The Clinton Global Initiative 2010 mid-year meeting brought together four top CEOs from American Fortune 100 companies to discuss the CSR (corporate social responsibility) initiatives in practice and the plan forward. The panel included Ron Willams of Aetna, David M. Cote of Honeywell International, Jeffrey B. Kindler of Pfizer and Jay S. Fishman of Travelers Companies.
The Initiative was established in 2005 by President Bill Clinton in an effort to create forums bringing together the top minds around the world to discuss global problems. Since 2005, CGI has brought together countless heads of state, Nobel Peace Prize laureates, heads of foundations and directors of NGOs that have resulted in creating innovative solutions to make a better world. These results are not just talk, there has been solid change that is absolutely tangible: 1,700 commitments valued at $57 billion dollars have affected the lives of 220 million people in 170 countries.
When CEOs of these giant companies talk, it’s a pretty good idea to listen. It’s also nice to have a cheat sheet of the facts — below we’ve highlighted each company’s CSR facts and included quotes from the CEOs — so you can hear about the CSR initiatives in place straight FROM THE HORSES MOUTH. Then we’ve included quotes from these men about how each of them sees the triple bottom line principals being integrated into their business model in the years to come in THE PIPELINE.
Aetna Inc.Chairman and CEO Ron Willams
Aetna is a health care benefits company with revenue of approximately $31.6 billion (2008 figures). Williams joined Aetna in 2001 and was named CEO and Chairman in 2006. Williams has been a strong proponent of Health Care Reform and believes that everyone deserves to have affordable health care. He has authored articles in The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, The Financial Times and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer on the subject.
The Aetna Foundation was founded in 1972 and funds activities around obesity in America, promoting racial and ethnic equity in health and health care and advancing integrated health care. In addition, the company has a robust corporate responsibility system in place with a special focus on the following four areas: Diversity, Public policy leadership, Environmental practices and commitment to the military personal. To find out more about CSR at Aetna, click here.
FROM THE HORSES MOUTH:
“Chronic disease is a global risk. It manifests itself differently in different countries — in some places it’s infectious disease, in other places its conditions of modern living, obesity and childhood obesity, in the US mental health is a huge issue.” He went on to say Aetna has been “a strong advocate to pass legislation, what’s known as the mental health parity bill — it makes certain that all people have access to mental health services just as they have access to health care service.”
IN THE PIPELINE:
“We do a lot of business with small companies and we went out and said we want to know whether you are offering insurance (and we expect that our vendors will offer insurance) — you wont win the bid with Aetna without offering insurance [to their employees]. We don’t care who’s insurance it is as long as there is health insurance. We found that in doing that we got our vendors to 95 percent that offer insurance to their employees and our goal next year will be to get to 100 percent.”
Honeywell InternationalPresident, CEO and Chairman of the Board David M. Cote
You probably know the name from the thermostat in your home — but you might not know what a behemoth this company is. Honeywell International invents and manufactures technologies to address challenges such as safety, security and energy. The company employs approximately 122,000 people worldwide, including 19,000 engineers and scientists. Honeywell reported 2009 Full-Year Sales of $30.9 Billion.
Cote was elected to the leadership role at Honeywell in 2002. He was previously CEO of TRW, a multi-billion dollar products and services provider for the automotive, aerospace and information technology markets. Before that was General Electric, where he served for 25 years in various manufacturing, finance and management positions.
Philanthropic initiatives include five major issues: family safety and security, housing and shelter, humanitarian relief, science and math education and habitat and conservation. Honeywell provided the use of their corporate jets to bring aid after the Haiti earthquake, they have committed both financial support and volunteer hours to many partner NGOs to tackle issues such as housing and education. For more on Honeywell’s sustainable practices, click here.
FROM THE HORSES MOUTH:
“We’ve got 120,000 employees and having those 120,000 engaged and feeling good about the company they work for, the integrity of the institution and the sort of things that we do is very important if you want to have a motivated organization.”
“We have really driven energy efficiency as a need throughout our product portfolio.”
