ESGREPORT

2021
Aligning
Today
for a
BetterTomorrow

ALIGNING TODAY
FOR A BETTER TOMORROWTABLE OF CONTENTS

Message from our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer  .  .  .  .  . 32021 Report Highlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Message from our President and Chief Operating Officer  .  .  .  .  . 5ESG Stewardship: Our Commitment  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 7PLANET
Addressing Climate Change  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 8Energy Management  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 8Carbon Dioxide Emissions .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 9Energy and Environmental Management Certification .  .  .  .  .  .  . 10
Water Consumption  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 10
Waste Reduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

About ACCO Brands

PEOPLEACCO Brands, the Home of Great Brands
Built by Great People, designs, manufacturesand markets consumer and end-user productsthat help people work, learn, play and thrive.
Our widely recognized brands include
AT-A-GLANCE®, Five Star®, Kensington®,
Leitz®, Mead®, PowerA®, Swingline®, Tilibra®
and many others. More information about
ACCO Brands Corporation (NYSE: ACCO) can
be found at www.accobrands.com.

Culture and Employee Experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Building Organizational Capability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Occupational Health and Safety  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 15
Social Responsibility  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 16
Community  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 17
PRODUCTS
Meeting Environmental and Sustainability Standards .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 18
Packaging .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 20
Product Safety .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 21
Quality Management and Continuous Improvement  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 21
GOVERNANCE
Board Diversity .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 22
ACCO Brands Code of Conduct .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 22
Data Security and Privacy .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 23
SASB Reference Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

1

ACCO BRANDS ESG GOALS

Increase theenergy efficiency
at our facilities by10%
by 2025

Increase revenue fromproducts certified
to third-party
environmental andsocial standards
by 10 percentage points
by 2025

Increase
the percentage of
Director-level-and-above
female leaders
to

10pp

33%
globally by 2025

2

MESSAGE FROMOUR CHAIRMAN AND
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

The past few years have seen ACCO Brands make tremendous progress in numerous
areas vital to our current and future success. 2021 was a pandemic recovery year, but
we delivered a strong financial performance and made substantial progress on ourEnvironmental, Social and Governance (ESG) initiatives. I’m proud to share thoseachievements with our employees, partners and other stakeholders.
Our 2021 ESG Report highlights progress toward achieving our ESG goals and our focus
on driving sustainable, long-term value for investors, customers, employees andcommunities through our efforts around PLANET, PEOPLE and PRODUCTS. In 2020,
we committed to achieving three key goals by 2025, and we believe we are well on
the way to meeting these objectives. As an organization, we want to:
1. Develop a more gender-diverse leadership team to reflect our global
operations and ensure we tap into the broadest array of talent available
2. Introduce more third-party certified products in support of our growthand sustainability efforts
3. Reduce our energy utilization globally to safeguard our planet and ensure
its viability for future generations
These goals cannot be achieved by just a few. They need to be supported by all and be
fully embedded into our business strategy and operations, as well as our people strategy
and enterprise risk management. Because I believe so deeply in the importance of ESG
to our Company, people and the global marketplace, I have asked Tom Tedford, President
and Chief Operating Officer for ACCO Brands, to lead the efforts to further integrate ourESG initiatives into our business strategy and operations. Under his leadership, I am
confident that ACCO Brands’ commitment to environmental, social and governancestewardship will be realized in our plans and daily actions.
As a leader in our industry, we are expected to have a strong voice in addressing thewide-ranging issues of ESG. As a company, we are committed to enhancing our focus,
refining our efforts and reaching and even exceeding our ESG objectives.
We invite you to explore in greater detail the meaningful strides ACCO Brands hastaken to achieve its goals in the following pages. More importantly, we encourage all
our stakeholders to learn about, support and become involved in our plans for 2022
and beyond.
Sincerely,

Boris Elisman

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

3

2021

ESG Report Highlights

86%

24%

1.3M

91%

Recycled 86% of the
non-hazardous waste
in our factories andwarehouses

Made approximately$1.3 million in monetary
and in-kind contributions
to charitable organizations
around the world,
representing 1.3% of
our 2021 net income

30%

Increased the percentage
of Director-level-andabove females globally to30%, up from our 2019baseline of 27%

Reduced scope 1 andscope 2 CO₂ emissions
24% from 202098%

Suppliers audited
achieved conformancewith applicable standards
on 98% of all social
responsibility audit
check points

6.1pp

Realized a 91%
participation rate in our
Employee Engagement
SurveyIncreased our revenue
from products certified tothird-party environmental
and social standards by
6.1 percentage points
for the same productcategories reported
in 2019

