Corporate Responsibility Report

National Instruments Corporate Responsibility Report

Photo is Courtesy of University of Leuven-KU Leuven Contents

NI Corporate Responsibility �� 3

Statement From the CEO �� 4 2011 Performance Summaries �� 5 NI’s Approach to Corporate Responsibility ��10 GRI Index �� 13 Profile Disclosures �� 13 Performance Indicators �� 17 NI Culture and Stakeholder Engagement �� 26

Empower Engineers and Scientists �� 31 Improve Everyday Life �� 32 Planet NI �� 35

Enhancing Engineering and Science Education �� 37 Empowering Educators and Engaging Students �� 38 Creating an Innovative Future Workforce �� 41 Supporting Engineering and Science Education Worldwide �� 44 Encouraging Innovation in Engineering and Science Education �� 48

People and Culture �� 52 Hire and Retain the Best and Brightest �� 53 Create a Great Place to Work �� 59 Maintain a Culture of Giving �� 63

Minimize Our Environmental Impact �� 67

Product Life Cycle �� 68 Conserving Resources ��76 Employees Driving Change �� 82 ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 2 NI Corporate Responsibility National Instruments equips engineers and scientists with the tools that accelerate productivity, innovation, and discovery. Since 1976, NI has developed software and hardware that have revolutionized and continue to redefine the way engineers develop systems that require measurement and control. The NI software-based approach incorporates rapidly advancing commercial technology, providing an integrated software and hardware platform that abstracts system complexity and significantly speeds application design, development, and deployment.

Corporate responsibility at NI is centered on the impact that engineers and scientists can make with this technology. NI corporate responsibility efforts focus on what the company does best—applying engineering expertise toward critical societal issues and equipping engineers with tools that accelerate innovation and discovery. Through its employees, customers, business practices, and mission, NI is changing the way engineers address the biggest challenges we face today. NI works toward the long-term success of its key stakeholders and society through four focus areas of corporate responsibility: empowering engineers and scientists, inspiring and preparing the innovators of tomorrow, fostering an open and innovative work environment for all employees, and minimizing the company’s environmental impact.

Empowering Engineers and Scientists

Enhancing Engineering Education

People and Culture

Minimizing Our Environmental Impact

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 3 Statement From the CEO National Instruments is managed for the long term. Our 100-year plan guides the decisions we make and ensures a balanced focus on the success of our key stakeholders: employees, customers, suppliers, and shareholders. This long-term thinking also shapes our view of NI’s role in society.

NI creates shared value between its key stakeholders and society by achieving its mission of equipping engineers and scientists with tools that accelerate productivity, innovation, and discovery. This is the most significant long-term impact we can have on the world— empowering our customers to apply their technical expertise to critical societal issues and helping them meet the grand challenges for engineering, such as finding renewable energy alternatives, through NI technology.

We are depending on the next generation of engineers to meet many of these grand challenges decades into the future. We invest heavily in programs that engage students with technology and prepare them to become the innovators of tomorrow. Through our collaboration with LEGO®, for example, millions of students, starting at age 6, are learning how to build and program robots using NI LabVIEW software. We also partner with FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) to provide technology, mentorship, and support across each level of the organization’s student robotics competitions.

We also empower innovation among engineers and scientists in developing countries who face economic or other extraordinary barriers to technology adoption. Through Planet NI, we provide small-to-medium enterprises and education institutions in emerging markets with access to the technology and training they need to achieve economic prosperity and sustainable development.

It is the dedication of NI employees and the innovative corporate culture at NI that drive these initiatives and the long-term sustainability of the company. I am honored that NI was named to the Great Place to Work Institute’s inaugural list of the World’s 25 Best Multinational Workplaces. This achievement further illustrates the success of our 100-year plan, and I am proud of our open environment that empowers employees.

Through our employees, customers, business practices, and mission, we are changing the way that engineers can impact our world. We hope you’ll learn more about our corporate responsibility efforts at ni.com/corporateresponsibility. I welcome your feedback.

Best regards,

Dr. James Truchard President, Chief Executive Officer, and Cofounder, National Instruments

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 4 2011 Performance Summaries This section provides a summary of the results for the 2011 National Instruments corporate responsibility commitments. To locate a specific Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) indicator in this report, refer to the GRI Index.

Legend: A Fulfilled commitment F Partially fulfilled or currently in progress D No progress

Empower Engineers and Scientists

Area 2011 Commitment 2011 Performance Status

Improve Invest 16% of revenue in R&D to further Invested more than 19% of revenue A empower engineers and scientists to develop in R&D. Everyday Life world-improving technologies.

Develop new products that leverage Released a new wireless sensor network A the latest technologies for structural node for strain measurements, updated measurements and educate the structural software for NI optical sensing interrogators, engineering community on their benefits. and developed a new 3-channel C Series module for vibration measurements.

Give more engineers in developing countries Expanded from 20 participating countries in A access to technology by expanding the Planet 2010 to 34 participating countries in 2011. NI program.

Enable Green Develop and release innovative Partnered with the National Renewable A products to aid customers in creating Energy Laboratory (NREL) to develop Engineering smart grid technologies. a general-purpose inverter control board so customers can easily develop the inverters and power electronics that provide the foundation for many renewable energy technologies.

Create resources on engineering Hosted the two-day Energy Technology A best practices for wind turbine monitoring, Summit at NIWeek 2011 with three inverter technologies, keynote speeches, a discussion panel, and and smart grid development. 10 technical sessions.

Teach green engineering principles to Held green engineering seminars F 5,000 engineers through free virtual around the world, hosted the NIWeek Energy and on-site events. Technology Summit, and created an Earth Day webcast series.

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 5 Enhancing Science and Engineering Education

Area 2011 Commitment 2011 Performance Status

Mentoring Increase number of robotics mentors in Increased the number of robotics mentors in A underserved schools by 10%. underserved locations 65% during the Young Minds 2010–2011 school year.

Retain at least 60% of robotics mentors at Retained 62.5% percent of robotics mentors A headquarters. at headquarters.

Expand robotics mentorship programs to five Expanded robotics mentorship programs to F branch offices. branch offices in Costa Rica and India.

Create additional training and resources for Created web-based trainings and seminars A robotics mentors. for FIRST Tech Challenge and FIRST Robotics Competition mentors and participants. Developed advanced training content for elementary school mentors to be distributed in 2012.

Empower the Offer complete curriculum solutions for Launched NI courseware portal A educators to teach key engineering and and complete teaching solutions for Innovators science objectives. RF/communications. of Tomorrow Promote new student programs to give Expanded LabVIEW Student Ambassador A students the ability to amplify their program from seven to 31 ambassadors and engineering expertise. launched LabVIEW 101.

Corporate Dedicate 70% of corporate philanthropy to Dedicated over 70% of corporate philanthropy A STEM-related efforts. to STEM-related efforts. Philanthropy and Advocacy

Improving the World Supplement and develop lesson Developed new LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT F plans for elementary school activities and packaged existing lessons Through LEGO MINDSTORMS® NXT robotics together to share with educators Technical Literacy programs to make it easier for educators to implementing new robotics programs. implement.

Develop a resource kit for parents that can Developed a resource kit for parents and F help them become advocates for starting educators to help them start LEGO robotics robotics programs in schools. programs in elementary schools.

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 6 People and Culture

Area 2011 Commitment 2011 Performance Status

Hire and Retain the Meet hiring goals to double the number of Expanded the number of full-time and A employees by 2015. part-time employees worldwide by 20% to Best and Brightest more than 6,200.

Expand the NI Leaders program to include Expanded the NI Leaders program from two F 12 additional universities. to 13 universities.

Triple the size of the engineering intern More than tripled the engineering intern A program at NI headquarters. program from 2010 to 2011 with a 340% increase in the number of engineering interns employed at NI headquarters.

Collaborate with student organizations Established a group of female recruiters to A to tailor recruiting events for women support the NI Leaders program by helping and minorities. student organizations bring female presenters to recruiting events.

Create a Great Place Ensure surveyed employees describe NI as a Recorded that 85% of surveyed employees A great place to work at a rate of 75% or greater. worldwide described NI to Work as a great place to work.

Offer primary care at the NI Health Center to Began to provide primary health care services A employees’ spouses. in January 2011 through the NI Health Center to employees and spouses on the NI benefits plan.

Implement a wellness Changed the commitment from implementing F incentive program. a health risk-based wellness program to a participation-based program. As a result, 99% of employees at NI headquarters participated in the 2011 health risk assessment program.

Build a Great Place to Work environment at Implemented community and corporate F NI Malaysia and NI Costa Rica, the newest responsibility programs at both NI Costa Rica branch offices, and survey those employees and NI Malaysia. In 2012, these two branch for results. offices will be surveyed after being open for one year or more.

Provide Superior Ensure at least 90% of US employees receive With the addition of reporting in Europe, F feedback through annual performance reviews. conducted performance reviews with 80% of Employee employees in Europe and the United States in Development 2011, an increase of 11 percent from 2010.

Launch the People Development Series (PDS) Provided 239 employees worldwide with A training for individual contributors. complete PDS training for individual contributors in 2011.

Expand leadership development through Did not meet this goal in 2011; however, a D additional resources and opportunities such as pilot program began in January 2012 to e-learning. provide a mix of e-learning modules and online discussions to refresh topics learned in traditional classroom leadership training.

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 7 People and Culture

Area 2011 Commitment 2011 Performance Status

Employee Track and report NI branch philanthropic and Formed an international volunteer council in F volunteer activities. January 2011 to keep track of branch Philanthropy and philanthropic activities. However, information Volunteerism sharing was inconsistent.

Match gifts for employees at headquarters Did not meet this goal in 2011. The matching D who use payroll deduction. gift program does not yet include eligible payroll-deducted donations.

Engage five existing branch office volunteer Added more than 10 branch offices to F programs in using the NIVolunteer.com NIVolunteer.com, but language barriers and system. site limitations prevented full employee engagement.

Increase headquarters’ employee volunteer Increased employee volunteerism by 16% F hours by 30%. year-over-year.

Corporate Maintain commitment of donating 1% of Donated 2% of pretax profits to nonprofit A pretax profits to nonprofit organizations. organizations. Philanthropy and Advocacy

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 8 Minimize Our Environmental Impact

Area 2011 Commitment 2011 Performance Status

Product Life Cycle Pilot new criteria for a supplier scorecard to Did not fulfill this commitment. After a D measure supplier citizenship. reassessment of critical needs, NI reallocated the procurement resources scheduled to work on the scorecard to a supplier packaging improvement project instead, which delayed the scorecard.

Identify gaps and implement improvements Did not fulfill this commitment. An increase D for an OHSAS 18001-capable process. in employee turnover in the safety group at NI Hungary created a challenge in getting approvers to release the emergency response plan documents necessary to fulfill this commitment.

Reduce polyurethane in product packaging by Received more customer orders than F 30% per unit using eco-friendly materials. expected for a product line that uses more polyurethane than other products. This caused more usage than planned at the Austin site, but globally NI reduced usage by 24%.

Conserving Implement employee PC power management Implemented on 295 PCs at the Hungary site. F program at Hungary and Costa Rica branches. The program was somewhat limited in Resources manufacturing because PCs cannot be turned off due to production equipment needs.

Audit HVAC control systems of Completed the audit and recommended areas A each corporate headquarters building for improvement in 2012. for improvements.

Use Leadership in Energy and Environmental Building completion for 2012 is on schedule A Design (LEED) criteria and NI is implementing the LEED strategy as to investigate effective energy- and water- planned. saving strategies in the design and development of the new NI facility in Penang, Malaysia.

Optimize waste management costs at NI Hungary reduced communal waste A Hungary branch. collection by 9%.

Employees Investigate ways to increase employee Local transportation authority in Austin D ridership of commuter rail. canceled a connector bus route for Driving Change headquarters employees who use commuter rail due to low ridership.

Evaluate electronic waste to be In 2012, NI plans to redirect electronic waste A reused in conjunction with Goodwill recycling to a Goodwill recycling program so materials program. can be reused when possible.

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 9 NI’s Approach to Corporate Responsibility National Instruments works to create shared value for the company’s key stakeholders and society through its corporate responsibility efforts. NI believes that the company can make the biggest impact by leveraging its engineering expertise to address critical social issues and equipping engineers with tools that accelerate innovation and discovery.

Corporate responsibility is integrated throughout the business at NI—from grassroots, employee-led efforts to cross- organizational, multifaceted programs that span several countries. In many cases, the company’s corporate responsibility goals support its top-level business and operational goals, and in every case, its corporate responsibility efforts support the company mission and long-term success. Through corporate responsibility, NI focuses on the issues that impact the company and society the most—meeting the world’s most critical engineering challenges, preparing the next generation of engineers, and improving human life and the health of the planet.

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About This Report This report describes NI corporate responsibility performance in fiscal year 2011, which ended December 31, 2011. NI used the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Sustainability Reporting Guidelines (G3) to prepare this report, and an index to the disclosures and indicators is available here.

Currently, NI does not seek external assurance for its complete corporate responsibility report. Comprehensive data for all NI operations was not available. Unless otherwise noted, data presented in this report applies only to NI corporate headquarters in Austin, Texas.

Corporate Responsibility Challenges and Opportunities NI prioritizes corporate responsibility issues based on their importance to key stakeholders as well as their impact on long-term business success. The company relies on multiple engagement tools, including discussion forums, surveys, and customer and supplier conferences, to gather feedback on issues important to its stakeholders. Using these inputs, the NI Corporate Responsibility Steering Team and cross-functional representatives from multiple areas of the organization prioritize the company’s efforts. NI identified the following top corporate responsibility challenges and opportunities for 2011:

■■ Supporting Education Initiatives—As a worldwide technology leader and partner to some of the most recognized academic organizations, NI is in a unique position to make a significant impact on the world by helping educators transform science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education. Specifically, NI contributes in this area by providing interactive, real-world learning experiences; low-cost and free training opportunities; a strong global mentorship program; and technology and funding.

■■ Sustaining the NI Culture—The company’s greatest and most sustainable long-term competitive advantage is its culture and employees who directly influence the continued success of key stakeholders. As NI continues to grow and opens additional employment centers such as the most recent centers in Malaysia and Costa Rica, the company will sustain its culture by surveying employees regularly and through the service of established company leaders who will oversee operations and ensure a commitment to NI culture.

■■ Reporting on Global Efforts—Unless otherwise noted, data presented in this report applies only to NI corporate headquarters in Austin, Texas. Gathering additional data from all NI operations for future reports is an ongoing process, and NI will provide that data in future reports as it becomes available.

■■ Grand Challenges for Engineering—The National Academy of Engineering Committee on Grand Challenges for Engineering identified 14 areas awaiting engineering solutions in the 21st century. These include the most significant issues the world is facing today, such as the need for new medical treatments, access to clean water, and the creation of sustainable energy sources. NI customers are often on the front lines of pioneering solutions for these challenges, and NI is committed to equipping them with innovative tools to accelerate the development of those solutions. ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 10 To learn about the company’s 2011 performance and 2012 commitments on all issues that impact its corporate responsibility performance, visit the sections linked from the following table. The 2011 Performance Summary provides an overview of all 2011 commitments and results.

