In our work with healthcare providers across the country, our purpose has always been to ease the suffering of those living with critical conditions. Now, as part of our broader mission to create a world with less suffering, we have recently signed on to the United Nations Global Compact—an agreement to align our business strategies with ten principles covering human rights, labor, the environment and anti-corruption.
Our participation comes at a critical time. As SERB, BTG Specialty Pharmaceuticals and Veriton converge on a shared purpose and set of values, it has become increasingly clear that environmental, social and governance (ESG) topics and sustainability principles are central to how we operate. Our legacy companies have worked on several ESG-aligned projects over the last decade, spanning from solar panel installations to partnerships with life-saving organizations like the Asclepius Snakebite Foundation.
Committing to the UN Global Compact is a natural extension of these efforts. Here’s how we plan to get started.
How We Plan to Meet Our UN Global Compact and ESG Goals
- Establishing a Global ESG Team
One of our first objectives has been to assemble a broad-based global ESG team, with the goal of leveraging sustainable business practices, diversity efforts and ethical governance to deliver best-in-class patient care. These team members represent the countries we operate in around the world. This allows us to collaborate across geographies but also to generate ideas that are locally relevant. Because these local advocates are aligned with the broader group strategy, creativity and idea-sharing is robust and efficient.
The team—which meets every two months––will help the company set and track specific performance indicators and measurable ambitions. These may include achieving a greater diversity and inclusion, finding ways to reduce waste, or ensuring completion of ESG-related training programs. - Reporting On Our Progress
We have made a commitment to report on the company’s progress within one year of joining the UN Global Compact, and annually thereafter. The report, following the UN Global Compact’s Communication on Progress policy, will describe our company’s efforts to implement its ten principles in each of the four issue areas: human rights, labor, environment, anti-corruption. - Focusing on Diversity and a Fair Workplace
One of the principles outlined by the UN Global Compact includes the elimination of discrimination with respect to employment and occupation. We plan to take a broader view of diversity and inclusion issues. We have previously required employee training which draws on Harvard’s Project Implicit to help improve personal understanding of unconscious bias. We plan to build on these efforts in the future.
We also intend to integrate ESG principles into our new employee onboarding pack to ensure a company culture that supports these principles and our broader corporate responsibility mission. Additionally, the company will refresh its codes of conduct to ensure consistent adherence to appropriate standards of ethics and integrity.
To address the UN Global Compact’s concentration on human rights, we will also refine our group-wide approach to charity, volunteerism, community support and sponsorships.
We also plan to review low-paid contractors (e.g. cleaners) for ‘living wage’ compliance––a vital step toward making our stated values a reality. - Reducing Our Environmental Footprint
As our company takes a more proactive approach to environmental challenges, we will enact initiatives that not only promote greater environmental responsibility, but leverage innovative and environmentally friendly technologies.
That means, for instance, taking advantage of more environmentally friendly transportation options and greener sources of energy.
While some of our group companies have previously tracked CO2 emissions, water use and waste in the past, our intention is to expand to global, group-wide measurements. By 2023, we also intend to conduct a full-scale assessment of our manufacturing processes to help identify opportunities to reduce plastic waste.
Changing for the Better
By making a commitment to uphold our fundamental responsibilities to people and the planet, we are living out our stated values and fulfilling our purpose as an organization. Not only is this approach important to stakeholders, but it’s essential to the continued success of our company.
Most importantly, signing up for the UN Global Compact is a gesture of solidarity with our employees, who bring a variety of unique backgrounds, experiences and identities to the table. Together, we have seen how environmental and social issues have come to the foreground of the national conversation, and why it’s crucial that companies respond swiftly to ESG-related concerns. As a new generation of employees and job candidates enter the workforce, this new focus on corporate responsibility will be central to building a fair and a sustainable company.