4

MESSAGE FROMOUR PRESIDENT AND
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER

During the past few years, COVID-19 has impacted virtually every facet of the lives of ourcustomers, partners and employees. It has changed the way we work, learn and play.
ACCO Brands has always embraced change and used it to advance our business andimprove our products and services.
That’s why I’m excited and honored that our Chief Executive Officer, Boris Elisman, has asked
me to lead our Company on one of our most important journeys – the quest to ensure we deliver
sustainable, long-term value for our investors, colleagues, customers and communities throughour commitment to environmental, social and governance stewardship.
Answering the ‘Why?’
Many people ask why a company invests in ESG activities. We at ACCO Brands have a simple
answer to that question: to build a sustainable and robust business focused on creating
a better tomorrow.
Engaging Our Leadership
One of the first steps I took as the leader of our ESG initiatives was to engage our leadership.
We created an ESG Steering Committee composed of senior business and functional leadersfrom across the globe. These individuals are charged with helping us navigate the changing
expectations of our customers, employees, investors and consumers, thus ensuring that ESG
is an integral part of our business strategy and operations. The ESG Steering Committee isworking to reduce the climate impact of our business operations and products, while serving
the evolving needs and expectations of our diverse stakeholders. This group is also discussing
how we can make our initiatives more impactful, accelerate our progress and ensure that ourcommitment to ESG is reflected in our daily work.
Celebrating Our Accomplishments
While we aspire to think bigger and move faster, let us not lose sight of the remarkable things
we already have accomplished. In 2021, we made considerable progress toward our 2025
objectives. We have. . .
• Increased the percentage of Director-level-and-above female leaders globally,and especially in North America• Reduced scope 1 and scope 2 CO2 emissions by 24% for the second consecutive year• Increased our revenue from products certified to third-party environmental and social
standards by 6.1 percentage points for the same product categories reported in 2019
• Recycled 86% of the non-hazardous waste in our factories and warehouses• Encouraged and supported our suppliers’ efforts so they could achieve a 98% compliancewith social responsibility audits
Reaching Beyond Our Goals
While our work to date is impressive, there is more to accomplish. However, I believe we can meetand exceed expectations. I see it happening today through the commitment and dedication of ourentire organization. As you read this report, I hope you will see the value our efforts are bringing
to all our stakeholders.
My best to you all,Tom Tedford

President and Chief Operating Officer5‘Doing ESG right will makeour company, brands,
employees, consumers,
communities and planet
more prosperous.’-- EMEA Senior Vice President of Marketing, Arild Olsen

What is ESG, and Why Do
Organizations Invest in It?
ESG stands for Environmental, Social and Governance. The goal of ESG is tocapture the non-financial elements associated with a company’s activities
that have an impact on its reputation, risk exposure and long-term viability.
Employees, consumers and investors are incorporating ESG elements into
their decision-making processes more frequently, making ESG increasingly
important from the perspective of hiring, selling or securing capital.

6

ESG Stewardship:
Our Commitment
ACCO Brands is committed to delivering sustainable, long-term value
to our investors and customers and to supporting our employees andtheir communities through our environmental, social and governance(ESG) stewardship. This commitment is firmly anchored in our
corporate values and has been an integral part of our culture formore than 100 years.
Our ESG initiatives, goals and risks are managed by our executive
leadership team and overseen by our Board of Directors. Executive
leadership for these initiatives is a joint responsibility among oursegment presidents and our Chief Operating Officer, Chief People
Officer and General Counsel. Our ESG Steering Committee andDiversity and Inclusion Leadership Council provide operationaland cross-functional leadership, share best practices and makerecommendations on global policies and initiatives. Our progress
toward our ESG goals and objectives, including details on individual
initiatives, is reviewed by our CEO and executive leadership teamat least once a quarter.

Company Values
We are a winning team that:• Acts with integrity

At the Board level, our Nominating, Governance and Sustainability
Committee oversees management’s administration of the Company’s
corporate social responsibility and environmental sustainability
programs and its annual ESG reporting, as well as its corporate
governance policies and practices. The Board’s Compensation and
Human Capital Committee oversees the Company’s diversity andinclusion and culture initiatives. These committees receive regular
updates on the progress of activities within their purview. Additionally,
the Board is updated quarterly on the Company’s progress toward ourthree publicly announced ESG goals and receives an overall updateon ESG at least once a year.

7• Treats others with respect• Embraces diversity• Encourages creativity• Acts responsibly in our global community

PlanetACCO Brands is committed to reducing
the environmental impact of ouroperations. We strive to reduce ourenvironmental impact across ouroperations and have greater efficiency
in the procurement, use and ultimate
disposal of our resources.
ADDRESSING CLIMATE CHANGE
As global citizens, we are concerned about the negative
consequences of climate change and committed to doing
our part to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Increase theenergy efficiency
at our facilities by10%
by 2025

Energy Management.

