Energizer believes that strong governance principles, policies and practices contribute to better results for our shareholders.
We are proud to have a diverse and independent board of directors with the skills, experience and perspectives to help chart the course of our global company. To help the board effectively and efficiently fulfill its responsibilities, we have four committees dedicated to addressing the following areas:
We also have adopted the best-practice governance policies that matter most to our shareholders. We have a declassified board of directors led by an independent chairperson and an overboarding policy to ensure our directors can effectively fulfill their commitments to the company.
Our commitment to doing the right thing guides everything we do, including our work to help develop public policy and legislation that supports priorities related to our business. Reporting up through the chief legal officer and working with the business units, Energizer’s global Government Affairs team leads our participation in the public policy-making process at the national, state and local levels, as well as internationally. Oversight with respect to Energizer’s political involvement and contributions is provided by the Nominating and Governance Committee of our board of directors. Since 2015, Energizer has not made contributions from corporate funds to political campaigns, super political action committees or political parties. We comply with all applicable laws that require reporting on lobbying and related activities. In 2020, Energizer spent $297,000 in lobbying expenditures globally. To gain valuable access and insight into specific industry best practices and lobbying activities on issues most relevant to our business, Energizer contributes to a number of state and national trade associations. Energizer colleagues frequently serve in a leadership capacity within many of these organizations as well, ensuring that our best interests are represented. The state and federal associations we support focus on educating public officials on the importance of certain issues within our industry and advocating on legislative and regulatory issues specific to our industry. As a result, these trade organizations use a portion of contributions for nondeductible lobbying activities. Information on payments to trade associations in 2020, which may be used for potential political purposes, appear here.
We do not make or coordinate any contributions to other tax-exempt organizations, such as 501(c)(4)s, that the recipient may use for political purposes, and we maintain an internal policy to help ensure that the company and its colleagues adhere to our political involvement guidelines.At the same time, Energizer does not attempt to control, direct, or influence any colleague’s political activities or affiliations. Colleagues engaging in personal political activity must do so as private citizens, not during paid work hours, at their own expense and without using any company resources.
Related Policies
The data in this report represents our most recent efforts at collecting our environmental, social and governance data. As we evolve our sustainability program, we will continue to improve our data collection practices.
This document contains both historical and forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not based on historical facts but instead reflect our expectations, estimates or projections concerning future results or events, including those related to ESG matters. These statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking words or phrases such as "believe," "expect," "expectation," "anticipate," "may," "could," "intend," "belief," "estimate," "plan," "target," "predict," "likely," "should," "forecast," "outlook," or other similar words or phrases. These statements are not guarantees of performance and are inherently subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict and could cause our actual results to differ materially from those indicated by those statements. We cannot assure you that any of our expectations, estimates or projections will be achieved. The forward-looking statements included in this document are only made as of the date of this document and we disclaim any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement to reflect subsequent events or circumstances. Numerous factors could cause our actual results and events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements. In addition, other risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we consider immaterial could affect the accuracy of any such forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements should be evaluated with the understanding of their inherent uncertainty. Additional risks and uncertainties include those detailed from time to time in our publicly filed documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including those described under the heading "Risk Factors" in our Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 17, 2020.