Report Aligned with Leading Sustainability Frameworks and Elanco’s Healthy Purpose Sustainability Approach

Elanco Animal Health Incorporated released its 2021 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report “Changing The World One Animal at a Time” highlighting the company’s progress on relevant ESG topics and metrics.

The 2021 ESG Report expands on the company’s inaugural 2020 ESG Summary, providing updates on the company’s sustainability programs, policies and initiatives as well as metrics and targets in several key areas, including workforce diversity and environmental impact.

“We believe our work to make life better for animals has the potential to make a lasting positive impact on society and the world. We are driven by our purpose and integrate opportunities to improve the health of animals, people, the planet and our enterprise into our core business operations,” said Jeff Simmons, president and chief executive officer at Elanco. “We are working hard around the globe to increase representation of diverse talent and reduce our own environmental footprint while supporting our customers, advancing their sustainability efforts through environmentally beneficial products, animal welfare consultation and our antimicrobial stewardship guidance.”

The 2021 report outlines the company’s approach to sustainability, called Elanco’s Healthy Purpose, and goals – which align with the United Nations’ 2030 Sustainable Development Goals – and annual progress on the four interconnected Healthy Purpose pillars Healthier Animals, Healthier People, Healthier Planet and Healthier Enterprise, focusing on key areas in which the Elanco business can make a difference.

The reporting is aligned with the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) guideline for the Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals industry, as well as the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations and covers additional disclosure topics deemed relevant by Elanco and its key stakeholders.

As part of Elanco’s continued commitment to the space, the company is also announcing Ben Kruse has joined Elanco, effective August 8, 2022, in the newly created position, global head of ESG & sustainability. Mr. Kruse joins Elanco from AT&T where he spent more than 20 years in senior roles, most recently related to the company’s corporate ESG strategy, reporting and operational implementation. The position will report to Marcela Kirberger, executive vice president, general counsel & corporate secretary, who chairs the cross-functional Elanco Healthy Purpose steering committee comprised of senior representation from across our business.

See related article: Elanco Breaks Ground on State-of-the-Art Campus, Creating Indianapolis’ Newest Landmark

2021 program highlights include:

Healthier Enterprise

• Enhanced diversity, equity and inclusion strategy, programs and expectations, including:
  • Increased representation of women in leadership to 33% and introduced the goal to further increase representation of women in leadership to 42% by 2023
  • Increased representation of People of Color in leadership in the U.S. to 16.9% and introduced the goal of increasing representation of People of Color in leadership to 20% by 2023.
• Enhanced governance practices through shareholder-friendly actions including undertaking an ESG roadshow with top shareholders, the adoption of a “proxy access” bylaw and the passing of a proposal to eliminate the supermajority provisions in the Articles of Incorporation at the 2022 Annual Meeting.
• Global Elanco colleagues volunteered more than 8,600 hours in community service and disaster relief efforts.

Healthier Animals

• Announced a comprehensive global Animal Welfare Policy, harmonizing legacy Elanco and legacy Bayer Animal Health approaches and reinforcing the company’s commitment to furthering animal well-being.
• Advanced commitment to promoting responsible use of antibiotics by:
  • Transitioning antibiotic livestock product labels to align with responsible use practices.
  • Introducing and expanding the use of vaccines and nutritional health products across the world, providing alternative treatment options and reducing the need for medically important, or those shared-class antibiotics used in both humans and animals.

Healthier People

• Improved access to care for 20 million farm animals in East African countries through the East Africa Growth Accelerator (EAGA) initiative by providing veterinary products to 280,000 small-scale dairy and poultry producers, cumulative since 2017; already exceeded the company’s goal of reaching 250,000 producers by 2030.
• Advanced broader understanding of the benefits of the human-animal bond by sponsoring research into the positive effects of animals in U.S. children’s hospitals as well as sponsorship of therapy dogs for people with disabilities around the world.

Healthier Planet

• Reduced the company’s overall impact on the environment by lowering Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by approximately 8% compared to 2020, and approximately 40% compared to our 2015 baseline.
• Advanced on the journey toward sourcing 100% renewable energy by 2030 by transitioning our largest manufacturing site in Kiel, Germany to 100% wind energy over the course of 2021.
• Established a global, cross-functional sustainable packaging team to provide governance, strategy and oversight for our sustainable packaging efforts.
• Introduced Experior™, the first U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved product with an environmental benefit, labeled to reduce ammonia gas emissions per pound of carcass weight from an animal or its waste.

Elanco remains dedicated to acting with a sustainability mindset and driving continuous progress for a healthier future.

Source: Elanco