Reducing the energy intensity of our operations – theamount of energy used to produce a given level of output
or activity – is a cost-effective way to reduce emissions,increase the energy efficiency of our facilities and support
our sustainability strategy. Our goal is to increase energy
efficiency at our factories and warehouses, as well as in
offices with 50+ employees, by 10% from our 2019baseline by 2025.
New energy management projects initiated in 2021
included auditing to identify and fix compressed air leaks,
making changes to some in-line production processes tobe more energy efficient, replacing inefficientbatteries
10
and battery chargers with more efficient ones andreplacing lighting with highly energy-efficient LED lights.

8Site Highlight: Lilyhall

Carbon Dioxide Emissions

Engineers at our pencil factory in Lilyhall, U.K., completed
two projects to improve energy efficiency in 2021. First,
they installed heat exchangers on the pencil strips (cores)
ovens. Now, instead of the heat from the ovens being
exhausted externally, it is fed back into the ovens reducing
the amount of natural gas and electricity required to heat
them. Second, they added a wood level sensor thatcreated better management of the wood furnace byensuring it burned only when it contained the optimal levelof pencil shavings. Maximizing the efficiency of the wood
furnace that heats the facility results in lower usage ofnatural gas and electricity. Together, these changes
lowered total energy consumption at this site by 11.3%.

CO2 scope 1 and scope 2 emissions from our manufacturing,
warehousing and office locations with 50+ employees, were
down 24% from 2020 levels – a significant improvement.
Much of this reduction is due to a decrease in carbon
intensity of energy supplied by our electricity providers versus
2020. Electricity consumption accounts for approximately
75% our emissions. In 2021, 7.1% of our electricity was fromrenewable sources.

Scope 1 & 2 Carbon Emissions(Metric Tons of CO2)
50,00040,00030,00020,00010,000
0
2019

2020

2021

Scope 1 emissions are emissions that come directly from ACCO Brands’
manufacturing, warehousing and office locations. Scope 2 emissions are
emissions that come from energy we purchase to run our manufacturing,
warehousing and office locations.

9ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL
MANAGEMENT CERTIFICATION
Fourteen percent of our manufacturing, warehousing andoffice locations with 50+ employees have earned certifications under the ISO 50001 Energy Management standard.
ISO 50001 is designed to help an organization improve its
energy performance through better use of its energy-intensive assets. Improved energy performance maximizes theuse of energy sources and energy-related assets, reducing
both cost and consumption.

WATER CONSUMPTION

Fifty-one percent of our factory, warehouse and office sites
with 50+ employees have achieved ISO 14001 Environmental Management certification. ISO 14001 provides asystematic framework to reduce environmental impact byintegrating management practices with supporting environmental protection, preventing pollution, minimizing waste
and reducing energy and materials consumption.

Our efforts to conserve water at factories and warehouses
paid off well in 2021. The amount of water consumed last year
was nearly the same as in 2020, even though production andshipping activity increased as demand began returning to
pre-COVID-19 levels.

Water Consumption (Kiloliters)
96,00094,00092,00090,00088,00086,00084,000For location information included
in our 2021 energy, emission,water and waste data, click here.

10

2019

2020

2021

WASTE REDUCTION
In 2021, 86% of the non-hazardous waste producedby our factories and warehouses was recycled.
The recycling rate decreased by 3% over 2020.
The reduction was largely attributed to production
improvements that reduced the amount of recyclable
metal scrap on our paperclip line and clean-up projects
that had created a temporary increase in recycling
in 2020.

Site Highlight: Arcos
To reduce waste, our Arcos, Portugal, facility installed newboard pasting machines that utilize a rotation system toagitate the glue, preventing it from drying during rest
periods. This eliminates daily machine cleaning, wasted glue
and disposal of dried glue, which is hazardous and cannot
be recycled. These improvements drove a reduction of
13 metric tons of hazardous and non-recycled liquid
waste in 2021.

11

PeopleAs the Home of Great Brands Built by Great People, we believe
our employees are the key to our success. In alignment with
our Vision, Values and Leadership Promise, we strive to create
a great place to work - one that attracts and retains top talentand inspires and enables individuals to grow and succeed.
The Company’s strategic plan for Human Resources, theACCO Brands People Plan, is grounded in our mission to
enable exceptional individual and organizational performance
to deliver business transformation, growth and success.
Our focus areas include Culture, Employee Experience,
Organizational Capability Building and Talent and Leadership.

