What is the ESG fact sheet?
- The Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) fact sheet is a testament to our commitment to transparent and frequent ESG reporting for stakeholders moving forward.
- It includes three core sections:
- Protecting the Free Flow of Digital Currency: A Federal Reserve member bank and a California state-chartered commercial bank, Silvergate employs strong governance and risk management controls as we provide 24/7 secure access to global digital currency markets.
- Expanding Access to Capital: We believe that digital currencies offer unparalleled access to capital for the underbanked globally, including those who live under unstable government regimes or lack access to traditional identity documentation. As a key player in the digital currency industry, we work to improve the systems that make digital currency an essential part of the global financial system.
- Investing in Our People and the Environment: We create an empowering workplace that enables employees to advance new solutions, while working consciously to help protect the planet. We aim to empower employees’ lives outside of work, with a strong benefits package as well as flexibility and support for parents and other caregivers. Our commitment to remote work minimizes environmental impact while also helping our employees lead healthier, happier lives.
Why are you releasing this information?
The fact sheet demonstrates our commitment to making and tracking progress on the issues that mean the most to our business and stakeholders and will lead to a positive impact on communities and the environment around the world.
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How often will you publicly update your ESG progress and commitments?
- Going forward we will update our ESG reporting at least annually.
- Our ESG strategy is an ongoing, always-evolving effort. It will require us to continue to learn from, listen to, and collaborate with leaders in ESG, industry peers, investors, and team members as we map and refine our ESG journey.
- We will share our progress, challenges, and opportunities in the coming years to keep all stakeholders informed.
How did you identify your key priorities?
- Before developing our first ESG fact sheet, we hired a strategic external advisor to help assess the current status of our ESG progress, engaging in a fact-finding mission to understand the most relevant ESG issues affecting our business and our community of stakeholders.
- We used the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) framework to identify a list of issues that could be material for our business. SASB has categorized Silvergate in the Commercial Banks industry.
- We solicited and received input from senior leadership, incorporating priorities and future focus areas into the fact sheet development and receiving key business materials to inform content.
- We will review our reporting’s focus areas at least annually to incorporate emerging opportunities and risks, evolutions of current opportunities and risks, culture shifts, and new global trends over the years to come..
What is your approach to ongoing stakeholder engagement and feedback?
- We will review our ESG reporting at least annually for any updates and periodically perform a full analysis to ensure our strategy evolves with stakeholder expectations and Silvergate’s business strategy.
- We engage with our stakeholders throughout the year and will make sure to consider their feedback as we continue to build out our ESG program. We always welcome stakeholder feedback. Please feel free to email investors@silvergate.com with any comments for our consideration or to schedule discussions.
What are the areas where you believe Silvergate needs to continue to improve?
- Our ESG strategy is an ongoing, always-evolving effort. It will require us to continue to learn from, listen to and collaborate with leaders in ESG, industry peers, investors, and team members as we map and refine our ESG journey.
- An example of an area where we are looking forward to improving upon is our board and workforce diversity.
- We have two placement goals identified in our Affirmative Action Plan:
- Minority Goal 1: 32.74% of Executive/Sr. Level Management job group
- Minority Goal 2: 37.49% of Sales job group
- This AAP year we meet or exceed the reasonably expected availability in the other three of our five job groups.
- We are committed to transparency and intend to report at least annually.
Have you set specific key performance indicators (KPIs) or goals for your ESG priorities? How are you measuring progress going forward?
We disclose several key performance indicators throughout the fact sheet related to our ESG priorities, including annual Diversity and Inclusion data, and team member training and development.
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