On issues for which Xerox’s experience and knowledge add an important perspective to public debate, the company provides input and advice to policy makers, both directly and indirectly through various coalitions and trade associations. Xerox, primarily through the Office of External Affairs, has interactions with governments and government organizations throughout the U.S. (at both state and federal levels) and around the world. We discuss issues that range from legal, trade, tax policy and financial activities to regulatory compliance, intellectual property and procurement.
Trade associations around the world often play an important role in assisting our company with business development opportunities and citizenship activities, as well as helping Xerox meet certain public policy objectives. Xerox is a member of a wide array of trade associations. Any contributions that are not deductible for tax purposes are reported in Xerox’s lobbying disclosure reports. Xerox senior managers play a leadership role in various organizations, such as the Business Roundtable, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the U.S. Climate Action Partnership. These organizations develop and promote public policies that are considered important to Xerox’s public policy interests and operations.
Here are examples of public policy issues that Xerox follows closely:
Environment
Xerox is a member of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Leaders Program and the Business Roundtable’s Climate RESOLVE program. Both are voluntary initiatives to help companies develop long-term strategies for climate change. We also helped create and design the ENERGY STAR® program for imaging equipment, which is intended to ensure maximum energy efficiency in imaging products.
Retirement Policy
We believe policy makers should foster a legal and economic framework that encourages employers to maintain and increase the number of workers who have access to employer-provided retirement security and healthcare.
Healthcare Reform
Comprehensive healthcare reform is essential for the long-term vitality of the U.S. economy. While the U.S. healthcare system has yielded impressive benefits and innovation, significant reform is needed to create a sustainable, high-quality system that is more accessible, less costly and more patient-centered.
We support:
- Every citizen having access to quality and affordable health coverage, which is why any reform solution must address the core issues of the growing cost of healthcare by:
– Promoting healthcare systems that are comprehensive, integrated and technologically connected.
– Adhering to principles of medical necessity, patient safety, efficacy, efficiency and patient-centeredness.
– Empowering individuals with accurate, transparent data on quality, value and prices of providers
in order to make individuals more informed and responsible consumers. - Maintaining Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), which provides nationwide employers with the ability to provide consistent benefits to employees.
As a board member of the following professional organizations and coalitions, Xerox has taken a leadership role in the employer community on efforts to reform the U.S. healthcare system.
Corporate Health Care Coalition (CHCC): CHCC is a public policy coalition of large, multi-state, self-insured companies that operate health benefit plans for employees and their families as well as retirees. The CHCC is distinguished by its focus on the legislative and regulatory issues that are critical for employers who sponsor health benefit plans nationwide.
ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC): ERIC is a trade association representing the employee benefits and compensation interests of America’s major employers.
National Coalition on Benefits (NCB): NCB is a coalition of 175 companies and trade associations. NCB is dedicated to working with Congress to maintain employers’ ability to provide uniform health and retirement benefits to employees and retirees across state and local lines and to ensure that federal health reform initiatives preserve ERISA benefits. Xerox also is involved with several other professional organizations and associations, including:
AeA: Xerox chairs AeA’s Health Information Technology Working group whose mission is to help advance legislation that provides funding, standards and privacy protections for a modern healthcare information technology system in the U.S.
Business Roundtable: The Business Roundtable is a founding member of the “Divided We Fail” Coalition that includes the AARP and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which is pushing for comprehensive healthcare reform. Xerox has actively participated in the development of the Business Roundtable’s healthcare policy plan.
Consumer Purchaser Disclosure Project (Disclosure Project): The Disclosure Project membership is made up of many consumer and purchaser groups whose goal is to bring together the voices of consumers and purchasers to improve healthcare for all.
National Business Group on Health (Business Group): The Business Group members are primarily Fortune 500 companies and large public sector employers, including the nation’s most innovative healthcare purchasers, who provide health coverage for more than 50 million U.S. workers, retirees and their families. The Business Group fosters the development of a safe, high-quality healthcare delivery system and treatments based on scientific evidence of effectiveness.
National Quality Forum (NQF): The NQF is a not-for-profit membership organization created to develop and implement a national strategy for healthcare quality measurement and reporting.
Free Trade
We support open markets and free trade. International trade is a powerful engine of global economic growth, and economic growth fosters improved living conditions and opportunities around the world. We support government-to-government negotiations aimed at liberalizing trading rules and opening markets, both on a bilateral and multinational basis. We believe that rules based only on fair trade are those that are sustainable, and that all participants must be responsible citizens of the countries in which they do business.
