Global Citizenship

Letter from the Chairman and CEO

Miles D. White
Chairman and
Chief Executive Officer

To Our Stakeholders:

Welcome to Abbott’s 2010 Global Citizenship Report. As someone with an interest in this area, you understand well that sustainability is, perhaps, the central concept in the field of corporate responsibility today. The primary imperative of any organization is to endure – to sustain the enterprise, so it can continue to produce multifold benefits for all the people it serves.

Abbott is an enduring company, now in our 123rd year, so sustainability has always been our priority. Today, however, the concepts of "sustainability" and "responsibility" mean more than ever before. And living out those concepts has become highly challenging in the current business environment, particularly in the health care industry.

Our long experience does not make Abbott immune to these challenges. But it has taught us to constantly prepare for the future and the changes it will bring. This is a core competency at Abbott. We constantly anticipate and prepare for change by building our company and its ability to thrive.

In 2010 we made significant strategic moves to enhance our leadership in both advanced new technologies and in emerging markets. Our acquisitions of Solvay Pharmaceuticals and Piramal Healthcare Solutions made us the largest pharmaceutical company in India and one of the leading companies in emerging markets and the branded-generic medicine business. These moves further underscored Abbott’s increasing global scale, with 57 percent of sales and approximately two-thirds of the company’s approximately 91,000 employees now located outside the United States.

As our business expands around the world, so does our citizenship commitment and our focus on our four strategic citizenship priorities:

Innovating for the Future

Abbott’s mission is to improve health. The core of that commitment has always been our dedication to science and innovation. In 2010 we invested a record $3.7 billion in research and development of new health care advances.

We believe R&D is most effectively practiced as a collaborative, globally networked enterprise. That’s why we continue to expand the breadth and scope of our collaborations with a wide range of research partners. And we are expanding our clinical trials and R&D programs into more locations around the world.

Our research focuses on critical and growing global challenges like cancer, heart disease, diabetes and neurological disorders. We also are partnering with nonprofits to address neglected diseases such as lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis) and Buruli ulcer.

Enhancing Access

As important as innovation itself is ensuring that new health care technologies get to the people who need them. Providing this access is a complex issue, and Abbott contributes to the solution in multiple ways.

We partner with governments, nonprofits and other stakeholders to increase health system capacity and improve infrastructure. And we offer a variety of products for patients with varying abilities to pay through our expanding branded generics business, as well as through partnerships with governments and NGOs to provide free or deeply discounted products to underserved groups.

Safeguarding the Environment

Finally, as a company dedicated to better health, we recognize the paramount importance of a clean environment to us all. We work diligently to reduce both direct and indirect environmental impacts of our operations.

In 2010, we updated our energy policy to account for advances in climate change management. Through continued deployment of energy efficiency, co-generation and renewable energy projects, we reduced our carbon dioxide emissions by 13 percent last year. We also have committed to reducing our total water intake by 15 percent by 2015. And we continue expanding our use of sustainable packaging.

Commitment

Our citizenship work is a point of pride for Abbott people around the world, and inspires new efforts across our company. Complementing our work at the global level, in 2010 many of our country operations expanded their local citizenship commitments. Our affiliates in Brazil, China and Italy each produced their own citizenship reports, enabling more robust conversations with key stakeholders in each country.

We at Abbott are proud of our citizenship accomplishments in 2010 and gratified that stakeholders continue to recognize our work: For the sixth consecutive year we were named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index, and our efforts earned local citizenship awards in more than 10 countries around the world.

Our performance in 2010, then, clearly demonstrates Abbott’s commitment to sustainability – of our environment and resources, of the communities of which we are part, and of our company, which does so much for so many. We thank you for your interest and your support of this work.

Sincerely,

Miles D. White
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
April 2011