“If the US aggressively used existing Honeywell products and technologies we could save up to 25 percent of our [collective] energy bill.”
IN THE PIPELINE:
“Getting back to energy efficiency: one of the things we do as an organization that is part of the budgeting process is pull together a budget for greenhouse gasses and energy intensity — just like we do for sales, cash and income. We started making that part of our budget process so that they actually have to budget that the same way they do sales and income — I have to admit I had to wonder how it would work — we only started it last year — but I’ve been amazed at the progress we have made.”
PfizerCEO and Chairman Jeffrey B Kindler
The drug company’s name is familiar to us all, and no doubt there is something in your medicine cabinet that they make. Pfizer is the world’s largest research-based biopharmaceutical company, which discovers, develops, manufactures and markets prescription medicines. Their brands are a laundry list of the most well-known and best advertised: Lipitor, Zoloft, Spiriva and Chantix to name a few. The company’s revenue was approximately $50 billion in 2009.
Kindler joined Pfizer in 2002 as Executive Vice President and General Counsel; he was appointed CEO in 2006. His resume includes previous stints at General Electric and McDonald’s.
Kindler and Clinton have worked together in the past. Pfizer was the first major pharmaceutical partnership for CGI Health Access Initiative providing tuberculosis medication at a steep discount. This partnership was then followed by more initiatives for treating malaria. “Investments in Health” is Pfizer’s philanthropy platform that offers a 4-step approach to providing the world’s neediest with the life saving medications they need. Through direct engagement, partnering with NGOs, governments and private sector companies, Pfizer implements programs around the globe that serve millions of people. For more information on Pfizer’s responsible principles in action, click here.
FROM THE HORSES MOUTH:
“Fundamentally we are a health company and, for us, it’s all about helping to establish and sustain long term public health.”
“In 2006, we made a commitment to the CGI of 15 million dollars to start a malaria initiative. Half the world’s population (3.3 billion people) is exposed to malaria: 250 million people contract malaria every year, 1 million people die every year of malaria. During this hour-long panel discussion, 120 children in Africa will die of malaria, and yet its completely curable and treatable — this is just a tragedy that doesn’t have to occur.”
IN THE PIPELINE:
“We used to put out a CSR report and an annual report. [Now], we are merging those two things — we are reporting CSR metrics and integrating them into our business. So hopefully we will be in a meeting one day and we wont even be talking about CSR as a separate concept.”
TravelersChairman and CEO Jay S. Fishman
Fishman is the first in his family to go to college and yet he is the Chairman and CEO of a company that has more than 30,000 employees and generated revenues of approximately $25 billion in 2009. Travelers was founded in 1853 and is now a global insurance company that offers coverage in auto, home and business property.
The three main areas of philanthropic programs at Travelers are: community development, arts and culture and education. According to their website: “The company’s community giving is primarily focused on public education reform and improving academic and career success for underrepresented youth in Saint Paul, Minn. and Hartford, Conn.” To find out more about Travelers community programs, click here.
FROM THE HORSES MOUTH:
“In my life, other than my wife and kids, anything good that has happened to me its because someone gave me an opportunity, they gave me a shot. There are so many people in our organization that feel a calling to provide an opportunity to others — so we have become deeply involved in education and access. Access to jobs, training and internships.”
“We are funding $2.5 million to public school systems in Hartford Conn. and St Paul, Minn. to teach principals how to be effective leaders. When principals are really good at their jobs the whole education experience improves dramatically.”
Regarding supporting the military:
“In the last two years, we have hired 200 returning vets at a time when most companies are downsizing — we are hiring vets because we think we owe them an opportunity after what they have done for us.”
IN THE PIPELINE:
“In our organization, we have connected with a group called the Posse Foundation that is connected to 37 schools and given out $330 million in scholarships since 1989. We offer lots of internships. Extending an opportunity improves the diversity of the organization and is very much a part of the fabric of the place.”
Photos courtesy of Clinton Global Initiative.