Area Challenges and Opportunities

Economic ■■ Achieving growth and profitability ■■ Investing in R&D to develop innovative products and technologies ■■ Cultivating industry diversity

Environmental ■■ Optimizing the product life cycle ■■ Using modular products that require less power ■■ Packaging ■■ Reduction of hazardous substances ■■ Supplier responsibility ■■ Manufacturing operations ■■ Product take-back and recycling ■■ Conserving resources ■■ Energy ■■ Natural gas ■■ Water ■■ Emissions ■■ Habitats ■■ Recycling ■■ Waste reduction ■■ Empowering employees to drive change

Social ■■ Transforming education, especially STEM education, through programs that promote ■■ Technical literacy ■■ Technology access ■■ Project-based learning ■■ Competition ■■ Mentoring ■■ Early education ■■ Developing tools for teaching ■■ Preserving the competitive advantage of NI culture and employees through ■■ Recruiting and retention ■■ Diversity and inclusion ■■ Health, wellness, and safety ■■ Compensation and benefits ■■ Work environment ■■ Training and development ■■ Empowering customers to improve the world through ■■ Bridge and infrastructure monitoring ■■ Green engineering ■■ Supporting engineers in developing countries ■■ Engaging in communities through ■■ Employee and corporate philanthropy ■■ Employee volunteerism, including board membership ■■ Corporate advocacy

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 11 Managing Corporate Responsibility Performance Corporate responsibility is part of the company’s 100-year plan. To drive performance in these areas, NI relies on its board of directors, a steering team, a cross-functional committee, and NI employees.

A cross-functional committee oversees corporate responsibility activities and measures performance throughout the company. In addition, employees play an integral role in achieving corporate responsibility goals that range from developing innovative products to identifying opportunities to reduce energy use at company facilities. Cross- functional employee teams, such as the NI Women’s Network and the NI Green Team, are crucial for driving success on various aspects of corporate responsibility.

NI executive leadership reviews corporate responsibility performance and goals throughout the year. The Audit Committee of the NI Board of Directors oversees the company's performance in accounting and financial reporting as well as the company’s compliance with the NI Code of Ethics and financial, environmental, and equal employment opportunity regulations.

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 12 GRI Index National Instruments used the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Sustainability Reporting Guidelines (G3) to prepare its corporate responsibility report. NI self-declares this report at GRI Application Level B.

Refer to the following tables to locate a specific GRI disclosure or indicator in the report.

Legend: A Reported D Partially reported

Profile Disclosures

2011 Indicator Description Response or Link Report Strategy and Analysis

1. 1 Statement from the most senior A Statement from the CEO decision maker of the organization

1. 2 Description of key impacts, risks, A Our Approach to Corporate Responsibility; 2011 Performance Summary; PDF and opportunities Report - Corporate Responsibility Challenges and Opportunities. For information about financial risk factors, refer to the Risk Factors section in Form 10-K of the Annual Report.

Organizational Profile

2.1 Name of the organization A National Instruments Corporation

2.2 Primary brands, products, and/or A Annual Report services

2.3 Operational structure of A Annual Report the organization

2.4 Location of A Austin, Texas, USA organization’s headquarters

2.5 Number and names of countries A ni.com/niglobal where the organization operates

2.6 Nature of ownership A Annual Report and legal form

2.7 Markets served A Annual Report

2.8 Scale of the reporting organization A Annual Report

2.9 Significant changes during the A Annual Report reporting period

2.10 Awards received in the A Awards reporting period

Report Parameters

3.1 Reporting period for A Our Approach to Corporate Responsibility information provided

3.2 Date of most recent A Our Approach to Corporate Responsibility previous report (if any)

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 13 2011 Indicator Description Response or Link Report

3.3 Reporting cycle A Annual

3.4 Contact point for A Our Approach to Corporate Responsibility questions regarding the report or its contents

3.5 Process for defining A PDF Report - Stakeholder Engagement; PDF Report - Corporate Responsibility report content Challenges and Opportunities; Approach to Corporate Responsibility

3.6 Boundary of the report A Our Approach to Corporate Responsibility

3.7 State any specific limitations on the A Our Approach to Corporate Responsibility scope or boundary of the report

3.8 Basis for reporting on joint A This report does not include data on joint ventures, subsidiaries, leased facilities, ventures, subsidiaries, leased or outsourced operations, unless otherwise noted. facilities, outsourced operations, and other entities

3.9 Data measurement techniques A NI captures data from its relevant organizational units as well as third parties and the bases of calculations, such as energy providers. Where only estimates of data were available, that fact including assumptions and is noted along with the data. techniques underlying estimations applied to the compilation of the indicators and other information in the report

3.10 Explanation of the effect of any A No restatement since 2009, and those restatements are included restatements of information in the 2010 report. provided in earlier reports

3.11 Significant changes from previous A None reporting periods in the scope, boundary, or measurement methods applied in the report

3.12 Table identifying the location A GRI Index of the Standard Disclosures in the report

3.13 Policy and current practice with A Our Approach to Corporate Responsibility regard to seeking external assurance for the report

Governance, Commitments, and Engagement

4.1 Governance structure of A Corporate Governance the organization

4.2 Indicate whether the Chair of the A Corporate Governance highest governance body is also an executive officer

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 14 2011 Indicator Description Response or Link Report

4.3 State the number of members of A Corporate Governance the highest governance body that are independent and/or non- executive members

4.4 Mechanisms for shareholders and D Corporate Governance employees to provide recommendations or direction to the highest governance body

4.5 Linkage between compensation A NI believes that a significant portion of its executives’ total compensation should for members of the highest be directly linked to achieving specified financial objectives that NI thinks governance body, senior will create stockholder value. Under an annual incentive cash bonus program, managers, and executives, and executives receive payments based on the achievement of NI business goals the organization’s performance approved by the NI board. In addition, all regular full-time and part-time employees, including executives, participate in a company performance bonus program. For employees to receive the maximum payout under this program, NI must achieve predetermined goals for revenue growth and profitability. NI also uses stock-based equity compensation to incentivize a large number of its regular, full-time, and exempt employees, including executives. Refer to the Executive Compensation section of the Proxy Statement for more information about the NI approach toward compensation as well as specific business goals under the annual incentive program.

4.6 Processes in place for the highest A Proxy Statement, Certain Relationships and Related Transactions section governance body to ensure conflicts of interest are avoided

4.7 Process for determining A Charter for the Nomination and Governance Committee of the NI Board of the qualifications and expertise of Directors; Proxy Statement, Corporate Governance section the members of the highest governance body for guiding the organization’s strategy on economic, environmental, and social topics

4.8 Internally developed statements A The following statements and tools serve as a way of ensuring the company’s of mission or values, codes of performance meets its standards. conduct, and principles relevant to economic, environmental, and Statement Implementation social performance and the status of their implementation Company Mission and At NI corporate headquarters, the new Vision Statements employee training program and Leadership Development Series cover these core principles. At branch offices, local leaders are responsible for integrating these principles into their branch organizations.

NI Code of Ethics Refer to the Create a Great Place to Work section of this report.

Supplier Code of Conduct Refer to the Operations and Product Recycling section of this report.

4.9 Procedures of the highest A PDF Report - Corporate Responsibility Challenges and Opportunities; Approach governance body for overseeing to Corporate Responsibility the organization’s identification and management of economic, environmental, and social performance, including relevant risks and opportunities, and adherence or compliance with internationally agreed standards, codes of conduct, and principles ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 15 2011 Indicator Description Response or Link Report

4.10 Processes for evaluating A Charter for the Audit Committee of the NI Board of Directors the highest governance body’s own performance, particularly with respect to economic, environmental, and social performance

4.11 Explanation of whether and A NI has not explicitly addressed the precautionary approach. However, both of the how the precautionary approach company’s manufacturing facilities are certified to ISO 14001 standards, which NI or principle is addressed by uses to proactively identify where its activities have an environmental impact. the organization

4.12 Externally developed economic, A External Year of Operations Key Voluntary environmental, and social Initiative Adoption Where Applied Stakeholders or charters, principles, or Required other initiatives to which the organization subscribes Clean Air 2004 Corporate Employees Voluntary or endorses Partners headquarters Program

Electronic 2008 Worldwide Suppliers Voluntary Industry Citizenship Coalition (EICC) Code of Conduct ISO 14001 2003 Corporate Employees Voluntary standards headquarters and NI Hungary

4.13 Memberships in associations A PDF Report - NI Memberships and Associations (such as industry associations) and/or national/international advocacy organizations

4.14 List of stakeholder groups A NI Culture and Stakeholder Engagement engaged by the organization

4.15 Basis for identification and D NI Culture and Stakeholder Engagement selection of stakeholders with whom to engage

4.16 Approaches to stakeholder A PDF Report - Stakeholder Engagement engagement, including frequency of engagement by type and by stakeholder group

4.17 Key topics and concerns that have A NI Culture and Stakeholder Engagement been raised through stakeholder engagement, and how the organization has responded to those key topics and concerns, including through its reporting

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 16 Performance Indicators

2011 Indicator Description Response or Link Report Economic

Disclosure on A concise disclosure with A PDF Report - Management Approach Disclosures Management reference to the following Approach economic aspects: ■■ Economic performance ■■ Market presence ■■ Indirect economic impacts

EC1 Economic value generated A PDF Report - Financial Information and distributed

EC3 Coverage of the organization’s A Create a Great Place to Work defined benefit plan obligations

Environmental

Disclosure on A concise disclosure with A PDF Report - Management Approach Disclosures Management reference to the following Approach environmental aspects: ■■ Materials ■■ Energy ■■ Water ■■ Biodiversity ■■ Emissions, effluents, and waste ■■ Products and services ■■ Compliance ■■ Transport ■■ Overall

EN1 Materials used by weight or D Product Design and Packaging volume

EN3 Direct energy consumption by A Electricity, Natural Gas, and Emissions primary energy source

EN4 Indirect energy consumption by A Electricity, Natural Gas, and Emissions. For purchased electricity, the primary source corresponding primary energy consumed in production is not available.

EN5 Energy saved due to conservation A Electricity, Natural Gas, and Emissions; Employees Driving Change and efficiency improvements

EN7 Initiatives to reduce indirect D Electricity, Natural Gas, and Emissions; Employees Driving Change energy consumption and reductions achieved

EN8 Total water withdrawal by source A Water Usage, Recycling, and Waste Reduction

EN10 Percentage and total volume of A NI does not recycle or reuse water at its corporate headquarters or NI water recycled and reused Hungary.

EN13 Habitats protected or restored A Approximately 63%, or 16.6 hectares, of the NI corporate headquarters campus remains in its original state with a healthy functioning ecosystem and is protected from any harm during operational activities. For more information about this campus, refer to the Water Usage, Recycling, and Waste Reduction section of this report.

EN16 Total direct and indirect greenhouse A Electricity, Natural Gas, and Emissions gas emissions by weight

EN22 Total weight of waste by type and D Water Usage, Recycling, and Waste Reduction disposal method ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 17 2011 Indicator Description Response or Link Report

EN23 Total number and volume of A No hazardous spills occurred at either NI manufacturing facility. significant spills

EN26 Initiatives to mitigate environmental A Product Life Cycle impacts of products and services, and extent of impact mitigation

EN28 Monetary value of significant fines A No fines or sanctions were incurred for noncompliance with environmental and total number of nonmonetary laws and regulations at either NI manufacturing facility. sanctions for noncompliance with environmental laws and regulations

Social Labor Practices and Decent Work

Disclosure on A concise disclosure with reference A PDF Report - Management Approach Disclosures Management to the following labor aspects: Approach ■■ Employment ■■ Labor/management relations ■■ Occupational health and safety ■■ Training and education ■■ Diversity and equal opportunity

LA1 Total workforce by employment A Recruiting and Retaining Employees type, employment contract, and region

LA2 Total number and rate of D Recruiting and Retaining Employees employee turnover by age group, gender, and region

LA7 Rates of injury, occupational D Create a Great Place to Work diseases, lost days, and absenteeism, and number of work-related fatalities by region

LA10 Average hours of training A Superior Employee Development per year per employee by employee category

LA11 Programs for skills management A Superior Employee Development. NI does not offer paid educational and lifelong learning that support leave or sabbaticals as an employee benefit. NI offers the following the continued employability of transition assistance programs for employees who are retiring or who employees and assist them in have been terminated. managing career endings Program Offered Details Retirement planning for Ye s NI offers resources on intended retirees retirement planning to all employees. Retraining for those No intending to continue working Severance pay Ye s NI offers severance pay in some situations. Typically, severance pay takes into account years of service. Job placement services Ye s NI offers job placement assistance in some situations. Assistance on No transitioning to a nonworking life ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 18 2011 Indicator Description Response or Link Report

LA12 Percentage of employees A Superior Employee Development receiving regular performance and career development reviews

LA13 Composition of governance D Recruiting and Retaining Employees bodies and breakdown of employees per category according to gender, age group, minority group membership, and other indicators of diversity

Human Rights

Disclosure on A concise disclosure with A PDF Report - Management Approach Disclosures Management reference to the following human Approach rights aspects: ■■ Investment and procurement practices ■■ Nondiscrimination ■■ Freedom of association and collective bargaining ■■ Abolition of child labor ■■ Prevention of forced and compulsory labor ■■ Complaints and grievance practices ■■ Security practices ■■ Indigenous rights

HR2 Percentage of significant A Sixty-five percent of suppliers have undergone this screening, and no suppliers and contractors that actions have resulted from the screening. For more information about have undergone screening on supplier screening, refer to the Operations and Product Recycling section human rights and actions taken of this report.

HR6 Operations identified as having A NI has not identified any operations with significant risk for incidents of significant risk for incidents of child labor of young workers exposed to hazardous work. NI does not and child labor, and measures taken to will not use child labor. The term “child” refers to any employed person contribute to the elimination of under the age of 16, under the age for completing compulsory education, child labor or under the minimum age for employment in the country, whichever is greatest. NI supports the use of legitimate workplace apprenticeship, internship, and similar programs that comply with all laws and regulations applicable to such programs.

HR7 Operations identified as having A NI has not identified any operations with significant risk for incidents of significant risk for incidents of forced or compulsory labor. NI does not and will not use forced or forced or compulsory labor, and involuntary labor of any type, including but not limited to forced, bonded, measures to contribute to the indentured, or involuntary prison labor. Employment is voluntary. elimination of forced or compulsory labor

Society

Disclosure on A concise disclosure with A PDF Report - Management Approach Disclosures Management reference to the following society Approach aspects: ■■ Community ■■ Corruption ■■ Public policy ■■ Anticompetitive behavior ■■ Compliance

SO3 Percentage of employees trained D Create a Great Place to Work in organization’s anticorruption policies and procedures

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 19 2011 Indicator Description Response or Link Report Product Responsibility

Disclosure on A concise disclosure with A PDF Report - Management Approach Disclosures Management reference to the following product Approach responsibility aspects: ■■ Customer health and safety ■■ Product and service labeling ■■ Marketing communications ■■ Customer privacy ■■ Compliance

PR1 Life cycle stages in which health A NI assesses the health and safety impacts of products and services for and safety impacts of products improvement during the following life cycle stages. and services are assessed for improvement, and percentage Impacts Life Cycle Stage of significant products and Assessed services categories subject to such procedures Development of product concept No R&D Ye s Certification Ye s Manufacturing and production Ye s Marketing and promotion No Storage distribution and supply Ye s Use and service Ye s Disposal, reuse, or recycling Ye s

Of the significant NI product or service categories, 100% are covered by and assessed for compliance with such procedures.

