Symantec Corp. (NASDAQ: SYMC) today announced the release of its latest corporate responsibility (CR) report reflecting progress on the environmental, social and business issues that directly support the company’s global competitiveness.

“To be effective, a CR strategy must be ingrained in the way Symantec does business every day around the world,” said Steve Bennett, president, chief executive officer and chairman, Symantec. “Symantec’s focus on talented and engaged employees will enable us to integrate socially and environmentally responsible practices across all aspects of our business, allowing us to deliver long-term value to our employees, customers, shareholders and society as a whole.”  A video recording of Bennett’s comments regarding Symantec’s CR efforts can be found here.

“We are proud that Symantec continues to be recognized as a highly responsible and trusted company by many of the world’s leading publications, market indices, and ranking organizations,” said Cecily Joseph, senior director of corporate responsibility and compliance. “At the same time, we recognize that we have much work ahead of us, and we look forward to making progress on our published goals.  In particular, our emphasis is on creating opportunities for women in senior management, controlling our energy and greenhouse gas footprint as the business grows, and deepening our commitment to privacy practices and supporting cybercrime victims worldwide.”

Symantec’s corporate responsibility efforts are driven by a number of programs that directly impact the company’s bottom line. The company’s focus on talent management is helping to attract and retain a skilled, diverse workforce.  Symantec’s Norton Cybersecurity Institute emphasizes online safety and cybercrime prevention efforts to protect customers and the public-at-large while raising the profile of a core competency for the company. Symantec’s priority on increasing the energy efficiency of its data center operations and IT infrastructure has reduced costs and regulatory risks while contributing to a cleaner and more sustainable environment.

Symantec’s progress with regards to CR issues is measured in three areas of emphasis that include workforce sustainability, global issues, and protecting information.  Those three areas of emphasis are characterized in Symantec’s 2012 Corporate Responsibility Report as:

Our People (Employee satisfaction, talent management, gender and diversity)

• From FY11 to FY 12, internal training course completion rates increased by 27 percent
• Symantec’s Career Circuit program won a Brandon Hall Award of Excellence for “Best Results of a Learning Program”
• Achieved a 100 percent score on the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index for the 4th year in a row
• Launched a Women’s Empowerment Principles Key Stakeholder committee

The World (Climate change, responsible sourcing and human rights, and corporate philanthropy)

• Decreased greenhouse gas emissions by four percent from 2008 baseline through increased data accuracy, real estate consolidation, reductions in air travel, and data center/lab efficiencies
• Achieved the first LEED Certification for a Symantec building in India, bringing the total number of LEED certified facilities to 18 (88 percent of all Symantec owned or long-leased facilities)
• Achieved annual ENERGY STAR renewal for 12 facilities, (62 percent of all Symantec owned or long-leased facilities)
• Rolled out the Global Supply Chain Manufacturing and Fulfillment Code of Conduct to all Tier 1 supplier contracts, with auditing scheduled for the latter half of calendar year 2012
• Launched a working group to align Symantec human rights policies with the principles set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• Total philanthropic giving reached nearly $24 million, including more than $19 million in software donations
• Symantec employees volunteered more than 18,300 hours and donated more than $790,000 to charitable and community efforts

Your Information (Information security, cybercrime prevention, and privacy)

• Launched the Norton Cybersecurity Institute to train law-enforcement officials
• Launched new Symantec O3 cloud information protection platform
• Expanded online safety to Android devices, giving parents visibility into what Web sites their children are visiting on the device
• Rolled out new, streamlined global privacy policy and employee privacy policy programs
• Appointed privacy champions to raise employee awareness and accountability regarding privacy

The Symantec 2012 Corporate Responsibility Report can be downloaded at http://www.symantec.com/corporate_responsibility/. The report follows the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) G3 Sustainability Reporting Guidelines at a GRI-Checked B+ Application level. More information about the programs and goals described here can be found on Symantec’s Corporate Responsibility site.

About Symantec
Symantec protects the world’s information, and is a global leader in security, backup and availability solutions. Our innovative products and services protect people and information in any environment – from the smallest mobile device, to the enterprise data center, to cloud-based systems. Our world-renowned expertise in protecting data, identities and interactions gives our customers confidence in a connected world. More information is available at www.symantec.com or by connecting with Symantec at: go.symantec.com/socialmedia.

NOTE TO EDITORS: If you would like additional information on Symantec Corporation and its products, please visit the Symantec News Room at http://www.symantec.com/news. All prices noted are in U.S. dollars and are valid only in the United States.

Symantec and the Symantec Logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Symantec Corporation or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Forward-looking Statements: Any forward-looking indication of plans for products is preliminary and all future release dates are tentative and are subject to change. Any future release of the product or planned modifications to product capability, functionality, or feature are subject to ongoing evaluation by Symantec, and may or may not be implemented and should not be considered firm commitments by Symantec and should not be relied upon in making purchasing decisions.

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