I met my wife thirty-two years ago and married her about a year later. We had never met prior to that, but coincidentally we were born in the same hospital, we went to the same schools, my father sold her mother their house, and our older siblings were classmates. Sometimes your soulmate is right there next to you, and you don’t realize it.

HP and Poly have a similar story to my wife and I. As I’m sure you know, HP bought Poly this past year, bringing the leader in collaboration solutions into an organization that has been leading the way in technology for over eighty years. However, did you know that, just like my wife and I, HP and Poly also ‘went to the same schools and had the same parenting’ without meeting until now?

I was reminded of this by the recent launch of the Artemis space mission. When humankind first set out to accomplish that monumental task in the 1960’s, both HP and Poly were there – together.

The story for Poly begins in 1961 when NASA launched Mercury Redstone 4 Sub-Orbital Spaceflight with Astronaut Gus Grissom aboard. This was the second manned space flight and it lasted about 15 minutes. After splashing down in the ocean, the hatch on the capsule prematurely blew open. Water poured into the capsule and, as it flooded, the electronics short circuited. When this happened, all power was lost inside of the capsule. Nothing worked, including the radios, and Astronaut Grissom lost communications with the rescue team. He nearly drowned, and the capsule sank.

After that incident, NASA contracted for the development of a portable radio transceiver that was small and lightweight to fit into a pocket of the astronaut’s spacesuit. In the event of a power loss inside the capsule, it could be deployed to facilitate communication with the rescue team. Plantronics heard about the need and provided NASA with MS50 lightweight headsets (just developed for airline pilots) as part of the emergency radio solution.

At the same time, astronaut Wally Schirra really disliked the headsets used by the astronauts on the first Mercury missions because they were heavy and cumbersome. He asked NASA to investigate using the MS50 headset inside of his helmet for his upcoming flight.

From that point forward, all NASA space flights utilized the Poly (Plantronics) headsets in the astronauts’ “Snoopy Caps” used for communication. The immortal words “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” (and all other astronaut communications) were spoken on a Poly headset.

At the very same time, the “Snoopy Caps” and radios required solid state components like diodes and pin-switches that were provided by, of course, HP.  And that was not the only contribution that HP made to space flights in the 1960’s. One other example includes HP’s cesium beam frequency standards were the atomic clocks that kept the worldwide Apollo network of 18 tracking stations and communications systems synchronized within a few thousandths of a second.

It’s important to note with pride that the HP components used during the Apollo missions were off-the-shelf products. The same precision components that NASA required to complete the missions successfully were in use across the globe in many industries.

HP’s involvement in the space program also goes back to the original Mercury program. On May 15, 1963 Astronaut Gordon Cooper Jr. piloted the Mercury Earth-orbital space mission in his “Faith 7” capsule. During the nearly 35-hour flight, all of his vital signs were continuously recorded on an HP Sanborn “350” 8-channel recording system so that NASA scientists could learn how the human body reacted to the conditions at all times.

So, like my wife and I who were there together three decades ago without formally having a relationship, HP and Poly worked side-by-side over five decades ago, facilitating humanities exploration of the moon.

All these years later, HP and Poly are in a ‘moonstruck’ relationship leading the technology world and proving that innovation has and can continue to drive extraordinary contributions to humanity.

Sources:

https://hpmemoryproject.org/news/apollo/apollo_11.htm

https://blogs.poly.com/poly-and-nasa-early-partners-in-space/

Photos / videos:

https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14191

Today marks a historic milestone with the union of two iconic companies who have played a pioneering role in the development and evolution of modern computing and collaboration technology. From humble origin stories with founders building product prototypes in Silicon Valley garages to powering business for the Fortune 500, HP and Poly are both companies built on strong values, incredible talent, and whose cultures are rooted in innovation and a relentless drive to put customers first. Today, we are one company.