PR5 Practices related to customer A PDF Report - Measuring NI Customer Satisfaction satisfaction, including results of surveys measuring customer satisfaction

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 20 Management Approach Disclosures The following disclosures provide a brief overview of how National Instruments manages its performance under each Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) indicator category.

To manage the performance of the supply chain, NI requires suppliers to comply with the NI Supplier Code of Conduct for the fair treatment of workers, a healthy and safe work environment, the protection of the environment, and outstanding business ethics. In addition, all new suppliers must complete an NI supplier assessment survey. If the survey process identifies issues, NI conducts regular follow-up with the supplier. For existing key suppliers, NI monitors issues and reviews performance scorecards quarterly to ensure continuous improvement.

■■ Economic

■■ Environmental

■■ Labor Practices and Decent Work

■■ Human Rights

■■ Society

■■ Product Responsibility

Economic The management approach taken by NI regarding its economic performance, market presence, and indirect economic impacts stems heavily from the company’s commitment to upholding solid principles of corporate governance and accountability to all its stakeholders. The company has set long-term goals of investing 16 percent of its total revenue back into R&D while maintaining an 18 percent operating income and 14 percent net income. To view the company’s 2011 results, refer to the Annual Report.

NI uses quarterly business discussions and other employee communication tools to raise internal awareness of economic goals and performance. Should issues arise related to the company's economic performance, the NI Board of Directors would address them.

For more information regarding the company’s approach to managing economic performance, download the Form 10-K section of the Annual Report.

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 21 Environmental Refer to the Minimize Our Environmental Impact section of this report for an overview of NI environmental performance including 2011 successes and challenges as well as 2012 commitments. For information about the NI approach to managing issues related to its products and services, including environmental compliance, refer to the Product Responsibility section.

Goals and Organizational Training and Monitoring and Aspect Policy Performance Responsibility Awareness Follow-Up

Materials Product Design NI Supplier Code Vice president, All NI hardware On a quarterly basis, and Packaging of Conduct Manufacturing engineers follow R&D leaders receive a the NI hardware report of conversions to Managing engineering address the European Critical Substances process, which Union Restriction of the raises awareness of Use of Certain materials issues. Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive.

Energy, water, Electricity, Resource Vice president, NI Green Team NI reviews performance emissions, Natural Gas, Conservation Manufacturing on a quarterly basis and effluents, and Emissions then examines any and waste abnormal fluctuations. Water Usage, Recycling, and Waste Reduction

Compliance, as it Operations and Managing Vice president, Employees Operations and relates to overall Product Recycling Critical Substances Manufacturing responsible for Product Recycling environmental maintaining the performance Product Take-Bake NI environmental Program and management Recycling system have access to process training.

For biodiversity and transportation issues, NI does not have a formal policy, nor does it set goals or offer training. Should these issues arise, the vice president of Manufacturing would address them.

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 22 Labor Practices and Decent Work Refer to the People and Culture section of this report for an overview of NI performance regarding labor practices including 2011 successes and challenges as well as 2012 commitments.

Goals and Organizational Training and Monitoring and Aspect Policy Performance Responsibility Awareness Follow-Up

Employment Recruiting and Hire and Retain the Vice president, At NI corporate The NI Human Retention Best and Brightest Worldwide Human headquarters, the Resources department Resources new employee training monitors program covers this these issues. aspect. At branch offices, the branch leadership is responsible for training and raising awareness.

Occupational Health, Wellness, Health, Wellness, Vice president, At NI manufacturing NI is working toward health and Safety and Safety Manufacturing facilities, employees full compliance with and safety receive ongoing the OHSAS 18001 training related to standard, which helps Operations and Operations and occupational health companies control Product Recycling Product Recycling and safety. occupational health and safety risks.

Training Superior Employee Superior Employee Vice president, Superior Employee The NI Human and education Development Development Worldwide Development Resources department Human Resources monitors these issues.

Diversity Recruiting and Recruiting and Vice president, At NI corporate The NI Human and equal Retention Retention Worldwide headquarters, the new Resources department opportunity Human employee training monitors these issues. Resources program covers this aspect. At branch offices, the branch leadership is responsible for training and raising awareness.

For labor/management relations issues, NI does not have a formal policy, nor does it set goals or offer training. Should these issues arise, the vice president of Worldwide Human Resources would address them.

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 23 Human Rights In the countries where NI has offices, the company follows applicable legislative standards and is a responsible employer. For information about the NI approach to managing nondiscrimination issues, refer to the Labor Practices and Decent Work section of this page.

NI does not have a formal policy, nor does it set goals or offer training, for the following aspects related to human rights: investment and procurement practices; freedom of association and collective bargaining; complaints and grievance practices; security practices; and indigenous rights. NI does have a policy but does not set goals or offer training for the following aspects:

■■ Abolition of child labor: Indicator HR6 in the GRI Index

■■ Prevention of forced and compulsory labor: Indicator HR7 in the GRI Index

Should human rights issues arise in the area of employment, the vice president of Worldwide Human Resources would address them in accordance with applicable legislative standards. The NI Board of Directors would address all other human rights issues.

Society Refer to the People and Culture section of this report for an overview of how NI and its employees serve the communities in which they work and live, including 2011 successes and challenges as well as 2012 commitments.

Goals and Organizational Training and Monitoring and Aspect Policy Performance Responsibility Awareness Follow-Up

Corruption Create a Great NI Code of Ethics Audit Committee of the Create a Great Refer to the charter for Place to Work NI Board of Directors Place to Work the Audit Committee of the NI Board of Directors.

NI does not have a formal policy, nor does it set goals or offer training, for the following aspects related to the impact NI has on the communities in which it operates: community, public policy, and compliance. NI does have the following policy related to anticompetitive behavior but does not set goals or offer training: National Instruments Corporation Compliance with Antitrust Laws. Should issues arise in the areas of community, compliance, or anticompetitive behavior, the NI Board of Directors would address them.

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 24 Product Responsibility Refer to the Minimize Our Environmental Impact section of this report for an overview of NI performance regarding product responsibility including 2011 successes and challenges as well as 2012 commitments.

Goals and Organizational Training and Monitoring and Aspect Policy Performance Responsibility Awareness Follow-Up

Customer NI does not set Indicator PR1 in Vice president, No training or Should these issues arise, health and goals related to the GRI Index Manufacturing awareness efforts NI would rely on its customer safety this aspect. exist. quality escalation process.

Product and Product Design Product Take-Back Vice president, All NI hardware Regular quality checks during service labeling and Packaging Program and Manufacturing engineers follow the NI the NI manufacturing process Recycling hardware engineering ensure proper labeling. process, which raises Managing Critical awareness of labeling Substances issues.

Customer NI does not set NI Privacy Senior vice At NI corporate NI continually gathers privacy goals related to Statement president, Sales headquarters, sales and feedback through customer this aspect. and Marketing marketing staff receive surveys and comment training on the forms and follows up on company’s email issues that arise. privacy policy. At branch offices, marketing staff receive this training.

Compliance Operations and Managing Critical Vice president, Employees involved in The NI Compliance Product Substances Manufacturing the manufacturing Engineering department Recycling process have access to monitors these issues. NI has process training. processes in place to make sure all components that go into its products are compliant. In addition, on a quarterly basis, R&D leadership receives a report of conversions to address the European Union Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive.

For marketing communications issues, NI does not have a formal policy, nor does it set goals or offer training. Should these issues arise, the senior vice president of Sales and Marketing would address them.

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 25 NI Culture and Stakeholder Engagement National Instruments’ industry leadership is built on proven technology, visionary executive management, and sustained growth. Managed for the long term, the company balances the needs of each of its key stakeholders and is committed to innovation, continuous improvement, and customer success. The company’s long-term view, known as the 100-year plan, balances the NI vision and culture with short-term business needs.

NI aggressively invests not only in product design and development but also in maintaining its unique corporate culture that serves as a key differentiator and competitive advantage. This collaborative, entrepreneurial culture spurs innovation in every area of the business and empowers employees to create technology that helps customers and partners address the world’s greatest engineering challenges.

The following underlying NI core values are central to the company’s corporate culture and are present in day-to-day interactions and the way NI does business:

■■ Constant respect for people

■■ Uncompromising honesty and integrity

■■ Dedication to serving customers

■■ Commitment to innovation and continuous improvement

Through the various means in which NI engages with its stakeholders, the company’s management gains visibility and creates alignment with key corporate responsibility priorities and concerns, as shown in the following examples.

■■ Employees—One of the top concerns for employees in 2011 continued to be the rising cost of health care. As part of their open-communication policy, NI leaders held multiple town-hall-style meetings to discuss how new healthcare legislation in the US will impact NI and its employees. At these meetings, they also took questions about how the company plans to manage these expenses. Additionally, NI wants to make it easier for its employees to “get healthier.” Therefore, in 2011 NI conducted its second round of health risk assessments (HRAs) for employees. The company uses the aggregate data from the HRAs to develop health and wellness programs tailored for its employees. NI also announced that starting in 2012 all US locations will be tobacco free. To help employees prepare for this change, the company is offering free smoking cessation programs for all employees who desire to quit smoking.

■■ Customers—As NI continues to grow and the number of large systems sold continues to account for a greater percentage of the company’s business, a complete services and support offering becomes a greater priority for customers. Services and support is a current investment area for NI. Through a customer satisfaction survey regarding the NI services offerings, NI discovered it has the opportunity to enhance awareness of its system assurance programs and hardware services among customers.

■■ Suppliers—In 2010 the US Congress passed the Conflict Minerals Trade Act as part of the Dodd-Frank Financial Reform legislation. The law’s aim is to curb violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and surrounding regions by restricting the use of certain minerals originating in rebel-controlled mines. These substances include the base minerals for gold, tantalum, tin, and tungsten. All US companies that use these minerals in their products are required to report the origins of these materials in their 2012 filings with the SEC; therefore, determining this information has become a key concern for both NI and its suppliers. In 2011, NI included discussions on this act as part of its annual supplier conference and started working with its supply chain to understand the origin of these minerals used in NI products.

■■ Shareholders—This year NI investors focused on the company’s strategic investments in R&D and the field sales force, key growth drivers, and uses of cash. In 2011, NI management addressed these topics by participating in multiple events including 11 investor conferences and two nondeal road shows. The company also hosted its shareholder meeting at its headquarters, quarterly earnings calls, and its annual analyst day as part of the NIWeek global user conference. NI paid cash dividends equaling $0.40 USD per share in 2011, which was $0.05 USD more per share over 2010. ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 26 Building on NI’s 100-year plan and core values, the following statements and tools ensure that the company's performance meets its standards:

Statement Implementation

Company Mission and Vision Statements At NI corporate headquarters, the new employee training program and Leadership Development Series cover these core principles. At branch offices, the local leaders are responsible for integrating these principles into their branch organizations.

Corporate Responsibility Mission Statement In 2010, NI corporate headquarters added a new component to the training program for new employees to cover this principle. In 2011, corporate responsibility was included in all company overview material and implemented into company training at both headquarters and branches.

NI Code of Ethics Refer to the Health, Wellness, and Safety section of this report.

Supplier Code of Conduct Refer to the Operations and Product Recycling section of this report.

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 27 Stakeholder Engagement The following table lists examples of how NI engages with its key stakeholders.

Stakeholder Group Tools and Processes Frequency

Employees Company meetings Semiannual Employee Appreciation Week Annual

Business alignment discussions Quarterly

Town hall gatherings Ongoing

Performance reviews Annual

An open-door management policy known as sneaker management Ongoing

Philanthropic funding advisory council Annual

NI Talk internal collaboration tool Ongoing

Internal e-newsletter Weekly

NIWeb intranet and wiki Ongoing Customers NIWeek, the company’s annual customer and technology Annual conference, and regional NIDays held at NI offices around the world

Online discussion forums and user community Ongoing

User group meetings around the world Ongoing

Direct sales force Ongoing

Contact forms, including technical support, customer service, and Ongoing product feedback

Customer loyalty surveys Semiannual

Customer advisory boards and regional advisory councils at which Ongoing NI facilitates discussions with key customers about its products, technologies, and industry trends

Lead user program to identify opportunities and receive product Ongoing feedback Suppliers Procurement and purchasing resources Ongoing Supplier appreciation event Annual

Business reviews with key suppliers Ongoing

Business review presentations by suppliers Quarterly

Supplier corporate responsibility survey Annual Shareholders Earnings conference call and webcast Quarterly Reports Quarterly/annual

NIWeek investor conference Annual

Shareholder meeting Annual

Financial community event participation Ongoing

SEC filings Annual

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 28 Measuring NI Customer Satisfaction In 2011, NI conducted multiple research projects to better understand overall customer satisfaction with the company, its annual global user conference, and some of its product lines, services, and support options. This research included the following:

Survey Type Purpose Results

One global To monitor the level of satisfaction customers NI customers indicated a high level of satisfaction and customer satisfaction and have with all aspects of their interaction with the loyalty for the company and its products in 2011. loyalty survey company, including the product information NI continues to make improvements to ni.com so that provided, sales representatives, the ordering customers have an enhanced online experience process, product usage, and technical support, with the NI forums, community, documentation, and as well as the level of customer loyalty. overall searchability.

One survey conducted during To gauge attendee satisfaction with the event. NI continues to see that NIWeek attendees are attracted NIWeek, the company’s annual to the advanced technical content, access to NI engineers, global user conference industry-specific forums, and networking opportunities.

Two focus groups To better understand the key concerns and Customers see LabVIEW as a powerful tool and believe at NIWeek existing perceptions among LabVIEW customers. hardware integration and the availability of drivers and customer support are key benefits of the platform. The LabVIEW team heard differences in needs and preferences among varying customer types and is following up on these findings.

One US satisfaction survey on To determine whether customers are aware of Customers are confident that NI has the services they NI service offerings NI services at the point of sale and to rate need to ensure success. Support and software updates customer confidence in the ability of NI services are viewed as the most important services among to meet their needs. customers. NI discovered it has an opportunity to enhance awareness of its System Assurance Program and hardware services among customers.

NI Financial Information The company's 2011 revenue of $1.02 billion USD represented a 17 percent increase over 2010 with operating expenses of $670.5 million USD. NI economic value distributed included employee wages and benefits1 of $434.9 million USD; payments to the government2 of $2.4 million USD; payments to the providers of capital3 of $48.0 million USD; and community investments4 of $1.9 million USD. NI retained an economic value5 of $852.0 million USD. For more corporate and financial news, visit ni.com/nati.

1� Wages and benefits does not include the 2010 company performance bonus, vacation, and other incentives awarded to employees. 2. Payments to the government represents income tax expense as reported in the company's annual 10K report. 3. Payments to the providers of capital represents dividends to shareholders as reported in the company's annual 10K report. 4. Community investments represent voluntary donations and investments of funds in the broader community where the target beneficiaries are external to the company. 5. Retained economic value represents the total stockholders' equity as reported in the company's annual 10K report.

