Consumer Reports Inc.

“Members, stockholders consumer reports is a new york state not-for-profit membership corporation. The members for new york not-for-profit law purposes are any individual with a paid membership to the consumer reports membership program. Members can elect the board of directors at the annual meeting of members; adopt, amend or repeal the by-laws of the corporation; call a special meeting of the members under certain circumstances; and exercise such other powers as are provided by law.”

“See explanation on line 6 above.”

“Form 990 review process the 990 is prepared utilizing the assistance of an independent accounting firm, kpmg. The related services from kpmg are approved by the audit committee as part of the audit approval process. After the 990 is prepared by cr finance department with coordination with kpmg, it is reviewed by the controller and cfo before it is reviewed and approved by the audit committee. A copy of the 990 is then provided to the board of directors prior to its filing.”

“Conflict of interest compliance process consumer reports' board of directors and staff members are required to fill out and sign a disclosure of interest statement and attestation of compliance each year. Board members' forms are reviewed by a committee of the board; staff members' forms are reviewed by an outside independent reviewer. Any conflicts will be addressed with the applicable board or staff member, with unresolved conflicts addressed by the appropriate conflict of interest committee. Remedies for conflicts of interest include recusal from participation in the matter giving rise to the conflict, disposing of an investment, termination of employment or resignation.”

“The executive committee of the board of directors reviews the compensation provided to cr's president and senior executive staff to ensure that they are consistent with cr's mission, are designed to attract and retain the high levels of leadership talent needed to achieve cr's operating plans, and are compliant with law. To that end, the executive committee (1) recommends to the board of directors compensation plans and pay levels for the president, taking into account peer group practices and any special considerations, as well as employment agreements; (2) reviews the compensation of the president and senior executive staff to ensure compliance with the irs intermediate sanction requirements; and (3) reviews and approves (a) for executives reporting directly to the president, any proposed compensation increase for current executives and the proposed compensation for any new hire and (b) for executives not reporting directly to the president, (i) any proposed compensation increase that exceeds the annual salary increase guidelines established by people and culture and (ii) the proposed compensation for any new executive hire that exceeds the market median as reported in executive compensation studies conducted by a third party executive compensation consulting firm. The executive committee's recommendation on the president's compensation plans and pay levels is voted on by the full board of directors. Deliberations and decisions regarding the foregoing compensation arrangements are contemporaneously recorded in the organization's minutes. To ensure compliance with the irs intermediate sanctions as required and meet the conditions for the rebuttable presumption under treasury regulation 53.4958-6, the committee that determines compensation of executives are composed of members who are independent with respect to the compensation arrangements. The foregoing process for establishing compensation for the indicated persons was last undertaken in may of 2022.”

“Public availability of financial statements and governing documents consumer reports' annual financial statements are made available to the public on its website, www.consumerreports.org. Our governing documents, form 1023, and conflict of interest policy are available to the public upon request.”

“Consumer information: consumer reports publishes and disseminates information and advice to consumers regarding topics such as consumer goods, services, health and personal finance in order to effect its educational purpose. The number of paid subscribers for each as of 5/31/22 include consumer reports magazine 2,831,781; consumer reports on health 517,945; and cr online 2,880,444. Consumer reports does not accept outside advertising in any of its publications. In addition, consumer reports disseminates consumer information through other print, radio, television, electronic publishing and interactive media. Product information: consumer reports conducts independent and impartial tests and analyses on a wide range of consumer products and services, such as electronics, appliances, household products, insurance, recreational goods, and cars. The tests and surveys evaluate how the products and services perform and educate consumers on the extent to which they are convenient, safe, and economical. During the fiscal year ended 5/31/22, consumer reports conducted tests and evaluations on more than 2,100 models of various consumer products, making use of about 60 laboratories and its auto track. The information gathered as result of these tests is disseminated to the general public as described above.”