CULTURE AND
EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE

Ours is an innovative, inclusive,
consumer-focused culture with afocus on driving profitable sales
growth. We are intentional about
creating an environment andexperiences that foster and sustain
a sense of belonging and drive
engagement.

Diversity and Inclusion
At ACCO Brands, our values include respecting
the individual and embracing diversity. We arestronger when we reflect and leverage the richdiversity of the communities in which we workand of the consumers who use our products.
We have purposefully integrated our diversity andinclusion efforts into each dimension of our People
Plan as we build the organizational capability totransform and grow our business and create
employee experiences that enable all employees
to thrive. One of our transformation key
measures of success is to achieve gender balancein our workforce, and we have done so in our
global office employee population. We also
recognize the importance of ensuring that thisbalance is achieved at all levels of leadership.
By 2025, our goal is to increase the percentage
of Director-level-and-above female leaders
globally to 33%. We are well on our way—in 2021, we increased the percentage of
Director-level-and-above female leaders globally
to 30%, up from our 2019 baseline of 27%.

Increase
the percentage of
Director-level-and-above
female leadersto33%
globally by 2025

12

Employee Experiences That
Drive Engagement

Hybrid Options for Work
Like many companies during the COVID-19 pandemic,
ACCO Brands transitioned to a work-from-homeenvironment for most of our office staff, while protecting
the health and safety of our onsite manufacturing anddistribution personnel. This laid the foundation for the
global hybrid working solutions we are offering
post-pandemic to most of our professional workforce.
Longer term, we expect approximately 60% of our office
employees will work from home a couple of days a week.
Offering this flexibility makes it easier for our employees
to balance the demands of home while maintaining
exceptional productivity at work.

An important measure of our employees’ experience is ourperiodic Employee Engagement Survey, which we repeatedin 2021. We distributed the survey to our global population– 5,689 employees – and achieved a record-high 91%
participation. Overall results were resoundingly positive,
with improvements from the prior survey in 83% of thecategories covered. Areas with the highest scores were
Product Quality and Customer Focus, Respect andRecognition, and Organizational Agility.

Site Highlight: New Singapore OfficeEnhanced Benefits

In 2021, ACCO Brands’ Singapore employees moved
into a new office specifically designed to foster a morecollaborative and inclusive workplace. An employee-led
team ensured the new space addressed both group andpersonal needs by incorporating unique and thoughtful
design elements. A multi-purpose room with blinds wasadded to ensure privacy for personal matters, such as
calls, meetings, nursing or praying.

ACCO Brands routinely reviews its benefit programs
to maintain market competitiveness. This year was no
exception. We enhanced our maternity benefits in eight
countries and increased vacation benefits in both theUnited States and Canada. Across the world, we havewell-being programs to meet employee needs. This year,
we added an Employee Assistance Program in Australia
and a Wellness Program in our Singapore office.

13

BUILDING ORGANIZATIONALCAPABILITYACCO Brands invests in our employees by
providing relevant learning and development
opportunities closely linked to businessstrategies. In 2021, we deployed our flagshiptraining programs virtually to ensure we
continued to provide leadership development
to employees worldwide, most of whom were
working remotely due to the pandemic.

Preparing ‘People Leaders’We aim to have effective leaders at all levels. To that end,
we foster managers who recognize that practicing“people leadership” is how they best impact the businessand their teams. Rather than being solely focused on
business outcomes, “people leaders” prioritize leading by
example, coaching and developing members of their team,and supporting and motivating their colleagues.
Our current learning and development effort,“Raising the Bar on People Leadership,” includes:•L eadership Academy—People management
training for Directors (61% of directors have attended)•L eadership Basecamp—People management
training for Managers (34% of managers have attended)

Additional Talent Development
We invest in our employees by building individual andorganizational capabilities that provide relevant learningand development solutions closely linked to businessstrategies. In 2021, we extended our remote learning anddevelopment program to include training in key functional
capabilities for professional employees. We internallydeveloped and launched an engaging and impactfulFinancial Acumen Series for Vice Presidents across theorganization. To build the HR leader capability necessary
to successfully champion our integrated diversity andinclusion agenda, we curated and launched a Diversity
and Inclusion Development Journey series that wascompleted by 80% of our key Human Resources
professionals in all regions. Finally, the digital marketingskills platform launched in 2020 was utilized by approximately 85% of our Marketing professionals globally.