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 29 NI Memberships and Associations NI is a member of the following organizations and standards bodies. For 2011, NI focused on gathering a list of memberships at its corporate headquarters. NI will provide additional global data in future reports as it becomes available.

■■ The Academy of Medicine, Engineering and Science ■■ Numerical Mathematics Consortium (NMC) of Texas (TAMEST) ■■ PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Group

■■ Advanced Telecommunications (PICMG) Computing Architecture ■■ PCI-SIG

■■ Austin Area Trade Compliance Roundtable ■■ PXI Systems Alliance (PXISA)

■■ The International Compliance ■■ TechAmerica United States and Europe Professionals Association ■■ Technology and Education Executive Council (TEEC) ■■ The Institute of Packaging Professionals (IoPP) ■■ Test and Measurement Coalition ■■ The IPSO Alliance ■■ USB Implementers Forum ■■ IVI Foundation ■■ Wi-Fi Alliance ■■ National Association of Purchasing Management ■■ WirelessHD Consortium ■■ NCSL International

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 30 Empower Engineers and Scientists It is up to engineers and scientists to meet the grand challenges that impact quality of life and the future of the planet. National Instruments equips engineers around the world with the tools that accelerate the development of these solutions. By using the NI graphical system design platform that greatly simplifies development and increases efficiency, engineers can design, prototype, and test smarter, more advanced products and technologies to address the world’s most pressing challenges including building and maintaining urban infrastructure, producing renewable energy, and developing medical devices. NI empowers its customers with a better approach to engineering and ensures that engineers in developing countries who face extraordinary barriers to adoption also have access to this technology.

In This Section

- Improve Everyday Life

- Planet NI

BY THE NUMBERS 35,000+ >16% 34 companies used NI tools to of total revenue was reinvested developing countries’ engineers accelerate innovation and in R&D to further empower now have access to NI technology discovery in 2011 engineers and scientists to develop through the Planet NI program, world-improving technologies up from 20 in 2010

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 31 Improve Everyday Life Engineers and scientists worldwide are using National Instruments software and hardware to improve the lives of those around them. In addition to addressing the key social issues highlighted in the Grand Challenges for Engineering, NI products are used in all areas of innovation, from developing test systems for cutting-edge space exploration vehicles to building complex 3D video display systems.

To continue to ensure the success of its customers, NI is committed to investing aggressively in R&D. NI leads the industry in R&D investment, including percentage of revenue invested back into R&D and percentage of overall employee headcount that works in R&D. NI invests at least 16 percent of total revenue in R&D each year regardless of the economic climate. This reflects both the company’s long-term focus and its commitment to support the work its customers are doing.

2011 HIGHLIGHTS 2011 CHALLENGES 2012 COMMITMENTS

■■ 35,000+ companies used NI tools ■■ NI has traditionally produced ■■ Continue to invest at least to accelerate innovation and broad-based tools that can be 16 percent of revenue in R&D discovery in 2011 used for many different ■■ Facilitate industry collaboration applications, but as the company ■■ >16% of total revenue was by bringing together engineers, reinvested in R&D to further becomes more involved with business leaders, and government empower engineers and customers in specific industries, officials through events such as scientists to develop world- more customization is expected the NIWeek summits and the Big improving technologies Physics Symposium

The LabVIEW graphical programming environment helps “with rapid development and deployment. If we had tried to build our PowerCube energy system using a text-based language, we wouldn’t be anywhere near where we are now in the development cycle, and as a result, several regions in Africa would still rely on expensive, nonrenewable sources of energy for mobile phone coverage. —Dr. Mike Rendall, Diverse” Energy Ltd ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 32 Customer Innovation Impact National Instruments customers are creating innovative solutions that improve quality of life. Whether they are building structural test and monitoring devices that ensure railroads are safe, or medical instruments that can detect cancer without the stress of a biopsy, or a solar energy system that keeps milk in rural areas from spoiling, NI customers around the world continue to have a positive impact on the lives of millions of people.

CASE STUDY Developing the World’s First Real-Time 3D OCT Medical Imaging System Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a noninvasive imaging technique that provides subsurface, cross-sectional images of materials. Interest in OCT technology continues to grow because it provides much greater resolution than other imaging techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or positron emission tomography (PET). Additionally, the method requires very little preparation and is extremely safe for the patient because it involves low-laser outputs without the use of ionizing radiation.

Kitasato University took advantage of the flexibility and scalability of the PXI platform and NI FlexRIO to develop the world’s first real-time 3D OCT imaging system. They used LabVIEW to program, integrate, and control the different parts of the system, combining high-channel-count acquisition with field-programmable gate array (FPGA) and GPU processing for real-time computation, rendering, and display.

CASE STUDY Solar Energy Helps Keep Milk Safe in Rural India Every day, dairy processors in India are challenged with transporting milk from millions of individual farms in villages to central processing facilities in distant cities. With the NI graphical system design platform, Promethean Power Systems built a hybrid solar- and grid-powered refrigeration system to cool and store raw milk at the villages where the milk is produced.

The hybrid milk chiller cuts both transportation costs for dairy farmers and chilling costs in half because it uses solar energy. The system works well in rural areas where grid power is unreliable. Most importantly, cooling the milk at the source results in premium-quality, healthier milk that can be used for higher-value products such as cheese and baby formula.

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 33 CASE STUDY Remotely Assessing the Structural Health of the Long Island Railroad Viaduct Viewpoint Systems, Inc., needed to remotely monitor the Long Island Railroad (LIRR) viaduct for a long period of time without physically accessing the equipment because the LIRR is the only commuter passenger railroad in the United States that operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Structural test and monitoring are essential to ensure the stability and integrity of civil and commercial structures.

The company collaborated with STRAAM Corporation, a leader in structural integrity assessment, to develop a rugged system that functions outdoors and in other less-accessible sites yet maintains the capabilities of commercially available PC-based solutions. Viewpoint Systems used NI CompactRIO, the LabVIEW FPGA Module, and the LabVIEW Digital Filter Design Toolkit to measure the modal analysis of vibration data generated from ambient excitation, capture this data remotely, and analyze significant events.

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 34 Planet NI Planet NI is an initiative designed to empower engineers and students in developing countries to achieve economic prosperity and sustainable development through access to National Instruments technology. NI is committed to nurturing local innovation and entrepreneurship and, through Planet NI, the company is making engineering tools affordable, accessible, and relevant to groups focused on improving the socioeconomic development of their communities. These groups include academic institutions, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and organizations working on environmental and health solutions.

NI offices around the world locally define and support their Planet NI programs by collaborating with groups and individuals that share the Planet NI mission to improve the world through technology.

2011 HIGHLIGHTS 2011 CHALLENGES 2012 COMMITMENTS

■■ Expanded the Planet NI program ■■ Emerging countries with low ■■ Double the number of LabVIEW from 20 to 34 countries buying power require new users in developing countries products optimized for low cost who would otherwise not have ■■ Partnered with organizations had access to NI technology including UNESCO in southeast ■■ Needs vary significantly between Asia, the UN Development communities, making it difficult ■■ Invest in the creation of Programme in Arabia, Engineering to standardize initiatives while affordable product offerings that World Health in Honduras, LEGO maximizing local impact are relevant for engineers in Education in South America, and developing countries Texas Instruments in Ghana ■■ Double the number of SMEs enrolled in the Planet NI program

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 35 Providing Access to Technology Planet NI extends the NI company mission of equipping engineers and scientists with the tools to accelerate innovation and discovery to the large population of engineers in developing countries who face extraordinary barriers to adoption. NI does this to help engineers build technology-based solutions that can contribute to the economic prosperity and sustainable development of the people living in developing and emerging countries.

One of Planet NI’s key strategies is working with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), governmental institutions, and multilateral groups working locally to alleviate poverty through job creation and capacity building. In other words, Planet NI creates local and sustainable programs driven by NI offices in addition to partnering with national and global organizations for maximum community impact.

CASE STUDY Building a Sustainable Indoor Farm LEDSS S.A. de C.V.’s mission is to grow sustainably using natural, renewable resources from the region around the Bermejo Sea in Mexico. It works to meet local social challenges such as the scarcity of potable water and the lack of land suitable for agriculture. One project the company has invested in is the Agro Hi Tec park, which is an indoor park that reuses materials and creates almost no waste. By providing LabVIEW licenses and extensive training on LabVIEW and the LabVIEW Real-Time Module, NI helped the company control and monitor the park.

CASE STUDY Creating a Pocket Projector for Rural India Udupi Tech, one of the earliest SMEs supported by Planet NI in India, has grown from a one-person start-up to a 32-person company working simultaneously on six engineering projects. The company, which is located in Bangalore, provides a variety of efficient design and manufacturing services. It was founded in 2002 by Ramachandra Rao, a former professor who wanted to create his own system integration business. He faced a few initial challenges with his first LabVIEW project, but after receiving technical support from NI, he became extremely successful. The company has since created products such as the “pocket projector,” a low-cost projection

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 36 Enhancing Engineering and Science Education Many of the world’s most significant engineering challenges will be met decades into the future by the next generation of engineers and scientists. To inspire today’s students to become tomorrow’s innovators, NI invests heavily in improving science and engineering education, engaging students with technology, and equipping educators with resources to help them teach fundamental engineering concepts in a fun, hands- on way. Specifically, the company provides interactive, real-world learning experiences; low-cost and free training opportunities; a strong global mentorship program; and technology and funding.

In This Section

- Empowering Educators and Engaging Students

- Creating an Innovative Future Workforce http://www.ni.com/images/citizenship/features/en/110418_fg_ - Supporting Engineering and improving.jpg (we want to use this image without the words over it) Science Education Worldwide - Encouraging Innovation in Engineering and Science Education

BY THE NUMBERS 454 2,016 free courseware resources made available to educators FIRST student robotics teams were given LabVIEW for LEGO MINDSTORMS software

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 37 Empowering Educators and Engaging Students Transitioning from learning engineering and science theory to actually implementing that knowledge in the real world can be challenging for students. NI works to remove that barrier by providing complete education solutions that include hardware, software, courseware, and support. Through these solutions, NI empowers educators to focus more on teaching engineering concepts and less on teaching the tools, which gives students engaging, interactive learning experiences that stay with them long after they transition to real-world projects. NI also provides many free resources for educators to enhance their classroom offerings. Initiatives such as K12Lab.com for primary and secondary school teachers and the NI courseware portal for university professors feature effective content that educators can use directly or adapt to their learning environments.

2011 HIGHLIGHTS 2011 CHALLENGES 2012 COMMITMENTS

■■ Released two new LabVIEW ■■ Obstacles to implementing a ■■ Provide cost-effective technology software packages designed for hands-on, project-based approach solutions to educational institutions the high school classroom to teaching and learning include ■■ Deliver a complete curriculum cost, access to equipment, and ■■ Created the NI courseware portal solution for the electrical and made 368 courseware student-to-technology ratios engineering course continuum elements available to professors ■■ Develop and pilot an ■■ Introduced the first energy and power course complete education solution for secondary schools on the market for teaching RF and communications

I often ask my students, ‘how many times in your life do “you have the opportunity to change the world?’ With NI tools, we continue to work with our students to inspire them to develop new and exciting applications that may one day change the world.” –Dr. Dennis Hong, Roboticist and Associate Professor, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, College of Engineering

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 38 Delivering Complete Teaching Solutions A complete education solution from NI comprises hardware, software, and courseware, and is supplemented by NI technical support and online communities. In 2011, NI released products, portals, courseware, and resources to empower educators and engage students.

LabVIEW for LEGO MINDSTORMS NI LabVIEW for LEGO MINDSTORMS software is a new education-focused version of LabVIEW. NI developed it specifically for secondary school students to use with the LEGO Education robotics platform in classrooms and competitions. This software turns the LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT hardware already in use in many classrooms into a full-featured science and engineering learning station.

K12Lab To help primary and secondary school educators offer engaging learning experiences, NI launched K12Lab, a website where teachers can browse and share lesson plans, find inspiration from what others are accomplishing with technology, and get tools and support to help their students connect theory to reality faster. K12Lab users gained access to and contributed to a growing library of 86 lesson plans for subject areas such as physics, robotics, and computer science.

NI Courseware Portal Recognizing that engaging curriculum is a need that spans all levels of the education system, NI also introduced the NI Courseware Portal to deliver teaching and learning materials for universities. Initially populated with 368 resources for homework problems, lab exercises, example programs, and tutorials, the portal continues to grow as educators submit their own content to share with others. Educators can quickly search for content based on a specific concept, product, or format, such as lab exercises or homework problems, so they spend less time writing lesson plans and more time helping students.

Software Defined Radio Platform for Education NI offers complete education solutions for a range of application areas, from controls and mechatronics to circuits and electronics. In 2011, the company introduced the first complete education solution for RF and communications. Courses focused on signal processing as well as RF and communications often do not offer a hands-on component in the lab due to expensive equipment, steep learning curves for software programs, and the time demands required to develop the curriculum and lab exercises. To address the challenge of dwindling budgets combined with overpopulated classrooms and the pressure for educators to do more with less, National Instruments introduced NI USRP™ (Universal Software Radio Peripheral ) hardware and paired it with LabVIEW to give educators an affordable way to deliver a true hands-on learning experience to their students through experimentation with real-world signals and systems.

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 39 CASE STUDY The Infinity Project The Infinity Project includes the NI engineering and science teaching platform as part of its award-winning engineering education program.

Together, NI myDAQ hardware and LabVIEW for Education software create a platform that shows students real-world lab experiences. The Infinity Project has wholly embraced this unique and authentic approach to teaching.

Started in 1999, The Infinity Project provides a complete solution for teaching engineering with curriculum that reinforces the math and science concepts behind engineering practices. Students apply these concepts through hands-on design projects such as building speakers, robots, rockets, and prosthetic legs.

More than 450 middle schools, high schools, and colleges across the United States use The Infinity Project.

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 40 Creating an Innovative Future Workforce NI has invested in a wealth of training programs to help students of all ages, backgrounds, and geographies build resume-ready skills using professional tools, so they can graduate well prepared for technical careers and have access to fulfilling job opportunities. From the peer-to-peer NI LabVIEW Student Ambassador program, in which NI student ambassadors teach other students at their university, to the hundreds of LabVIEW Academy sites around the globe where educators deliver a formal LabVIEW curriculum, NI offers students a multitude of on-site opportunities to learn LabVIEW.

Students can also tap into free online resources including the self-paced video training modules in the LabVIEW 101 program. Educators have access to a worldwide network of NI users, dedicated support teams, and supplemental training options, so they can teach with confidence, knowing that their course is engaging and relevant and that it makes the best use of classroom time with NI training options.

2011 HIGHLIGHTS 2011 CHALLENGES 2012 COMMITMENTS

■■ 700 professors trained in using ■■ Shortage of primary and ■■ Equip educators with training LabVIEW secondary teachers adequately in LabVIEW trained to teach science, ■■ Provided 183 internship positions ■■ Connect students certified in to engineering students engineering, and math LabVIEW with companies ■■ Time constraints faced by seeking their skills ■■ 1,700 students learned LabVIEW students and educators as a direct result of the Student ■■ Help students reach minimum Ambassador program proficiency in LabVIEW

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 41 Training Students and Educators NI recognizes the importance of training tomorrow’s innovators and the educators who can guide students into an engineering-related career path. To meet the engineering grand challenges that society faces, there must be a continuous pool of talented engineers and scientists that are well-versed in cutting-edge industry tools such as LabVIEW software. For this reason, NI invests significant time and resources to train students and educators at a reduced cost or free of charge. In 2011, NI offered training in a variety of locations and formats to ensure all students had an equal opportunity to learn LabVIEW.

