By Conway Shui, SVP of Executive Search, ViacomCBS 

In a year of crises, principally the COVID-19 pandemic and its health and economic fallout, and long-simmering racial injustice that came to a boil in the summer of 2020, ViacomCBS responded speedily and thoughtfully, taking actions that were grounded in the company’s core values.

In response to the pandemic, ViacomCBS committed $100 million to those impacted, including support for non-staff employees on ViacomCBS productions and other entertainment industry workers through third-party organizations and relief funds.

On the matter of racial injustice, the company took an unequivocal stand and reemphasized its commitment to diversity and inclusion in a number of ways, among them, setting several new goals to increase diversity behind the camera, which included at least 40% representation of Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) in the writers’ rooms of CBS and Showtime Network shows during the 2021-22 programming season.

The longstanding sense of purpose and employee commitment that helped ViacomCBS to meet these moments are detailed in the company’s first Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report, Action: ESG at ViacomCBS, which highlights how the company is addressing the ESG impacts that are most important to its business and stakeholders. Released nearly one year after the December 2019 merger of Viacom and CBS, “Action: ESG at ViacomCBS” focuses on data through 2019 and the company’s global ESG priorities to date in three core areas: On-screen Content and Social Impact, Workforce and Culture and Sustainable Production and Operations.

“ViacomCBS is focused on how we use the power of our platforms as content creators to meaningfully impact the issues that matter to our employees, audiences, partners, communities and investors,” said Bob Bakish, President and CEO of ViacomCBS. “As we all continue to cope with the ongoing impact of COVID-19, as well as a racial reckoning in the US, we recognize and embrace our unique role as a global content powerhouse that shapes culture, social attitudes and societal outcomes. We’re committed to the opportunity and responsibility that comes with this reach and are proud to share how our company is taking action in our ESG report.”

Some of these efforts are highlighted in excerpts from the ViacomCBS ESG Report. The full ESG report is available here: www.viacomcbs.com/sustainability