14

OCCUPATIONALHEALTH AND SAFETY
We strive to build a culture where all employees
contribute to and take ownership for creating andmaintaining a safe working environment.
Our goal is to have zero accidents and zero incidents. To that
end, we are pursuing continuous improvement in Health and
Safety through two important initiatives, “Mission Zero” and“See Something, Say Something.” We have implemented ourComprehensive Environmental and Safety Management Plan
(CESMP) as an overall global management system for our
manufacturing and distribution locations. Additionally, in response to the pandemic, we developed a remote CESMP audit
protocol, which was used during 2021 when we were unable tocomplete onsite audits. Audit performance provides a measureof the proactive steps each location is taking to ensure thesafety of all our employees and prevent injuries. Safety training
and education is an integral part and on-going process within
our CESMP. Training topics and schedules are reviewed annually and are developed to cover regulatory requirements, facility
procedures and employee needs.

Highlights
In 2021, the National Safety Council’s Operation Perfect
Record Award was presented to our Ontario, California;
Sidney, New York; Mississauga, Ontario; and Pleasant Prairie,
Wisconsin, locations, and the Occupational Excellence
Achievement Award was presented to our Booneville,
Mississippi, location.

ACCO Brands’ EMEA received the coveted 2021 RoSPA PatronsAward for winning 25 consecutive Gold Medals. The award
recognizes an organization’s overall health and safety performance, policies and procedures. The RoSPA competition is oneof the most prestigious and widely recognized in the world,with almost 2,000 entries every year.

15

.

SUPPLY CHAINRESPONSIBILITY
We are committed to responsible sourcing,
and we engage, support and collaborate with
our suppliers in pursuit of this objective.
In 2021:100%

of 182 strategic in-scope supplierfactory locations were audited98%of all social responsibility checkpoints
audited indicated conformance with applicable standards

93%

of requested suppliers certified compliancewith ACCO Brands’ Supplier Code of Conduct

93%

of requested suppliers certified compliancewith ACCO Brands’ Conflict Minerals Policy

217+

Suppliers completed 217+ ACCO Brandsprovided e-learning lessons on various compliance topics,
such as labor, health and safety, security and corrective action
plan management

ACCO Brands is a member of the Retail Industry Leaders
Association (RILA) which keeps us abreast of industry
trends in the areas of social compliance.

16

COMMUNITYACCO Brands Charitable
Giving and Community
Outreach Initiatives
Our employees continued to findsafe ways to give back to their local
communities in 2021 while following
all local COVID-19 health and safety
guidelines.
ACCO Brands made approximately $1.3 million
in monetary and in-kind donations to charitableorganizations around the world in 2021. In addition
to our overall corporate commitment to the Cityof Hope, our employees and Company supported
many local charities through volunteering, strategic partnerships, product donations and financial
contributions.

City of Hope

ACCO Brands has long been a supporter of City of Hope,an independent biomedical research and treatment centerfor cancer, diabetes and other life-threatening diseases in
California. This year, our annual giving campaign in supportof City of Hope raised nearly $860,000 through Companysponsored efforts in the United States.

A few examples of our charitable and community
outreach initiatives in 2021 include:• We donated TruSens™ air purifiers to multiple

U.S. schools, improving air quality for students
and staff• Employees volunteered to package meals for an

Kids In Need Foundation

Our Company is proud to be a long-time partner of the Kids in
Need Foundation (KINF), whose mission is to ensure that every
U.S. child is prepared to learn and succeed in the classroom
by providing free school supplies to students most in need.
In 2021, we supported KINF with $180,000 in monetary andin-kind donations.

organization that delivers food to underprivileged
communities in Hong Kong

• The Company gave more than 36,000 bottles

of Northfork Instant Hand Sanitising Gel tolocal Australian communities to help control the
spread of germs, bacteria and viruses such as
COVID-1917

Products
We distribute products in more than 100
countries and are committed to selling
products that are safe, sustainable and highquality. We are committed to reducing theenvironmental impact of our products.

MEETING ENVIRONMENTAL
AND SUSTAINABILITY STANDARDS
Certification to environmental and social sustainability standards is an indicator of a product’s safety, reliability, quality
and authenticity. In 2020, we set a global goal to increase ourrevenue from products certified to third-party environmental
and social sustainability standards by 10 percentage points by
2025. Our 2019 gross sales of certified products were 31.9%
of our global net sales. In 2021, we realized a 6.1 percentage
point increase in certified product sales for the same productcategories in our 2019 baseline. This was due primarily to securing certified raw material sources for certain envelopes andpaperboard report covers and achieving a PEFC certificationfor our Lilyhall facility.

