CVS shares 2021 ESG report

Coming off of a strong year in 2021, pharmacy retailer CVS Health has released its annual Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report, showing progress towards its Healthy 2030 initiative.

"In 2021 we made significant progress towards our Healthy 2030 goals, with a particular focus on addressing health equity and protecting the environment," said Karen S. Lynch, president and CEO, CVS Health. "We'll continue to utilize our community presence, diverse assets and expertise to improve the health of people and the planet."

The report comes as CVS plans to downsize its physical locations over the next three years, despite increased monthly visits. For the entire fiscal year, also ending Dec. 31, 2021, CVS’s total revenue increased by 8.7%, driven by growth across all segments. Operating income decreased by 5.2%, while adjusted operating income increased by 8.1%.

ESG highlights in 2021 include:

• Improved health equity through the company's new Health Zones initiative, which addresses the six social determinants of health: housing, education, access to food, labor, transportation, and health care access.
• Expanded community health resources with a focus on underserved populations, including targeted COVID-19 vaccine outreach and hosting more than 1,700 free health screening events.
• Diverted 50% of all waste to recycling or reuse.
• Saved 33,500 MWh of energy through efficiency programs to reach the company's goal to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
• Eliminated 500K in empty miles through a backhaul program.
• Became one of the first companies in the world to have its net-zero targets validated by the Science-Based Targets Initiative's net-zero methodology.
• Delivered more than $2.5 million in value of colleague volunteerism to nonprofit organizations across the country.
• Provided more than 159 million meals for people who are food insecure through partnership with Feeding America, with approximately 40% of meals supporting people who are racially diverse and food insecure.
• Announced increase of company's minimum wage to $15/hour effective July 2022.

The full report from CVS can be found here.