Over the past year, we have activated new ways of empowering people with the knowledge, resources and confidence they need to work toward a brighter future.

We began 2018 with an ambitious strategy to more tightly focus our CSR efforts at the intersection of our business strengths, our employees’ interests and some of society’s most pressing needs. With our employees leading the charge, we have developed programs and partnerships in 51 countries.

Among the most significant is Reshape Tomorrow™, our signature financial empowerment initiative, which connects thousands of entrepreneurs with tools and training to help grow their small businesses. Last year, we awarded grants and provided skills-based volunteering to help our eight inaugural Reshape Tomorrow partners in India, China, Europe, Africa and the Americas.

We also expanded our efforts to explain how sustainability issues such as climate change and shrinking natural resources may factor into credit ratings. We completed 21 new Green Bond Assessments, covering $7 billion of debt, to assist investors in their evaluation of green bond offerings used to finance environmental projects.

Through our work with educators and youth-focused nonprofits, we continued to open greater opportunities to empower the next generation to excel in the financial industry and other career paths. The World Series of Innovation for young entrepreneurs, the Women in STEM, Future Leaders program for young Latin as in Mexico and our Queer Coders for LGBTQI youth in New York City exemplify this effort.

These achievements, along with many others in the pages that follow, were fueled by our employees’ talents and inspiration. I am deeply proud of the more than 13,000 people across Moody’s — and our extended network of partners in communities around the globe — who enable us to generate positive impact by expanding access to knowledge and the opportunities it creates.