The acquisition of Poly significantly expands HP’s portfolio of Hybrid Work Solutions and further strengthens our ability to drive innovation and growth. Together, we will deliver a complete ecosystem of devices, software, and digital services to create premium employee experiences, improved workforce productivity, and enhanced IT management.

Going forward, businesses need to plan for a hybrid working reality where every meeting will include video and have at least one remote participant. However, the quality and experiences of video collaboration and conference calls in hybrid meetings can vary widely between those in the meeting room and those who are not—potentially causing less-productive meetings and leaving remote workers to feel like second class citizens.

HP and Poly’s technology connect people to transform these inequitable hybrid interactions into beautifully connected and seamless collaboration—together we will redefine how work gets done.

Poly and HP’s history of innovation in audio, video and computing technology stretches back decades – together we put the first astronauts on the moon, put Silicon Valley on the map and pioneered modern business communications. Today we are applying that same knowledge and expertise to deliver innovative professional video and audio tools designed to empower collaboration in the hybrid working era.

The opportunity for growth and innovations to support hybrid working is immense. We are in a once-in-a-generation product cycle where companies are retrofitting office space and upgrading outdated office equipment, while at the same time, making certain their remote employees are equipped with the right gear for hybrid work.

However, the communications challenge posed by the future of work is not simply a hardware issue. It is about business infrastructure: the combined hardware, software and services that support and connect the modern workforce. The combination of HP and Poly creates one go-to solutions provider capable of delivering a comprehensive, end-to-end portfolio of hybrid work solutions, built on the complementary strengths of both companies.

We’re incredibly excited about the value proposition this newly combined organization provides for our customers and partners seeking to support the hybrid work experience for today and be prepared for the future. A huge thank you to all the Poly and HP employees who have worked tirelessly to lay the groundwork for this exciting moment and to all of those who will continue to deliver the world’s best solutions to power the modern workforce.

This summer, the Sunday’s Well Rebels, hailing from Cork, Ireland, won the Mixed Ability Rugby World Cup for the second time. This was the third installment of the tournament since its inception in 2015 and was the largest to date with over 1100 players from 28 teams, representing 14 countries in the week-long event. Being a part of this team and sharing in this victory has truly been an eye-opening and life-affirming experience.

Built on an ethos of diversity and inclusion, the mixed ability model—championed by International Mixed Ability Sports—encourages social inclusion by removing participation barriers for people who feel unable to join mainstream grassroots clubs or groups due to physical or learning disabilities, mental health challenges or a perception of “not being good enough.” The mixed ability rugby sports club is an amazing example of what this inclusion looks like in action.

Genuine inclusion isn’t just about what happens during practice or at games, it’s about the bonding time and socialization afterwards as a team. In these off-field moments, it becomes apparent how impactful disability inclusion is and what it should look like. Players with and without disabilities socialize seamlessly and build connections the same way any other team would. Sadly, this type of bonding is not frequently represented or welcomed in mainstream society. Research recently published by the US National Institute of Health documents that adults with intellectual disabilities are especially vulnerable to stressful social interactions, and, as a result, may be less comfortable joining them.

Accessibility Enriches Everyone

I have seen the benefits of the mixed ability model and socialization among my teammates, especially those on the autism spectrum. At first, they may have struggled to make or hold a conversation, but now they can be seen chatting and laughing with teammates before and after matches. Those with ADHD have also expressed growth and happiness. This rough-and-tumble contact sport provides a place for their physical expression and helps to improve concentration by focusing on the individual skills and roles required, which boosts overall wellbeing. Many of our players would never have joined rugby, or any sport for that matter, without the mixed ability model because they would never have felt comfortable enough to join a mainstream sports club.

As for the players without disabilities, they keep coming back, week after week, season after season. The key factor is that these players are never categorized as volunteers because they, too, are getting what they want from the experience. This could be the opportunity to stay fit and healthy, to learn to be a better player or coach, to socialize with friends or to rehabilitate an injury before returning to a mainstream team. Because abilities and disabilities are not categorized or differentiated for playing purposes, every member of the squad is just a player, making the Sunday’s Well Rebels just another team within the club. This sends a powerful message to everyone and showcases what real social inclusion and accessibility can achieve.

