Last March, Teva announced a successful second sustainability-linked bond (SLB) and third financial instrument linked to ESG goals.
Can you tell us more about this achievement and its significance for Teva?
This announcement demonstrates our continued commitment to linking our ESG strategy with our financial strategy. The bond is tied to targets, including improving access to Teva’s medicines in low- and middle-income countries and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, holding us accountable to addressing two critical challenges facing the world today – access to healthcare and climate change.
With SLBs adding up to the equivalent of $7.5 billion, Teva is the second largest SLB issuer, the largest non-utility SLB issuer, and the largest pharma issuer in the world. We are also the largest issuer of SLBs that include social KPIs. This enlarged offering, priced at approximately $2.5 billion (equivalent) notes (included in the aforementioned $7.5 billion), underlines the robustness of our KPIs.
You touched on your social targets which are linked to your SLBs, what exactly are you committing to and why is this important?
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that nearly two billion people do not have access to essential medicines, especially vulnerable populations or people living in under-resourced communities. This means they can’t afford or obtain the treatments they need.
As a pharmaceutical company with an expansive global reach and one of the largest portfolios of generic medicines, we are uniquely positioned to help address this challenge. Increasing access to medicines is fundamental to our mission to improve the lives of patients and is the basis of our business. We provide generic medicines, which are more affordable, as well as innovative medicines, which address unmet health needs.
Our wide portfolio also covers approximately half of the treatments on the WHO’s Essential Medicines List (EML), which includes important medicines that address key healthcare needs across the globe and are critical in satisfying the priority healthcare needs of any population.
Teva’s novel SLB access to medicines targets include a 150% increase in both the number of registrations and products provided through access programs in LMICs, by 2025. We are specifically focused on six therapeutic areas in the Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) space, as this is a field with significant need that is underprioritised.
These TAs include oncology, cardiovascular, diabetes, mental health, respiratory and pain and palliative care. The targets specifically cover treatments on the World Health Organisation’s Model List of Essential Medicines— for which Teva is a leading provider — driving access to the most efficacious, safe and cost-effective treatments. We have committed to achieving these goals through the successful establishment and execution of at least four access to medicine programs in LMICs, and we are well on our way to achieving this target.
As one of the world's largest manufacturers of generic medicines, how is Teva addressing its responsibility to reduce its carbon footprint?
Teva's products reach nearly 200 million patients every day. With our vast global presence, we view our decarbonisation activities as an opportunity to make a significant impact on the environment. Our targets, validated by the Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), include:
- reducing absolute Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 46% by 2030 (vs. 2019)
- reducing absolute Scope 3 GHG emissions by 25% by 2030 (vs. 2020).
The health of our planet is inherently linked to the health of those who inhabit it, and health is what we do at Teva.
Our ambitious targets guide us in doing our part to promote a healthier, more sustainable future, and with SBTi’s validation, we have confirmation that they are science-based and aligned with global goals to combat climate change.
How is Teva integrating its environmental targets into its business practices?
Protecting the environment is part of Teva’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy and inherent to the company’s culture. Progress towards these goals is a result of efforts across the Teva business, such as converting some manufacturing sites to 100% renewable electricity, implementing energy efficiency projects, introducing low-carbon truck fleets and electric vehicles, recycling water, and making office catering and canteen services more sustainable.
We will continue to share progress towards our environmental targets and externally verify our performance in the company’s annual ESG Progress Report.
Last year, Teva received the 'Best Sustainable Treasury Solution' award in the Adam Smith 2022 Awards by Treasury. Can you tell us more about this achievement and its importance?
The initiative that earned us the award is the successful execution of a $5 billion Sustainability Linked Bonds (SLB) that I previously mentioned, one of the largest of its kind and the first ever issued by a generic drug company. This transaction also made Teva the first pharmaceutical company in the world to issue bonds tied to targets that include improving access to medicines in low and middle-income countries and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Among the reasons noted for awarding Teva were the innovation and business strategy demonstrated in the project, alongside the collaboration and determination showcased by our employees.
This award follows the footsteps of two previous Adam Smith awards received in recent years for "Best Foreign Exchange Solution" and "Best AP/AR Solution.”