sustainability
Businesses Must Become Partners In Global Development
M
ore businesses are recognising that to play their part in addressing global challenges, they need to harness in-
22 | CSR Today | August 2015
novation and be open to collaboration. For a science-led global healthcare company like GSK with a mission to help people do more, feel better and live longer, we have a particu-
lar opportunity to take a significant role in addressing global health burdens. And this is nothing new for us. We have a long history in both developing and developed countries. For example, our vaccines are included in immunisation campaigns in 170 countries worldwide and of the 800 million vaccine doses we delivered in 2014, just over 80 per cent were shipped for use in developing countries. But we have big ambitions, particularly for the poorest. In March 2014 we announced our strategy to increase access to healthcare and deliver long-term economic growth across Africa, by stimulating research, increasing capacity in local medicine supply, and strengthening healthcare infrastructure. Our vision is to make GSK products available to 80 per cent of the population in sub-Saharan Africa and Least Developed Countries by 2020. So, we wait with eager anticipation for the incoming Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), currently under consultation. Right now, number three seems to be the one health-specific goal, “ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all
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Businesses will be key to achieving the new Sustainable Development Goals, but only if they are open to collaboration, says GSK CSR head Clare Griffin