Equifax : 2024 Climate Report
EFX
Climate Report
2024
Risk
Risks and
Climate
Climate
Metrics and
Looking
Management
Governance
Opportunities
Commitments
Strategy
Targets
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Introduction
This Annual Climate Report of Equifax Inc. ("Equifax" or the "Company") is presented in accordance with the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards issued by the International Sustainability Standards Board: IFRS S1 (General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information) and IFRS S2 (Climate-related Disclosures). Unless stated otherwise, all data disclosed covers the global organization and calendar year ended December 31, 2024.
Equifax is a global data, analytics and technology company. We provide information solutions for businesses, governments and consumers, and we provide human resources business process automation and outsourcing services for employers. As a technology company that does not manufacture physical products, we have identified carbon emissions from the operation of our offices and data centers (scope 1 and 2), as well as the purchase of goods and services (including capital goods), waste, employee commuting and business travel (scope 3), as the most significant areas of environmental impact generated by our company. These findings - as well as input from our investors, business partners and other stakeholders - have informed our environmental priorities and actions.
We are committed to undertaking environmental initiatives that are supported by our shareholders, business partners and other stakeholders. In 2021, we announced our commitment to reach net-zero greenhouse gas ("GHG") emissions by 2040. In support of our long-term net-zero goal, we set near-term science-based emission reduction targets, which were validated by the Science-Based Targets initiative ("SBTi") in 2023. Our environmental commitments are enabled by our Equifax Cloud™ transformation, which has reduced the footprint of our on-site technology and data centers and instead leverages the enhanced energy efficiency of our cloud service providers. Our investment in cloud technology exemplifies the alignment between our business strategy and our responsible business priorities.
In this report, covering calendar year 2024, we enhanced our disclosures by providing information about our scope 3 supplier engagement campaign and our inaugural climate scenario analysis. In addition, we have refreshed our climate-related risks and opportunities disclosure.
Looking ahead, we will continue to solicit and incorporate feedback from our investors, business partners and other stakeholders when developing our climate-related initiatives and disclosures. We plan to continue to transparently share our progress on our environmental initiatives through our website and our annual climate report.
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Risk Management
Board Oversight of Enterprise Risk
The Equifax Board of Directors monitors our "tone at the top" and risk culture and oversees the principal risks facing the Company. On an annual basis, the Board reviews an enterprise risk assessment prepared by management that describes the principal risks and monitors the steps management is taking to map and mitigate these risks. The Board then sets the general level of risk appropriate for the Company through business strategy reviews. Risks are assessed throughout the business, focusing on nine primary risk categories.
The Audit Committee of the Board reviews our policies related to enterprise risk assessment and risk management, including the adequacy of our risk-related internal controls.
Climate-Related Risks Incorporated into Enterprise Risk Management Program
We have implemented an enterprise risk management ("ERM") program that operates under the leadership of our Chief Privacy and Compliance Officer.
Each business unit and corporate support unit has primary responsibility for assessing and mitigating risks within its respective areas of responsibility, and the enterprise risk team is responsible for oversight and reporting to management at least quarterly and to the Board annually.
Our enterprise risk team is responsible for developing our ERM framework, policies and standards, performing risk-based monitoring, and identifying and assessing material risks. This team leverages the risk and control self-assessment process under our ERM framework in order to analyze our climate-related risks. As a part of this process, our enterprise risk team meets with internal stakeholders, including members of our Environmental Management Committee and members of management, to discuss climate-related risks and opportunities. Climate-related risks and opportunities are captured on a risk register to drive accountability and mitigation efforts across the business. See Risks and Opportunities and Climate Strategy for a description of our climate-related risks and opportunities as well as the mitigating actions we have taken to enhance our climate risk resiliency.
Additional information regarding our ERM program is available in our 2025 Proxy Statement. Additional information regarding our enterprise risk team and our Environmental Management Committee, is available under Governance.
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Governance
Board of Directors Oversight
The Governance Committee of the Equifax Board of Directors provides oversight related to our responsible business priorities, including climate.
As part of its oversight, the Governance Committee receives regular updates from management regarding the Company's substantive initiatives in support of these priorities (including climate-related initiatives) and provides reports to the Board of Directors, as appropriate. More information on the Governance Committee's responsibilities and duties can be found in the Committee charter.
The Audit Committee of the Board reviews the reports prepared by our Internal Audit department in connection with its annual review of our GHG emissions calculations and associated controls.
Role of Management
Environmental Management Committee
Our environmental management strategy, including our climate-related strategy, is led by a cross-functional team, with direction and prioritization provided by senior leadership, including our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Legal Officer. To execute on our environmental strategy, we formed an Environmental Management Committee composed of representatives from our real estate, finance, procurement, technology, enterprise risk, legal and shareholder engagement teams. The Environmental Management Committee meets regularly to develop strategic recommendations, monitor the progress of enterprise initiatives, support the collection and analysis of data, and create communications materials. The Committee also facilitates collaboration among Equifax team members across the global organization on environmental initiatives.
