WOONSOCKET, R.I., May 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- CVS Health
(NYSE: CVS) today released its tenth annual Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Report, entitled Prescription for a Better
World, providing updates on progress against the company's 2016 CSR goals, and establishing several new performance
targets.
Accomplishments in 2016 spanned the company's strategic CSR pillars of Health in Action, Planet in Balance and Leader in
Growth and illustrate its efforts to make health care more affordable, accessible and effective; provide customers with healthier
and more sustainable products; and operate its business sustainably and responsibly.
New performance targets introduced in this year's report include expanding the company's commitment to preventing and
mitigating prescription drug abuse by increasing pharmacist education and outreach to 750,000 children and families by 2020. In
addition, to respond to the health care industry's complex and ever-changing compliance landscape, the company is harnessing new
technologies that help colleagues stay informed of and comply with regulations and has committed to providing more than two
million hours of annual compliance training to colleagues across the enterprise.
"We're incredibly proud of everything we accomplished in 2016 and believe that our business contributions have helped to
address critical health care issues and deliver more affordable, accessible and effective care," said Larry Merlo, President and Chief Executive Officer for CVS Health. "Our corporate social responsibility
strategy supports our growing business while helping people on their path to better health and making the world a healthier place
to live."
Key highlights from the 2016 Report include:
Health in Action
- Delivered a low-cost alternative to auto-injectable epinephrine as one way to increase the affordability of prescription
drugs
- Broadened MinuteClinic® services and piloted a first-of-its-kind partnership with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to offer clinic services to
more than 60,000 veterans served by the Palo Alto VA. The success of the pilot resulted in the recent expansion of the
program to provide quality care to veterans served by the Phoenix VA Health Care System.
- Expanded healthier food and beverage offerings to more than 2,900 stores nationwide
- Reached more than 170,000 students with prescription drug abuse education through the Pharmacists Teach® program
- Introduced Be The
First, a five-year, $50 million initiative to help deliver the nation's first tobacco-free
generation
Planet in Balance
- Advanced efforts to address chemicals of consumer concern by announcing the removal of parabens, phthalates and the most prevalent
formaldehyde donors across nearly 600 beauty and personal care products from its store brand CVS Health, Beauty 360, Essence of
Beauty, and Blade product lines
- Published and implemented a
Responsible Palm Oil Sourcing Policy and committed to sourcing 100 percent of palm oil used in CVS Health products from
verified, responsible sources by 2020
- Committed to developing a science-based emissions reduction target to align greenhouse gas emission reductions with global
emissions budgets generated by climate models and joined more than 250 companies setting their emissions reduction targets in
line with climate science
Leader in Growth
- Published a Human Rights Policy that formalizes practices within our workplace and supply chain and aligns with the United
Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
- Achieved our goal of spending $1 billion annually with diverse suppliers by 2017, one year ahead of schedule, and
became one of 26 U.S.-based companies named to the Billion Dollar Roundtable, a top-level corporate advocacy organization
that promotes supply-chain diversity excellence
- Committed to expanding the company's Registered Apprenticeships program to 3,000 participants by 2020
"Prescription for a Better World is more than the title of our report – it's a comprehensive approach to CSR that
engages colleagues across our organization to make measurable progress in fulfilling our purpose," Eileen
Howard Boone, SVP of Corporate Social Responsibility and Philanthropy for CVS Health writes in the Report. "As I look
ahead to the next ten years, I see so many opportunities for our CSR strategy to play an even bigger role in supporting our
business and delivering value to our customers, communities and stakeholders."
The Report was developed in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) G4 Guidelines, an international framework that is widely used by
organizations to report on their CSR and sustainability performance. For more information on GRI, visit http://www.globalreporting.org/.
The Report is available online at http://cvshealth.com/social-responsibility/corporate-social-responsibility.
About CVS Health
CVS Health is a pharmacy innovation company helping people on their path to better health. Through its nearly 9,700
retail locations, more than 1,100 walk-in medical clinics, a leading pharmacy benefits manager with nearly 90 million plan
members, a dedicated senior pharmacy care business serving more than one million patients per year, expanding specialty pharmacy
services, and a leading stand-alone Medicare Part D prescription drug plan, the company enables people, businesses and
communities to manage health in more affordable and effective ways. This unique integrated model increases access to quality
care, delivers better health outcomes and lowers overall health care costs. Find more information about how CVS Health is shaping
the future of health at https://www.cvshealth.com.
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SOURCE CVS Health