As a global company, Cardinal Health understands the long-term health of our employees, customers, partners and communities depends on a healthier, more sustainable and equitable world. As healthcare institutions and companies, it’s essential we work together to maximize our impact.
I look forward to discussing the steps Cardinal Health is taking toward a healthier world, and sharing insights into how others can make progress during an upcoming ACHE webinar alongside Ije-Enu Udeze Nwosu, head of impact spending, Kaiser Permanente, on Dec. 15, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. Central time, titled “A Conversation on ESG: Techniques for Implementing and Measuring Environmental, Social and Governance Strategies in Healthcare Institutions.” What follows is a brief preview of the webinar.
Cardinal Health launched its fifth annual Corporate Citizenship Report in September 2021, outlining our environmental, social and governance (ESG) priorities and the ways in which we’ve publicly committed to caring for our people and our planet. Our next report is scheduled to launch in January 2023.
A key theme of this report is Cardinal Health’s emphasis on identifying opportunities to combat climate change and build a sustainable global economy. In the report, we announced our commitment to reducing Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030. In addition, we’ve committed to setting a science-based target, and we are measuring our Scope 3 GHG emissions in our supply chain so that our climate commitment can include the full scope of our carbon footprint. I’ll talk about these goals in more detail during our webinar and offer suggestions on how you can begin the process of setting goals that make the most sense for your institution.
Diversity, equity and inclusion is another critical component of our corporate strategy. Cardinal Health continues to prioritize building a culture where our people, including employees, customers, partners and suppliers, feel valued. That’s why we set public representation goals in 2021. My colleague Devray Kirkland, Cardinal Health’s chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer, talked about these goals in an ACHE webinar in October. These goals are essential to creating a workplace where everyone can be their authentic selves every day. Cardinal Health aspires to shift its workforce in the following ways by 2030:
- Globally, increased representation of women at the manager level and above from 40% to 48%.
- In the U.S., increased representation of Black employees at the manager level and above from 5% to 11%.
- In the U.S., increased representation of Asian, Latinx, Indigenous, and all other ethnically diverse groups at the manager level and above from 17% to 23%.
ESG initiatives also are helping us unlock value for our customers, employees and communities. For example, we offer an improved experience for stakeholders across the continuum of care, from efficient delivery of products and services to enabling more access to quality care. And, through the Cardinal Health Foundation, we’re championing efforts that matter most to the communities we serve.
We know it’s imperative to set meaningful goals, track metrics and communicate our ESG progress publicly. This helps engage external stakeholders, including investors, customers, communities and internal stakeholders – our employees. Like many companies, Cardinal Health has enlisted its Board of Directors and an internal governance committee to help manage oversight of our ESG work. During the webinar, I’ll share more information about these relationships and how you can partner with your various stakeholders to achieve your own ESG objectives.
Megan Maltenfort is vice president, ESG, at Cardinal Health, where she is responsible for guiding a cross-functional ESG working group of leaders from across the company in building and driving an ambitious enterprise-wide ESG strategy.