Free Webcasts To overcome the challenges of long distances and multiple languages across the region, the NI Eastern Europe branch hosted a series of free academic training webcasts for students and educators. NI offered the three-hour online LabVIEW basics training webcasts 21 times in five languages.

Robotics Symposia In collaboration with LEGO Education, NI cohosted 10 free robotics symposia in 2011. Through these events, NI trained primary and secondary school teachers on how to use robotics in the classroom in a way that engages students and helps them develop the skills they need to engineer real-world projects.

LabVIEW Student Ambassadors In its second year, the LabVIEW Student Ambassador program grew from seven to 31 ambassadors. Through this program, students who are passionate about LabVIEW and eager to train their peers on graphical system design host workshops on their college campuses to help fellow students achieve LabVIEW proficiency and certification. The program expanded to five countries in 2011. As a direct result of the Student Ambassador program, more than 1,700 students learned LabVIEW and nearly 400 became Certified LabVIEW Associate Developers (CLADs).

LabVIEW Academies The LabVIEW Academy program provides classroom curriculum and hands-on exercises to colleges and universities so they can offer LabVIEW training that prepares students for the CLAD exam. NI continues to encourage new educational institutions worldwide to become certified LabVIEW Academies to improve students’ career opportunities by providing experience and certification in LabVIEW. At the end of 2011, there were 175 LabVIEW Academy programs operating in 29 countries. The CLAD exam is free for students through the LabVIEW Academy program.

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 42 CASE STUDY Sharing Science Education Expertise in Asia The NI offices in the Pacific Islands hosted a three-day workshop for teachers in September as part of the Science, Technology, and Engineering Exchange Laboratory (STEEL) program, a joint initiative of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), National Instruments, and the Science Centre Singapore.

STEEL aims to build the capacity of ministry of education officials, technical and vocational teachers, and students in several Southeast Asian countries through curriculum development training; annual work plans that promote science, technology, and engineering education; and support to district and regional competitions. The program promotes hands-on learning through the exchange of information, ideas, and experience among countries in the region.

Nearly 40 science teachers from Indonesia, Timor-Leste, and Thailand joined educators in Singapore for the inaugural event, at which NI provided critical training on circuit experiments. NI donated 40 NI myDAQ and LabVIEW for Education sets to the participating schools to help teachers deliver innovative lessons to their classes.

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 43 Supporting Engineering and Science Education Worldwide NI anchors its community outreach program on enhancing engineering and science education through classroom mentorship, robotics competitions, and collaborations with nonprofits to inspire students to achieve greater technological proficiency. The company’s mentorship and outreach efforts give students access to hands-on projects that cultivate an interest in turning their studies into engineering and science careers.

Because so many NI employees are engineers themselves and have a deep knowledge and love for technology, they are passionate about introducing students to engineering and science concepts and helping to grow their skills in this area. NI employees serve as robotics and engineering mentors to hundreds of students around the world. NI specifically seeks to address the knowledge gap that widens when students in underserved communities don’t have access to the same technology as their peers.

2011 HIGHLIGHTS 2011 CHALLENGES 2012 COMMITMENTS

■■ Deployed LEGO robotics training ■■ Due to cultural differences and ■■ Expand NI corporate robotics for educators and students in perceptions of volunteering, mentorship program to five underserved communities in standardizing a global robotics schools or organizations that India, Costa Rica, and Mexico mentorship program continues to serve economically challenged be difficult students ■■ Retained 62.5% of robotics mentors at corporate headquarters ■■ Logistical barriers and time ■■ Increase the number of NI offices constraints prevent NI employees with robotics mentorship programs from serving in economically from 11 to 15 challenged communities at the level the company strives for

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 44 Providing Mentors and Community Outreach In 2011, 11 National Instruments offices facilitated volunteer programs that encouraged employees to mentor students in engineering and robotics. Due to cultural differences, each program varied slightly and ranged from mentoring local FIRST robotics teams to teaching students about robotics at local schools and events.

NI made progress toward its goal of expanding the robotics mentoring program to more branch offices by starting LEGO Education WeDo™ and LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT mentorship programs in locations served by NI Costa Rica and NI India. Managing and facilitating a global robotics mentorship program continues to be difficult due to the different perceptions of volunteering. For example, some branches do not categorize an activity as a volunteer activity unless it is performed outside work hours, while the NI corporate headquarters program often accommodates volunteer activities during traditional work hours. Despite these different perceptions, NI strives to meet the commitment to expand this program globally.

At corporate headquarters, NI surpassed its goal of retaining 60 percent of robotics mentors and was able to return 62.5 percent of its experienced mentors back to Central Texas classrooms. By retaining current mentors, NI saved valuable time and costs associated with training mentors for both educators and the company. Other individual office successes included growth in the number of mentors at NI Hungary and NI Malaysia.

Mentoring Participation at Corporate Headquarters

2007 2008 2009 2010/2011 2011/2012 Number of Mentors 153 141 141 156 151 Hours Volunteered1 8,721 8,037 8,037 8,835 8,607 Mentors Retained (YOY) 62% 44% 52% 54% 62.5% Mentorship Growth (YOY) 53% –7% 0% 11% –3%

1This total is an estimate based on the number of mentors, the number of weeks volunteered during a typical academic year, and the number of hours that mentors typically volunteer per week.

Robotics Mentoring and Activities Around the World

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 45 Outreach to Underserved Communities Around the Globe NI provides educators and students in underserved communities access to technologies that can inspire them to fundamentally change the way their communities function.

To avoid duplicating the strong efforts of various nonprofit organizations in Austin deploying engineering and science programs, NI partnered with Breakthrough Austin, the Austin Children’s Museum, and The University of Texas at Austin Design, Technology, and Engineering for All Children (DTEACh) program in 2011 to increase robotics mentorship opportunities located in underserved communities surrounding NI corporate headquarters. NI increased the number of corporate robotics mentors serving economically challenged communities from 17 to 28, but still felt that location-based barriers and time constraints prevented employees from serving in these areas at the level the company strives for.

Serving children that do not typically have access to technology is a global commitment. In 2011, NI expanded its mentoring efforts by deploying robotics workshops in underdeveloped areas within India, Costa Rica, and Mexico.

In Bangalore, India, NI employees launched a program by conducting a workshop to mentor more than 30 students at Anatha Shishu Nivasa children’s home. They used the WeDo robotics platform to teach students the basics of designing, building, and programming robots.

In Mexico, NI supports a Tecnologico de Monterrey initiative called “Learning Math with Robots at Elementary Schools.” The long-term goal of the project is to incorporate robotics into every math program within every elementary school in Mexico. This program helps all students, regardless of income, to experience the same level of technology access. NI provided in-kind product donations, and employees donated their time to training and mentoring elementary school teachers participating in the program.

NI Costa Rica opened a lab at Centro de Educación Salesiana Don Bosco, which is supported by Colegio Técnico Don Bosco, a local technical high school. The project educates and trains individuals from low-income areas on the outskirts of San José. The lab is part of NI Costa Rica’s larger initiative to enhance the school’s electrical engineering curriculum. The lab is equipped with National Instruments Educational Laboratory Virtual Instrumentation Suite (NI ELVIS) hardware and LabVIEW software to give students access to the latest technology for hands-on, project-based learning. NI provides software, hardware, and training as part of a long-term collaboration with Don Bosco. The lab trains approximately 240 high school students in basic electrical engineering principles using NI technology each year.

Advocating for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Education Even when NI mentors can’t be in the classroom, the company is passionate about spreading the message of project- based learning. In December 2011, along with the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and The University of Texas LBJ School of Public Affairs, NI cosponsored a discussion on the future of science, technology, engineering, and math education in the United States that focused on assessing developments in education and explored the impact of the recent emphasis on project-based learning.

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 46 CASE STUDY Robotics Mentoring for Low-Income Students In 2011, Breakthrough Austin, a nonprofit organization devoted to creating first-generation college graduates, worked with engineering mentors from the NI corporate office to enhance their summer program’s science curriculum by incorporating robotics.

To expose students to a hands-on engineering activity, McKay Bradford, an NI senior software engineer, created a LEGO MINDSTORMS soccer tournament. He spent one day training the instructors on how to use LEGO MINDSTORMS and teach engineering concepts. Then, Bradford and other NI engineers spent an additional day introducing LEGO MINDSTORMS to the students. After building and programming their robots, the students used them to compete in a soccer tournament.

“The team of NI volunteers was patient, prepared, and clearly connected with our students,” said Paulina Murton of Breakthrough Austin. “Students learned how to problem solve, work as a team, and consider careers in the field of engineering. It was an experience that they will be talking about for weeks, months, and years.”

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 47 Encouraging Innovation in Engineering and Science Education National Instruments supports education initiatives that make it possible for students to engage in hands-on learning activities around the globe. NI focuses its support on multiyear, multifaceted initiatives, for which corporate donations, R&D investment, and in-kind product gifts can have the biggest impact. NI offices throughout the world also donate generously to support education in their local communities.

2011 HIGHLIGHTS 2011 CHALLENGES 2012 COMMITMENTS

■■ Donated LabVIEW for LEGO ■■ Reduced education budgets due ■■ Continue to dedicate 70% of MINDSTORMS software to to global economic downturn corporate philanthropy to 2,016 FIRST Tech Challenge teams engineering and science ■■ Rapid technology obsolescence education efforts ■■ Designated more than 70% of makes it challenging for corporate donations to engineering classrooms to invest in new tools ■■ Continue to invest in and increase and science education efforts support of worldwide competitions that encourage students to become engineers and scientists

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 48 Providing Technology and Funding As an engineering company, NI is uniquely positioned to advance engineering and science education through its own employees and resources. The company strengthens its impact by working with globally recognized and highly effective educational and nonprofit organizations.

FIRST NI is a strategic partner to and heavily invested in FIRST, a nonprofit organization devoted to helping young people discover and develop a passion for science, technology, engineering, and math through afterschool robotics competitions. Because NI believes the program has a tremendous impact on the lives of students who participate, the company has made a multimillion-dollar, multiyear commitment to provide technology and support across all levels of the program, from FIRST LEGO League (FLL) to the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC).

NI involvement in FLL includes the following:

■■ Global financial sponsorship of $100,000 USD annually

■■ Employees serving as team mentors and event volunteers NI involvement in the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) includes the following:

■■ NI LabVIEW for LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT software donated to all teams

■■ Regional financial team and event sponsorship

■■ Employees serving as team mentors and event volunteers NI involvement in FRC includes the following:

■■ LabVIEW software and CompactRIO controllers provided to all teams at a discount

■■ Regional financial team and event sponsorship

■■ Employees serving as team mentors and event volunteers and providing technical support for teams during the season In 2011, NI continued its commitment to FIRST by investing in the creation of a new industry-grade controller for the FRC to make technology more accessible and affordable to students. NI also reinvented the LabVIEW experience for the FTC with the release of the new LabVIEW for LEGO MINDSTORMS software, which NI provided free to the 2,016 FTC teams participating in the 2012 season.

World Robot Olympiad NI supports other competitions aimed at inspiring innovation, creativity, and problem solving skills in students through robotics. In 2011, NI sponsored three prizes for the World Robot Olympiad (WRO), a yearly competition that impacts more than 32,000 primary and secondary students through national competitions that lead up to a world championship. This year’s final competition, held in Abu Dhabi, UAE, hosted more than 1,500 teams, along with parents, mentors, and education officials from countries including China, Costa Rica, India, Japan, Malaysia, and Russia.

Educate Texas As part of a multiyear commitment to improve education in Texas, NI pledged financial and in-kind support in 2006 to jump-start the Texas Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (T-STEM) initiative of the Educate Texas project, a public-private alliance dedicated to improving postsecondary performance at low-income, low-performing schools across the state. Since its inception, Educate Texas has launched 44 early college high schools, 51 T-STEM academies, and seven T-STEM centers supporting more than 2,700 teachers across Texas. In 2011, Educate Texas served more than 84,000 students. There was a radical improvement in the standardized test scores for these students over peer schools. NI continues to support Educate Texas with funding and product donations as the organization works to scale the success of the T-STEM program into a statewide STEM education initiative. ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 49 Austin Pre-Freshman Engineering Program and Saturday STEM Academy The Austin Pre-freshman Engineering Program (AusPrEP) and Saturday STEM Academy at Huston-Tillotson University helps prepare high-achieving middle and high school students for college engineering and science studies. The AusPrEP program has provided more than 900 minority and underserved students with an eight-week summer camp focused on enhancing math, computer science, logic, and problem-solving skills. The Saturday STEM Academy is a year-round program that enrolls students in forensic science and math instruction as well as provides opportunities to engage in engineering activities through robotics and rocketry. Through financial contributions and in-kind robotics donations, NI helps these programs meet their goal of preparing more minority students to pursue engineering, science, and technology studies in higher-education institutions.

Breakthrough Austin Breakthrough Austin provides a path to college for low-income students who will be first-generation college graduates. The organization’s leaders believe that by offering innovative educational programs to children and their families, they can permanently break the poverty cycle in their lives. NI helps Breakthrough Austin through financial donations used to support math and science curriculum development for the organization’s annual summer camps. In addition to financial support, NI employees lead a one-day robotics competition that introduces the students to programming basics.

Girlstart Girlstart’s mission is to increase girls’ interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) through nationally recognized informal education programs. While research consistently shows that low-income and minority girls are least likely to pursue engineering and science careers, engaging them with unique programs like the organization’s Girls in STEM Conference, summer camps, and afterschool workshops increases their interest and reduces the gender stereotypes and biases associated with STEM pursuits. For the past several years, NI has supported Girlstart through financial donations towards its annual Girls in STEM conference. Arleene Porterfield, vice president of Global Information Technology at NI, shares her expertise by serving on the Girlstart Board of Directors.

Austin Children’s Museum The Austin Children’s Museum (ACM) creates innovative learning experiences for children that equip and inspire them to be the next generation of creative problem solvers. The ACM program, TechReach, provides students from low-income families with opportunities to gain hands-on science, technology, engineering, and math skills. Working with LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT kits, participants learn the basics of designing, building, and programming robots. The TechReach program addresses a three-fold problem for economically disadvantaged children in Austin: shortage of access to technology, the need to build 21st century skills, and the lack of interest and awareness in a science-related future.

By providing financial contributions and engineering mentors to the TechReach program, NI supports the museum’s efforts to fill this critical gap.

John Graff, vice president of Americas Sales and Marketing at NI, shares his leadership skills with ACM by serving on its board of directors.

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 50 CASE STUDY Advancing Teaching and Research at MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Department of Mechanical Engineering is committed to multidisciplinary research on a variety of topics ranging from mechanics, control, and robotics to nano-, ocean-, and bio-engineering. These diverse areas allow for rich collaboration within the department and with other engineering and science disciplines at MIT and beyond. In 2011, NI pledged to support this innovative research by donating NI software and hardware to 10 mechatronics, robotics, manufacturing, control, and design courses over the next five years.

