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At the heart of our global and comprehensive strategy is a simple belief: We do not want to cause harm while doing good. And for us, that means creating maximum positive impact while minimizing our environmental footprint. As a global biopharma company, we know that our responsibility extends well beyond the discovery, development and delivery of innovative medicines. The good our medicines provide must not come at the expense of the environment. With climate change and its many impacts expected to exacerbate harmful diseases, we stand firmly committed to using our scientific expertise to drive innovation and build a more resilient planet.
Accordingly, our environmental efforts encompass our entire product life cycle, from how we design and produce our products to our facilities, our employees and our communities. Our Sustainability 2020 Goals were designed to enable a strong platform for future growth through opportunities that could help us better meet patient goals and stakeholder expectations, while protecting the environment.
Our 2030 and 2040 environmental goals push that ambition even higher—by reaching for an absolute or 100% reduction in most of our environmental impacts. By making sure sustainability principles are integrated into every step of the process, from research and development to commercial production and end of use, we can make sure that our mission can live on for hundreds of years to come, while supporting and enabling a healthy environment.
Our climate change strategy is based on understanding our contributions as citizens of the planet and as a responsible, healthcare-based multinational company. Our aim is to follow the science and creatively apply technology and our know-how to solve tough business problems of diminishing resources, carbon emissions, energy consumption and waste generation. As a science-based company it is important that we learn from the scientific community and the data that suggest that climate change can impact the severity and frequency of health problems, and also can contribute to the creation of unanticipated health problems in locales where not previously experienced.
We align our approaches to the intent of the UN Paris Climate Accord and seek to inculcate learnings from the EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program. We disclose our results at least annually using frameworks such as CDP (formerly known as the Carbon Disclosure Project), GRI, the UN SDGs and now SASB.
We are committed to being a part of the solution, and believe that our commitment to transparency, including Bristol Myers Squibb’s bold goals set in 2020: (1) net neutral carbon, (2) 100% purchased electricity from renewable sources, (3) zero waste to landfill, (4) 100% renewable fleet vehicles and (5) equitable water use all by 2040, show the importance we attach to the potential impact of climate change to our business and industry.
We have established Transition Goals to continue driving environmental performance across our global operations while we simultaneously develop robust road maps to achieve our 2030 and 2040 commitments. These goals include 10% reduction in energy use intensity and GHG emissions intensity, 25% reduction in waste to landfill and 5% reduction in water intensity. Setting Transition Goals also ensures the expanded enterprise network is fully integrated with our comprehensive sustainability initiatives and reporting protocols.
As we build out our science-based targets (SBTs) and begin incorporating the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) scenarios into our disclosures, we will continue to further evolve our efforts as part of our transition and contribution to a low-carbon economy.
Energy and emissions
Water conservation
Wastewater management /
pharmaceuticals in the environment
Waste
Green and sustainability science
Green packaging
Management of our internal and external supply chain
At Bristol Myers Squibb, our ESG strategy is meaningfully tied to the company strategy. The opportunities and potential impacts of ESG issues are directly interrelated to our business. Our governance model, accordingly, focuses on linking business issues with our ESG approaches and ensures that there is engagement and alignment from the most senior members of the BMS Leadership team.
Led by our Board Chair and CEO, our ESG efforts are overseen by the Board of Directors, while the Vice President of Environment, Occupational Health, Safety and Sustainability is accountable for strategy development and operational execution. She is also a member of Bristol Myers Squibb’s global leadership team and reports through the Executive Vice President and General Counsel, who reports to the Board Chair and CEO.
Pertinent ESG topics are discussed at least annually at Board meetings, with specific detailed oversight provided by the Board’s Committee on Directors and Corporate Governance, with oversight for certain topics provided by the Board’s other Committees in accordance with their respective charter responsibilities. Recent agenda items have included details about external and emerging trends, internal performance against predetermined objectives and opportunities to extend or modify our programs.
