LPL’s Progress and Priorities on Environmental, Social, and Governance Topics

Making major progress through thought leadership

Each year, we capture details on an array of programs and operational goals – and the data behind them – to present a picture of how LPL leads the way in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) efforts.

This is the fourth year of our annual sustainability report. The 2022 Corporate Sustainability Report highlights how we’ve been able to create and surpass many of our goals and expand on our vision for ESG at LPL. Since our inaugural report, our ratings have steadily improved and our goal is to be seen as an ESG thought leader among our peers. And, we recognize the important role our employees and advisors play in making that vision come to life.

Recognition and ranking

Being environmentally responsible is important, however, corporate sustainability is about a lot more than that. It’s providing data security for our employees, financial professionals, and clients, while offering access to sustainable investment solutions and engaging with each other every day. LPL’s sustainability depends not only on the business we conduct, but also on how we conduct it. To tell our full story, nearly every area of our firm provides valuable information for the report.

We strive to continuously improve all areas of sustainability at LPL. Those efforts paid off in 2021 when we were recognized by Newsweek’s 2021 List of America’s Most Responsible Companies and we ranked on the Top 100 U.S. Companies Supporting Healthy Families and Communities by Just Capital.

Committed to all of our stakeholders

Each year, we’re graded by multiple rating agencies who evaluate and score companies based on a variety of ESG topics. This matters because these ratings can uncover future risks and opportunities, improve shareholder relations, increase investment in LPL, and attract and retain talented employees to take care of our financial professionals and their clients. We also anticipate that financial professionals may be able to grow their practices by attracting new investors interested in ESG topics.

LPL’s 2022 Sustainability Report provides the latest information on our most material sustainability issues and the focus areas prioritized by our stakeholders. We greatly value the perspectives of our stakeholders and continue to increase disclosures and the timing of our reporting and engagement to reflect that.

Read the full report here.

^{Newsweek Ranking Criteria: The corporate ranking was a four-phase process. First, we (Newsweek) created a pool of candidates. We selected the 2,000 largest public companies by revenue in the U.S.—banks and insurance companies were measured by total assets more than $50 billion. Next we screened. Only companies that had published a document the same or similar to a Corporate Responsibility Report were considered (Corporate Citizen Report or Sustainability Report, for example). Some companies whose primary business is in the defense industry were eliminated as were companies involved in lawsuits or government regulatory actions. Part three of the process was a detailed analysis of the companies consisting of two parts. The first: We focused on publicly available performance data in the environmental, social and corporate governance categories. We also conducted a survey, asking 7,500 U.S. citizens about their perceptions of the companies related to corporate social responsibility. All elements were weighted to produce a final score.}

^{JUST Capital Ranking Criteria: This ranking leverages data from JUST Capital’s 2021 Rankings of America’s Most JUST Companies. Of the 19 Issues essential to just business, we collaborated with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to identify the 10 that best define how companies invest in the health and well-being of their workers, the families they support, and the communities in which they operate. The issues are: Pays a fair, livable wage. Cultivates a diverse and inclusive workplace. Protects worker health and safety. Provides benefits and work-life balance. Contributes to community development. Supports local communities. Makes products that do not harm. Helps combat climate change. Minimizes pollution. Prioritizes value creation for all stakeholders.}

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