“We are very appreciative of the support from National Instruments. Use of state-of-the-art NI tools enhances the classroom experience and reinforces student learning at multiple points in the curriculum,” said Professor Mary Cunningham Boyce, head of the MIT Department of Mechanical Engineering. “The NI tools also help accelerate the department’s research into new areas, such as agile biomimetic robotics, high-speed imaging at the nanoscale, and precision motion control.”

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 51 People and Culture The greatest and most sustainable long-term competitive advantage for National Instruments is its culture and employees who directly influence the continued success of the company’s other key stakeholders: customers, shareholders, suppliers, and the communities in which they live and work. As NI continues its steady growth and global expansion, the company ensures that its “people advantage” strategy is preserved. With this strategy, NI meticulously hires the best and brightest employees, nurtures a great work environment with superior career development opportunities, and maintains a culture of giving through outstanding employee and company philanthropy programs.

In this Section

- Hire and Retain the Best and Brightest

- Create a Great Place to Work

- Maintain a Culture of Giving

BY THE NUMBERS $1M 6 20% dollars donated by NI employees to NI offices recognized by the Great increase in worldwide headcount their communities Place to Work Institute

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 52 Hire and Retain the Best and Brightest Staying true to its people advantage, National Instruments hires top talent from leading universities and retains employees through meaningful work, a fun environment, and a variety of developmental programs. NI hires not only for aptitude and potential but also for the ability to take initiative and work collaboratively—fundamental components of the NI culture. NI encourages employees to challenge each other by providing an open work environment that supports idea generation and innovation. New engineering employees, for example, can immediately contribute to developing products and technologies that empower NI customers to improve the world.

2011 HIGHLIGHTS 2011 CHALLENGES 2012 COMMITMENTS

■■ Employed more than 200 interns ■■ Ensuring a diverse workplace ■■ Maintain worldwide voluntary at headquarters from over 50 with fewer women and minorities turnover rate at 75% of the market universities in the United States, in the technology field ■■ Implement worldwide HR Oracle Canada, and Mexico ■■ Accelerating worldwide recruiting system for consistent reporting in ■■ Expanded the number of full-time to meet hiring needs while all major offices and part-time employees maintaining hiring standards ■■ mplement career development worldwide by 20 percent to more programs for employees in than 6,200 leadership positions

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 53 Recruiting and Retaining Employees NI recruiting efforts are so efficient that they are often referred to as the “recruiting machine.” By using best practices across teams, recruiters can focus on obtaining the information they need to make a successful hiring decision for full-time, part-time, or intern/co-op positions. A comprehensive intern and co-op program is at the core of the company’s hiring strategy. In 2011, 61 percent of eligible senior interns accepted full-time job offers for permanent positions at headquarters, exceeding the hiring goal of 50 percent.

Starting in 2011, NI set an aggressive hiring goal to double the company’s number of employees in five years. In 2011, the total number of employees increased by 20 percent.

Employees by Region Totals are for the number of employees as of December 31 in the given year.

Type of Employee Designation Category Americas Europe1 Asia/Rest Total of World1,4

Regular Full-Time All 3,193 1,567 1,430 6,190 Exempt 2,687 1,008 1,407 5,102 Nonexempt 506 559 23 1,088 Part-Time All 34 56 1 91 Exempt 31 21 0 52 Nonexempt 3 35 1 39 Total Regular Employees 3,227 1,623 1,431 6,281 Intern/Co-Op2 Full-Time All 205 41 2 248 Exempt N/A N/A N/A N/A Nonexempt 205 41 2 248 Part-Time All 78 35 5 118 Exempt N/A N/A N/A N/A Nonexempt 78 35 5 118 Total Intern/Co-Op Employees 283 76 7 366 Other Contracts5 Full-Time All 45 307 12 364 Exempt N/A N/A N/A N/A Nonexempt 45 307 12 364 Part-Time Exempt N/A N/A N/A N/A Nonexempt 9 12 37 58 Total Other Contract Employees 54 319 49 422 Total by Region 20113 3,582 2,018 1,487 7,087 Total by Region 20103 2,665 1,892 1,315 5,920 Total by Region 20093,6 2,619 1,699 1,184 5,502 Total by Region 20083,6 2,551 1,451 1,155 5,157 Total by Region 20073,6 2,420 1,268 959 4,647

1In the Europe and Asia/Rest of World (RoW) columns, totals in the Exempt row are for professional employees and totals in the Nonexempt row are for administrative employees. 2The total for US intern/co-op employees includes all employees of that type hired in 2011. 3In this total, two part-time employees are counted as one full-time employee. 4Asia/RoW includes branch offices in Asia as well as Canada, Brazil, and Mexico. 5NI does not track the number of all supervised workers. This total includes workers from temporary employment agencies but does not include employees of subcontractors, such as cleaning personnel, working for NI on a long-term basis. 6Other contract employees are not included in this total. NI began tracking other contract employees for this report in 2009.

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 54 Retaining Employees Given all that NI invests in finding and hiring the best and brightest employees who fit well into the company culture, retaining employees is essential to the company’s success. People stay at NI because of the culture and core values of respect, honesty, dedication to customers, and commitment to innovation.

Employee Turnover Rate NI has a consistently low employee turnover rate. In 2011, the turnover rate for all employees worldwide was 8.3 percent, which is 39.4 percent lower than the US industry average.

NI Corporate Headquarters NI Hungary2 20% Texas State Industry Average3 18% 17.2% 3 16.8% 16.4% US Industry Average 16%

14% 12.9% 12.9% 12.2% 13.7% 12% 10.7% 10.8% 10.8% 10.4% 10% 9.2% 8.6% 8.9% 8.4% 8.3% 8% 7.8% 7.6% 5.9% 6% 6.0% Rate of employee turnover 4%

0 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

1Industry data is from Radford Surveys and Consulting, which provides biannual turnover data. The 2011 industry data is from October 1, 2011.

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 55 Diversity and Inclusion NI is committed to maintaining a workforce that reflects the faces of worldwide community members, customers, and colleagues. NI promotes equal employment opportunity for all applicants and employees by recruiting, hiring, training, and promoting persons in all job titles on the basis of job-related ability and performance, without regard to race, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, disability, veteran status, or national origin. NI also encourages employees to participate in community organizations that foster social and economic opportunity for all members of the community. A growing number of extracurricular groups at NI headquarters helps employees meet each other and find something in common with their colleagues outside work.

Board Member and Officer Diversity If the percentage of board members or officers changes from one year to another without a change in the number of female or minority groups shown in these tables, a board member or officer was added or removed in that year.

NI Board Member Diversity

2008 2009 2010 2011 Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Female 1 4.0% 1 4.0% 1 4.0% 1 3.6% Minority Groups 2 8.0% 2 7.0% 2 7.0% 3 10.7%

NI Officer Diversity

2008 2009 2010 2011 Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Female 1 12.5% 1 17.0% 1 14.3% 1 14.3% Minority Groups 1 12.5% 1 17.0% 1 14.3% 1 14.3%

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 56 Superior Employee Development The NI Superior Employee Development (SED) program offers employees tools, resources, and opportunities to prepare them for successful careers at NI. Helping to align employee talents with business opportunities and to continually grow their skills, the SED program is a key component in developing people to reach beyond their roles and influence the company’s success.

Continuing Education NI supports many forms of continuing education for employees. The following list includes examples of the skills management and lifelong learning programs NI provides:

■■ Leadership development for individual contributors, supervisors, managers, and leaders

■■ NI product training and certification

■■ Skills training in the areas of interpersonal skills, the NI vision and mission, technical skills, and team effectiveness

■■ Recommended reading, employee-led book groups, and a lending library

■■ Community board membership for employees who support community organizations through this role Tuition assistance for US employees while they pursue a job-related degree or course external to NI

Tuition Assistance From NI

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Number of Participating Employees 85 59 52 43 31 Percentage of Total US Employees (%) 3.51 2.31 2.04 1.67 0.87 Assistance Paid by NI (USD) $401,820.55 $281,617.78 $250,141.68 $201,704.77 $222,319.69 Average Amount per Employee (USD) $4,727.30 $4,773.18 $4,810.42 $4,690.81 $7,171.60

Hours of All Instructor-Led Training Completed

Region Category 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Worldwide1 Total All 170,843.55 172,435.50 110,488.00 72,791.57 127,176.63 Average All 35 30 20 10 20 per Exempt3 + + 20 15 25 Employee2 Nonexempt3 + + 10 5 110 US Total All 145,819.04 152,719.20 79,497.80 62,568.07 124,118.21 Average All 60 65 30 25 35 per Exempt + + 30 25 45 Employee2 Nonexempt + + 20 15 240

1NI tracks training hours using an internal database. Some NI branch offices do not use that database, so worldwide totals are not comprehensive. 2All averages in this table are rounded to the nearest five. 3In the Worldwide section, totals in the Exempt row include professional employees outside the United States and totals in the Nonexempt row include administrative employees outside the United States. +Averages by employee type are not available for 2007 or 2008.

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 57 Employee Performance Reviews Employees meet with their managers individually for a performance review to receive meaningful, constructive feedback at least on an annual basis. NI estimates that 80 percent of employees in Europe and the United States received performance reviews in 2011, an increase of 11 percent from 2010. NI is working to refine the tracking process to collect data from employees worldwide.

Percent of Employee Performance Reviews Completed1

20093 20103 2011 2 60% 72% 80% 1Estimates are calculated based on the number of performance review forms completed by supervisors and submitted to the human resources department. 2Data is from NI headquarters and Europe only. 3Data is from NI headquarters only.

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 58 Create a Great Place to Work NI CORPORATE — 2000-2012 National Instruments strives to create a great place to work NI FRANCE — 2009-2012 for its employees. NI leaders and employees model the NI GERMANY — 2004-2005, 2008-2012 culture and core values and work hard while having fun. NI ITALY — 2007-2012 NI is a place where employees can brainstorm with top NI JAPAN — 2011 professional minds, reinvent their jobs as they develop their NI MEXICO — 2008-2009, 2012 skills, and join coworkers in health and wellness activities NI UK — 2006-20011 at the end of the day.

2011 HIGHLIGHTS 2011 CHALLENGES 2012 COMMITMENTS

■■ Named Outstanding Philanthropic ■■ Growing corporate ■■ Maintain commitment of donating Large Corporation by the Austin donations globally at least 1% of pretax profits Fundraising Professionals Institute ■■ NI Matching Gifts program is ■■ Track and report NI philanthropic ■■ Donated 2% of pretax profits to not available to and volunteer activities worldwide nonprofit organizations headquarters employees who ■■ Increase NI headquarters use payroll deduction ■■ Increased employee volunteerism employee volunteer hours by 30% 16% YOY with 663 employees ■■ Worldwide gift matching for volunteering 13,605 hours employees is pending

NI Germany has proven that in an innovative and respectful “culture, business success and fun do not have to be mutually exclusive. They have the creativity and integrity that it takes to make a Great Place to Work, and are an inspiration for other companies. I wish NI worldwide ongoing success with its unique culture.

– Frank Hauser,” Great Place to Work Institute ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 59 Health, Wellness, and Safety Wellness is a priority at NI, and the company is proud to offer comprehensive medical benefits and programs that support employees’ health and well-being. NI provides a variety of programs to help employees evaluate, maintain, and improve their personal health as well as the health of their families. On-site health and fitness centers at corporate headquarters offer a gateway for employees to access and participate in these programs.

NI Health Center Health care costs continue to increase rapidly in the United States, making it more challenging for employers to offer competitive benefits packages. With the NI Health Center at headquarters, NI takes a proactive approach in partnership with employees to help them achieve a healthier lifestyle through wellness and prevention. The center provides employees and their spouses on the NI benefits plan access to convenient, high-quality health care services.

Wellness Programs NI builds a spirited culture of wellness by offering learning programs based on the aggregate data results of employee health risk assessments conducted at headquarters in 2009 and 2011. These health and wellness programs include the following:

■■ Healthy Eating Every Day (HEED) classes designed to change eating habits and behaviors

■■ Smoking cessation programs to assist employees who want to quit smoking

■■ Programs to encourage more walking as exercise, including NI walking clubs, 10k-a-Day step challenges, and on-campus walk/run events

■■ NI sports leagues such as basketball, volleyball, and golf Compensation and Benefits NI offers a comprehensive compensation and benefits package that helps the company hire and retain the best and brightest employees. This package offers the following benefits to employees.

Benefit Worldwide U.S. Competitive salary X Health insurance plans with quality health care coverage X Tuition assistance X Group life insurance X 401(k) retirement plan X Company performance bonus, which is a percentage of eligible earnings based on revenue growth and X operating profit, distributed to all eligible employees twice per year Ownership in the company through equity programs X On-site health and fitness centers X1 Monetary matching for employee donations to charitable organizations X Employee assistance program (EAP) for health care, legal, and financial help X1 Flexible spending account for medical expenses X

1NI headquarters only.

401(k) Retirement Plan NI offers a voluntary 401(k) plan to help US employees prepare for their retirement. The plan allows employees to contribute up to 80 percent of their pretax income and/or Roth (after tax) contribution within legal limits. Employees may select the appropriate combination for their situation of pretax and Roth contributions. NI will match 50 percent of an employee’s pretax contribution up to 6 percent, which makes a total company contribution of 3 percent. For additional information about this program, refer to the Annual Report. ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 60 In 2011, 80 percent of NI employees in the United States participated in the 401(k) retirement plan, a decrease of 8.5 percent from 2010.

Safety NI protects workers by providing a comprehensive health and safety program. The company’s safety performance in 2011 continued to be world-class with few recorded injuries. In 2011, the manufacturing group at headquarters set a new injury-free record by marking 664 consecutive days without an injury. The group received its third perfect record award in four years from the National Safety Council.

Recordable Injury/Illness Rate1

3.00 NI Corporate Headquarters NI Hungary2 2.50 Texas State Industry Average3 2.00 US Industry Average3 1.50

1.00

0.50 injuries and illnesses Number of recordable 0.00 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 1Incidents per 100 employees calculated based on the average headcount for the year, using actual hours worked by nonexempt employees and an assumption of 2,080 hours worked for each exempt employee. Data is from NI corporate headquarters and NI Hungary only. 2NI Hungary data is not available for 2007, 2008, and 2011. 3US and Texas state industry data for 2011 was not available at the time of report development.

Lost Workday Rate1

20 NI Corporate Headquarters NI Hungary2 18 Texas State Industry Average3 16 US Industry Average3 14

Number of lost workdays 4

0 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

1Incidents per 100 employees calculated based on the average headcount for the year, using actual hours worked by nonexempt employees and an assumption of 2,080 hours worked for each exempt employee. Data is from NI headquarters and NI Hungary only. US and Texas state industry data for 2011 was not available at the time of report development. 2NI Hungary data is not available for 2007, 2008, and 2011. 3US and Texas state industry data for 2011 was not available at the time of report development.