Inclusion is a Basic Human Right

I’m sharing this story to illustrate a simple point: the success of the mixed ability rugby model is a testament to the importance of sports in our lives and its power to serve as a model for social inclusion and diversity. If we want to live in a more inclusive society and if we truly want to accomplish what we discuss, then we must create real opportunities for people of all abilities to engage equally in all forms of social, cultural and economic life. It is, after all, a basic human right.

To learn more about mixed ability sports, click here.

The opportunity to experience professional work in the tech industry and the different career paths within it helps upcoming talent enter the workforce informed and inspired. Internships are one of the most comprehensive ways to gain this experience, and this year, Poly welcomed 54 interns from across the United States. Christine Zhou, who worked as a marketing intern on Poly’s Zoom Alliance team, participated remotely, and she shares how the internship at Poly has impacted her and her peers.

A Poly Intern Experience: Christine Zhou

From the very first day of my internship, I was excited to learn how to be a better communicator, pick up leadership skills and work with Zoom, a household name. Now, as I approach my last day, I realize I have gained all of those and so much more. My biggest takeaways from this incredible 10-week internship experience are connection, development and celebration.

Creating Memorable Connections

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Poly interns had the opportunity to engage in meaningful conversations with executives and the CEO himself. These leaders shared insights into their role and career journeys across our conference and personal rooms. With Poly technology, no comments were left unheard, so our chats felt very interactive—even to a remote intern, like me.

As part of my marketing role, I collaborated daily with creative and technical teams on a global scale. I networked with Zoom colleagues and even coordinated Poly’s presence at this year’s Zoom Education Summit. Each intern’s networking journey is different, but everyone I connected with was open and welcoming, no matter how packed their calendars were!

A Business Analyst intern in the Global Customer Solutions Teams, Behnoosh Sethna, explains, “The Friday Intern Brown Bag Lunch was a wonderful way to network with other interns and peers in an informal setting, in which we tend to share more about ourselves. Having it on a Friday helped us wind down after the week and share our learnings with one another.”

Professional Development

Throughout my internship experience, I explored Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) and networked with Poly employees who gave me great advice for navigating the tech industry. One of my learning highlights was the Rapid Intern Development & Education (RIDE) series. My favorite session was the Past Intern Panel in which current Poly employees shared how the internship program helped them flourish and shape their careers. Other session topics included Poly product training, Microsoft Teams tips and tricks and career management.

Bobbie Burton, a Learning & Organizational Development intern agreed, “The RIDE sessions have been super helpful in getting to know Poly, the people at Poly and how to be successful as young, emerging professionals. I especially enjoyed the session on how to strategically manage and navigate a professional career, which was led by Deborah Rousseau, the US Intern Program Manager, and LaTorsha Hill, Senior Director Talent Management and Talent Acquisition. In addition, I have truly valued the opportunities to ask questions about employees’ professional journeys and to learn about the various functions within the organization.”

Celebrating Interns!

At Poly, having fun is part of work. Interns participated in virtual scavenger hunts, volunteer day and a desk decorating challenge. The “Westminterns” in Colorado claimed the desk decorating title by transforming their cubicles and conference room into a Hawaiian paradise.

At the end of the internship, we will all share presentations covering our contributions and takeaways to highlight our diverse goals, achievements and the lessons we’ve learned. It’s awesome that so many Poly employees from across various teams plan to show up to support and celebrate our work.

Onward and Upward

Something I learned from Gloria Loredo, Poly’s Chief Transformation Officer, is that life isn’t linear or predictable. It’s so true. Every day at Poly contained a new surprise and experience—it made summer fly by. No matter where our group of interns end up in our careers, we’re leaving with lasting bonds, wisdom from employees and newfound skills to help us face the future of work in the tech industry and beyond.

