Meta has released its second annual Responsible Business Practices Report, highlighting its efforts to maximize positive societal impacts and minimize negative ones. The 2024 report, themed “Unlocking Potential”, presents key metrics, policies, and programs driving Meta’s responsible business strategy, covering social and environmental priorities, as well as Meta’s efforts to create sustainable value for its customers, employees, investors, and other stakeholders.
The report is accompanied by in-depth reports focusing on human rights, sustainability, and transparency, offering a comprehensive overview of Meta’s business practices and the progress made throughout 2023.
A Responsible Business Approach
Meta’s responsible business practices are organized around three core pillars:
- Operating transparently and sustainably
- Building responsibly
- Empowering people and partners
This year’s report, based on 2023 data, demonstrates Meta’s progress in these areas. It was prepared following Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards and guided by the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and Task Force for Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations. The report also aligns with the United Nations Global Compact.
Unlocking Potential Through Technology
A major theme of this year’s report is Meta’s commitment to unlocking potential through the responsible development of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and the metaverse. In 2023, Meta made strides toward building accessible, general intelligence by releasing Llama, its open-source collection of large language models (LLMs). These models, which have been downloaded more than 170 million times, are designed to democratize access to cutting-edge AI globally.
Meta’s focus on open-source innovation is central to its mission of developing new technologies responsibly and transparently. The company also launched the AI Alliance, a collaboration with over 50 organizations to promote responsible AI innovation.
Report Highlights
Key highlights from Meta’s 2024 Responsible Business Practices Report include:
- Llama Open-Source AI: Providing access to cutting-edge AI for individuals worldwide with over 170 million downloads of Meta’s Llama models.
- AI Alliance Launch: A new initiative with more than 50 companies and organizations to accelerate responsible AI innovation.
- Parental Supervision Expansion: Extending parental supervision tools to Facebook, Messenger, and Horizon Worlds.
- Lantern Program: A collaborative infrastructure for technology companies to share signals about accounts and behaviors that violate child safety policies.
- Take It Down Platform: Becoming founding members of this platform, designed to prevent the spread of intimate images of young people online.
- Human Rights Risk Assessment: Conducting a Human Rights Salient Risk Assessment to address the rights and needs of vulnerable individuals.
- Net-Zero Emissions: Maintaining net-zero emissions across Meta’s global operations, and establishing a science-based emissions reduction target and decarbonization roadmap.
- Diverse Workforce: Focusing on building a diverse workforce to support the needs of Meta’s global user base.
Supplementary Reports on Human Rights, Sustainability, and Transparency
In addition to the Responsible Business Practices Report, Meta is releasing its third annual Human Rights Report, highlighting Meta’s ongoing work to understand, prevent, and mitigate human rights risks. Meta also published its annual Sustainability Report in August 2024, outlining progress toward net-zero, climate, water, energy, and supply chain goals.
Furthermore, Meta regularly publishes Transparency Reports to provide visibility into how it enforces policies, responds to data requests, protects intellectual property, and monitors access to its technologies.
A Commitment to Sustainable and Responsible Growth
The 2024 Responsible Business Practices Report showcases Meta’s continued dedication to fostering positive change. From developing responsible AI technologies to implementing sustainability and human rights initiatives, Meta’s focus is on creating a future where technology is used to unlock human potential for good.
For a full overview, Meta encourages stakeholders to explore its Responsible Business Practices Report along with its supplementary reports on human rights, sustainability, and transparency.