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 61 Employee Communication and Recognition A key to the strong culture and high level of trust at NI is ensuring timely, honest, and accurate communication with employees worldwide. Dr. James Truchard, NI president, CEO, and cofounder, and other NI leaders drop in on meetings throughout all departments to communicate key business strategies and to stay updated on how things are running. These informal, often spontaneous meetings are part of NI “sneaker management,” a term coined by Dr. Truchard that places emphasis on walking around and talking to employees face-to-face. He believes that talking to people firsthand remains the best way to understand employee concerns and questions.

Other NI employee communication tools include the following:

■■ Business discussions with NI leadership after every quarterly earnings release covering financial updates, company successes, and employee calls to action

■■ Company meetings for all employees twice a year

■■ Periodic town-hall-style forums for employees to ask NI officers questions directly

■■ A crisis response team dedicated to preparing communication in the event of a crisis

Employee Events NI offices worldwide celebrate the traits that make NI unique—innovation, generosity, playful spirit, teamwork, and pride—during internal events throughout the year that help employees share successes, mark significant milestones, and just have fun. For example, NI headquarters hosts an annual company picnic for NI employees, friends, and family. In 2011, the picnic was held at Six Flags Fiesta Texas amusement park in San Antonio, and NI reserved the entire park exclusively for the enjoyment of the NI community. Also in 2011, NI Hungary held its annual Family Days event at which nearly 1,000 employees and family members enjoyed a variety of games and entertainment.

NI Code of Ethics The NI Code of Ethics is intended to comply with the applicable requirements of the SEC and NASDAQ. The company expects all employees and leadership members to read and understand the NI Code of Ethics, uphold the standards in day-to-day activities, and comply with the applicable policies. Employees read and sign the code upon entering into employment at NI, and NI leadership reviews and signs the code every year.

Number of Employees Who Signed the NI Code of Ethics

Type of Employee 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Management N/A1 204 N/A1 207 381 Nonmanagement2 614 580 165 290 555

1Prior to 2010, NI management reviewed and signed the NI Code of Ethics policy every two years. 2The nonmanagement number includes full-time employees and interns from the US only.

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 62 Maintain a Culture of Giving National Instruments and its employees are passionate about ensuring the success of the communities in which they work and live. At headquarters, and the more than 40 NI branch offices around the world, the company works to improve the education, health, and well-being of its communities through employee philanthropy and volunteerism. Because NI is a technology leader, the cornerstone of its community engagement program is to enhance science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education through classroom mentorship, robotics competitions, and collaborations with nonprofits to inspire students toward greater achievement in technological proficiency.

2011 HIGHLIGHTS 2011 CHALLENGES 2012 COMMITMENTS

■■ Named Outstanding Philanthropic ■■ Growing corporate ■■ Maintain commitment of donating Large Corporation by the Austin donations globally at least 1% of pretax profits Fundraising Professionals Institute ■■ •NI Matching Gifts program ■■ Track and report NI philanthropic ■■ Donated 2% of pretax profits to is not available to and volunteer activities worldwide nonprofit organizations headquarters employees who ■■ Increase NI headquarters use payroll deduction ■■ Increased employee volunteerism employee volunteer hours by 30% 16% YOY with 663 employees ■■ Worldwide gift matching for volunteering 13,605 hours employees is pending

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 63 Employee Philanthropy and Volunteerism Last year marked another record year for employee philanthropy and volunteerism. NI encourages employees to engage in community activities they care about and donate their time, talent, and resources to organizations dedicated to their passions. Globally, these efforts are supported and implemented by various members of NI branch office staff, who are aware of the local community needs and how they should respond. Around the world, NI employees use their innovative spirit to drive progress on community issues.

CASE STUDY Employee Philanthropy National Instruments is proud of the individual impact employees make with their personal philanthropy. In 2011, NI employees donated a record of $1 million USD to their communities through various giving outlets and tools, which is a 28 percent increase over 2010.

NI held its 16th annual NI GIVES campaign, an internal giving campaign for US employees to make donations through a variety of channels, including payroll deduction, check, or credit and debit card payments, so they can easily donate to the charities of their choice. Employee donations through NI GIVES totaled more than $773,000 USD with an average of $608 USD given per donor. In addition to the NI GIVES campaign, employee donations throughout the year exceeded $157,000 USD.

US employees also can request that NI match a donation given to a qualified nonprofit organization of up to $1,000 USD per year, increasing the impact of the employee’s contribution to the community.1 In 2011, total employee donations through the matching gifts program exceeded $220,000 USD, bringing the total donations for all employee donations to more than $1.1 million USD.

1After acquiring the operating assets of Measurement Computing Corporation, NI preserved the existing matching gift policy for that site and continues to match employee donations of up to $2,000 USD per year.

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 64 NI Headquarters Employee Philanthropy

Indirect Direct

$1mil

$900

$800

$700

$600

$500

$400

Thousands of USD $300

$200

$100

$0 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Employee Philanthropy (USD)

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Fall Giving Campaign $495,500 $510,000 $549,407 $699,612 $958,954 Matching Gifts $120,923 $180,142 $166,189 $221,619 $220,768 Total Donations $616,423 $690,142 $715,596 $921,231 $1,179,722

Several NI offices around the world also have fundraising campaigns to help facilitate employee giving. One example is the NI United Kingdom and Ireland offices, where NI matches an employee’s donation of up to £500 per year.

Global Giving for Disaster Relief in Japan NI provides an avenue for employees to donate to the causes they are passionate about, but often the employees drive philanthropic efforts. NI employees not only get involved with initiatives that benefit the communities in which they live, but they often extend their compassion to individuals outside their region.

When a catastrophic earthquake and its resulting tsunami hit Japan in March 2011, NI employees around the world responded with a collective donation totaling $30,000 USD to the American Red Cross Japanese Relief & International Relief Fund. To support its employees and help those in need, NI matched the $30,000 USD employee donation and made an additional $100,000 USD corporate donation to the Red Cross.

Employee Volunteerism Last year marked another record year for employee volunteerism at National Instruments headquarters. More than 663 volunteers reported 13,605 hours of service to various nonprofit organizations, representing a 16 percent increase in volunteer hours.

NI branch offices around the world also implemented their own employee volunteerism programs. For its 10th anniversary celebration, NI Hungary launched the Be a Volunteer campaign. More than 40 opportunities were organized for employees, and they cumulatively volunteered more than 250 hours during the two-month campaign. NI India hosted its Impact Day in May, where a group of NI India Cares volunteers spent a workday visiting the five orphanages the company supports and delivering presents and surprises for the children. In December, the NI Costa Rica office volunteered with Aprender Haciendo and donated early education gifts to children in rural areas of San Jose, Costa Rica, where the office is located. ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 65 Spring Volunteer Campaign In 2011, the fourth annual Spring Volunteer Campaign at NI headquarters helped educate employees about ways to connect with local nonprofit organizations. During the three-week campaign, more than 25 volunteer opportunities were available to NI employees. The campaign attracted 342 NI volunteers who gave more than 2,403 hours of service back to the community through multiple projects hosted by several area nonprofits including the following:

■■ Creating meals for families staying at the Ronald McDonald House

■■ Participating in a Habitat for Humanity deconstruction

■■ Sorting and distributing food for the Capital Area Food Bank Cleaning up creeks and other public spaces for Keep Austin Beautiful

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 66 Minimize Our Environmental Impact Throughout company facilities and the entire product life cycle, National Instruments consistently works toward its long-term goal to minimize its environmental footprint. This commitment includes setting expectations with suppliers, recycling old NI products, and finding ways to conserve resources such as water, electricity, and natural gas. To achieve these and other goals, the company encourages and supports employees who drive grassroots projects to reduce environmental impact.

In this Section

- Product Life Cycle

- Resource Conservation

- Employees Driving Change

BY THE NUMBERS 47% 10% 55% reduction in box size for of total electricity usage at NI more employees joined the annual products on which NI uses headquarters is provided by Austin contest to lower carbon footprint suspension packaging Energy GreenChoice, a renewable than the previous year energy program

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 67 Product Life Cycle Reducing the impact National Instruments has on the environment begins with its supply chain and product design. NI looks for opportunities to improve product development and manufacturing processes, including packaging design. NI also strives to remove harmful substances from existing products and prohibits the introduction of known harmful substances into new products. In addition, through a product recycling program, customers can send their old NI products back to be recycled.

2011 HIGHLIGHTS 2011 CHALLENGES 2012 COMMITMENTS

■■ Created a packaging lab at NI ■■ Increasing employee turnover in ■■ Identify potential hazards for headquarters to help design, test, the safety group at NI Hungary manufacturing tasks, assess the and research packaging solutions risks of those hazards, and ■■ Receiving more orders than develop hazard controls based on ■■ Reduced polyurethane foam used expected for a product that uses in packaging by 24% more polyurethane than others, the level of risk causing more usage than planned ■■ Develop corporate responsibility ■■ Set a new manufacturing safety record of 664 consecutive days metrics for suppliers to start without an injury tracking in 2013 ■■ Reduce polyurethane foam used in packaging by 15% per unit

The National Instruments supplier program is an excellent “example of corporate responsibility. Following NI’s lead, we have implemented similar programs such as EICC compliance, a supplier code of conduct, and employee philanthropy and volunteerism programs. We have seen success with these programs at headquarters as well as in our Hungary and Malaysia offices. —Philip C. Samaro, Global Operations Manager,” Sunbelt Supply LLC ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 68 Product Design and Packaging National Instruments develops products that minimize the amount of raw materials and energy used, thus decreasing the cost of customer applications. This commitment is evident in NI’s graphical system design approach, which offers software-defined, modular hardware platforms. Graphical system design reduces the cost and energy consumption of customer applications because all the components share the same chassis and high-performance CPU, eliminating the need for redundant chassis, processors, displays, and other components. This model ensures that NI platforms can adapt to changing needs and new applications, providing a single platform to last through multiple generations of applications.

Challenges to the product design process include maintaining compliance with evolving environmental legislation and gathering material content information for components. Difficulty in gathering material information may occur for several reasons, including suppliers not having the requested data, data confidentiality, and the length of time it takes to move through the supply chain.

Polyurethane Foam Used

1.80 1.57 1.60

1.40

1.20 1.05 1.00 0.95

0.80

0.60 0.58 per 1,000 units shipped 3

m 0.40 0.39

0.20

0.00 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Total Polyurethane Foam Used (m3) 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 74 7 1249.00 511.00 463.00 353.00 ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 69 Corrugated Board Used

0.30 0.25 0.26 0.25 0.22 0.20 0.19 0.19 0.15

0.10

0.05 kg per 1,000 units shipped 0.00 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Corrugated Board Used (kg) 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 157,199 200,901 141,907 154,661 168,672

Managing Critical Substances NI manages the substances used in its products to comply with regulations including the following:

■■ RoHS—European Union Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances

■■ REACH—Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals

■■ Conflict Minerals Trade Act

Optimizing Product Packaging NI ensures that its packaging designs have a minimal environmental footprint. For example, NI looks for opportunities to increase the use of recyclable materials, such as corrugated board, and to increase the use of paper as a replacement for polyurethane foam. In this area alone, NI has reduced polyurethane foam use by approximately 150 m3 annually, or 24 percent. Another example is switching to using molded protective thermoform end caps made of 100 percent recycled materials. The material is reusable for return shipments, which minimizes waste at both ends of the distribution cycle. This change on one product eliminated the use of polyurethane foam and reduced the amount of corrugated material by 26 percent per package compared to the previous packaging solution. The packaging team will continue to strive to research and evaluate new environmentally friendly materials to use on other NI product lines.

NI welcomes feedback on the packaging of NI products.

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 70 Operations and Product Recycling National Instruments works with suppliers who are equally invested in being responsible corporate citizens. NI also complies with international standards that regulate environmental management and manufacturing operations.

Supplier Requirements To set expectations with suppliers, NI requires the following from suppliers:

■■ Compliance with the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition (EICC) Code of Conduct for the fair treatment of workers, a healthy and safe work environment, the protection of the environment, and outstanding business ethics. Suppliers sign the NI Supplier Code of Conduct, established in 2008, as an acknowledgement of this commitment. Since 2008, all key suppliers, and 65 percent of the total supplier base, signed the Code of Conduct, and no suppliers declined to sign it.

■■ Participation in the NI supplier assessment, which is sent to all new suppliers in the global NI supply base, ensuring suppliers comply with key initiatives such as RoHS, REACH, and the NI Supplier Code of Conduct.

■■ Completion of a survey that serves as a baseline for suppliers’ current corporate responsibility programs. These surveys help evaluate a supplier’s sustainability in the areas of energy and climate, material efficiency, natural resources, employee programs, and community involvement. Supplier progress in these areas is monitored through quarterly business reviews conducted by NI. Manufacturing Operations The following environmental policy covering manufacturing operations was approved by the NI Board of Directors and adopted on June 19, 1994: National Instruments manufacturing operations is committed to maintaining an environmental management system that complies with all applicable legal environmental regulations and requirements, prevents pollution, and continually improves environmental performance through regular reviews of environmental goals, objectives, and targets.

Both NI manufacturing facilities—one in Austin, Texas, and one in Debrecen, Hungary—are certified to ISO 14001, which is a series of international standards covering environmental aspects that the organization controls and can influence. NI also is working toward full conformance with the OHSAS 18001 standard, which helps companies control occupational health and safety risks.

Manufacturing site environmental permits and registrations are available at [link to manufacturing operations Web page.]

Product Take-Back Program and Recycling NI meets worldwide take-back requirements for the products it sells, including requirements such as European Union directives on waste electrical and electronic equipment as well as battery recycling. NI keeps up with this rapidly evolving area of legislation with its take-back program and carefully monitors regional legislation.

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 71 Managing Critical Substances National Instruments is committed to producing environmentally friendly products as part of the NI Hazardous Substance Reduction initiative, a voluntary program modeled after the European Union Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive. As part of this commitment, in 2010 NI invested in a system for collecting information on environmentally sensitive materials in NI products.

RoHS Compliance This directive restricts the use of harmful substances such as lead, mercury, and cadmium in products. It applies to 11 categories of electrical and electronic equipment but as of today excludes products in Category 9, Monitoring and Control Instruments, under which NI products fall. NI voluntarily complies with the directive.

Timeline NI began offering RoHS-compliant products in September 2005. NI manufacturing and engineering teams continually work to adapt products to use RoHS-compliant components and manufacturing processes.

The move to RoHS-compliant products is a significant effort because it impacts nearly every step in the supply chain. Therefore, NI will complete this transition over a progressive timeline as new products release and some existing products transition to hazardous substance-free components. At this pace, NI will transition all products before the RoHS directive includes the category under which NI products fall. Through continued efforts to better the environment and exceed regulatory requirements, more than 70 percent of NI products met RoHS requirements in 2011.

All products released in 2011 were RoHS-compliant, with the exception of a few select products. Starting in 2007, each exception case required officer-level approval. In some instances, high-demand products require components that are not available in a RoHS-compliant version. After these products release, NI adds them to the list of products pending a transition to RoHS compliance.

Challenges In addition to the far-reaching impact on the supply chain, NI faces the following challenges in the process of eliminating hazardous substances from its products:

■■ Organizations such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have found that the replacement options for certain hazardous substances may have an environmental impact equal to or worse than the original hazardous substance. To mitigate this issue, NI is actively involved with numerous trade organizations around the world. Through involvement with these organizations and close relationships with suppliers, NI stays at the forefront of both advanced technological developments in materials and compliance with worldwide regulations of hazardous substances. For more information, see the full EPA report.

