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Global Citizenship
Good corporate citizenship is integral to Abbott’s mission as a global health care company. We are committed to doing business in a responsible and sustainable way that brings wide-ranging benefits — health, social, economic — to the communities where we live and work.
Citizenship influences all aspects of Abbott — how we advance business objectives, engage stakeholders, implement policies, apply social investment and philanthropy, and exercise influence to make a productive contribution to society.
Each year, we continue to improve our corporate citizenship, and 2008 marked the fourth straight year in which Abbott was named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World and North America indices. These indices are the leading benchmarks of best-in-class economic and social performance of global companies. The following is a brief summary of our ongoing global citizenship efforts:
Since 2006, Abbott and the Abbott Fund have partnered with Direct Relief International to improve pediatric nutrition at the Angkor Hospital for Children in Cambodia. The program has assisted more than 250,000 children and trained more than 500 hospital and government health care workers in the fight against global malnutrition.
Innovating for the future
Abbott is using its expertise in science, technology and health to address important areas where we can make a difference. Our commitment to innovation is evident in Abbott’s research and development activities, where we invested $2.7 billion during 2008. Innovation is equally important in every other aspect of our
business — from devising better manufacturing processes, to improving the effectiveness and reach of our marketing and educational programs, to the distribution of our products and the general conduct of our organization.
Improving access
Developing effective health care products is only part of our goal. We must also work to ensure that those in need get access to them. We are dedicated to improving access to our medicines and our other health care products through Abbott’s own programs and by partnering with others who can help. In 2008, our contributions totaled more than $460 million, and more than 155,000 patients were helped by assistance programs offered or supported by Abbott. Through these programs, Abbott provided products valued at more than $255 million.
Protecting patients and consumers
We work diligently to ensure the quality of our products and the health and safety of those who use and come into contact with them. As part of this process, we not only work to protect the patient, but also the health and safety of our employees and the communities where we live and work.
Safeguarding the environment
Abbott is committed to helping address the global challenges of climate change and water scarcity and to minimizing the environmental impacts of our products, our manufacturing and all other aspects of our business. In 2008, we achieved significant improvement in the eco-efficiency of our manufacturing sites. We reduced our greenhouse gas emissions by 3 percent and our water usage by 4 percent from our 2007 levels.
For more details on our citizenship efforts, download the report at www.abbott.com/citizenship.
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