Forward
| “Imagination is more important than knowledge.” – Albert Einstein “Anything else you’re interested in is not going to happen if you can’t breathe the air and drink the water. Don’t sit this one out. Do something. You are by accident of fate alive at an absolutely critical moment in the history of our planet.” – Carl Sagan |
Can you imagine a world with a high quality of life and lasting prosperity for everyone? In a world like that, what could we do, how high would we soar, how fulfilling would it be?
It’s an inspiring possibility, and also one that requires pairing imagination with action. Fortunately, there are an extraordinary number of people discovering, advancing, and sharing actionable strategies by the day. From the United Nations, US Department of State, and Security and Exchange Commission to the World Future Society, World Tree, and Masco Corporation, I’ve connected with many of them, and I couldn’t be more enthused most recently about Bristol Myers Squibb.
Thanks to Danielle Menture, VP Environment, Occupational Health, Safety & Sustainability, Victoria Emerick, Executive Director, Global Sustainability Strategy and Operations, their team, and Giovanni Caforio and the rest of the BMS Board and Executive Team, BMS is poised to pursue becoming one of the world’s foremost force multipliers for sustainability!
This Guide, still only in its infancy, is a testament to all the BMS and other servant leaders steadfastly affecting change, innovating with intent. It holds the promise of becoming a richer and richer tool for learning, connecting, and acting on what’s possible. My hope is that it will at least lead you to think one new thought and make one new friend to help BMS unleash the power of participation. At its best, I hope it will inspire you to discover and contribute new strategies and success stories, paying it forward to the growing movement of those who believe the best world for each of us is the one best for all of us.
Again, BMS, we’re grateful for the privilege of and excited about the opportunity to team up!
– Todd Fein, CEO Green Diamond
Introduction
The purpose of this Guide to Sustainability (aka “Sustainability Strategy Library”) is to assist BMS staff in learning about and identifying policies, practices, technologies, and other actionable strategies to implement, or advocate with others to implement, to pursue becoming and helping other stakeholders become sustainable. It provides context globally, for instance, regarding climate change and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction trends, as well as locally, via lighting, irrigation, fleet management, and other specific system improvement tips sites can use to generate both immediate and longer-term results.
Bristol Myers Squibb Mission
To discover, develop and deliver innovative medicines that help patients prevail over serious diseases.
Bristol Myers Squibb Commitment to the Environment
BMS encourages the preservation of natural resources and strives to minimize the environmental impact of its operations and products. It honors its longstanding pledge to create maximum positive impact while minimizing its environmental footprint, driving innovation to build resilience, manage non-financial risks, and be sustainable.
The Case for Change
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the earth’s average temperature has risen by 0.8 degrees Celsius (⁰ C) (1.5 degrees Fahrenheit (⁰ F)) over the past century and is projected to rise another 0.3–4.8⁰ C (0.5-8.6⁰ F) over the next hundred years.1 The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2013 report states: “It is extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century.”2 The IPCC also says the building sector has more potential to deliver quick, deep, and cost-effective greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation than any other sector. Energy consumption in both new and existing buildings could be cut by an estimated 30-50% relatively quickly through readily available technologies, design, equipment, management systems, and alternative generation solutions. This can be funded through investments that quickly payback and result in significant environmental, social, and economic benefits. In the context of complex international dynamics and evolving energy prices, as well as limited access to clean freshwater and a growing depletion of finite natural resources, environmental stewardship is critical.
 | “Building upon our legacy of Sustainability, we launched our 2030 and 2040 Commitments to Environmental Responsibility and Increased Transparency.” – Danielle Menture, BMS VP, Environment, Occupational Health, Safety & Sustainability |
In 2020, taking stock of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, Global Compact, and other protocols, listening carefully to its stakeholders, and keeping patients as its North Star, BMS thoroughly examined its past progress, current priorities and initiatives, and strengths, challenges and aspirations, and it set aggressive new environmental and social goals and targets to align and reinforce its commitment to Health Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, and Environmental Responsibility.
| Bristol Myers Squibb Performance Goals | |
|---|---|
| Environment |
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| Health Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion |
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| The Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation |
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Call to Action
The world has called for organizations, especially large, global corporations, to light the path to sustainability, such as by decreasing impacts and dependencies on finite resources, creating new markets, jobs and technologies, and collaborating with and compelling all stakeholders in their value chains to follow suit.