2020 was a pivotal year for Bristol Myers Squibb.
The first year of our new combined company was also a year in which we faced adversity and change as never before due to the global pandemic and the movement for social justice. Despite these challenges, we maintained a continued supply of medicines to our patients, protected the health, wellbeing and safety of our workforce and delivered strong business performance. We took significant action to address the needs of patients, healthcare providers and communities, including expanding our existing patient support programs to help eligible patients in the U.S. who lost their health insurance due to the pandemic. Moreover, as we strived to transform patients’ lives through science, our company made significant progress on our efforts on ESG issues.
Driving value for our business and our communities
As a leading biopharmaceutical company, our passion for making an impact extends well beyond the discovery, development and delivery of innovative medicines that help patients prevail over serious diseases. We believe that driving long-term business value is at the heart of living our purpose—being leaders and difference-makers for generations to come. Through our ESG strategy we seek to mobilize our capabilities and resources to positively impact the communities where we live, work and serve.
With this strategy as our guide and patients as our North Star, in 2020 we thoroughly examined our corporate priorities, listened carefully to our stakeholders and assessed our strengths, challenges and aspirations. We took stock of our existing ESG initiatives and the progress we have made over the past decades. Acknowledging the strides we have made in aligning to global initiatives such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the UN Global Compact, among others, we set aggressive new targets toward environmental and social goals.
In 2020, we developed our ESG strategy and reinforced our commitment to Health Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, and Environmental Responsibility through the creation of bold new targets for our business.
Achieving our 2020 goals
We achieved an important milestone as we met or exceeded all 19 targets in support of our five Sustainability 2020 Goals, and we made good progress toward becoming an even more diverse and inclusive company. Also, we renewed our commitment to building trust with increased transparency as we move forward as a global industry leader.
Our reporting in 2021 reflects our core business strategy and priority issues, and shows how sustainability principles are integrated throughout our business. This is a reflection of our values and the patient-centered culture we have built. I am deeply proud of the significant accomplishments made by our dedicated workforce while coping with their own personal challenges.
Looking ahead
Bristol Myers Squibb is committed to driving positive change through innovation with heart. As we continue on our journey to help patients prevail over serious diseases, we will steadfastly uphold our commitment to our people, our planet and responsible, ethical business practices.
Giovanni Caforio, M.D.
Board Chair and CEO
