WASHINGTON—The Heritage Foundation announced today that Oracle has agreed to add new language to its public sustainability reporting after Heritage raised concerns about whether the company evaluates its sustainability initiatives using traditional business measures such as expected value and return on investment (ROI).

The Heritage Foundation, an Oracle shareholder, submitted a proposal requesting that the company provide a report assessing the degree to which sustainability, ESG, and net-zero commitments are made based on ROI and expected value metrics.

Following good-faith negotiations, Oracle agreed to include new language in its online Environmental and Social Impact Report. The new disclosure clarifies that Oracle believes “ROI and expected value may be relevant inputs” but also cites “cost, feasibility, risk, reliability, resiliency, customer demand, regulatory requirements, strategic fit, contractual structure, data quality, auditability and long-term business value” as “appropriate measures for decisions involving customer commitments, compliance obligations, power reliability, water-stress constraints, supplier engagement, emissions reporting, market access, or other sustainability initiatives.” Prior relevant disclosures had not referenced expected value or ROI.

Stefan Padfield, principal of The Heritage Foundation's American Investor Initiative, advocates for a neutral approach to corporate decision-making that minimizes political considerations.

“Improving transparency of ESG-related decision-making is one of the ways we do that, particularly when it comes to the role of expected value and return on investment.”

Heritage commends Oracle for adding transparency to this issue. The change gives shareholders and other stakeholders a clearer view of how the company considers ROI and expected value when making sustainability-related decisions.