Abbott Shares Progress on Sustainability Performance, Including Company’s Priority of Innovating for Greater Health Access
Abbott recently released its 2022 Global Sustainability Report, highlighting efforts to help the greatest number of people live better, healthier lives. The comprehensive report details disclosures on the company’s performance and impact across all areas of its 2030 Sustainability Plan. This includes a focus on how Abbott is intentionally innovating for access and affordability to make their life-saving technologies available to more people who need them worldwide.
Transforming Health by Innovating Technology Today
In 2022, Abbott introduced new health technologies that are connecting people with the care they need:
- Abbott's next-generation continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) system is available at the same price as previous versions, which is about one-third the cost of other CGM systems available today. It also uses 40% less plastic and requires 43% less carton paper than previous systems.
- A new version of Abbott’s digital health app was launched to improve communication between patients and their care teams as they trial Abbott neurostimulation devices.
- To make HIV testing more accessible, Abbott launched its HIV self-test, an over-the-counter, fingerstick blood test that delivers results in 15–20 minutes.
- Innovating for Access and Affordability Design Principles have been integrated into the company's R&D processes, guiding how Abbott brings its technologies and products to more people in more places around the world.
Progress Across Abbott's 2030 Sustainability Plan
Abbott’s 2022 Global Sustainability Report also details the key steps the company has taken toward its 2030 goals across other key areas of sustainability:
- Building the diverse, innovative workforce of tomorrow by providing an environment that helps all employees learn and grow in careers that matter, and offering innovative programs like Freedom 2 Save, which helps U.S. employees save for retirement while repaying student loans.
- Responsibly connecting data, technology and care to help people learn more about themselves and take action, help doctors understand how to better treat people, and fuel new innovation that can help unlock the power of health for future generations.
- Creating a resilient, diverse and responsible supply chain that amplifies Abbott's positive impact on the world and reduces shared sustainability impacts.
- Protecting a healthy environment by taking targeted actions, including a 5% absolute reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions (vs. 2018 baseline) and Scope 1, 2 and 3 targets approved by the Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi). Six Abbott sites were certified as zero waste to landfill (bringing total to 51 sites globally), and the company diverted approximately 90% of operational waste from landfills.
Looking ahead, Abbott is already working to deliver even more progress by 2030. You can read more in Abbott’s full 2022 Global Sustainability Report here.