On June 12, Poly participated in the “ReUNITED” themed 2022 Capital Pride Festival in Washington, D.C., as an Alliance Sponsor. These celebratory opportunities are important because they help us all reunite as a community and reflect on the challenges we have overcome as well as those we continue to fight. Because of the pandemic, this annual festival has not been held for the last two years, leaving many feeling isolated within the LGBTQIA+ community. This year’s festival was an opportunity for Poly to show our support for the LGBTQIA+ community and ignite stronger allyship among end users, partners and resellers who share our diversity and inclusion aspirations.

Vice President Kamala Harris opened the festival with a poignant speech that reinforces the importance of inclusion and the pursuit of “unity and coalition.” She outlines some of the very real fears and challenges marginalized people face. These fears can impact an individual’s journey and the LGBTQIA+ community as a whole. The Vice President’s speech can be seen in full here.

Many festival goers were excited to see Poly’s presence and our invested interest at the Capital Pride Festival. In an effort to increase visibility and expand our knowledge, booth visitors were encouraged to discuss their experience with Poly products as they learned more about Poly’s position as a company. Many of our visitors were current work-from-home professionals who shared their thoughts on remote work, distance learning and return-to-office projects. The Poly booth experience was not just about products and services. It was also about improved connection and perspective on people, families and inclusion, reaffirming the overarching importance of being one’s true self at home and at work.

As cited in McKinsey and Company’s How the LGBTQ+ Community Fares in the Workplace, approximately 5.1 percent of women and 3.9 percent of men in the United States identify as LGBTQIA+. Their representation in corporate America, however, is much lower than that. This disparity and the lack of overall inclusion at the corporate level illustrates why it is so important to be an ally and show up in solidarity during these major moments. We understand that being your most authentic self at work might not feel easy and is very personal, so at Poly, we are continuously working to support our employees’ journey and the LGBTQIA+ community as a whole, fostering compassion and inclusion at every level.

Thanks to the commitment and passion of many internal voices, Poly’s Inclusion, Diversity, Education and Awareness (IDEA) Program grows with every passing year, especially our PRIDE Employee Resource Group (ERG). This group helps build an inclusive work environment where everyone feels empowered to be their authentic selves, and their continued work has opened the door for external support opportunities.

Check out our blog for more Poly Pride stories and thank you to all who made this possible!

Many people ask what Juneteenth is really about. For me, in my younger years, it was about eating great food, dancing and playing all day with friends and family. I recall spending Juneteenth at Weber Point in the local park listening to my aunt’s music set and dancing in the grass just below the stage. I loved it. I had no idea what we were really celebrating until much later in life.

In short, Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. Although the Emancipation Proclamation freed all enslaved U.S. people in 1863, it was not until 1865 on June 19 that those in the more remote parts of Texas gained their freedom. This is why Juneteenth, Freedom Day, is a blend of the words “June” and “nineteenth” as it signifies the month and day the last enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas, were freed. Throughout the U.S., many gather annually with their communities to celebrate and remember this historic day of freedom.

Last year, in a rare, almost unanimous decision, Congress aligned to make Juneteenth a federal holiday. President Joe Biden signed the bill into law on June 17, 2021. Now in our second year celebrating the new federal holiday, we must take a moment to remember how far we have come, while also understanding that there is still important work to do in this space. The days of slavery in the U.S. are behind us, but the fight for social, economic and employment equality is still ongoing.

At Poly, we will observe Juneteenth in honor of the pain and loss of life caused by racial injustices, remembering the legacy of this day and the value of perseverance as we move forward. We will use this time to connect and learn from one another, reflecting on how we can help create change, starting with our own organization. To that end, Hue, a Poly Employee Resource Group (ERG), was created to support underrepresented minorities personally and professionally. This group promotes the growth, engagement, success and retention of our ethnic minority employees across all job functions, professional levels and locations to serve as leaders and valued contributors to our success. We know our current state of workplace diversity and representation needs to improve, and we are working toward it every day. Our goal is to take the steps necessary to not only advance diversity, inclusion and gender equity at Poly, but to be the change we want to see throughout the industry.

