CEO, Heidrick & Struggles. "ESG priorities are moving to the top of our clients' agendas, and we are partnering with them a number of different ways, from placing Chief Sustainability Officers to working with Boards and companies that want to attract experienced ESG executives, and more. In addition, we are committed to being leaders in our own industry on the ESG front. We are intently focused on attracting and retaining great talent, living our firm's purpose and values, building a thriving workplace, and incorporating best practices on sustainability, governance, leadership, culture, and DE&I across our own organization, and for our own employees."

Key highlights from the 2021 report include:

Our Client Services

Globally, 67% of our cumulative slate of Board candidates initially proposed to our clients were diverse, exceeding our annual Board Diversity Pledge
73% of our Board placements were diverse in the United States, and 68% globally¹
51% of our overall placements in the United States were diverse, and 49% globally¹
Our work in our Sustainability and Social Impact Practices continued to grow and expand in scope
We published a report in partnership with INSEAD's Corporate Governance Centre on how Boards are responding to climate change
We added on-demand talent to our service offering, addressing the growing demand for more fluid ways of working by independent consultants and companies hiring them

Our People and Culture

Women represented 69% of our new hires and 65% of our promotions, globally
People of color accounted for 35% of our new hires and 21% of our promotions in the United States
We offered work from home flexibility for our employees under our Flexible Workspace philosophy
We delivered more than 12,800 hours of learning and development to our employees globally through virtual, in-person and hybrid formats
As part of our ongoing commitment to support our employees' mental health and wellbeing, we began recognizing World Mental Health Day as a holiday
We organized our third Global Day of Service with 35 offices participating around the world, continuing our commitment to give back to our communities where we live and work

Governance

We have a diverse and experienced Board of Directors; in 2021, 37% of our Board of Directors consisted of women, and 25% consisted of people of color
Our Board is committed to ongoing refreshment to meet the evolving needs of the firm, and the average tenure of our directors was 4.5 years
As a leading global professional services firm, we have developed a set of corporate values and a Code of Ethics that guide our firm's culture, ensuring we hold ourselves to the highest professional ethical standards
In order to maintain the trust of our clients, candidates and employees, we have a comprehensive set of data protection and privacy programs, policies and practices deployed and maintained throughout our organization

Environmental Sustainability

For the first time, we measured and disclosed our full Scopes 1, 2 and 3 carbon footprint
We reduced carbon emissions by over 21% versus 2019, primarily due to a reduction in employee commuting, business travel and office footprint
We decreased global office square footage by 26% versus the previous year

"With this report, we are maintaining our commitment to holding ourselves accountable and measuring our ESG progress publicly on an ongoing basis, establishing key areas of focus and showing what we have achieved so far, and how much opportunity lies ahead," said Tracey Heaton, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary, Heidrick & Struggles. "To best serve our employees, communities and stakeholders' interests, we will continue being transparent about our progress on ESG metrics, including advancements in our DE&I, governance and sustainability efforts internally, and our progress supporting our clients on their ESG journeys."

About Heidrick & Struggles
Heidrick & Struggles (Nasdaq: HSII) is a premier provider of global leadership advisory and on-demand talent solutions, serving the senior-level talent and consulting needs of the world's top organizations. In our role as trusted leadership advisors, we partner with our clients to develop future-ready leaders and organizations, bringing together our services and offerings in executive search, diversity and inclusion, leadership assessment and development, organization and team acceleration, culture shaping and on-demand, independent talent solutions. Heidrick & Struggles pioneered the profession of executive search more than 65 years ago. Today, the firm provides integrated talent and human capital solutions to help our clients change the world, one leadership team at a time.® www.heidrick.com

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¹ Global updates include women globally and ethnic diversity for women and men in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States, where we currently track ethnicity.