On One Year Anniversary, Organon Introduces Global ESG Strategy and Commitments with Publication of Inaugural ESG Report
Organon (NYSE: OGN), a global women’s healthcare company, today announced the publication of its inaugural Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Report for 2021. The ESG report introduces the company’s ESG platform, known as Her Promise, and details how the company is working to help women and girls achieve the full potential of their promise through better health. The publication of the ESG Report and launch of Her Promise coincides with Organon’s one year anniversary and reflects the company’s vision to create a better and healthier every day for every woman around the world.
As the only global women’s healthcare company of its kind, Organon is well positioned to help address several current and growing women’s health challenges. For example, nearly half of all pregnancies worldwide – about 121 million in total – are unintended. According to a 2019 study, an estimated 218 million women and girls (ages 15-49) in low-and-middle income countries had an unmet need for modern contraception. Equitable access to contraceptives is important for women’s health, and it has a long-term socio-economic impact. While early marriages, early pregnancy and inadequate birth spacing is a reality for many, NFHS-5 [1]data shows that female sterilization remains the primary method of contraception among modern methods. If we put the overall health outcomes at the center, delaying first pregnancy to an optimum age and adequate spacing between two children should adequately addressed. Through Her Promise, Organon is making focused investments and forming strategic partnerships with the goal of introducing and expanding access to health solutions that improve women’s health and advance gender equity, inside and outside Organon.
“In just one year, Organon has made considerable progress in addressing gender-related disparities in health by listening to women and investing in areas where high unmet needs exist. Since our launch, we have focused on treatment gaps that need to be addressed, like unintended pregnancy, fertility, post-partum hemorrhage, pre-term labor, endometriosis and bacterial vaginosis, and will continue to strive to deliver innovation, improve access and expand choice for treatments areas that uniquely or disproportionately affect women,” says Kevin Ali, Organon’s Chief Executive Officer. “The goals stated in our first ESG Report create a roadmap for the future of how we will continue to propel forward and partner to transform the current women’s health environment.”
“We intend to uphold Organon’s HER Promise for every woman in India. As a new and energetic company, powered with its legacy in women’s health, Organon in India will work with the local stakeholders to bring quality medicines. Our portfolio in fertility and contraception will empower Indian women with greater choice and better control over her health” says Anjan Sen, Organon India’s Commercial Lead.
On its one-year anniversary, Organon is making the following goals to achieve Her Promise:
- To improve access to low-cost contraceptives in 69 of the world’s least developed countries. Through the Organon Her Promise Access Initiative, Organon is working with global organizations to provide family planning information, education and access to low-cost contraceptive options. Organon’s goal is to provide 100 million girls and women in low- and middle- income countries with affordable access to contraceptive options by 2030.
- To redefine and harness innovation in women’s health. Organon will dedicate a majority of its pre-clinical and clinical development activity toward the unmet health needs of women. Organon has already begun with development activities in high unmet need areas including postpartum hemorrhage, endometriosis, and pre-term labor.
- Expand access to treatment options that improve her health and help secure her promise. Working together with global partners, Organon plans to expand access to treatment options for post-partum hemorrhage in women, in both developed and developing markets. We will also seek to help address affordability of fertility treatments and access to education to decrease the unmet medical need in fertility.
- Achieve balanced gender representation through all levels of Organon globally by 2030 and pay equity. Organon has had a strong start by launching with a Board of Directors that consists of accomplished individuals with exceptional skills and expertise, and also represents gender and racial diversity. Currently, Organon’s Board is the most diverse healthcare board on the S&P 500.
- Aim to support the transition to a low carbon economy, with an ambition to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions. We also aim to integrate water stewardship and circular economy principles into our business models. The report details concrete short- and mid-term actions we will take to meet these long-term ambitions.
- Uphold the highest levels of ethics and integrity throughout its business.
In addition, as part of its commitment to advancing gender equity through Her Promise, Organon has provided US $1.4M to Women Deliver to fund its Young Leaders Program and other advocacy work, as well as support the Women Deliver 2023 Conference (WD2023). The funding will help Young Leaders across the world to achieve their advocacy goals in gender equality and health through financial resources, mentorship, and technical assistance.
“The Board is committed to achieving both Organon’s business goals as well as contributing to societal goals, and to continuing to drive the company’s ESG strategy,” says Carrie Cox, Board Chairman. “We are pleased to be in a position to publish a comprehensive ESG report just one year after the company’s establishment and highlight our purpose and goals in improving the health of women and girls.
The Board’s governance committee, called the ESG Committee, is comprised of five members and chaired by pharmaceutical industry veteran Robert Essner, all of whom bring considerable expertise from across a variety of disciplines.
For more details on Organon’s ESG strategy, priorities, and initiatives, download the full 2021 ESG Report at ESG Report 2021