In our local community, Poly will be represented by our Hue ERG at the Juneteenth Festival in Stockton, California, where many people gather at Weber Point to celebrate Freedom Day. There will be wellness booths, food vendors, artists and music as well as local businesses supporting the day’s events. Poly’s presence at this festival will help engage our local community and talent. It is not always easy for people to see which businesses are making a genuine effort to support minorities, but we hope to show up and have meaningful conversations about Poly and how businesses like ours are pushing for change and are working toward more inclusivity.

I am looking forward to celebrating Juneteenth in the park just like I did when I was a young girl. Come visit our booth and join the celebration! Click here for festival details.

To learn more about Juneteenth and its history, please click here.

On Friday, June 3^rd, Poly Tijuana, traditionally known as Plamex, celebrated its 50^th anniversary with an epic celebration recognizing the thousands of amazing employees who have contributed to Poly’s success. Attended by several dignitaries from the Baja California and San Diego government and business community and many of Plamex’s former leaders from over the decades, it was a fiesta that will go down in the Poly history books.

Alejandro Bustamante, Grant Hoffman, Governor Marina del Pilar Avila Olmeda, Dave Shull, Rodolfo Reyes & Plamex Team

Proud Tradition of Excellence

Opening its doors in 1972, Poly Tijuana is one the longest continuously operating maquiladoras in Baja California with a proud tradition of excellence made possible by outstanding leadership and a dedicated team working tirelessly to build the gear that we’re proud to deliver to our customers.

The scale of the factory’s output and impact on the Baja California community is staggering. The numbers speak for themselves:

• Manufactured and shipped over 1 billion products
• Employed over 61,000 employees
• Married over 500 couples on-site
• Provided over 5000 scholarships to employee children and 3500 to employees to pursue degrees
• Awarded over 200 national and international awards for manufacturing excellence
• Voted Best Place to Work in Mexico 6 Times

It is because of the dedication and leadership of our Plamex team that Poly has a long-standing reputation as an exemplary business in the region. Receiving special recognition at the anniversary celebration was Alejandro Bustamante, Poly EVP and long-time leader of Plamex, whose contributions to the facilities’ growth and operations over the years have been essential to its success.

Under Alejandro’s leadership, Plamex has earned a reputation of excellence where resilience, commitment, and focus on community are built into the fabric of the organization.

Resilience

The pandemic accelerated what was already an existing trend toward digital collaboration which made Poly’s products and services more relevant than ever before. Mandatory stay-at-home orders across the globe created a surge in the number of people working from home or remote locations. And with that, demand for our enterprise headsets soared – products that are built at Plamex.

The need for world-class product manufacturing became more critical to our business success than ever and our Poly Tijuana team stepped up to the challenge in a big way. They were not only able to keep the factory open and keep customer orders shipping but managed to scale operations significantly all while keeping our people safe and healthy.

It was amazing to see how the Plamex team stepped up, and it’s only through the resilience of our people that we made it through one of the most challenging times we have ever faced as a society and a business.

Commitment

The employees and leadership at Poly Tijuana have created an environment where trust, respect, and opportunity thrive. This is why Plamex has earned the title of “Best Place to Work” in Mexico six times.

The continued commitment to excellence is apparent in everything Plamex does. Leaders concentrate on creative ways to improve the work environment by fostering a place where employees continue to grow, personally and professionally.

Community

The Plamex team fosters an awesome sense of community within the business, and for its local citizens. Environmental programs, like reforestation efforts; on-site healthcare for employees and family members, and perhaps the most beloved among our Poly family: weddings, where we have had over 500 couples tie the knot over the past 20 years.

