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Corporate Social Responsibility
News
5.09.2007 - 11:08am ET
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Abbott Highlights Strong Performance in Corporate Social Responsibility in 2006 Global Citizenship Report
Report Theme, "Generations," Reflects Abbott's Long-Standing Commitment to Improving Lives Through Sustainable Business Practices
(CSRwire) ABBOTT PARK, IL.- May 9, 2007 — Abbott today released its 2006 Global
Citizenship Report, now available online at www.abbott.com/citizenship.
The report, which is also available in a shorter printed version,
highlights Abbott's integrated approach to corporate citizenship around
the world, and the company's financial, social and environmental progress
and performance.
The report's theme, "Generations," reflects Abbott's contributions to
improving lives for more than a century, while strengthening the company
and global communities for future generations. The report provides
detailed updates on Abbott's progress and performance in governance and
compliance; environment, health and safety; global workforce; social
investment and philanthropy; and key issues, such as expanding access to
health care.
"Global citizenship is fundamental to earning and deepening the trust of
the people we serve – and an integral part of our commitment to improve
lives," said Miles D. White, chairman and chief executive officer, Abbott.
"That's why global citizenship is simply inseparable from our business;
it's a matter of competitive fitness and a business discipline we apply
throughout our operations."
Values-Driven Approach to Business
A critical component to Abbott's approach to citizenship is the company's
efforts to integrate values-based decision making throughout all levels of
the organization, ensuring that current and future generations of employees
and leaders make responsible, sustainable decisions. In 2006, Abbott
launched a series of workshops that reached more than 11,000 employees
around the world, including 900 of the company's top leaders. These
workshops provided employees with specific training in how to integrate
Abbott's values into their work, and also identify opportunities and
challenges for how the company can live its values better. For example,
employees in Abbott's international pharmaceutical business developed a
plan to integrate the values into their 2007 performance goal-setting
process.
Global Ethics and Compliance for Abbott and Suppliers
In 2006, Abbott implemented a global compliance initiative to ensure
consistency across all of Abbott's 59 international affiliates. To
account for local cultural and legal differences, in-country committees of
Abbott leaders collaborated with regional full-time ethics and compliance
staff to develop consistent policies, procedures and communications and
training plans. Additionally, in 2006 Abbott updated its supplier code of
conduct for international suppliers to communicate the company's
expectations regarding labor practices, ethical behavior, environmental
stewardship, and health and safety practices.
Expanding Access to Health Care – A Critical Issue for Many
Stakeholders
While Abbott has many stakeholders, the company is, in itself, a
stakeholder in many global issues. One of the most pressing issues facing
the global community is expanding access to health care for patients in
need. As a global health care company, Abbott is focused on working with
governments, health care providers, patients, nongovernmental
organizations and many other stakeholders to develop solutions to improve
affordable access to health care. From expanding investment in the
company's research labs, to increasing patient and provider awareness, to
investing in health care systems in developing countries, Abbott's
citizenship report highlights progress in helping to address this critical
issue in 2006, including:
Advancing patient safety by redesigning all pharmaceutical product
labels to better highlight critical product information for
pharmacists;
Expanding tiered pricing of KaletraÒ (known as AluviaÔ in
developing countries) from 69 developing countries to 114 low and
low-middle income countries;
Investing nearly $300 million in grants and product donations from
Abbott and Abbott Fund, reaching millions of people worldwide, including
providing product donations to support medical missions and other global
humanitarian efforts in more than 98 countries; and
Increasing clinical trials transparency, including registering
company-sponsored trials on the publicly available database clinicaltrials.gov.
Continually Improving Environmental Performance
As part of its efforts to protect the environment, Abbott has set
five-year performance goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, hazardous
waste and water usage, and improve workplace safety by 2010. The company
is on track to meet these goals, reaching several key milestones in 2006,
including:
Becoming the first company to partner with Environmental Defense on
the GreenFleet initiative to measure, reduce and offset greenhouse gas
emissions in fleet vehicles, with preliminary data indicating a 4 percent
reduction in emissions;
Implementing a comprehensive plan to manage water use and work with
the communities where we operate to improve access to clean water; this
includes initiating 30 water conservation projects that will result in
annual water reduction of more than 208 million gallons;
Improving employee safety across the company's operations,
including exceeding the company's 2010 goal for reducing employee lost
workdays by 10 percent three years early.
Nurturing an Inclusive Global Workforce
Long regarded as one of the world's premier employers, Abbott also reports
on key results in providing a diverse and inclusive work environment,
including:
Increasing the number of women in management by 64 percent over the
past five years, with female general managers currently heading up 18
Abbott sites around the world;
Focusing on recruiting female and minority science talent, filling
53 percent of entry-level science positions with women and 28 percent with
minorities over the past five years;
Developing a three-year strategy to support employees across their
lifecycle, including addressing the needs of an aging workforce by
offering flexible work schedules to encourage mature employees to remain
with the company, and by developing programs and methods to
institutionalize the accumulated knowledge, experience, relationships and
expertise of mature workers within Abbott.
About Abbott's 2006 Global Citizenship Report
Abbott's full 2006 report is now available online at www.abbott.com/citizenship,
including a copy of the company's Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Index.
In order to reduce its environmental impact, the company shortened the
print report and expanded the information available on its Web site. The
abbreviated print version can be downloaded from the Web site or requested
by email at globalcitizenship@abbott.com.
About Abbott
In 2006, Abbott was once again named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World
Index (DJSI World) in recognition of the company's leading economic, social
and environmental performance.
Abbott is a global, broad-based health care company devoted to the
discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of pharmaceuticals and
medical products, including nutritionals, devices and diagnostics. The
company employs 65,000 people and markets its products in more than 130
countries.
Abbott's news releases and other information are available on the
company's Web site at www.abbott.com.
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