SmartBear Launches Global ESG Initiative to Foster Social Responsibility

The ESG initiative will focus on Community, Sustainability, Governance, and Diversity and be overseen by key cross-functional leaders, including SmartBear CEO Frank Roe

SmartBear, a leading provider of software development and quality tools, announced its global Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiative, solidifying the company’s commitment to social responsibility by adopting a comprehensive set of corporate and governance practices to achieve key sustainability benchmarks. The ESG initiative will be overseen by a group of senior leaders and is sponsored by the CEO.

“SmartBear has long been committed to becoming a leader in corporate social responsibility, and today we are thrilled to formalize our commitment,” said Frank Roe, CEO at SmartBear. “To that end, we decided to focus on Community, Sustainability, Governance, and Diversity. While these areas are already of great importance to our employees, we’re excited to make greater investments in supporting our pledge to remain dedicated to social responsibility in our communities around the world.”

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“SmartBear has built out an ambitious, actionable, and scalable ESG program, and we look forward to supporting their efforts as they make measured progress in their initiatives”

The SmartBear ESG spans across four primary pillars:

• Community – Volunteering and philanthropic initiatives at the local level for each of the company’s global offices
• Sustainability – Commitments to supporting a sustainable climate, including efforts around the company’s data storage and office buildings
• Governance – Company-wide, locale-specific risk management and mitigation, data privacy and protection, and initiatives that ensure compliance with laws and regulations
• Diversity – Committing to fostering a diverse, inclusive, and equitable workforce where diversity is celebrated and all SmartBear employees are treated with respect

SmartBear realized various ESG successes in 2021 and established its ESG initiative with the goal of building on these accomplishments. In 2021, the company completed a Greenhouse Gas survey, was recognized with an industry award for philanthropy, hired a Diversity and Inclusion Manager, and attained new data security standards.

“SmartBear has built out an ambitious, actionable, and scalable ESG program, and we look forward to supporting their efforts as they make measured progress in their initiatives,” said Kim Eaton, a SmartBear Board Member and Operating Managing Director at Vista Equity Partners. “SmartBear, like the other high-achieving organizations across our portfolio, understands the importance of accountability and their role in making sustainable contributions to build a better world. Technology and enterprise software will continue to be critical drivers of ESG impact, and we are committed to support the positive impact of our investments during our ownership as we are doing with SmartBear.”

Vista Equity Partners (“Vista”) is a leading global investment firm focused on enterprise software, and data and technology-enabled businesses. SmartBear is a Vista portfolio company. Vista is a signatory of the Principles of Responsible Investing (PRI). In its inaugural ESG Report released earlier this year, the firm highlights the correlation between strong ESG practices and positive business performance, customer and stakeholder engagement, and market leadership.

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