Shareholder Engagement Team
Our shareholder engagement team, led by our Office of Corporate Secretary, is responsible for soliciting investor feedback, monitoring trends, responding to surveys and overseeing the alignment of our climate disclosures with key reporting frameworks and stakeholder expectations. Our shareholder engagement team reports regularly to the Board Governance Committee on climate-related matters, including the direction and progress of our environmental initiatives in the context of our business strategy and stakeholder priorities.
Enterprise Risk Management Program
As described under Risk Management, we have an ERM program that operates under the leadership of our Chief Privacy and Compliance Officer. Our enterprise risk team meets periodically with members of the Environmental Management Committee to collaborate on climate-related risk identification and management. Our enterprise risk team prepares an enterprise risk scorecard, which is reviewed with management and the Board of Directors on an annual basis.
Internal Audit
Our Internal Audit team performs an annual review of the governance processes and control environment related to our responsible business priorities, including recalculation of our GHG emissions on a sample basis.
Results of the audit are provided to management and the Audit Committee in accordance with the Internal Audit Charter and Manual.
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Risks and Opportunities
Overview
As part of our commitment to reach net-zero GHG emissions by 2040, our enterprise risk team conducts an annual assessment of our climate-related risks and opportunities over the short, medium and long term. As part of this process, the enterprise risk team meets with a broad group of internal stakeholders to identify our current climate-related risks and opportunities. Climate-related risks and opportunities are captured on a risk register to drive accountability and mitigation efforts across the business. In addition, in 2024, our enterprise risk team conducted an inaugural climate scenario analysis in order to inform our climate risk assessment, disclosures and business resiliency planning.
2024 Climate Risk Assessment
As part of our 2024 climate risk assessment, we refreshed our list of climate- related risks and opportunities. Among other things, we took into consideration our 2024 CDP survey responses, our SBTi-approved near-term emission reduction targets and the evolving regulatory landscape.
Figures 1-3 that follow provide an overview of: (i) our reputational, financial and operational climate-related risks and opportunities; (ii) the time horizon associated with each risk; and (iii) mitigating actions we have taken to enhance our climate risk resiliency in each area.
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Figure 1
Reputational
•Short term (1-5 yrs) •Medium term (5-15 yrs) •Long term (15+ yrs)
Risks
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Failure to meet stakeholder expectations regarding content and breadth of climate-related disclosures
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Increasing scrutiny and/or reputational risk regarding our climate initiatives, goals and commitments in view of an "anti-ESG" sentiment has recently developed in the U.S. among certain activists and institutions
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Failure to comply with climate-related laws and regulatory reporting requirements
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Failure to meet SBTi-validated scope 3 supplier engagement target
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Failure to meet SBTi-validated scope 1 and 2 near-term GHG emissions reduction targets
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Failure to meet publicly disclosed commitment to be net-zero by 2040
Opportunities
• Demonstrate commitment to continued decarbonization efforts through the decommissioning of legacy data centers to meet our climate goals and maintain/improve our reputation among stakeholders
• Deepen our understanding of our stakeholders' expectations for climate-related initiatives and commitments, as well as the broader external landscape
Mitigating Actions
We set science-based GHG reduction targets that were validated by SBTi in response to feedback from our stakeholders
Our GHG emissions forecasting process informs our decarbonization efforts and strategy to help us meet our climate-related targets
Our legal and compliance teams, with assistance from our Environmental Management Committee, monitor the applicability of climate-related laws and regulatory reporting requirements across the global organization and formulate our strategy for compliance
Our robust investor engagement program helps ensure we are taking actions that our investor base broadly supports
We closely monitor actions taken by peers, policymakers, media and activists as it relates to climate and sustainability
We seek to make explicit the links between our climate strategy and the execution of our business strategy
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Figure 2
Financial
•Short term (1-5 yrs) •Medium term (5-15 yrs) •Long term (15+ yrs)
Risks
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Increasing cost of moving spend to vendors that have SBTi commitments and targets
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Increasing cost of moving into energy efficient offices or locations or making existing office spaces more energy efficient
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Rising insurance expenses resulting from the impacts of climate change/prevalence of natural disasters
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Increasing cost of energy
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Inaccurate or insufficient climate-related disclosures could expose Equifax to regulatory scrutiny and/or penalties
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We have made significant investments in our technology transformation, and if we were to change cloud-based service providers, we may incur additional costs in connection with a transition
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Increasing cost of repairing property damage caused by extreme weather events
Opportunities
• Advance our plan to continuously rationalize our rooftops and improve/optimize the overall real estate portfolio
• Reductions in energy use at office sites could reduce energy costs
Mitigating Actions
We have robust forecasting and budgeting processes that take into account the costs associated with meeting climate--related commitments and targets We are actively monitoring for new global and regional compliance requirements and associated costs
