Company makes notable progress toward 2030+ ESG commitments, addressing energy, water and waste reduction, environmental impact of product portfolio and supplier diversification

BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) (NYSE: BDX), a leading global medical technology company, today issued its Fiscal Year 2021 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report that details ongoing efforts that impact company health, human health, community health and planet health.

“We are taking action to address the most relevant ESG issues for our business and stakeholders, including climate change, diversity, pay equity, transparency and reducing the impact our products have on the environment,” said Tom Polen, chairman, chief executive officer and president of BD. “We’ve made commitments that build on our purpose of advancing the world of health, and true to our culture, we’re delivering on those commitments and positioning BD for sustainable growth and resilience.”

See related article: BD Forms Sustainable Medical Technology Institute to Reduce the Environmental Impact of its Product Portfolio

The report includes the first performance measurements and progress made toward the company’s 2030+ ESG commitments, which were unveiled in October 2021. Focusing on key areas where the company looks to create meaningful, measurable change over the next decade, highlights and achievements from this year’s report include:  

• Climate change – BD joined the Race to Zero, committing to scope 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas reduction targets in line with 1.5⁰C emissions scenarios to reach science-based net zero emissions by 2050. The company continues to make progress toward its goal of 25% energy reduction by 2030 (from a 2019 baseline, normalized to cost of products sold), achieving 14% energy reduction in FY 2021, in addition to increasing its investment in on-site renewable energy. Currently, 13 BD locations obtain 100% of their electric power from renewable sources.
• Product impact – BD recently launched a Sustainable Medical Technology Institute to help further reduce the environmental impact of the company’s portfolio, set sustainable design standards for products and identify more sustainable sterilization technologies. The company continues to manage end-of-life disposal of products from the BD Pyxis™ portfolio, resulting in 20,771 units processed in FY 2021, which equates to 1,855.15 metric tonnes of material that was refurbished, reused or recycled, with no materials disposed of via landfill.
• Responsible supply chain – The company spent $565 million with diverse-owned business suppliers and $1 billion with small business suppliers, impacting 2,766 suppliers in total. This reflects an average 33% increase in supplier diversity spend from FY 2020, across all categories of diverse-owned businesses and small business suppliers.
• Healthy workforce and communities – The company’s FY 2021 global pay equity assessment of associates in 57 countries, showed female employees earned 98 cents for every $1 earned by male associates (99 cents in the U.S.), making progress toward the company’s commitment to achieve 100% pay equity. [The results showed that BD associates are paid fairly and equitably, and that on average, both women and men are paid within a range that would be expected after controlling for legitimate differentiating factors.] In support of community and human health, BD donated more than $24 million in cash and products worldwide to eligible non-profit organizations to support resilient communities and expand healthcare access and equity. This included $4.1 million in cash and product donations in U.S. free and charitable clinics and community centers, with such contributions totaling $34.5 million since 2009.
• Transparency – BD published its first Inclusion, Diversity and Equity report and its second Cybersecurity report. The company earned a 100% score on the 2021 corporate political disclosure and accountability index from the Center for Political Accountability, and it was named one of America’s Most Responsible Companies and America’s Most Trusted Companies by Newsweek. The ESG report also includes disclosures that follow the guidelines of the October 2021 report “Implementing the Recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures.”

“We worked with a wide range of stakeholders to drive our strategy and track progress over the last year, which includes launching a Sustainable Medical Technology Institute, joining the Race to Zero, setting science-based targets to help address the worst effects of climate change, and increasing renewable energy sources,” said Maureen Mazurek, vice president of Sustainability, Environment, Health and Safety and Product Stewardship at BD. “We developed our 2030+ ESG commitments by focusing our organization where we can make the greatest impact on our industry, people, communities and our planet today. We know this work can make a lasting positive impact, which is why we will continue to challenge ourselves to find opportunities to grow, improve and do what is right.“

View the full FY 2021 Environmental, Social and Governance Report on BD.com.

Source: PRNewswire