■■ Regulations in this area evolve rapidly. NI is a member of the Test and Measurement Coalition and is providing feedback on the revision of RoHS currently under review and planned for publication in 2012. View the full text of the RoHS directive. For more information about NI compliance with RoHS, contact [email protected].

Resources Refer to the following NI resources to learn more about the RoHS directive.

■■ Frequently Asked Questions

■■ NI RoHS-Compliant Product Listing

■■ Management Methods for Controlling Pollution Caused by Electronic Information Products (China RoHS)

■■ Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 72 Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) In 2006, the European Parliament and the Council adopted Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH). One of the regulation’s primary objectives is to protect the environment from harmful substances.

The scope of the REACH regulation differs from RoHS in that REACH is not limited to electrical and electronic equipment. REACH requires manufacturers and importers of substances and preparations to register the substance or preparation before placing it on the market if it meets certain criteria:

■■ Products imported or manufactured in quantities of 1 tonne annually

■■ Products intended to be released under normal or reasonably foreseeable conditions of use (for example, printer cartridges) The Substances of Very High Concern Candidate List and Annex XIV of REACH (the list of substances subject to authorization) drive notification, authorization, and restriction requirements. Once a substance has been added to the Candidate List, requirements for customer notification apply immediately. Once a substance on the Candidate List is selected to be added to Annex XIV, authorization requirements are imposed on that substance. At some point after the list of substances for authorization is published, the included substances may also be restricted.

As a producer of articles—not substances or preparations—NI is not required to register any substances or preparations. NI does not produce or import chemical substances in excess of 1 tonne per year, and NI products do not release any substances into the environment during normal and foreseeable conditions of use.

NI is required to comply with downstream users’ obligations. To accommodate this, NI is working closely with its supply chain as new substances are added to the candidate list. A list of NI products that contain substances of very high concern (SVHCs) in concentrations greater than 0.1 percent wt/wt can be found here. For additional information on NI REACH initiatives or specific product information related to REACH, contact [email protected].

Conflict Minerals Trade Act In 2010 the US Congress passed the Conflict Minerals Trade Act as part of the Dodd-Frank Financial Reform legislation. The law’s aim is to curb violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and surrounding regions by restricting the use of certain minerals originating in rebel-controlled mines. These substances include the base minerals for gold, tantalum, tin, and tungsten.

Most NI products contain at least one of these substances and fall into the scope of the law’s requirements, which state that any US company that uses these minerals for the functionality or production of its product(s) will be required to disclose details on the origin of these substances in its annual report to the SEC. NI is obligated to begin disclosing this information for fiscal year 2012. To meet the law’s obligations, NI started working with its supply chain in 2011 to understand the origin of these minerals used in NI products.

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 73 Product Take-Back Program and Recycling National Instruments meets worldwide take-back requirements for the products it sells, including requirements such as European Union directives on battery recycling and on waste electrical and electronic equipment. NI keeps up with this rapidly evolving area of legislation with its take-back program and through careful monitoring of regional legislation.

Take-Back Program Through the NI global take-back program, NI covers all costs of returning its hardware products and ensures that the products are properly recycled. This service helps reduce the impact on landfills and other disposal sites and provides an environmentally safe end-of-life solution. Hardware products can be sent in to recycle by emailing [email protected]. NI staff assists in the delivery of the product and provides a Certificate of Destruction form, which can be downloaded, completed, and printed with the name of the product to be recycled.

WEEE Directive In 2003, the European Parliament and the Council adopted Directive 2002/96/EC on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) to encourage reuse, recycling, and recovery of this waste. It also aims to improve the environmental performance of all operators involved in the life cycle of electrical and electronic equipment, especially those dealing with waste equipment.

Member states were required to adopt legislation by August 13, 2005. The regulations apply to all electrical and electronic equipment put on the European Union market after 2005. WEEE products can fall into one of 10 categories according to the WEEE directive. NI products fall under Category 9, Monitoring and Control Instruments. NI actively works with its branch offices and subsidiaries in Europe to fully comply with these regulations as local legislation passes.

View the full text of the WEEE directive. For more information about NI compliance with WEEE, contact [email protected].

EU Battery Directive The European Parliament and the Council adopted Directive 2006/66/EC on batteries and accumulators and waste batteries and accumulators with the intent of reducing the impact on the environment and increasing recycling.

Member states were required to adopt national legislation by September 26, 2008. NI actively works with NI branch offices and subsidiaries in Europe to fully comply with these regulations as local legislation passes. The directive entails obligations such as labeling, registration, recycling, and restriction of batteries containing cadmium, lead, and mercury.

The labeling of batteries consists of the following symbol, including the battery capacity, and the chemical symbol for cadmium, mercury, or lead if contained above the legal threshold limits.

The symbol indicates that the batteries used in the product should be disposed of separately from municipal waste. For NI products, the predominant battery type is coin cell, which provides continuous power for constant memory. These batteries are incorporated or embedded into appliances, are intended to last for the life of the product, and are separated from the appliance during the treatment phase of the appliance as required under the WEEE directive.

Certain NI products are accompanied by removable lead-acid/alkaline batteries that are also for continuous power supply. Please check the product user manual regarding removability.

NI continually attempts to ensure proper collection and recycling by joining collection and recycling schemes. The company expects customers in the European Union to use the collection and recycling systems in place and properly dispose of all batteries. ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 74 Proper disposal of batteries reduces the environmental impact and risk to human health. For additional information about the potentially harmful effects of substances used in batteries on human health and the environment, visit the US Environmental Protection Agency or the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

For information about the available collection and recycling scheme in a particular country, refer to the table below.

View the full text of the battery directive. For more information about NI compliance with the battery directive, contact [email protected].

Implementation by EU Member State Select a member state for the latest information about WEEE and battery directive implementation. Austria Belgium Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Poland Portugal Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden UK

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 75 Conserving Resources National Instruments conserves resources through its facilities and IT infrastructure by reducing energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, water use, and waste, as well as increasing recycling. In 2011, NI initiated an HVAC system audit at headquarters to look for areas of improvement. The company also completed a plan for its new Penang, Malaysia, branch to meet green building criteria from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. Additionally, the NI UK branch moved into a new office building in November 2011 that doubles the operational space and includes BREEAM-rated environmental efficiency for best practices in sustainable building design, construction, and operation.

2011 HIGHLIGHTS 2011 CHALLENGES 2012 COMMITMENTS

■■ Created a packaging lab at NI ■■ Increasing employee turnover in ■■ Identify potential hazards for headquarters to help design, test, the safety group at NI Hungary manufacturing tasks, assess the and research packaging solutions risks of those hazards, and ■■ Receiving more orders than develop hazard controls based ■■ Reduced polyurethane foam used expected for a product that uses in packaging by 24% more polyurethane than others, on the level of risk causing more usage than planned ■■ Develop corporate responsibility ■■ Set a new manufacturing safety record of 664 consecutive days metrics for suppliers to start without an injury tracking in 2013 ■■ Reduce polyurethane foam used in packaging by 15% per unit

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 76 Electricity, Natural Gas, and Emissions National Instruments conserves resources through its facilities and IT infrastructure by reducing energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, water use, and waste, as well as increasing recycling. As part of these efforts, NI subscribes to Austin Energy GreenChoice, a renewable energy program, to provide 10 percent of the total electricity usage at its headquarters.

Purchased Electricity Used per Employee1 Total purchased electricity increased in 2011 due to a 16 percent increase in the number of employees worldwide.

10,000

9,000

8,000

7,000

6,000

5,000 kWh 4,000

3,000

2,000

1,000

0 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

1Per employee numbers are calculated using the total number of full-time and part-time employees at NI headquarters and NI Hungary as of December 31 each year.

Total Purchased Electricity (kWh)

Campus 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Headquarters 19,699,124 20,838,000 20,640,000 21,258,000 22,278,000 Hungary 6,802,142 7,486,970 6,512,364 7,492,679 7,685,384 Total 26,501,266 28,324,970 27,152,364 28,750,679 29,963,384

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 77 Natural Gas Used per Employee1

160

140

120

100 3

m 80

0 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

1Per employee numbers are calculated using the total number of full-time and part-time employees at NI headquarters and NI Hungary as of December 31 each year.

Total Natural Gas Used (m3)

Campus 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Headquarters 48,835 56,169 48,467 52,568 52,478 Hungary 328,403 395,697 313,054 364,517 394,745 Total 377,238 451,866 361,521 417,085 447,223

Reducing Emissions NI is a member of the Clean Air Partners Program (CAPP) of Central Texas, a coalition of industry and civic organizations that encourages businesses to reduce air emissions by 10 percent over three years. The program promotes clean air business practices, such as employee carpooling, renewable energy, and water conservation techniques. As a member of this program since 2004, NI reports annually to the organization on emissions and reductions achieved. In 2010, NI reduced emissions 2.94 percent per employee compared to a baseline measurement in 2009. The 2011 data is not yet available from the program.

The following tables present data for only Scope 1 and limited Scope 2 emissions, which include those from natural gas, purchased electricity, and operation of company-owned vehicles.

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 78 Carbon Emissions per Employee1, 2

Indirect Direct

6.00

5.00

4.00

3.00

tonnes 2.00

1.00

0.00 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Indirect Carbon Emissions (Tonnes) Campus 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Headquarters 12,296 13,007 12,884 13,269 15,137 Hungary 2,339 2,575 2,237 2,577 2,618 Total 14,635 15,582 15,121 15,846 17,755

Direct Carbon Emissions (Tonnes) Campus 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Headquarters 108 133 121 123 139 Hungary 620 74 7 591 688 808 Total 728 880 712 811 947

1To calculate these emissions, NI used the World Resources Institute (2009) GHG Protocol Tool for Stationary Combustion, version 4.0. 2Per employee numbers are calculated using the total number of full-time and part-time employees at NI headquarters and NI Hungary as of December 31 each year.

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 79 Water Usage, Recycling, and Waste Reduction Water usage increased in 2011 due to record high temperatures at NI headquarters and an increase in the number of employees.

Water Used per Employee1 Water at both headquarters and NI Hungary comes from municipal water supplies.

15 3

m 10

0 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

1Per employee numbers are calculated using the total number of full-time and part-time employees at NI headquarters and NI Hungary as of December 31 each year.

Total Water Used (m3)

Campus 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Headquarters 45,043 50,037 46,362 50,306 48,900 Hungary 13,728 12,646 15,379 11,155 17,021 Total 58,771 62,683 61,741 61,461 65,921

Protecting Habitats Most of the NI headquarters campus is still in its natural, unirrigated state except for building footprints, walks, drives, and parking. Multilevel garages provide most parking, which minimizes the amount of ground covered by impervious material. Developed landscape areas feature native plant materials that require minimal water to thrive, and the campus incorporates critical environmental features, including limestone sinkholes. The campus is a wildlife habitat, as certified by the National Wildlife Federation.

NI protects and monitors these features to ensure that storm water runoff from roads and parking lots does not enter them. In addition, the campus is a Texas Historical Commission Recorded Site for evidence of flint knapping activity, or activity for making tools, by Native Americans.

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 80 Recycling and Waste Waste Generated and Recycled per Employee1

Waste Generated per Employee % Waste Recycled 400 60%

50% 300 40%

200 kg 30%

20% 100 10%

0 0% 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Total Waste Generated (kg)3

Campus 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Headquarters 715,330 473,852 311,470 293,534 309,927 Hungary N/A2 298,951 218,021 266,122 299,210 Total 715,330 772,803 529,491 559,656 609,137

1Per employee numbers are calculated using the total number of full-time and part-time employees at NI headquarters and NI Hungary as of December 31 each year. 2Data for NI Hungary is not available for 2007. 3Estimates for trash sent to landfills and for some recycled materials from headquarters are calculated based on the size of the containers and how often they are emptied. In addition, the primary compactor at headquarters is monitored in this way, but other recycling containers at headquarters are not monitored.

Waste by Type in 20111

1% 1% 10%

Trash sent to landﬁlls Paper, corrugated board, aluminium, and plastic 44% Electronic waste Hazardous waste

44%

1The total paper recycled at headquarters does not include confidential documents that are shredded before they are recycled.

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 81 Employees Driving Change National Instruments makes many efforts to minimize environmental impact, and countless projects are driven by individual employees or small groups of employees within the company who are passionate about making a difference. Employee-driven efforts in 2011 included a contest among employees to lower carbon footprint and a week-long series of events to celebrate Earth Day. Behind each of these accomplishments is an individual who took the initiative to ask questions and make changes.

2011 HIGHLIGHTS 2011 CHALLENGES 2012 COMMITMENTS

■■ Engaged 55% more employees ■■ Local transportation authority ■■ Redirect electronic waste in an annual contest to lower canceled a connector bus route to Goodwill recycling program carbon footprint for headquarters employees so materials can be reused who use the commuter rail due when possible ■■ Participated in Hungary’s Bike to Work campaign for the seventh to low ridership year, with 171 employees commuting by bicycle

■■ Won the first Austin Corporate Commute Challenge during Bike to Work Month

ni.com/company/corporate-responsibility 82 NI Green Team The National Instruments Green Team is an all-volunteer internal organization at NI headquarters that works to reduce the ecological footprint of NI and its employees. The team, established in 2008, worked on many projects in 2011 that helped NI in its commitment to be a responsible citizen to the global community. Two of these projects are highlighted here.

Community-Supported Agriculture Pickup Station The Green Team worked with Johnson’s Backyard Garden, a local, organic farm, to establish a community-supported agriculture (CSA) pickup station at NI headquarters. When employees subscribe to the farm’s CSA, they pay a fee to receive regular boxes of goods, usually produced by the farm. The challenge is that subscribers usually must drive to the farm to pick up their boxes, and the farms aren’t always conveniently located. Because there is a pickup station at headquarters, employees who subscribe can retrieve their produce each Thursday before leaving work.

Earth Week The third annual Earth Week celebration at headquarters was the most highly attended yet, with hundreds of employees participating. Events included a cooking contest, a trash-to-treasure event at which employees could take items that their coworkers no longer wanted, a presentation by the farmer who founded the Digital Farm Collective, and a go-local fair featuring a variety of Austin-area vendors. Employees could also participate in activities on their own, such as pledging to eat at least one vegetarian meal and taking public transportation to work one day that week.

CASE STUDY Organic Gardening at Work Brittany Wilson, Corporate Content Specialist Brittany initially joined the NI community garden effort in purely a support role after hearing a few apartment-dwelling coworkers talk about the long waitlists at community gardens around Austin. “I had no intention of doing any actual gardening based on a failed backyard experiment with a Topsy Turvy tomato planter,” she said.

However, after two months of helping to prepare the garden site, including manual labor such as transplanting native grasses and obliterating non-native invasive grasses from the garden site, she found herself extremely invested in the NI community garden and planted her first plot of summer vegetables and herbs.

She says that while she hasn’t seen any bumper crops or drastically lowered her grocery bill, she’s more active and feels healthier because of the labor she puts into maintaining the garden.

“I’m excited to keep working in the garden because I know that as the collective knowledge of the NI gardeners increases, the community aspect and the output of the garden will really start to thrive,” Brittany said.

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