Commitment to ESG goals is nothing new for Rahway-based Merck, but its 2021/2022 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Progress Report, released Aug. 30, is. 

“For more than 130 years, our global team has pursued ESG excellence. Today, our ESG approach helps propel and enable our business strategy in ways that make us a better company — and a better corporate citizen. To that end, ESG underpins our Corporate Strategic Framework and every decision we make,” Merck CEO and President Robert Davis said in a statement. 

Davis added that the biopharmaceutical company recognizes that “ESG is not a destination, but instead a journey.” 

The company report features milestones, such as the December 2021 launch of its Sustainability Financing Framework to raise funds for ESG projects. Its inaugural $1 billion sustainability bond is aimed at supporting projects and partnerships in Merck’s four ESG priority areas: Access to Health, Employees, Environmental Sustainability and Ethics & Values. 

Other highlights include: 

• Merck’s commitment of  91.5 million doses of its human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines for use in Gavi-supported countries from 2021 to 2025, and completed expansions to its Elkton, Va., manufacturing facility to increase capacity and supply. 
• The company’s execution of an access strategy early in the COVID-19 pandemic to accelerate equitable global access to its oral antiviral COVID-19 medicine. 
• Merck’s pledge of more than $93 million in products and funds to Ukrainian refugees and citizens in the first half of 2022. 
• The company achieving more than 99% pay equity in the U.S. in 2021 for female and male employees, as well as for non-white and white employees in equivalent positions. 
• Merck reporting “strong progress” on its goals to increase representation in senior management roles by 2024, including increasing representation of women globally to 36%; of Black/African Americans in the U.S. to 7%; and of Hispanics/Latinos in the U.S. to 6%. 
• The company staying on track to achieve carbon neutrality across its operations by 2025.  
• Merck sourcing 41% of its purchased electricity from renewables in 2021, with the goal of sourcing it all from renewables by 2025. 
• The company was in compliance with all regulatory requirements in 2021 for active incident monitoring, risk/harm analysis and on-time notification of data breaches. 

The ESG announcement also said that Merck will continue its membership in the Billion Dollar Roundtable, an industry organization that recognizes companies that achieve spending of at least $1 billion with minority-, women-, veteran-, LGBT- and disability-owned enterprises. 

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