Increase revenue fromproducts certified
to third-party
environmental andsocial standards
by 10 percentage points
by 2025

10pp

We also grew our sales of some existing certified product lines
including Leitz® Recycle range, regionally certified shredders,
air purifiers and art supplies. When considering our total sales,
which includes sales of video gaming accessories under ourrecently acquired PowerA® brand, revenue from certified
products increased by 1.4 percentage points over 2019.
We continue to pursue opportunities to add environmental andsocial sustainability certifications to our products where
it makes sense and adds value.

CERTIFICATIONSACCO Brands products are certified by international, regional and country-basedorganizations. Our certifications include:
Environmentally
Responsible Production

Responsible
Forestry

Health and Safety

Recycled

CarbonNeutralAustrian Eco Label

Forest StewardshipCouncil® (FSC®)
FSC-C111069
FSC-C106700
FSC-C003148
FSC-C007274
FSC-C116493

Art and Creative
Materials Institute(ACMI)
Approved ProductBlue Angel

Carbon Neutral

Good Environmental Choice
Australia (GECA)

Programme for theEndorsement ofForest Certification(PEFC)
PEFC/21-31-260
PEFC/16-37-2358

Geprüfte Sicherheit

UL Recycled
Content

Nordic Swan

Sustainable Forestry
Initiative® (SFI®)

Institut für Gesundheit
und Ergonomie (IGR)

UL Greenguard

18

Product Highlight
Mead We Mean Green™ and Five Star Recycled®

®

Our first “green” lines for U.S. students and adults,
Mead® We Mean Green™ and Five Star® Recycled, wereintroduced in 2020. Components of the products within theselines are made sustainably and, depending on the product,
may include the following:• Third-party environmental certification• Recycled content and packaging• Labels printed with non-toxic vegetable ink• Compostable
We continue to expand both lines and have gained newmarket placements during successive U.S. back-to-school
seasons, signaling strong customer interest andconsumer demand for more sustainable schooland planning products.

For the 2022-2023 selling season, we will delivernearly 2 million units – an increase of 355% over 2020.

19

PACKAGING
We are dedicated to using consumer-friendly
and environmentally responsible packaging andstrive to reduce packaging, where possible.
A significant amount of our packaging contains
recycled content and/or is recyclable. We focus
on strategic opportunities to reduce packaging,increase recycled content and consider material
substitutions to lower our environmental
impact.

Product Highlight
Rapid® Tools
In its ongoing effort to reduce plastic packaging waste,
our Rapid® Tools business shifted two additional products
to a more sustainable packaging in 2021. FSC®-certified
boxes have replaced PET clamshells for all EG Pen Glueguns and are being used instead of plastic bags for some
Glue Sticks.

Progress in Australia
Aligned with Australia’s 2025 National Packing Targets, we arecommitted to making our packaging recyclable, maximizing
recycled content and eliminating problematic and unnecessary
single-use packaging. In 2021, we transitioned the packaging
for several product lines, including the Marbig® Enviro Staplers,
Marbig® Suspension Files and Crystalfile® Suspension Files toplastic-free, recyclable packaging made entirely of cardboard
and paper. Together, these projects will divert roughly 165 kg ofplastics from landfill annually.

BEFOREWe also added the Australasian Packaging Label (ARL) to theseproducts to advise consumers that each separable packaging
component is recyclable.

AFTER

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PRODUCT SAFETY
ACCO Brands aims to provide customers with safe productsthat meet or exceed their expectations for quality and safety
and are designed to comply with all applicable laws, standards
and regulations. Our product safety program defines corerequirements that include minimum product composition andsafety standards, based on human health and environmental
safety factors. All electrical products are designed to meet
applicable product safety, chemical composition, energy efficiency and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) requirements
and are annually assessed and recertified, when necessary, toensure compliance to the latest regulatory requirements.
• Our school products are evaluated to ensure they meet
all required local child health and safety standards.
• Higher-risk products are subject to a more stringent level oflaboratory accreditation requirements, and we often obtain
third-party certifications that involve factory inspections.
In addition, all products developed in-house are subject to ahazard-based safety review during the development cycle toensure that they meet industry safety standards.

QUALITY MANAGEMENT AND
CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENTThe Company has quality management teams that are
responsible for the identification and resolution of productquality issues. ACCO Brands’ suppliers and manufacturinglocations follow industry-best practices to assure the qualityof our products.
Our quality management processes include periodic
system and process audits performed either by Company
personnel or third parties. During production or before
shipment, inspections are performed to confirm that aesthetic,
function, packaging and labeling meet our specifications.
If a defect is found, the cause is immediately investigated,and corrective action taken.

