World Earth Day 2022 – MSD Ireland Named Green Pharmaceutical Company of the Year

MSD Ireland’s commitment to place environmental sustainability and carbon neutrality at the forefront of operations

April 22, 2022

MSD Ireland’s See Green, Be Green programme was awarded the highest industry accolade at the Green Awards that took place on April 21st.

We are delighted to share the fantastic news that MSD Ireland has been named the Green Pharmaceutical Company of the Year for 2022 during the Green Awards for sustainability in business.

The award recognises MSD Ireland’s commitment to place environmental sustainability and carbon neutrality at the forefront of operations through our See Green, Be Green programme. Alongside nominees such as Novartis, Regeneron, BioMarin International, and Gilead Sciences Ireland, competition was fierce, but our comprehensive approach based on inclusive strategies and positive employee involvement helped us stand out amongst our peers.

See Green, Be Green is a comprehensive, All Ireland initiative to embed a sustainability mindset into our operations in order to play our part in creating a green and healthy future while becoming an employer, business partner and neighbour of choice.

Through the programmes’ four key strands of culture, carbon transition, biodiversity, and waster & water, we have been able to transform the way we approach sustainability across all our sites, making sure sustainability remains a core, guiding principle across all that we do. Our efforts over the course of the last year have placed MSD Ireland as a best-practice example across our network, which other markets are now looking to follow.

The news of this award couldn’t be better timed, as today we join the international community to commemorate World Earth Day 2022 and it also marks the first anniversary of our See Green, Be Green programme.

Congratulations to the See Green, Be Green teams across our six sites in Ireland. Thanks to each and every team member for their passion and commitment in driving sustainability forward every single day – not just adhering to the See Green, Be Green principles but going above and beyond to make sure these values are fully embedded across all levels of our business.

After such a strong first year, we are excited to see what’s in store for the future as we continue to drive sustainability forward from MSD Ireland to the world.

Inspiring innovation through diversity and inclusion

When we bring together people from different backgrounds, the possibility for invention is endless

October 14, 2021

Disabled worker in wheelchair smiling with co-workers

A diverse and inclusive workforce inspires innovation and is fundamental to our company’s success. Having an environment comprised of people from different dimensions of diversity also helps us better understand the unique needs of the customers, health care providers and patients we serve, including those with different abilities.

Below are some of the ways we celebrate our diverse workforce and a culture of equity, empowerment, engagement and belonging:

01.

Hiring neurodivergent talent

Our company and Accenture share a deep commitment to building a diverse workforce. Accenture is a Fortune Global 500 company with leading capabilities in digital, cloud and security where diversity and inclusion is at the core of their mission.

To support this shared commitment, MSD and Accenture launched a joint program called capABILITY in Action to hire neurodivergent talent and are partnering with Rangam Consultants Inc., a global workforce solutions company. Rangam is a diverse, minority women-owned business known for being a welcoming place for people with disabilities to work. The company is also certified by Disability:IN as a Disability Owned Business Enterprise (DOBE). Rangam’s SourceAbled program leverages their disability subject matter expertise and network to attract, recruit and retain neurodivergent talent while ensuring that we bring our recruits into an inclusive and supportive environment.

As part of the initial launch, autism awareness training was made available to employees about how to foster an engaging and inclusive environment for people who are autistic.

“I was very surprised how kind and compassionate everyone at Rangam, Accenture and MSD is. It has been a very positive experience so far.”

Jila Naraghi
Rangam SourceAbled team member and new hire for Accenture at MSD

02.

Supplier diversity

Just as equal opportunity employment is central to our company’s personnel policies and procedures, we recognize that supplier diversity creates a competitive advantage for our company and positively impacts the global community.

In July 2021, our company was recognized as the top corporation for disability-owned businesses by Disability:IN for our supplier diversity program. This award honors the corporation that has demonstrated outstanding inclusion of Disability:IN certified disability-owned businesses (including businesses owned by service-disabled veterans), and general commitment to disability business inclusion within their supply chain processes and corporate supplier diversity programs.

Established in 1985, MSD’s supplier diversity program’s mission is to educate, equip and empower employees to effectively include and utilize qualified diverse suppliers in our global procurement activities at a competitive price while driving growth and innovation.

“We believe that the success of the company – and society – depends on enabling diverse businesses to share and grow in the global market.”