“Education and advocacy programs: consumer reports is dedicated to improving the lives of consumers and creating a fair and just marketplace for all of us. We are an independent, nonprofit organization with 6 million members across the u.s. Cr seeks to inform and empower consumers to establish a new era of consumer rights. In the 86 years since cr was founded, we have built a legacy of trust among consumers by conducting expert rigorous science-based testing of products and services, incentivizing corporations to prioritize safety and transparency, and working with policymakers to enshrine the rights and interests of consumers in laws and regulations. We provide trusted information through testing, ratings, and reviews; surveys, reports and analyses; and investigative and service journalism - all of which is disseminated through multiple digital and print platforms that reach more than 15 million people each month. The public can access substantial free consumer education information as a public service through consumerreports.org, cr social media channels, webinars, partnerships with 170 english and spanish local tv stations, and media coverage. These combined efforts leverage consumer demand to shape a pro-consumer marketplace, and we engage directly with industry to set standards and promote safety, digital rights, financial fairness and sustainability principles in the design and delivery of products and services. Consumer reports' longstanding commitment to educating consumers and advocating for laws, policies and practices that benefit consumers is exemplified by our fy 21 (june 1, 2021 through may 31, 2022) accomplishments, some of which include: safety: - president signs landmark law to ban dangerous infant sleep products president biden signed an infant safety law championed by consumer reports, doctors, safety experts, and grieving families. The law is called the safe sleep for babies act. It bans two dangerous infant sleep products: inclined sleepers and crib bumper pads, both of which are unsafe for infant sleep and have been linked with close to 200 reported child deaths. The law was prompted in large part by a cr investigation that revealed dozens of deaths tied to products such as the fisher-price rock 'n play sleeper, which were not covered by federal safety standards. - major fast-food chains announce steps to remove pfas chemicals from food packaging, following cr investigation three national fast-food restaurant chains-burger king, chick-fil-a, and nathan's famous publicly announced they would limit dangerous pfas chemicals in their food packaging, once they learned of cr's investigation that revealed pfas in wrappers, cups, bowls, and other containers from restaurants and grocery stores. Eleven states have enacted laws that ban the intentional use of pfas in food packaging, and cr is urging congress to approve a national ban. In recent decades, pfas exposure has been linked to a growing list of problems, including immune system suppression, lower birth weight, and increased risk for some cancers. Cr's work on this class of chemicals won a fast company 2022 world changing ideas award for our year-long series with the guardian to expose the widespread contamination of pfas in tap water. - advocating for safer cars and roads cr introduced new ratings and evaluations to incentivize automakers to improve their in-car systems for driver assistance and driver monitoring. For the first time, cr is awarding rating points to vehicles with automation systems that encourage safe driving, and we will penalize those lacking safeguards starting with the 2024 model year. Cr produced an in-depth research report called "understanding the current state of vehicle automation" for industry and government officials. We created the report after the national highway transportation safety administration ordered automakers to report crashes involving vehicles that come equipped with a certain level of advanced driver assistance. Our”

