Alexion Launches 2020 CSR Report Written From Employee Perspective
Alexion, a global biopharmaceutical company (NASDAQ: ALXN), is committed to all the communities we engage with including patients, caregivers and their families; our valued employees and future talent; our neighbors around the world; investors; patient organizations; suppliers; business partners and others. This collective passion comes to life in our 2020 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) report, Dear Communities, which is written from the first-person perspective of Alexion employees.
Alexion CEO Ludwig Hantson embodies the personal tone in his opening words:
“There is no doubt that 2020 was a year of change – it changed the way we live, the way we work and the way we serve our communities. Yet, with all of the change, I was reminded of an important truth – we are all human, and together we are resilient.”
At Alexion, CSR encompasses broad environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations. We are pleased to report that our ESG efforts were recognized in 2020 by several respected ranking organizations:
- Lowest ESG risk of any biotech company (No. 1 ranking) according to Sustainalytics
- “Prime” designation by ISS ESG Ratings
- Top 20 in the healthcare and life sciences sector on the Newsweek America’s Most Responsible Companies 2021 list
Alexion’s framework for executing on our commitments and reporting our progress is expressed as an acronym: CSR-STAR, representing four focus areas – SERVE, TRANSFORM, ADVANCE and REDEFINE – built on a foundation of Ethics & Compliance.
Alexion is delivering on aspirations in each of these areas, as told by our employees in the report and in the highlights below:
SERVE Communities and Sustain Our Planet
- Leanne B., Senior Manager CSR, shares how we expanded our annual global volunteerism event from a single day to a full week in 2020 and pivoted to a 100% virtual experience so that employees from 20-plus countries could participate.
- Tamar T., Vice President Government Affairs and Policy, introduces The Alexion Charitable Foundation (ACF) as its Chairperson. Launched in February 2020, the ACF provided $2.4 million to organizations helping the rare disease community cope with the impacts of COVID-19, as well as those supporting frontline workers and communities in need.
- Joe P., Director, Environmental, Health and Safety, and Stephen B., Associate Director, Environmental Health and Safety, author a section on Alexion’s approach to environmental, health and safety. Here, they describe Alexion’s efforts to assess risks associated with climate change and perform environmental, health and safety audits.
TRANSFORM Patient Lives
- Wendy E., Vice President of Patient Experience, STAR and Patient Advocacy, and Stephanie W., Vice President of Employee Experience, discuss efforts to drive patient centricity by “truly partnering with our patient community to understand their lived experience and deliver meaningful impact for them.”
- Judy C., Head of STAR Strategy and Planning, speaks to Alexion’s annual workshops with patients and stakeholders to further patient centricity. In 2020, this uncovered a need for mental health resources across our portfolio, inspiring teams to co-create solutions.
- Brian M., Vice President, Global Medicine Leader, and others share how we’re including the perspectives and inputs of patients and caregivers when creating protocols and patient-informed consent documents for early clinical development plans and Phase II/III clinical trials.
ADVANCE Our People and Our Company
- Uzair Q., Alexion’s recently appointed Chief Diversity Officer, sets forth our unique vision of diversity, inclusion and belonging (DI&B), which includes a new “DI&B Innovation Factory” to produce bold ideas.
- Betel G., Lead of Clinical Trials Diversity DI&B Innovation Pod, and Gwen H., Member of Clinical Trials Diversity DI&B Innovation Pod, report on the launch of Alexion’s cross-functional Diversity in Clinical Trials team, which aims to enhance clinical trials accessibility and reach a broader, more diverse pool of potential patients.
- Sonia S., Head of Culture, explains Alexion’s unique and well-defined culture and reports a significant rise in a critical measure of employee loyalty at Alexion.
- Rohita S., Associate Director, Culture and Stakeholder Insights, provides an overview of Alexion’s one-of-a-kind, experiential series, LEAP (Learn, Evolve, Activate and deliver for Patients), which immerses Alexion employees in the patient experience.
- Alex S., Head of CSR and President, Alexion Charitable Foundation, introduces Alexion’s efforts to advance Brain Health, which extend beyond mental health to the broader physical, emotional and social factors that impact our well-being.
- Ellen C., Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary and CSR Executive Sponsor, reinforces how CSR defines our approach to the business decisions we make as an organization.
REDEFINE Living with a Rare Disease or Devastating Condition
- Sharon B., Head of Research, Data Sciences, Genomics, Bioinformatics and Diagnostics, shares the importance of receiving an accurate rare disease diagnosis as early as possible. Alexion is working to support such efforts, including being part of a collaborative effort that achieved a new record in December 2020 for the fastest genetic-testing diagnosis.
- Moke S., Head of Development Operations and Quantitative Sciences, shares how Alexion built its own data modeling solution for tracking the geographic spread of COVID-19 to gauge how our clinical trials might be impacted and, potentially, adjusted.
- Anna P., Executive Medical Director, Global Medical Affairs Leader, HPP and Amyloidosis, addresses the importance of patient registries and how Alexion establishes them to gather patient inputs and perspectives.
Ethics & Compliance: Our Foundation
- Indrani F., Chief Compliance Officer, provides an overview of integrity at Alexion and introduces our Global Compliance Champions.
- Loren B., Director, Enterprise Programs, talks about Alexion’s Integrity Matters Week, which provides colleagues with opportunities to hear from patient organizations, behavioral science experts and Alexion leaders.
- Bryan M., Director, Global Environmental Health and Safety, explains how Alexion’s Strategic Sourcing and EHS teams are working to conduct ESG risk assessments that encompass evaluations of our suppliers and vendors.
- Ty B., Sourcing Operations Senior Specialist, speaks to Alexion’s efforts to support supplier diversity, including appointing a dedicated resource to analyze and manage our program.
To learn more about CSR at Alexion, please visit https://csr.alexion.com
Media Contact
Lisa Taylor, 857-338-9025
Senior Director, Corporate Communications