21Governance“Governance” – the “G” in ESG – encompasses the rules, policies and procedures that guide a
corporation’s actions. Investors look for appropriate governance practices in the same way theyexamine environmental and social activities. The role and makeup of the board of directors, thecorporation’s code of conduct and its adherence to best practices in privacy and data security
are among the core elements of corporate governance.
The Company’s Board of Directors has adopted Corporate Governance Principles. Along with the Company’s Restated
Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws, charters of the Board of Directors’ committees, our Code of Conduct and other key
policies and practices of the Board of Directors, the Principles provide a corporate governance framework for the Company.
ACCO Brands’ Corporate Governance documents are available on our website.

BOARD DIVERSITYACCO Brands’ Board of Directors believe that diversity and inclusion are important considerations in board composition.
One-third of our nine director nominees are women, including two who currently chair our Finance and Planning Committee
and our Nominating, Governance and Sustainability Committee. In addition, two director nominees have ethnically diverse
backgrounds.

CODE OF CONDUCTOur Code of Conduct is an essential guide to the way weconduct business. The collection of policies, practices
and procedures that comprise the Code are intended topromote ethical, lawful and transparent behavior in all
aspects of business for employees, officers and directors
and third-party agents. The Code articulates our valuesof integrity and respect for others, and our commitment
to diversity and responsible behaviors in the communities
where we work and live. Above all, it requires that the conduct of everyone associated with ACCO Brands, including
our suppliers and other partners, is ethical and lawful, andrespects the human rights and dignity of others.

We deliver Company-required learning annually to all employees to ensure understanding of, and compliance with, ourCode of Conduct and other important policies. In addition, we
encourage the active involvement of its employees, officers
and directors in the detection and prevention of misconduct,
including the reporting of such activity to the employee’s
manager, another manager the employee trusts, the Human
Resources department, the Legal and Compliance department
or ACCOethics.com, a telephone and internet-based reporting
system that can be accessed on a 24-hour basis and offers
an option to share concerns anonymously, where permitted bylaw. The Company does not allow retaliation against employees
for reports made in good faith.

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DATA SECURITY AND PRIVACY
Protecting the data and privacy of our employees,
customers and others is one of our highest
priorities. Our Cybersecurity, Privacy and Risk
Management teams work collectively to promotesecurity and privacy throughout the organization
based on fundamental principles of safety,
accountability, transparency, fairness andindividual rights.

Highlight: Privacy
In 2021, ACCO Brands focused resources
on preparing for the enforcement of theBrazil General Data Protection Law, often
called the LGPD based on its Portuguese
name, and the People’s Republic of China’s
PRC’s Personal Information Protection Law(“PIPL”). Both the LGPD and PIPL closely
follow the European Union’s seminal privacy
law, the General Data Protection Regulation,and continue the trend of enhanced privacy
protections for individuals around the world.
These statutes align with ACCO Brands’commitment to protecting the personal dataof all its employees, customers, consumers
and others.

Data Security
Our Audit Committee oversees the Company’s cybersecurity
program. Its members are briefed regularly by our Senior Vice
President and Chief Information Officer and our Vice President,
Global Cybersecurity, and is notified of any cybersecurity
incident, regardless of the ultimate severity of the situation.
We maintain cybersecurity insurance coverage in an amountappropriate for our risk profile. We also conduct mandatory
cybersecurity training for employees twice a year, and all newhires are required to take cybersecurity training within 48
hours of receiving their Company computer.
Periodically, management conducts “phishing” exercises to test
the effectiveness of its training programs. Employees who fallprey to the exercise may be required to participate in additional remedial cybersecurity training. Employees also receive
monthly newsletters highlighting cybersecurity developments,
as well as targeted email messages, as appropriate.
Separately, the executive leadership team conducts a tabletop
exercise in cybersecurity regularly with assistance from outside
experts. Lessons learned from these activities are incorporated
into management’s ongoing evaluation of cybersecurity risks
and mitigation activities. In 2021, the Board also participatedin cybersecurity training facilitated by outside cybersecurity
experts, including a mock incident tabletop exercise.
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ACCO BRANDSSUSTAINABILITY ACCOUNTING STANDARDS BOARD (SASB)
REFERENCE TABLEThe Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) is an independent, private-sector standards-setting organization dedicated to enhancing the efficiency of the capital markets by fostering high-quality disclosure of material sustainability information that meets investor needs. This table references thestandards for Multiline and Specialty Retailers & Distributors and Toys & Sporting Goods industries, as defined by SASB’s Sustainable Industry Classification
System (SICS), with the location of that information in ACCO Brands’ 2021 ESG Report or accobrands.com.
Because ACCO Brands is a diversified consumer goods manufacturer, the nature of our business does not fit squarely within one industry as defined by the
SICS. We focused on the Consumer Goods sector standards to identify which topics are material to our business and identified five within the Multiline andSpecialty Retailers and Distributors and Toys and Sporting Goods industry standards.
Topic
EnergyManagement