There is also a lot that our Poly Tijuana team does outside the walls of this facility in the greater Baja California business community. One recent example was the cross-border vaccination program initiated with several other business and government entities to ensure that local employees had access at a time when border closures and the scarcity of vaccines in Mexico were making things very difficult.

The Future Looks Bright

We have 50 years’ worth of hard work to celebrate at Poly Tijuana and a future that looks incredibly bright as Alejandro passes the reigns to Rodolfo Reyes and Grant Hoffmann. In addition to our award-winning headset and voice products, we’re happy to announce that Plamex will begin to manufacture video products this year, beginning with the recently introduced Poly Studio R30.

We can’t wait to see what the next 50 years bring!

At Poly, being an ally means supporting authentic self-expression and fostering inclusion year-round, but June is a special time to celebrate Pride. The jubilant festivities worldwide commemorate LGTBQIA+ visibility as a community and personal celebration of self-worth and dignity. It is also a time to remember how such joyful celebrations came to be. This year, we’d like to kick off Pride month by encouraging everyone to learn more about its origins and the iterations of the Pride flag, which is a crucial symbol steeped in meaning and history.

Where it Began

On June 28, 1969, the Stonewall Inn, a small gay bar in Greenwich Village, New York City, was raided. During this raid, revolutionaries including Marsha P. Johnson, Street Transgender Action Revolution founder, and Sylvia Rivera, Gay Liberation Front co-founder, stood their ground with their community. The police’s unjust treatment while arresting gay, drag and transsexual patrons incited a riot that lasted days and sparked a rebellion, launching the gay rights movement.

The following June, the Gay Liberation Front organized marches in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco to protest the rampant, wide-spread injustices against the LGTBQIA+ community. Over time and with change, the marches evolved into what we know today as Pride parades and festivals, which take place every year in June to honor the Stonewall Uprising, nationally and internationally.

Meaningful Colors

Nine years after the LGTBQIA+ community rallied at the Stonewall Inn, Gilbert Baker designed the community’s first universal Pride symbol: the flag. Although it isn’t Baker’s initial iteration, we have the rainbow flag we are most familiar with today because of him. Each of the six colors symbolizes an important value, but collectively, they represent the community’s diversity and unity.

• Red, at the top of the flag, represents life. It is vibrant, warm and enthusiastic, as life should be. Its place at the top of the flag is an intentional reminder that people’s inalienable rights, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, are of the utmost priority.
• Orange represents healing. This color symbolizes not only health, but also determination, happiness and creativity.
• Yellow represents sunlight, functioning as the flag’s radiant, bright center. Yellow is said to stimulate new ideas and thoughts associated with hope and creativity.
• Green represents growth and prosperity, balance and rebirth.
• Blue represents serenity and peace. It has a calming effect and cooling nature, but can symbolize loyalty, honesty and trust.
• Purple represents true spirit and wisdom.

Philadelphia Pride Flag

Although the rainbow flag is the most common, there are other variations in use today. Philadelphia’s eight-stripe LGTBQIA+ Pride flag, for example, includes black and brown stripes to symbolize the community’s support and inclusion of queer people of color. This variation may be surprising because all LGTBQIA+ people are represented in the traditional rainbow flag. However, people of color have been and continue to be marginalized. Recent movements, like Black Lives Matter, brought the world’s attention to this with a renewed perspective. Philadelphia officially adopted the eight-stripe version of the flag in June 2017 to help draw attention to marginalized people of color within the LGTBQIA+ community as part of the More Color, More Pride campaign.

Transgender, Intersex and Progressive Pride

Many communities under the LGBTQIA+ umbrella have begun creating their own flags to further represent queer identities. The transgender flag is an early example. It was created by Monica Helms, an American trans woman, in 1999. This flag is used throughout the world to represent the transgender community and individuals, their pride, diversity and rights.

