Pfizer’s CSR and ESG programs aim at satisfying stakeholders’ interests pertaining to biopharmaceutical business operations. Programs and initiatives for corporate social responsibility (CSR) and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) optimize business relations with stakeholders. The beneficial effects of CSR and ESG programs on stakeholders equate to positive effects on Pfizer’s business, such as through higher brand equity and stronger consumer confidence in the company’s products. Thus, competitive advantages and business opportunities in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries may depend on these positive effects of CSR, ESG, and corporate citizenship on Pfizer.
Pfizer’s stakeholder management for business sustainability and other CSR and ESG objectives contributes to competitiveness against Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson, and other firms. Effective measures for sustainable operations and corporate citizenship can boost Pfizer’s business efficiency and improve brand equity for mitigating the effects of the competitive forces in the biopharmaceutical industry.
Pfizer Stakeholders
Pfizer stakeholders are parties or entities that have a stake in the business. These stakeholders affect the biopharmaceutical business. The company also affects these stakeholders. The following are stakeholders in Pfizer’s business:
- Patients
- Hospitals and other healthcare organizations
- Employees
- Business partners
- Distributors/wholesalers
- Investors
Patients are stakeholders prioritized in this CSR and ESG strategy and stakeholder management, considering that Pfizer’s vision statement, mission statement, and business purpose aim for biopharmaceutical breakthroughs for the benefit of patients. Patients are interested in accessing effective pharmaceuticals for their respective health needs.
Pfizer’s initiatives for ESG and CSR cater to the interests of hospitals and healthcare organizations, especially through effective breakthrough medicines and vaccines. As a stakeholder group, hospitals and other healthcare organizations are interested in biopharmaceuticals for effectively treating diseases or for disease prevention.
The interests of Pfizer employees, as stakeholders, are advancement in their careers and competitive compensation packages. For example, the company’s researchers aim for a rewarding experience in developing biopharmaceuticals, as well as salaries and incentives that are competitive against what competing firms (or employers) offer in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.
Pfizer’s business partners are involved in collaborative ventures for developing products and improving business processes. These stakeholders are interested in profitable relations benefiting from the company’s biopharmaceuticals and biotechnology.
Pfizer’s CSR and ESG strategy meets the interests of distributors or wholesalers, whose interests include profits based on the distribution and sale of the company’s products in target markets around the world. These distributors and wholesalers determine the extent and effectiveness of the company’s market reach.
Pfizer investors are interested in the company’s profits, business growth, and resilience to challenges in the industry and the international market. For example, these stakeholders are interested in how Pfizer’s intensive growth strategies and generic competitive strategies can bring the business to higher performance and better profitability.
Ethics & Compliance for Pfizer’s CSR & ESG
Pfizer maintains an Ethics and Compliance program for its business purpose, ethics, accountability, sustainability, and corporate citizenship. With consideration for CSR and ESG and the interests of stakeholders, the following elements are in Pfizer’s ethics and compliance program:
- Culture
- Governance
- Risk management
- Policies
- Training
- Monitoring
- Investigations and corrective action
- Third-party management
These elements facilitate Pfizer’s ethics, compliance, sustainability, corporate citizenship, and other factors related to CSR and ESG. The combined effect of the initiatives, systems, and procedures of these elements lead to optimized performance that meet the expectations of Pfizer stakeholders regarding ethics in business.
Pfizer’s organizational culture (business culture) promotes integrity for ethical decisions throughout the business organization. This culture addresses CSR and ESG goals through human resources, the social aspect of workplaces, and the behavioral factors affecting decisions for ethics and compliance in the biopharmaceutical business.
Governance involves Pfizer’s company structure (organizational structure), which has the leadership, resources, and functions needed to support ethics and compliance and the company’s CSR and ESG strategy. For example, this structure enables the functions of compliance committees for regulatory compliance and business ethics.
In monitoring, Pfizer’s operations management has standardized procedures for quality control and compliance. The company’s continuous monitoring system detects ethics and compliance issues in operations in all markets. Through this system, Pfizer supports its CSR and ESG goals by maximizing its ability to mitigate, resolve, and prevent ethics and compliance issues that affect the business and its stakeholders.
Sustainability at Pfizer
Pfizer’s CSR and ESG efforts for environmental sustainability involve adjustments to the company’s business processes to achieve sustainable operations. Pfizer’s sustainability strategy focuses on the following areas:
- Climate impact mitigation
- Resource conservation
- Waste reduction
Pfizer’s business sustainability equates to environmental sustainability, which in this case involves climate impact mitigation, resource conservation, and waste reduction in business operations, including manufacturing. With these focus areas, the company can improve its sustainability for long-term business resilience and a positive corporate image in the biopharmaceuticals industry.
Pfizer’s programs for sustainability address CSR and ESG goals for reducing the adverse impact of the business on the natural environment, which affects all stakeholders. These programs focus on industry trends significant to Pfizer. For example, ecological trends affecting the industry are considered in terms of their influence on patients and other stakeholders of the pharmaceutical business.
The Pfizer Foundation
The Pfizer Foundation is a major arm for implementing the company’s CSR and ESG strategy, especially for patients, employees, and communities. The following are the focus areas of the Pfizer Foundation:
- Global health challenges
- Urgent health crises
- Colleague and community engagement
The Pfizer Foundation has the main goal of contributing to the improvement of health in communities. This goal relates to the social aspect of the company’s CSR and ESG strategy for biopharmaceutical business stakeholders. The activities of the Pfizer Foundation aim to meet the interests of communities and other social organizations.
Even though the Foundation focuses on social/societal concerns, it also relates to the interests of investors. For example, Pfizer’s marketing mix (4P) can communicate the activities and results of the Foundation to promote the brand and encourage customers to buy the company’s products instead of competing biopharmaceuticals.
References
- Bade, C., Olsacher, A., Boehme, P., Truebel, H., Bürger, L., & Fehring, L. (2024). Sustainability in the pharmaceutical industry – An assessment of sustainability maturity and effects of sustainability measure implementation on supply chain security. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 31(1), 224-242.
- Febriani, R., & Irawati, S. (2024). The role of organizational citizenship behavior for environment (OCBE) in mediating the effect of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) on green performance. In Environmental Issues and Social Inclusion in a Sustainable Era (pp. 289-294). Routledge.
- Fichtner, J., Jaspert, R., & Petry, J. (2024). Mind the ESG capital allocation gap: The role of index providers, standard‐setting, and “green” indices for the creation of sustainability impact. Regulation & Governance, 18(2), 479-498.
- Pfizer Corporate Compliance.
- Pfizer Environmental Sustainability.
- Pfizer Inc. Form 10-K.
- Puhlmann, N., Vidaurre, R., & Kümmerer, K. (2024). Designing greener active pharmaceutical ingredients: Insights from pharmaceutical industry into drug discovery and development. European Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 192, 106614.
- The Pfizer Foundation.