Industries are increasingly deciding to collaborate with peers -- instead of competing -- when it comes to critical issues like sustainability. Supplier data that was once considered proprietary is now viewed as a shared opportunity to drive a networked impact and cross-company value.
To that end on January 10 three leading health and pharmaceutical companies -- GlaxoSmithKline, Teva, Takeda – and EcoVadis, a provider of sustainability risk ratings, announced the launch of the Responsible Health Initiative.
The mission of the new sector initiative is to use collaboration and technology to improve the visibility, efficiency and sustainability impact of the global health supply chain.
RHI is the first of its kind for the pharma industry and mirrors goals similar to that of Railsponsible (transportation and rail), Together for Sustainability (chemical) and AIM-Progress (CPG).
“As business models across the health and pharmaceutical industries continue to evolve and overlap, it makes sense for organizations to focus on shared needs, goals and opportunities in sustainability, and act on them through the collective industry supply chain,” said Pierre-Francois Thaler, Co-CEO ofcoVadis. “Peer collaboration is a proven model for enabling companies in any sector to easily harmonize sustainability performance measurement and extend visibility.”
The effort will increase shared value across the industry’s supply chain by enabling key players in the global health sector to boost not only their own sustainability performance, but also that of the industry’s collective group of suppliers.
“Being part of the Responsible Health Initiative will help us leverage digital sustainability intelligence to more effectively select and partner with suppliers who share our values,” said Val Monk, Head Ethics and Risk Programs GSK.
The shared vision for the Responsible Health Initiative includes:
- Harmonizing industry standards for online CSR assessments, with reliable indicators and global benchmarks
- Adopting a common platform to ease sharing of CSR performance among suppliers/third parties and RHI members
- Implementing shared tools to boost supplier engagement and improvement plans
- Working together to reduce risk and increase visibility in the supply chain
Organizations in the Responsible Health Initiative will be equipped to access untapped sustainability potential across the industry supply chain, identify high-performing suppliers and best practices, reduce operational disruptions, mitigate risk, and drive value with suppliers.