Intellectual Property and Competitiveness
As a participant in the Coalition Against Counterfeiting and Piracy, Xerox plays an active role in combating theft of intellectual property by counterfeiters who manufacture “knock-off” products. The coalition is a strong advocate of stronger laws against dealing in counterfeit goods and has developed best-practice guidelines that help companies protect their supply chains from counterfeit items. Through our support of the American Competitive Initiative, which directs more resources to math and science education, we are focused on improving the nation’s ability to compete on the global stage. We also support necessary reforms to the U.S. patent system that serve to reduce the threats to innovation that come from frivolous litigation.
Xerox Public Policy Engagement and Political Contributions Policy
Xerox and its employees have a long-standing tradition of active engagement in the communities in which we live and work. Our participation in the political process and public policy debate reflects our traditions and core values.
At the same time, Xerox believes our political involvement should set a clear standard of how both our company and our employees should responsibly engage in the political process. For nearly a decade, Xerox has had a long-standing policy that nothing of value may be given, paid, promised or offered – directly or indirectly – to any political party, committee and/or candidate for any federal, state or local government office anywhere around the world. Therefore, “soft” money contributions are not and have not been allowed at Xerox, even long before recent lobbying disclosure laws. In addition, Xerox does not allow any employee or consultant to provide anything of value to any government employee. This policy too was in place long before Congress put the standard into law for all corporations and organizations. There are no exceptions to this policy, even for gifts of a modest value.
Xerox discloses any contributions to 527s, tax-exempt organizations that raise money for political activities including issue advocacy, and contributions used for political purposes to 501c(4) organizations. From our trade associations that receive from us dues or payments of $25,000 or more, Xerox has requested they disclose to us details about their political expenses. We also ask these same organizations to report to us the portion of Xerox dues or payments used for such expenses or contributions that, if they had been made directly by Xerox, would not be deductible under 162(e)(1)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code. This information is reported and disclosed at www.xerox.com/citizenship.
Xerox ranked 16th, up from its 2007 rank of 49, in Corporate Responsibility Officer (CRO) magazine’s tenth annual listing of America’s 100 Best Corporate Citizens for 2009. The list ranks 1,000 companies on their performance in seven key areas: environment, climate change, human rights, philanthropy, employee relations, financial and governance.
For the second consecutive year, Xerox achieved the
highest rating of 10.0 from GovernanceMetrics International (GMI), a corporate governance monitor for shareholders. According to GMI’s latest ratings and research reports of 4,200 companies, Xerox was one of the 43 companies, or one percent, that achieved an overall global rating of 10.0 – the highest GMI assigns.
Xerox placed first and received a record-breaking 440 nominations in the 2009 Green Outsourcing Survey by Brown-Wilson Group and “The Black Book of Outsourcing.” Energy costs and the impact on the company’s reputation continue to drive the selection of vendors
who offer green options. The yearly ranking is based on responses from more than 24,000 executives worldwide.
Xerox met the FTSE4Good criteria for corporate responsibility, human rights, environmental actions, social and stakeholder engagement and countering bribery once again for 2009. Created in 2001 and managed by FTSE Group, the independent global index company, the FTSE4Good Index Series is a series of benchmark and tradable indices for socially responsible investors. Xerox Corporation was named to the index for the first time in March 2008.
Employee Contributions to Political Activities
While we encourage our people to participate in community and political activities, we do not endorse any organization or activity in which employees choose to participate, and we do not discriminate in favor of or against employees based on the organizations they choose to support.
Xerox Political Action Committee
The Xerox Political Action Committee (XPAC) is supported entirely by voluntary contributions from employees, with all contributions allocated directly to candidate campaigns for U.S. federal office. In most cases, XPAC supports candidates who represent districts where Xerox has a strong presence and/or candidates who play an influential role on Congressional committees whose actions could affect the management of Xerox and/or our business. A Board of Directors leads the XPAC with representatives from each major business unit who determine which candidates and political committees receive contributions. To learn more about how the XPAC operates, visit www.xerox.com/citizenship.
Xerox Trade Association Memberships
Trade association memberships with dues exceeding $25,000 in 2008:
- The Business Roundtable
- National Minority Supplier Development Council, Inc.
- Business-Higher Education Forum
- National Association of Manufacturers
- TechAmerica
- U.S. Chamber of Commerce
- Business Council of New York
Xerox Contributions to 527s and 501c(4)s in 2008
- Xerox made no contributions to 527 organizations.
- U.S. Climate Action Partnership ($50,000) is the only 501c(4) contribution.