"Only by working responsibly can we earn the trust and confidence that make such a vital contribution to our corporate reputation and our license to do business."
—David Brennan, CEO
AstraZeneca PLC
Global corporate responsibility approach
At AstraZeneca, we understand that how we conduct our business is just as important as the medicines we deliver. To maintain the trust and confidence of all our stakeholders, we must ensure that wherever we have a presence or make an impact, we live and work by our values and standards of ethical behavior.
Our enduring challenge is to ensure that we translate our values and standards into consistent and appropriate actions worldwide. While we have made positive strides in recent years, we still have more work to do to fully integrate corporate responsibility into all of our business processes and practices. So, for us, corporate responsibility has become a continuing process of improvement that we strive every day to reflect in our decisions and actions.
This commitment starts at the top. The AstraZeneca Board approves the strategic direction for corporate responsibility, and we have a non-executive director with responsibility for overseeing corporate responsibility within the company. A Global Corporate Responsibility Committee leads development of our platform for action, and our Senior Executive Team and senior managers worldwide are accountable for overseeing corporate responsibility activities within their purview and for addressing national, functional, and site-specific issues and priorities. In the US, our Corporate Responsibility Council spearheads our corporate responsibility efforts. Composed of a cross-functional management team, the Council reports through the Vice President of Policy, Legal,and Scientific Affairs to the AstraZeneca Business Integrity and Assurance Team and the US leadership team. The Council recommends US CR Strategy, creates the US CR Action Plan, and leads implementation across the US organization.
Wherever we do business around the world, we share a common platform comprising our group corporate responsibility policy, group corporate responsibility standards, and global corporate responsibility priority action plan, which together provide the basis for our goals, commitments, and performance measurements. Together with our US Compliance Officer, the US CR Council coordinates with AstraZeneca globally to ensure that our US efforts are consistent with corporate expectations and that our US corporate responsibility strategy is reflected in our global priorities.
Our parent company, AstraZeneca PLC, annually publishes a printed Global Corporate Responsibility Summary Report and distributes it to shareholders alongside its annual report and Form 20F/annual review. This report is available at www.astrazeneca.com/responsibility.
"Our US-based corporate responsibility initiative helps guide our commitment to the health of AstraZeneca patients, makes us a responsible partner in the communities in which we have a presence, and directs us to act as a responsible employer of our more than 12,000 people."
—Tony Zook, President and CEO
AstraZeneca US
Corporate responsibility in the United States
At AstraZeneca US, we recognize that corporate responsibility issues and expectations are constantly evolving. We understand that our corporate responsibility efforts must align with our company’s values and standards, as well as the expectations of our stakeholders.
We are committed to a continuing dialog with our various stakeholders and external opinion leaders concerning their thoughts on what a responsible pharmaceutical company should be.
Putting insights into action
For example stakeholder and opinion leader feedback helped us develop both our first US CR Report and our 2006 corporate responsibility plan. We also shared our findings with the Global Corporate Responsibility Committee so the ideas and concerns of US stakeholders could help to shape our worldwide strategies. In addition, we committed ourselves to a continuing stakeholder dialogue that will enable us to respond more effectively to issues and expectations. In 2007 we will solicit feedback from our stakeholders and key opinion leaders on how we are progressing.
What did these stakeholders andopinion leaders think of our commitment to corporate responsibility?
They expressed positive views about our strong values, work/life practices, and approach to disparities in access to healthcare. AstraZeneca received high marks for prescription drug benefits, inclusion of health information in direct-to-consumer advertising, community health education, and health information technology.
On the other hand, we heard stakeholders and opinion leaders tell us they would like to learn more about ethics and transparency, access to medicines, and consumer advertising. Progress in these areas is addressed in this report.
