Pfizer

Sustainability strategy and accountability
Pfizer discloses its process for identifying and prioritising its most relevant sustainability impacts as well as the outcome of this process, in relation to its sustainability strategy. The company reports consistently against all its targets. It also reports that its Compensation Committee approved incorporating three environmental, social and governance (ESG) metrics into the short-term annual incentive plan in the individual performance goals of many executives throughout the organisation. The specific ESG metrics include: (1) percentage of vice president and higher roles held by women (globally), (2) percentage of vice president and higher roles held by minorities (United States) and (3) greenhouse gas emissions.

Stakeholder engagement
Pfizer discloses how often and through which channels it engages with various stakeholder groups.

Lobbying
Pfizer discloses a list of trade associations of which it is a member wherever it operates. The company discloses a clear and detailed framework for assessing alignment of its trade associations with nature-positive policies.

Water
Pfizer demonstrates it is reducing water withdrawal in its own operations, reporting a 19% reduction across its operations from a 2012 baseline, exceeding its 5% target. The company also reports a decrease in water pollution. The company has a commitment to respect the right to water, and it discloses its processes for implementing preventive and corrective action plans for identified specific risks to the right to water and sanitation in its own operations.

Solid and air pollution
Pfizer is reducing the production of hazardous waste. It discloses the proportion of hazardous waste treated to reduce pollution compared to total waste, the hazardous waste diverted from disposal and the waste directed to disposal.

GHG emissions
Pfizer has a time-bound target to reduce its scope 1 and 2 emissions by 46% by 2030 from a 2019 baseline and reports progress against the target. The company has committed to reducing absolute scope 3 emissions from upstream transportation and distribution by 10% by 2025 from a 2019 baseline and reports progress against the target. The company’s scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions reduction targets are aligned with a 1.5-degree trajectory.

Safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment
In its Human Rights Policy Statement, Pfizer recognises the right to a healthy environment as one of its salient human rights, thereby demonstrating that it is committed to respecting local communities’ right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment.

Sustainability strategy and accountability
While the company discloses some sustainability targets, no evidence was found that the company has group-wide targets on key sustainability topics for the most material parts of its value chain based on the SBTN Sectoral Materiality Tool. The company does not disclose whether its highest governance body has expertise regarding nature-related topics.

Stakeholder engagement
The company does not disclose an overview of the issues raised during its stakeholder engagement activities.

Lobbying
While the company reports misalignments between the selected lobbying activities of its industry associations and nature-positive policies, it has an opportunity to report any misalignment for all its trade associations.

Impact and dependencies assessment
The company does not disclose any assessment of its impacts on nature, including biodiversity, within its own operations or in its supply chain. It does not disclose any assessment of its dependencies on nature within its own operations. Likewise, it does not disclose any assessment of dependencies on nature of its upstream business relationships.

Key areas and species
The company does not disclose the locations that are in or adjacent to areas important for biodiversity within its own operations. Nor does it disclose the locations of its suppliers that are in or adjacent to areas important for biodiversity. It does not disclose species populations existing in or adjacent to its own locations or those of its suppliers. Finally, it does not disclose the status according to national and international conservation lists of species identified in its own locations.

Ecosystem conversion and restoration
The company does not have a commitment to ensure zero conversion. It does not disclose activities to achieve conversion-free supply chains or have time-bound targets to achieve conversion-free supply chains. The company does not disclose a commitment to minimise ecosystem conversion or activities to minimise ecosystem conversion. In addition, the company is not committed to restoring ecosystems and does not disclose details and outcomes of ecosystem restoration projects in areas affected by its own operations or by its suppliers.

Resource exploitation and circularity
The company does not disclose its inputs, including its material footprint, or report quantitatively on its group-wide circularity performance. The company does not disclose activities to improve soil health or agrobiodiversity in its production or sourcing practices, nor does it have a target to improve soil health in its production or sourcing practices.

Water
The company does not report how much water is withdrawn for its own operations in water-stressed areas. In its Water Stewardship Position Statement, the company mentions three priorities for its internal sites and supplier sites. However, these priorities do not translate into evidence that the company engages with upstream business partners to reduce water withdrawal. The company does not disclose its processes for managing and monitoring discharge water quality. The company does not regularly report on water pollution, nor disclose any current targets to reduce water pollution.

Solid and air pollution
The company does not disclose relevant information related to pollution in its operations or supply chains. The company does not commit to avoid developing or marketing new chemicals or products with SVHC (substance of very high concern) properties. The company is not reducing plastic use and waste in its own operations, nor does it report on the amount of plastic waste generated and proportions directed from or to disposal. The company does not report on air quality parameters of emissions of harmful air pollutants. Moreover, it does not report time-bound targets to reduce air pollutants across the most material parts of its value chain.

GHG emissions
The company is not reducing its scope 3 emissions.

Invasive species
No evidence was found that the company identifies the activities that could lead to the introduction of invasive species in its own operations. Neither was evidence found that the company identifies the activities that could lead to the introduction of invasive species in its value chain.

Safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment
The company does not track its actual or potential negative impacts on the health of local communities. The company is not committed to zero tolerance for acts of violence, threats, intimidation or judicial harassment committed against land and environmental rights defenders.

Indigenous Peoples’ and land rights
The company does not disclose a commitment to respect Indigenous Peoples’ rights. Nor does it disclose its processes for identifying and recognising the rights of Indigenous Peoples when activities in its own operations may impact their rights, or describe how it obtains Indigenous Peoples’ free, prior and informed consent. The company does not disclose a commitment to respect ownership and use of land and natural resources and related legitimate tenure rights, as set out in the relevant part(s) of the VGGTs or the IFC Performance Standards. The company does not require its business relationships to have a process to identify legitimate tenure rightsholders, paying particular attention to vulnerable or marginalised tenure rightsholders, and to negotiate with them to provide adequate compensation.

While the company discloses that it addresses human rights risks in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, it has an opportunity to describe the process to identify its human rights risks and impacts in specific locations or activities covering its own operations. While the company discloses salient human rights risks in general, it has an opportunity to describe its process for assessing human rights risks, including a description of how relevant factors, such as geographical, economic and social, are taken into account. The company provides a case study describing how it has acted on a salient human rights risk issue. While the company discloses the categories of stakeholders whose human rights have been or may be affected by its activities, including patients, colleagues, the workers of business partners and communities, it is not clear whether the company engages with them in the identification and assessment of its human rights risks. The company engages with stakeholders whose human rights have been or may be affected by its activities.

The company has a publicly available policy statement committing it to respect the health and safety of its own workers and expecting its suppliers to do the same. The company discloses that it provides fair remuneration but has an opportunity to disclose if a fair wage is sufficient to maintain a decent standard of living for employees and their family. It also has an opportunity to disclose a time-bound target for paying all workers a living wage. There is no evidence that the company describes how it determines a living wage for the regions where it operates. While the company states that it expects its suppliers to pay wages that are sufficient for workers and their families to fulfil their basic needs, it has an opportunity to disclose how it works to support the payment of a living wage by its suppliers. There is no evidence that the company discloses the proportion of its total direct operations workforce covered by collective bargaining agreements. While the company states that it requires its suppliers to respect employees’ right to freedom of association, it has an opportunity to describe how it works to support the practices of its suppliers in this regard.

The company discloses a tax strategy, but it is not applicable to all its operations. The company takes steps to identify and address bribery and corruption, and it includes anti-bribery and anti-corruption clauses in its contracts with direct business relationships. In a public policy statement, the company discloses its approach to lobbying and political engagement. There is no evidence that the company has a publicly available policy statement that specifies that it does not make political contributions.