AMDP Proposal

TO: Professor Clark Hansen, CEO, AMDP

FROM: Kira Liu

DATE: July 24, 2015

SUBJECT: Adobe System Incorporated Investment Proposal

You have given me the opportunity to find a company that would fit with AMDP’s culture of doing business in a socially responsible, environmentally sustainable, and profitable manner. Adobe Systems Incorporated’s mission is to foster a culture of sustainability. It was named to the Global 100 most sustainable corporations in the world index. I highly recommend investing in Adobe because it not only leads the Global green building movement, but also advocates its employees to take actions in daily life.

Definitions

●      Triple bottom line consists of three Ps: profit, people and planet. It is a method of measuring the financial, social and environmental performance of the company. Triple bottom line makes sure that a company put effort in their social and environmental responsibilities.

●      Corporate social responsibility is a company’s effort in the environment and impact on social welfare. The corporate operates a business that accounts for both the social and environmental impact created by the business.

●      A social enterprise is a business that use methods and disciplines of the marketplace to advance their social, environmental and human justice agendas. It usually addresses a social need and serves the common good.

●      A firm’s carbon footprint is the measure of environmental impact of a business or individual. It measures the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases produced by the person, company, etc.

The Adobe System Inc. Background

The Adobe System Inc. is an American multinational computer software company founded in 1983 with headquarters in San Jose, California. The company offers various software and services used by professionals, marketers, application developers, enterprises and consumers for creating, managing and engaging with content and experiences across multiple operating systems. It operates in three segments: Digital Media, Digital Marketing, and Print and Publishing. The company is best known for the Portable Document Format (PDF) and the Adobe Creative Cloud, which is a monthly subscription to a collection of 14 essential desktop tools for consumers. The system allows users to access various software developed by Adobe for graphic design, video editing, web design and photography. The Creative Cloud system currently has over 1.4 million subscribers around the world.

Adobe is recognized by the U.S Green Building Council as one of the greenest companies in the world. For the past decade, Adobe has been innovated in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building movement, measure and report to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), and experiment first-hand with the latest green technologies. More than 70% of the employees work in LEED-certified buildings. With on-site farmer’s markets and edible gardens, Adobe is always on its way to enhance a greater workspace for the employees. The company also developed and implemented a monitoring system that captures energy and critical operations data based on thousands of data point, from electricity, water and natural gas usage to the power usage effectiveness (PUE) of all Adobe data centers. The information is calculated annually and is reported to CDP. In 2013, the CDP score is 99 out of 100. In 2010, Adobe installed Bloom Energy Server fuel cells to generate power on site. It converts natural biogas into electricity with no loss in transmission. In 2014, Adobe became the first Fortune 500 Company to install and manage an energy intelligence system from Stem.

Other Opinions

In an article published by Forbes, author Louis Columbus talks about what makes Adobe one of the world’s most ethical software companies. First reason is that the company continually invests in and freely shares the results of their global Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs. It is a long-term effect of bringing accountability and measurement of CSR results deep into a company’s culture. The second reason is that the company has well-defined and executed measurement methodologies in place to measure how effective their investments in CSR programs are for communities, schools, colleges and universities. Last but not least, Adobe also routinely develops and use software applications designed just to support CSR programs and initiatives. According to Louis Columbus, Adobe has gone beyond the boundaries of the existing software applications to support streamline CSR and philanthropic efforts using their technology.

Harry Stevens, in his post “For Adobe System, Earth Day is no small matter”, talks about how Adobe takes CSR seriously in the company. He points out that one of the company’s most impressive sustainability project is its Net Zero program. In 2012, Adobe facilities in North America, London and Ottawa achieved Net Zero status, which refers to a building, which consumes zero total energy and produce zero total carbon emission. Stevens believes that, ultimately, Adobe seems to have managed to find an effective balance between corporate responsibility and profitability.

Why AMDP Should Invest

As one of the world’s most successful software companies, Adobe System Inc. keeps innovates leading technologies to make the world a better place. “We build creative solutions for sustainable business”, the company’s goal is always to conserve natural resources in everything they do. Adobe not only put lot of effort in benefiting the environment and society, it also creates great opportunities and working condition for its employees. According to Fortune, Adobe is one of the 100 Best Companies to Work for in 2015. Adobe believes that great workspaces inspire great work. A company with happy employees would always be a good choice. I strongly recommend AMDP to invest in Adobe System. 

Source

"Corporate Responsibility." Energy Conservation. Adobe, n.d. Web. 25 July 2015.

"Adobe & Environmental Sustainability." An Adobe CSR Brief (2005): n. pag. Adobe. Adobe, 2012. Web. 24 July 2015.

Columbus, Louis. "The World's Most Ethical Software Companies: What They All Have in Common." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 25 Mar. 2013. Web. 24 July 2015.

"100 Best Companies to Work for." Fortune. N.p., 2015. Web. 24 July 2015.