BD, a leading global medical technology company based in Franklin Lakes, announced Monday new strategies to advance environmental, social and governance initiatives, as well as a suite of goals for 2030 and beyond that focus on enhancing stewardship of the company, the planet, community and human health.
BD officials are calling their ESG strategy “Together We Advance.” They said the new approach builds on BD’s core purpose — advancing the world of health — and focuses on making meaningful impacts across four key pillars:
- Company health: Building a strong business foundation through good governance and transparent reporting;
- Planet health: Implementing sustainable solutions to reduce the company’s environmental footprint;
- Community health: Collaborating with communities and investing company resources to do what is right;
- Human health: Empowering employees to innovate new products and solutions to deliver what’s next in health care.
BD Chairman and CEO Tom Polen said the initiatives match the mission of the company.
“We are implementing a new ESG strategy that builds on our commitment to improve and advance individual and public health at a global scale,” he said. “We know that the health of our company, our planet, our communities and the people we serve are directly connected, and, when we successfully address the health of one, we often solve for challenges in another.
“Together We Advance embraces these interconnections, with the ultimate goal of driving positive collective outcomes and a healthy, resilient world for all.”
Polen said the company has made commitments in five areas that are most important to its stakeholders and where the company has identified opportunities to create meaningful, measurable change across the pillars of health over the next decade: climate change, product impacts, responsible supply chain, healthy workforce, and communities and transparency.
The company established a set of goals in each area to reach by 2030 to measure its success in driving positive health outcomes across its ESG strategy and continue its commitment to help achieve UN Sustainable Development Goals
“We developed our 2030 ESG goals by challenging ourselves to think about where we can make the greatest impact on our industry, society and planet today,” Polen said. “We are prioritizing climate change through reducing emissions and integrating climate impact considerations into our business strategy, while also addressing the impact of our products and resiliency of the supply chain.”
Polen said the company is acting immediately on these commitments, noting that BD recently signed onto the United Nations Race to Zero campaign, where BD joins the largest alliance dedicated to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 or sooner.
“We will also continue to demonstrate how an ethical, sustainable and inclusive company can drive growth while supporting our global communities for generations to come,” he said.
The 2030+ goals include:
- Climate change: Reducing Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions 46% by 2030 (from a 2019 baseline) and achieving carbon neutrality across direct operations by 2040. The company also committed to set targets to reduce Scope 3 emissions;
- Product impacts: Reducing the environmental impact of the company’s product portfolio by addressing plastic and packaging material consumption and the impact of plastics throughout its value chain through considerations in product design; and reducing Scope 3 emissions from use and disposal of products in line with 1.5˚C emissions scenarios;
- Responsible supply chain: Working with supply chain partners to quantify and reduce Scope 3 emissions in line with 1.5˚C emissions scenarios, in addition to strengthening engagement with supply chain partners on their labor and environmental practices and performance;
- Healthy workforce and communities: Empowering employees to manage their physical, mental and financial health and committing to improving ethnic and gender diversity by 1% year-over-year at the management and executive levels;
- Transparency: Reporting clear information around performance and progress toward the company’s ESG goals through its annual sustainability report. BD will do this in alignment with recognized external ESG reporting frameworks, including the Task Force for Climate Related Financial Disclosures and Sustainability Accounting Standards Board.
