Creating Long-Term Value for Society, Shareholders, and all our Stakeholders

Last week, Merck announced the publication of our 2021/2022 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report, which highlights the progress our company has made over the last year toward our ESG goals, and equally important, the positive impact we’re making on global health. As Chief Communications & Public Affairs Officer, ESG is part of my overall leadership scope, and I’m both proud and privileged to help lead these efforts. I like to say that ESG is where our company’s purpose and performance meet, and it is a vital value driver for all our stakeholders – from society to shareholders. ESG underpins our company’s Strategic Framework and every decision we make.

ESG is more than just a professional responsibility for me. The tenets of ESG are at the core of how I show up for my colleagues, family and community every day.

We have four focus areas that guide our ESG efforts at Merck, and I want to take this opportunity to share some of my own thoughts – from a personal perspective – about how they motivate me as a leader and an engaged citizen:

1. Access to health: The COVID-19 pandemic burdened, weakened and exposed our global health care ecosystem, highlighting how many people globally suffered due to lack of access to critical medicines and necessary treatments. I also know that ethnically diverse and economically challenged communities often don’t have equitable access to health resources, and the impact was evident in how the pandemic disproportionately affected these communities. I’m personally and professionally committed to helping Merck create, expand and accelerate pathways to enable and increase global health access.
2. Employees: Empowering a diverse and dynamic workforce is the key to developing tomorrow’s business leaders today. On a personal level, I was so impressed and inspired by the energy and capabilities of the summer interns at Merck, and I’m confident that continued engagement with all our employees throughout their career is the best way to cultivate a talented and dedicated workforce. I’ve been fortunate to have many mentors and champions who coached, challenged, encouraged and helped create professional opportunities for me to grow and accelerate my career path. Today, my platform is dedicated to doing the same for the next generation of diverse global leaders. I’m proud to work for a company where we continue to see and strive for more women and diverse representation in leadership roles, as they reflect the experiences and perspectives of the communities we serve around the world.
3. Environmental Sustainability: Caring for the environment and our planet can manifest in many different ways and on many different scales. At Merck, we continue to focus on reducing our greenhouse gas emissions, achieving carbon neutrality and increasing our use of renewable energy. On an individual level, it’s sometimes hard to imagine how our small everyday actions can have a meaningful impact on environmental sustainability. Personally, I try to stay focused on localizing sustainability efforts that are the most practical. I remain inspired to do even more professionally and personally to contribute to the health of our communities and planet.
4. Ethics & Values: At Merck, trust and transparency are critical elements to how we hold ourselves accountable and earn the trust of our stakeholders. This also plays out every day from an individual perspective. During job interviews, I often ask candidates to talk about a failure and how they handled it. Ethical candidates usually talk about how they own up to their mistakes, develop a plan to rectify the situation and learn something valuable that they can carry forward. As a leader in the biopharmaceutical industry, Merck has a big responsibility in setting the tone and reputation for the industry, and we welcome and engage in an open dialogue embedded in trust and respect from all our stakeholders. Sharing our annual ESG commitments – including our commitment to ethics and values – is our company’s way of celebrating our progress toward our goals and holding ourselves accountable, so we positively impact people, communities and the world.

As I live into these values each day, I’m honored to work for a company that is dedicated to creating value for society, shareholders, and all our stakeholders. At Merck, we are excited by this journey and doing our part to improve the health and wellbeing of people around the world. I look forward to sharing our progress and impact year-over-year…and I promise you that the best is yet to come!