Biogen Releases 2020 Year in Review Demonstrating Its Commitment to
Transparency and Progress across Environmental, Social and
Governance Metrics
Biogen Inc. (Nasdaq: BIIB) today released its 2020 Year in Review,
which outlines the company’s ongoing leadership actions over the
past year, including accelerating action on its commitment to
climate, health and equity, sharing progress on its enhanced
four-part strategy for diversity, equity an inclusion (DE&I)
and linking a portion of employees’ and executives’ 2021
compensation to advancing its environmental, social and governance
(ESG) strategy. The report was designed to meet rising stakeholder
expectations for transparency and progress on ESG material issues.
“Seeing Biogen set the bar even higher on our goals for
advancing climate, health and equity gives me great pride, and I’m
pleased that our bold strategies have continued to drive change
across a range of key ESG issues,” said Michel Vounatsos, Chief
Executive Officer at Biogen. “The challenges of 2020 showed us that
pioneering science to improve humanity is more important and
complex than ever. For 2021, we are determined to continue to move
forward on our goals to help make a healthier, more equitable and
more sustainable future for all.”
As the first U.S. biotechnology company to join the Business
Ambition for 1.5◦C, in 2020 Biogen launched Healthy Climate,
Healthy Lives™ and became the first Fortune 500 company to commit
to becoming fossil fuel free across its global operations by 2040.
The company continued its integration of green chemistry principles
into drug development processes and incorporated climate
considerations into its enterprise risk management. In line with
this focus, in 2020 the company reduced absolute emissions 11
percent and absolute water withdrawal 10 percent vs. 2019, achieved
99 percent zero waste to landfill and set new Science Based Targets
initiative-approved climate goals. With its report, Biogen
disclosed new sustainable packaging goals, including PVC-free
finished goods packaging by 2025.
Among the report’s most notable highlights, Biogen disclosed its
goal to exceed its industry diversity benchmarks in clinical trials
and medical publications in order to help improve health outcomes
for underserved and underrepresented patient communities. As part
of its broader DE&I efforts, the company also released its aim
to increase diversity3 in U.S. manager positions and above by 30
percent. These and other initiatives continue to build on Biogen’s
DE&I performance. As of December 31, 2020, 48 percent of
director-level positions and above globally were held by women and
28 percent in the U.S. were held by racial and ethnic minority
groups.
Biogen’s 2020 Year in Review also summarized the company’s
support for its employees, patients and communities during the
COVID-19 pandemic, including $15 million allocated for employee
relief and care and expanded patient support efforts. Additionally,
Biogen and the Biogen Foundation have committed over $90 million in
2020 to grants, sponsorships, fellowships and charitable giving.
The amount reflects $18.9 million in Biogen Foundation grants,
including $12 million to help organizations in 35 countries respond
to unprecedented pandemic-related needs, including offering food
and other immediate humanitarian assistance and expanding COVID-19
testing capacity and vaccine awareness as well as providing aid to
healthcare systems.
As part of Biogen’s commitment to transparency, for the first
time, the company disclosed its Equal Employment Opportunity
(EEO-1) data and the results of a global pay equity analysis as
well as NOx, SOx, CO and VOC air pollution emissions from
stationary combustion sources. Today, Biogen furthered its support
for the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)
through disclosure of its first TCFD Statement, joining more than
2,000 organization around the world supporting increasing
transparency of climate-related risks and opportunities to work
towards building a more resilient financial system. The 2020 Year
in Review is aligned with GRI, the Sustainability Accounting
Standards Board (SASB), the UN SDGs and the UN Global Compact, of
which Biogen is a member. It is informed by the Stakeholder
Capitalism Metrics published by the International Business Council
of the World Economic Forum in 2020.
The full report can be found by visiting Biogen’s Year in Review
website.