Our global resilience planning team takes into consideration multiple factors to minimize disruption and ensure business continuity
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Figure 3
Operational
•Short term (1-5 yrs) •Medium term (5-15 yrs) •Long term (15+ yrs)
Risks
• Challenges in identifying and capturing vendor GHG emissions and reduction targets
• Miscalculation of carbon emissions or reductions
• Failure to comply with climate-related laws and regulatory reporting requirements
• Dependency on vendors that may not have climate-related goals
• Disruption to business operations from impact of climate change
Mitigating Actions
Our investment in software to manage and calculate our GHG emissions has streamlined the calculation of our carbon emissions, significantly reducing the risk of miscalculation and improving the auditability of our emissions data
Our Internal Audit department performs an annual review to reperform the calculation of the reported climate numbers on a sample basis
Our global resilience planning team takes into consideration multiple factors to minimize disruption and ensure business continuity
Opportunities
• Consider climate commitments as part of the vendor selection process
• Purchase subscription-based service(s) that captures the climate commitments of global companies to more easily identify the GHG reduction targets of our vendors
• Explore new functionality in existing sustainability software that facilitates compliance with new and pending climate regulations
We have an Environmental Management Committee that meets regularly to develop strategic recommendations, monitor the progress of enterprise initiatives and facilitate collaboration across the global organization on environmental initiatives
Our legal and compliance teams, with assistance from our Environmental Management Committee, monitor the applicability of climate-related laws and regulatory reporting requirements across the global organization and formulate our strategy for compliance
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2024 Climate Scenario Analysis
In 2024, we conducted an inaugural climate scenario analysis using scenarios designed by the Network for Greening the Financial System ("NGFS"). We selected the NGFS framework because it provides a range of scenarios that account for varying degrees of climate policy rigor and technological advancements.
The first scenario we selected was the "Net Zero 2050" scenario, which outlines a pathway whereby global CO2 emissions reach net zero by 2050. This scenario involves stringent climate policies and rapid technological advancements in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and carbon capture and storage (CCS).
It assumes immediate and strong action to mitigate climate change. Equifax has committed to reduce our absolute scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions 54.6% by 2032, from a 2019 base year. Given the scope and ambition of our emissions reduction targets, we determined that the Net Zero 2050 scenario was relevant to our assessment of our resilience to climate-related changes.
The second scenario we selected was the "Delayed Transition" scenario, which assumes that climate policies are not significantly strengthened until 2030, resulting in a delayed transition to achieve similar climate goals. This would lead to an increase in carbon prices and more rapid deployment of low-carbon technologies post-2030, causing significant economic and social disruption. We deemed this scenario relevant to Equifax given the lack of uniform climate-related regulations, policies and approaches across the globe and the potential for these disparate approaches to delay the world's climate transition.
By using both the Net Zero 2050 and Delayed Transition scenarios, it offered us a comprehensive view of potential future outcomes, allowing for a robust analysis of risks and opportunities, as well as the implications of different policy pathways. Together, they provide a balanced framework for understanding the full spectrum of climate- related risks and informing strategic decision making.
The results of our 2024 climate scenario analysis were used to inform the 2024 climate risk assessment conducted by our enterprise risk team, as described on pages 6-9.
Using both the Net Zero 2050 and Delayed Transition scenarios offered us a
comprehensive view of potential future outcomes
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Climate Commitments
Since 2019, Equifax has dedicated a meaningful amount of resources to measuring and reducing the environmental impact of our GHG emissions. To assist in this process, we have allocated internal resources, acquired new technology services and leveraged expert advisors, as needed.
Net-Zero 2040 Commitment and Decarbonization Baseline
We are committed to reaching net-zero GHG emissions by 2040 along a science-based pathway, and have set near-term emission reduction targets to facilitate these efforts. In 2021, we worked with a leading environmental advisory firm to perform an internal analysis, which allowed us to establish a baseline for our decarbonization efforts and strengthen transparency around our environmental strategy. As a result of this analysis, we determined that our scope 1 and 2 emissions primarily result from the operation of our office facilities and data centers.
We also performed an analysis of our value chain in line with guidance from the GHG Protocol and determined that the five significant categories of scope 3 emissions for Equifax are: (1) purchased goods and services, (2) capital goods, (3) waste generated in operations, (4) employee commuting, and (5) business travel. We used this data to develop an initial GHG inventory and inform our decarbonization strategy.
Over time, we have refined our processes and procedures to utilize internal forecasting as a means to inform our reduction strategy and measure progress.
A more detailed discussion of our decarbonization strategy can be found under Climate Strategy.
SBTi-Approved Near-Term GHG Targets
As part of our strategy to be net zero by 2040, we developed near-term GHG emission reduction targets that were submitted to SBTi for validation in 2022. These targets, which were approved by SBTi in 2023, cover our scope 1 and 2 emissions, as well as our material scope 3 emissions. Under our target ambitions, we have committed to reduce absolute scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions 54.6% by 2032, from a 2019 base year. We have also committed that 73% of our suppliers by spend, covering purchased goods and services and capital goods (scope 3), will have science-based targets by 2027.
Disclaimer
Equifax Inc. published this content on March 26, 2025, and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on March 26, 2025 at 21:44:04.040.