“- cr testing leads to food recall for the first time, cr's testing prompted a recall of dangerous food. We detected a potentially deadly contaminant in one of our samples of kroger-branded ground beef sold at a fred meyer supermarket in seattle. We immediately alerted the u.s. Department of agriculture's food safety and inspection service. The agency promptly investigated the plant where the meat was processed, resulting in a recall by the distributor of 28,000 pounds of ground beef shipped from the plant to other national stores in addition to kroger's, like walmart and albertsons. Consumers can now get text messages about food recalls and foodborne illnesses by signing up for a free service called food safety alert. Sustainability: - advancing clean car rules to reduce emissions, save consumers money the federal government approved rules to lower the emissions and improve the fuel economy of new cars and light-duty trucks for model years 2023 to 2026. Cr's advocates testified before the environmental protection agency and the department of transportation to explain how stringent rules would have a positive impact on public health and the environment, while helping car buyers save thousands of dollars over the life of vehicles that can go further on a gallon of gas or no gas at all. Cr also organized dozens of consumers to speak at these hearings. While some of the government's initial proposals were deemed to be relatively weak by cr and other groups, the regulators ultimately chose to put stronger standards in place, and many of cr's recommendations were included in the final rules. At the state level, cr worked with officials and grassroots organizations in nevada to advance clean car rules to curb transportation pollution and provide nevadans with more choices for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. Cr surveyed nevada consumers and found widespread support for these initiatives, which we shared in testimony and filings. Nevada became the nation's 16th clean car state in october 2021 when a commission approved the cr-endorsed program. - helping consumers navigate high gas prices and clean car options as the price of gasoline hit record highs in fy22, cr provided consumers with free information about how to conserve fuel and find the lowest prices. We advised car buyers on how electric vehicles offer certain advantages over gas-powered vehicles when it comes to fuel costs, repairs and maintenance, and we reported on other options like plug-in hybrids. Plus, we launched a free online tool called electric vehicle incentive finder where people can see what tax incentives and discounts are available for people who buy electric vehicles in their zip code. - shining a spotlight on the growing impact of amazon warehouses on residential neighborhoods cr and the guardian investigated amazon and the impact of its growing number of warehouses on residential neighborhoods. People who live near the new warehouses told reporters that they face increased air pollution from trucks and vans, more dangerous streets for kids walking or biking, clogged traffic, and near-constant noise. We found that amazon opens most of its warehouses in neighborhoods with a disproportionately high number of people of color and low-income residents: 69 percent of amazon warehouses have a greater share of people of color living within a mile radius than the typical neighborhood in the same metro area, and 57 percent of amazon warehouses are in neighborhoods with a greater share of low-income residents than typical for the same metro area. Cr shared our findings with the company and other stakeholders. We are urging amazon to measure and mitigate the pollution, traffic, and other impacts, commit to electrifying its heavy-duty fleet of vehicles, and directly engage with communities before moving into their neighborhoods. Financial fairness: - exposing problems with credit apps cr took a close look at five popular apps that provide credit score monitoring-credit”

“Digital rights: - working for better broadband for all consumers cr worked with members of congress to include nearly $60 billion in funds to improve broadband access and affordability for consumers in the bipartisan infrastructure law. We succeeded in getting a provision in the law to require internet service providers to provide a broadband "nutrition" label for consumers. The fcc is now developing this label, which will tell people the price of service, additional fees, internet speeds, the dates when discounts will expire, and other important information that might otherwise be hidden in the fine print. In fy22 cr launched a national initiative to collect and analyze broadband bills from consumers across the country. Our findings from more than 20,000 bills will be reported in fy23. - championing state privacy laws connecticut passed a comprehensive privacy law, which grants consumers the right to access, delete, and stop the sale of their personal information. Cr worked closely with consumers and state lawmakers to improve and advance the law. It includes key provisions that are missing from some other state privacy laws, such as a requirement for companies to honor browser privacy signals, so that people can easily opt out of data sales at all companies in a single step. California, which is home to the nation's strongest data privacy law, approved two new laws endorsed by cr. These reforms are aimed at direct-to-consumer genetic testing companies like ancestry and 23andme. The laws will forbid the use of a person's genetic data without their consent, and require that such data is stored securely. - launching a major cybersecurity initiative cybercrimes cost people in the u.s. More than $6.9 billion in 2021, according to the fbi. Phishing scams, personal data breaches, and ransomware are just a few examples of the cyber attacks that threaten people's security, privacy, and money. Cyber criminals can disrupt phone and computer networks, cause electricity blackouts, and take control of information systems. To help consumers protect themselves and their communities, cr launched a major cybersecurity initiative in fy22. We are scaling up our product research and testing, investigative journalism, and advocacy to identify dangers and advance solutions. This effort includes free apps to help people manage their personal cybersecurity, more testing of products like antivirus software and virtual private networks, and the development of a nutrition label for digital devices that explains their data collection and security practices.”

“Unrealized gain interest rate swap 2,298,943. Pension related changes 3,267,740. Change in value of split interest agreement -306,244. Rounding -1,009.”