More recently, Morgan Carpenter, bioethicist, intersex activist and researcher, created the first intersex flag in July 2013. This flag helps the community unite under a symbol devoid of gender stereotypes. Yellow has long been seen as an intersex color, representing those who do not fit the gender binary, while the purple circle represents the wholeness of the intersex community. The unbroken circle is an especially important symbol because it represents the completeness of intersex people from the moment of their birth, and this community continues their fight for bodily autonomy to this day.

Baker’s rainbow design has been altered and reimagined many times over the years to better represent the LGBTQIA+ people it stands for. Every iteration helps people find more authentic representation, belonging and unification, which is so important for a historically oppressed community.

Pride at Poly

The Pride Employee Resource Group (ERG) at Poly works throughout the year to foster an inclusive work environment where everyone feels empowered to be their authentic selves, embracing and accepting every gender identity and sexual orientation. Thanks to their work, Poly continues to learn, grow and fundraise to support Pride. This year’s funds will go toward Rainbow Railroad, a global not-for-profit organization that helps LGTBQIA+ people facing persecution based on their sexual orientation, gender identity and sex characteristics.

Although rights, acceptance and representation have improved since the Stonewall Uprising, the LGTBQIA+ community still faces marginalization and consistent injustices today. Click here to learn how you can take action and make a difference.

As a multi-national tech company with a global footprint, the team at Poly recognizes our responsibilities to tip the scale toward a better world. Every day we work to take small steps to become a more sustainable organization. Today, we’re very excited to announce the publication of our annual Sustainability Report, which articulates our progress over the last year, our goals, our strategy and the momentum we’ve generated toward creating a more sustainable future.

In this third installment of our annual report, we have expanded our approach to Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) reporting to align with the Global Reporting Initiative Core Standards. Although it has been a challenging year for all, we know we are well-positioned to make a positive, lasting change in the world, and it is our responsibility to ensure we make it happen. We are proud to have made progress, delivering on our 2021 Sustainability Strategy “Using Our Force for Good.”

THREE IMPORTANT TAKEAWAYS:

Low Carbon Solutions

Climate change is a global emergency, demanding urgent action from corporations everywhere, which makes emissions reduction an especially important topic. This year, Poly reports a total carbon footprint of 11,092 tCO2e for our scope one and two emissions, which represents an 18 percent overall reduction over the past year. Our material scope three emissions categories have been defined, and, with great enthusiasm, we have commenced work on a net-zero assessment to help us establish a clear near-term and long-term roadmap to achieve carbon-neutral emissions for scopes 1 and 2 by 2035, net-zero carbon emissions for scopes 1, 2 and 3 by 2050—and 100 percent renewable energy across all global sites by 2030.

To learn more about our programs, like Poly Renew, that facilitate low carbon solutions and support a sustainable future, please click here and read the 2021 report linked below for more detail.

Safe and Secure for All

As responsible corporate citizens, we continue to prioritize worker health and wellbeing across our operations. We published a new Global Human Rights Policy, which articulates our stance on human rights, and increased the number of our suppliers who go through our due diligence process, which now total 90 percent with Level 1 Risk Assessment. In addition, we have refined our Privacy Management Framework to continue addressing emerging risks relating to data protection and are proud to report zero leaks, thefts or losses of customer data.

The COVID-19 pandemic is still impacting businesses and individuals on a global scale, raising safety concerns for all. Poly supports the safety and wellbeing of all employees and will continue to make it a priority. This past year we set up our Global Health Committee to consider aspects of health and safety for our people, including creating new models of working at our Plamex manufacturing facility, rolling out initiatives to prevent COVID-19 infection and promoting the wellbeing of our employees through the launch of our Peerfit platform.

Destination Employer

Our goal is to be a company people aspire to work for and are proud to represent. Therefore, we continue to find ways to build and foster a diverse, inclusive, equitable and accessible workplace. Just this year, we have advanced our Inclusion, Diversity, Education and Awareness (IDEA) program with the creation of our Parent and Caregivers Employee Resource Group, launch of our Accessibility Council and participation in the Accelerating Women Executive (AWE) program, whose activity and collaboration with the Women’s Leadership Group can be read about here.