About BiogenAt Biogen, our mission is clear: we
are pioneers in neuroscience. Biogen discovers, develops and
delivers worldwide innovative therapies for people living with
serious neurological and neurodegenerative diseases as well as
related therapeutic adjacencies. One of the world’s first global
biotechnology companies, Biogen was founded in 1978 by Charles
Weissmann, Heinz Schaller, Kenneth Murray and Nobel Prize winners
Walter Gilbert and Phillip Sharp. Today Biogen has the leading
portfolio of medicines to treat multiple sclerosis, has introduced
the first approved treatment for spinal muscular atrophy,
commercializes biosimilars of advanced biologics and is focused on
advancing research programs in multiple sclerosis and
neuroimmunology, Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, neuromuscular
disorders, movement disorders, ophthalmology, neuropsychiatry,
immunology, acute neurology and neuropathic pain.
We routinely post information that may be important to investors
on our website at www.biogen.com. Follow us on social media –
Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube.
About the Biogen FoundationThe Biogen
Foundation supports access to science education and to essential
human services for children and their families in the communities
in which Biogen facilities are located. The Biogen Foundation is
committed to sparking a passion for science and discovery,
supporting effective science education initiatives and
strengthening efforts to make science education and science careers
accessible to diverse populations.
Biogen Safe HarborThis news release contains
forward-looking statements, including statements made pursuant to
the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995, about our strategy and plans; anticipated
benefits and potential of investments related to Healthy Climate,
Healthy Lives, our DE&I initiatives and other related ESG and
corporate responsibility initiatives; results that may be achieved
through our Healthy Climate, Healthy Lives initiative, our DE&I
initiatives and other related ESG and corporate responsibility
initiatives; the anticipated timeline of our Healthy Climate,
Healthy Lives initiative, our DE&I initiatives and other
related ESG and other corporate responsibility initiatives; and
capital allocation and investment strategy. These statements may be
identified by words such as “aim,” “anticipate,” “believe,”
“could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “forecast,” “goal,” “intend,” “may,”
“plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “will,” “would” and other words
and terms of similar meaning. You should not place undue reliance
on these statements or the scientific data presented.
These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could
cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected in
such statements, including without limitation the risks of
unexpected hurdles, costs or delays; uncertainty of success in the
execution of our strategy and plans; risks that the goals of our
Healthy Climate, Healthy Lives, our DE&I initiatives and other
related ESG and corporate responsibility initiatives will be
completed in a timely manner or at all; uncertainty as to whether
the anticipated benefits of our Healthy Climate, Healthy Lives, our
DE&I initiatives and other related ESG and corporate
responsibility initiatives can be achieved; the direct and indirect
impacts of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on our business, results
of operations and financial condition; and the risks and
uncertainties that are described in the Risk Factors section of our
most recent annual or quarterly report and in other reports we have
filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The
foregoing sets forth many, but not all, of the factors that could
cause actual results to differ from our expectations in any
forward-looking statement. Investors should consider this
cautionary statement as well as the risk factors identified in our
most recent annual or quarterly report and in other reports we have
filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. These
statements are based on our current beliefs and expectations and
speak only as of the date of this news release. We do not undertake
any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements,
whether as a result of new information, future developments or
otherwise.
MEDIA CONTACT :David Caouette+ 1 617 679
4945public.affairs@biogen.com |
INVESTOR CONTACT:Mike Hencke+1 781 464
4471IR@biogen.com |
1 Developed new sustainable packaging goals, including PVC-free
finished goods packaging by 2025.2 2020 pay equity study assessed
85% of global workforce and found 99.7% of the workforce is
compensated in alignment with our equal pay for equal work
philosophy; for the remaining 0.3%, appropriate adjustments were
made.3 Percent of U.S. manager positions and above held by Black,
African American and Latinx employees as well as Asian employees
where underrepresented by level and function; by year end 2021.
Biogen (TG:IDP)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2024 to Jul 2024
Biogen (TG:IDP)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jul 2023 to Jul 2024