Western Digital

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Owned	USA
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Hard drive manufacturer

Digital Information Solutions by the design and manufacture of storage devices, networking equipment and home entertainment products.


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Western Digital Corporation

87.4/100 in Newsweek rankings

America's Most Responsible Companies 2022 by Newsweek and Statista recognises the Top 500 most responsible companies in the United States. Companies were evaluated in three areas: environmental (waste, energy use, etc.), social (leadership diversity, employees and philanthropy) and governance (transparency and economic performance). This company received a total score of 87.4/100, ranking 11th in the Technology Hardware sector, and 27th overall.
Source: Newsweek (2021)

CDP Climate Change Score of B

In 2022, the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) asked companies to provide data about their efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change risk. Responding companies are scored across four key areas: disclosure; awareness; management; and leadership. This company received a CDP Climate Change Score of B.
Source: CDP (2022)

60.7% in conflict minerals rankings

As You Sow's 2019 report, Mining the Disclosures, is a deep analysis of 215 companies' human rights performance in relation to sourcing conflict minerals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This company's score was 60.7% (Good).
Source: As You Sow (2019)

100% on Corporate Equality Index

This company is listed as having best practice on a report card on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality in corporate America.
Source: Human Rights Campaign (2021)

CDP Water Security Score of B

In 2022, the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) asked companies to provide data about their efforts to manage and govern freshwater resources. Responding companies are scored on six key metrics: transparency; governance & strategy; measuring & monitoring; risk assessment; targets & goals; and value chain engagement. This company received a CDP Water Security Score of B.
Source: CDP (2022)

63.5/125 at JUST Capital

JUST Capital polls Americans every year to identify the issues that matter most in defining just business behaviour. For their 2023 rankings JUST Capital asked a representative sample of 3,002 Americans to compare 20 different business Issues on a head-to-head basis, producing a reliable hierarchy of Issues ranked in order of priority. Issues are organised under the headings Workers, Customers, Communities, the Environment, or Shareholders & Governance. JUST Capital then define metrics that map to those issues and track and analyse the largest, publicly traded U.S. companies. This analysis powers their rankings, in which this company ranked 125th of 951 companies, and 4th of 19 Technology Hardware companies.
Source: JUST Capital (2023)

15/100 in KnowTheChain Benchmark

In 2020/21 KnowTheChain benchmarked over 180 large global companies in the ICT, Food & Beverage, and Apparel & Footwear sectors on their efforts to address forced labour and human trafficking in their supply chains. This company received a score of 15/100.
Source: KnowTheChain (2021)

CEO Pay Ratio of 1,279:1

In 2019 the median pay for a worker at this company was US$10,063. The CEO was paid 1,279 times this amount. Exorbitant CEO pay is a major contributor to rising inequality. CEOs are getting more because of their power to set pay, not because they are increasing productivity or possess specific, high-demand skills. The economy would suffer no harm if CEOs were paid less (or taxed more). In contrast, the CEO-to-typical-worker compensation ratio was 20-to-1 in 1965 and 58-to-1 in 1989.
Source: AFL-CIO (2020)

Deceptive marketing

In 2021 this company agreed to pay US$2.7 million to settle a class action lawsuit that claimed that certain Western Digital hard drives used technology inferior to what was represented.
Source: Top Class Actions (2021)

Excessive CEO pay

As You Sow's 2023 report, 'The 100 Most Overpaid CEOs', reveals the 100 most overpaid CEOs from USA's 500 largest public companies (as determined by the S&P 500 list). This company's CEO, David V. Goeckeler came in at number 75 on the list, having been paid US$17,093,364 in 2022. In As You Sow's 2020 report this company's CEO came in at number 24. According to the report, "Most CEOs have come to be grossly overpaid, and that overpayment is harmful to the companies, the shareholders, the customers, the other employees, the economy, and society as a whole."
Source: As You Sow (2023)

Climate action commitments

As listed on the We Mean Business website, this company has committed to the following climate action initiatives: adopt a science-based emissions reduction target.
Source: We Mean Business (2021)

Responsible Minerals Initiative member

This company is a member of the Responsible Minerals Initiative (formerly the Conflict-Free Sourcing Initiative), which helps companies address conflict minerals issues in their supply chains. The RMI provides information on conflict-free smelters and refiners, common tools to gather sourcing information, and forums for exchanging best practices on addressing conflict minerals. Membership is open to companies that use or transact in tantalum, tin, tungsten or gold (3TG). Founded in 2008 by members of the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition and the Global e-Sustainability Initiative.
Source: RMI (2019)

Corporate sustainability claims

This company has corporate sustainability claims on its website in the areas of social responsibility, environmental responsibility, community engagement and supply chain responsibility.
Source: company website (2020)

Responsible Business Alliance member

This company is a member of the Responsible Business Alliance (formerly the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition), a non-profit coalition of electronics companies which supports the rights and wellbeing of workers and communities worldwide affected by the global electronics supply chain. RBA members commit and are held accountable to a common Code of Conduct and utilize a range of RBA training and assessment tools to support continuous improvement in the social, environmental and ethical responsibility of their supply chains.
Source: RBA (2022)

Modern Slavery statement

California, the UK and Australia have all enacted legislation requiring companies operating within their borders to disclose their efforts to eradicate modern slavery from their operations and supply chains. Follow the link to see this company's disclosure statement.
Source: company website (2018)

26.5% in Human Rights Benchmark

The 2022 Corporate Human Rights Benchmark assessed 127 companies in the food and agriculture, ICT and automotive manufacturing sectors on their human rights performance. This company received a score of 26.5%. The overall average score was a disappointing 17.3% and the highest score was 50.3%.
Source: World Benchmarking Alliance (2022)

42/100 S&P Global ESG Score

This company received an S&P Global ESG Score of 42/100 in the Computers & Peripherals and Office Electronics category of the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment, an annual evaluation of companies' sustainability practices (last updated 23 Sep 2022). The rankings are based on an analysis of corporate economic, environmental and social performance, assessing issues such as corporate governance, risk management, environmental reporting, climate strategy, human rights and labour practices.
Source: S&P Global (2022)

34.4% in Digital Inclusion Benchmark

The 2023 Digital Inclusion Benchmark ranks 200 companies on their responsibility to advance a more inclusive digital society. The companies were assessed using four measurement areas: access, skills, use and innovation. This company ranked #87/200, with a total score of 34.4/100.
Source: World Benchmarking Alliance (2023)

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Company Details

Type	Public company
Founded	1970
Revenue	16.7 billion USD (2020)
Employees	63,800 (2020)
Subsidiaries	SanDisk Corporation Digital storage Established in 1988, SanDisk designs, develops and manufactures flash memory, controller, firmware and software technologies for the mobile, consumer electronics and computing markets. Acquired by Western Digital in 2016 in a US$19 billion deal.

Contact Details

Address	Irvine, California, USA
Website	www.wdc.com

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