Novo Nordisk Launches 'Blueprint for Change' Case on Bangladesh

Jun 1, 2012 9:00 PM ET
Campaign: CSR Blogs

Posted by Antonio Pasolini

Novo Nordisk, a global leader in diabetes care, is launching today the fourth instalment of its Blueprint for Change cases. The latest paper, called Changing diabetes in Bangladesh through sustainable partnerships, looks at the company's achievements in Bangladesh using its Triple Bottom Line's approach to deliver better results, healthcare and shared value.

The program was launched in 2010 and the cases provide insights into the best practices for building sustainable solutions with a net positive impact. The themes are selected in discussion with stakeholders and have so far included cases on the company's climate action strategy, its market entry strategy for China and shared value created in the United States. Currently, there are ten topics planned to be addressed in the coming three years.

The overall goal is to demonstrate to stakeholders how sustainable value is created through the TBL approach. Novo Nordisk's shared value policies have already attracted recognition. In 2012 alone, it received top ranking on Corporate Knight's list of Global 100 More Sustainable Corporations and it won the Just Means Best Sustainability Performance award, to name but a few.

Bangladesh is a UN-designated least developed country (LCD) and it has a disproportionately high number of diabetes cases, with more than 12 percent of the population affected by it. Nearly half of those people are undiagnosed and only one third is treated. Not all is bad news, though. Bangladesh's economy is growing six percent annually (a greater rate than the ones registered in some developed nations) and in recent years it has achieved one of the fastest growth rates in the Human Development Index, a UN-calculated measure of development that combines indicators such as life expectancy, education and income.

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Antonio Pasolini is a Corporate Social Responsibility writer for Justmeans, Antonio Pasolini is a journalist based in Brazil who writes about alternative energy, green living and sustainability. He also edits Energyrefuge.com, a top web destination for news and comment on renewable energy and Elpis.org, a recycled paper bag/magazine distributed from health food stores in London, formerly his hometown for over a decade. He is also a happy herbivore.