Susanna Webber, senior vice-president and chief procurement officer

03.

Global diversity & inclusion (GD&I) month

Since 2015, we’ve celebrated GD&I Experience Month in September to foster meaningful discussions and learning around diversity, equity and inclusion, while highlighting D&I-focused work and the people who make our company unique. GD&I Experience Month drives the company’s business performance, builds diversity and inclusion capabilities among the workforce and creates a platform for employees to speak up about their experiences. Read more about our GD&I Experience Month.

“We have strengthened our commitment to making diversity and inclusion (D&I) a central strategy to business growth. Through these efforts, a clear purpose has emerged: to compel a more globally diverse and more inclusive workforce for our employees by creating an environment of belonging, engagement, equity and empowerment so that together, we can help ensure better health outcomes for patients.”

Celeste Warren
Vice president of human resources and chief diversity officer

04.

Employee Business Resource Groups (EBRGs)

We’ve taken a pioneering and global approach to our diversity strategy through the creation of Employee Business Resource Groups (EBRGs). With more than 19,000 members across 10 groups, EBRGs play a critical role in driving an inclusive culture and supporting employee career growth. They represent diversity within our company, and reflect the communities in which we live and serve.

Alianza
Asia Pacific Association
capAbility Network
Interfaith Organization
League of Employees of African Descent

Native American & Global Indigenous People
Next Gen Network
Rainbow Alliance
Veterans Leadership Network
Women’s Network

“I’m proud of our long-standing commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. It has made us a more innovative and agile company – one that is better attuned to the needs of our employees, patients and customers.”

Marcos Roberto da Costa
Vice president, operational excellence, MMD and executive sponsor for MSD’s capABILITY network EBRG

Hear from our own employees

Celebrating the diversity of our workforce

How we're leaning into the voices, perspectives and experiences that strengthen our mission

October 14, 2021

In January 2015, Celeste Warren, vice president and chief diversity officer, suggested during a team meeting that we need to celebrate the diversity of our employees and provide them with time to pause, learn and reflect. Energized, the team realized that a day — or even a week — would not be impactful enough. Warren took in the perspectives of the team and said, “Let’s take the month,” and Global Diversity & Inclusion (GD&I) Experience Month was born.

“Let’s take the month,” and Global Diversity & Inclusion (GD&I) Experience Month was born.

Our commitment continues

For over five years and counting, we continue to dedicate a full month to fostering meaningful discussions and learning around diversity and inclusion while pausing to reflect and celebrate all the wonderful D&I-focused work being done throughout the year.

Look how much we’ve grown and experienced since our first GD&I Experience Month

In 2020, employees in 71 countries tuned in to our kick-off event, which included 25 global watch parties
We’ve seen a 44% increase in membership in our 10 Employee Business Resource Groups (EBRGs), with new chapters being added across the globe
We introduced a new process to monitor the company’s progress in creating a diverse and inclusive work environment, incuding D&I workday and D&I learning journey
We developed an integrated disability inclusion strategy to ensure that persons with disabilities within the organization would be able to be productive and contribute to our mission of saving and improving lives

Engage, empower, elevate

We are proud of our impact and progress, but there is more work to be done — now more than ever. It is time to accelerate our efforts so that we can create the most inclusive workplace possible — where all voices feel heard and valued and where everyone has the ability to contribute their best.

“We continue to deepen our commitment to making GD&I Experience Month an opportunity for our employees to grow, develop and thrive."

Celeste Warren

Vice president and chief diversity officer

“When every single employee embraces a mindset welcoming diversity and inclusion and can fully appreciate the experiences of others, better discussions, decisions and outcomes will certainly follow,” says Warren.

More than just a month: celebrating diversity & inclusion beyond September

While 2021’s GD&I Experience Month will take place virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our employees can still expect plenty of engagement, including opportunities to explore concepts like allyship, learn more about goals and initiatives, participate in training programs and seminars and hear from dynamic guest speakers.

September is a time for reflection, exploration and engagement, and that spirit can carry through year-round.

Making time to celebrate what makes us unique and continuing to break down barriers has propelled us to think bigger and accomplish more. Building and enriching our diverse and inclusive environment involves everyone. When we open our minds and hearts to new voices, new experiences and new attitudes, we have the power to be allies and role models in addition to being better colleagues and citizens.

Learn more about how we inspire innovation through diversity & inclusion