Data
Security

Labor
Practices

Workforce
Diversity& Inclusion

Accounting Metric

Labor
Conditionsin theSupplyChain

Unit ofMeasureCode

Quantitative

Gigajoules(GJ)

CGMR130a.1

Total energy consumed
Percentage grid electricity
Percentage renewable

Data
321,935 GJ
84%
7.1%

Description of approach toidentifying and addressing
security risks

Discussion
and Analysis

N/A

CGMR230a.1(1) Number of data breaches, (2) percentage involving
personally identifiable information (PII), (3) number ofcustomers affected

Quantitative

Number,
Percentage(%)

CGMR230a.2

We will report any material
data breaches as required in
our periodic reports filed with
the SEC.

(1) Average hourly wage and(2) percentage of in-store
employees earning minimum
wage, by region

Quantitative

Reportingcurrency,
Percentage(%)

CGMR310a.1

Not applicable as we do nothave any in-store employees.

(1) Voluntary and (2) involuntary turnover rate for in-store
employees

QuantitativeRate

CGMR310a.2

Not applicable as we do nothave any in-store employees.

Total amount of monetarylosses as a result of legal
proceedings associated withlabor law violations

Quantitative

Reportingcurrency

CGMR310a.3

We will report any losses as aresult of legal proceedings as
required in our periodic reports
filed with the SEC.

Percentage of gender andracial/ethnic grouprepresentation for(1) management and(2) all other employees

Quantitative

Percentage(%)

CGMR330a.1

Reference
ESG 2021:
Climate Change, page 8-9
https://www.accobrands.com/
compliance-center/datasecurity-privacy/

Global Management:
Women 36%, Men 64%.
All other global employees:
Women 42%, Men 58%.
Ethnic Minorities in U.S.
Management: 20%.
Ethnic Minorities all other U.S.
employees: 18%.

ESG 2021:
Diversity and Inclusion,
page 12(Management includes Managers andabove. Data as of Dec 31, 2021)

Total amount of monetarylosses as a result of legal
proceedings associated with
employment discrimination

Product
Sourcing,
Packaging &Marketing

Category

Quantitative

Reportingcurrency

CGMR330a.2

We will report any losses as aresult of legal proceedings as
required in our periodic reports
filed with the SEC.

Revenue from products
third-party-certified toenvironmental and/or social
sustainability standards

Quantitative

Reportingcurrency

CGMR410a.1$675.9 million(gross USD sales)

Discussion of processes toassess and manage risks
and/or hazards associatedwith chemicals in products

Discussion
and Analysis

N/A

CGMR410a.2

https://www.accobrands.com/
compliance-center/chemical-management/

N/A

CGMR410a.3

ACCO Brands is committed
to using consumer friendly
and environmentally responsible
packaging. A significant amountof our packaging contains
recycled content and/or isrecyclable.
ESG 2021: Packaging, page 20

Number

CGTS430a.1

182 facilities

ESG 2021:
Social Responsibility
Program, page 16

CGTS430a.2

Priority non-conformance
rate: 0.3% Priority nonconformance corrective
action rate: 100% Other
non-conformance rate: 2% Other
non-conformancecorrective action rate:
90% within 60 – 90 days

ESG 2021:
Social Responsibility
Program, page 16

Discussion of strategies toreduce the environmental
impact of packaging

Discussion
and Analysis

Number of facilities audited
to a social responsibility
code of conduct

Quantitative

Direct suppliers’ social
responsibility audit(1) non-conformance rateand (2) associated corrective
action rate for (a) priority
non-conformances and (b)other non-conformances

Quantitative

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Rate

ESG 2021:
Products Certified toEnvironmental and Social
Sustainability Standards,
page 18

REFLECTING ON THE PAST,
FOCUSING ON THE FUTURE
In the past few years, we have experienced
historic—dare we say epic—changes in our world,
communities and businesses. We have survived
a pandemic, made measurable strides toward
combatting the impact of climate change, increased
our commitment to a more equitable workplace
for all, and witnessed a transformation in global
socio-economic priorities and goals.
The key word is survived. We should all take a stepback and recognize what an accomplishment it has
been, and the demanding effort – physically,
mentally and emotionally – it has taken, to getthrough the uncertainty of the past few years.
More challenges are surely ahead. However, we now
know that by setting ambitious, yet attainable goals,
and by focusing on our people, planet, products
and conducting our business in an ethical, lawful
and transparent way, we can and will achieve
continued success.

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