We have also brought back our Global Emerging Talent program for the first time since the pandemic began and introduced new learning and development programs on our Leadership Principles. This and so much more! Learn about our diversity achievements, goals and aspirations in full by reading the Sustainability Report.

Our Sustainable Future

We will be publishing a series of blogs throughout the coming year, expanding on aspects of the 2021 Sustainability Report in greater detail. Be sure to download the report and return to the Poly blog to follow our ongoing sustainability series.

According to the WHO, about 15 percent of the global population – approximately one billion people – live with some form of disability. Despite this huge number, considerations around accessibility remain an afterthought for many companies around the world. When companies do think about accessibility, especially as it relates to work environments, most focus on the layout and design of physical office space. However, physical space is only one of many considerations that need to be taken into account. Some disabilities, whether they be physical, neurological or mental, are invisible, and yet they are just as important. We may not all be able to grasp what it truly means to live life with a disability. But, at Poly, we are going to try. This year for Global Accessibility Awareness Day, we’re putting a big focus on increasing our internal dialogue around the importance of accessibility awareness within Poly’s corporate culture.

Accessibility Features in Poly Products

At Poly we embrace our potential to foster accessibility inclusion on a global scale by delivering technology solutions that help give everyone an equitable seat at the meeting table. Some of our products integrate features that are helpful to those with accessibility challenges, especially in today’s hybrid work environment. For example, Poly headsets have built-in audio cues like “muted” that let people with vision or neurodiversity challenges know if their microphone is on or off in addition to active noise canceling, which is great for people with sound-related sensory integration issues.

Conference rooms are another area where accessibility is not always considered. Poly conference phones are equipped with auto-answering so those who cannot manually answer a phone don’t have to do so to join a call. Our video conferencing systems also offer a flexible experience thanks to multiple controller options. Instead of a one-kind-fits-all design, the redundancy of controller options allows people to utilize the controls that suit them best. This, coupled with the speaker tracking on most of our new cameras, help create a more equitable conferencing experience for those with disabilities—including blindness, mobility impairments and some cognitive challenges.

In a recent blog titled Poly Innovations Support a More Inclusive Workforce, we highlighted some great anecdotal feedback from our customer Amicus Therapeutics, who deployed a Poly Studio P15 to help an employee whose disability requires him to use a ventilator. The use of Poly’s unique NoiseBlock AI technology to eliminate the background noise from his ventilator gave this team member the confidence to be a much more active participant in team meetings.

An Inclusive Workplace

Poly recognizes its role in creating and upholding an inclusive, accessible workplace where everyone feels they belong. Our Global Services team is equipped to communicate and deliver the design, deployment, optimization and support for more accessible global workspaces. While our products, which make workspaces effective, already hit a lot of requirements across the portfolio for accessibility, we are continuously innovating to improve and establish greater consistency across all our products. Return to our blog later this year to read about new products that will have more specific accessibility features designed right in!

Internally, we are fortunate to have passionate people at Poly who are committed to addressing ability bias and improving accessibility standards throughout the business. Just this year, an Accessibility Council was formed and between May 9 and May 13 they led a series of activities designed to raise awareness and cultivate empathy around accessibility. Their work on internal initiatives like this are important as is their collaboration with cross-functional teams, influencing our culture and our products.

Our Inclusion, Diversity, Education and Awareness (IDEA) program leader, Estelle Jackson, hosted an educational webinar on accessibility, covering Poly’s journey and aspirations. The Accessibility Council also hosted lunch and learn sessions, featuring “day in the life” activities that help employees empathize and understand the challenges others face and, most importantly, how to support each other in an inclusive way.

Influencing the Future

As a global technology company, we know we are in a position to make a real difference. By enabling businesses and professionals with accessible audio and video services and solutions, we can make the world of work more equitable. We are proud to be making progress on our accessibility journey and raising awareness around these important issues is a critical step.