• ESG 2022 Report Cover

    Inspiring More
    Joyful Lives
    Through Better Health

    Discover how our health-centered approach to ESG powers our work to reimagine healthcare.

Environmental, Social & Governance

As a health and well-being enterprise, our purpose is to inspire more joyful lives through better health through our contributions to healthy communities, a healthy planet, a sustainable marketplace and an inclusive workplace.

ESG 2022 Report Cover

Our ESG programs are rooted in our purpose to help people live more joyful lives through better health. We continue to focus our work on supporting healthy communities, enabling a healthy planet, building a sustainable marketplace, and providing a healthy and inclusive workplace.

Our Commitments to You

We have focused our work in four areas:

Healthy Communities
Healthy Communities
Healthy Inclusive Workplace
Healthy and Inclusive Workplace
healthy planet icon
Healthy Planet
Sustainable Marketplace
Sustainable Marketplace
2022 Highlights and Progress

$100M

Donated to support the health and well-being of communities around the world

350M+

Women and children received life-saving vitamins through our partnership with Vitamin Angels

21.2%

Reduction in carbon emissions from our baseline on 2019

69M+

COVID-19 vaccinations administered as of Aug. 31, 2022

0

Plastic fibers in Boots and No7 Beauty Company wet wipes

3 Years

WBA named to Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index for third consecutive year

Governance
Governance

We are dedicated to transparently reporting on our ESG activities and sharing progress toward our goals. Our ESG strategy is a key pillar of our purpose and is overseen by the WBA ESG Committee, which reports to the WBA Nominating and Governance Committee on a biannual basis. Our commitment to employee and customer safety and privacy is clear through our in-depth governance and risk management processes. We continuously look for ways to improve these practices because they are essential to achieving our objectives and being a responsible organization.

During fiscal 2022, WBA continued to prioritize safety and developed new policies and procedures to keep up with the COVID-19 pandemic. A major part of our COVID-19 response was learning how to apply identified best practices and processes to other communicable diseases. The safety of our employees is of the utmost importance to WBA. We routinely search for ways to prioritize safety and education trainings. Additionally, we are committed to ensuring the integrity of data and protecting our customers, patients, employees and company information.

Healthy Communities
Healthy Community

Improving access to quality healthcare is our priority, and we have programs and goals dedicated to promoting health equity on an individual, community and global level. In 2022, WBA worldwide donated $100M to support the health and wellbeing of communities around the world. 

WBA funded 80 million vaccinations in the past fiscal year for children in developing communities through Walgreens Get A Shot. Give A Shot. program with the UN Foundation. Lifesaving vitamins and minerals have been distributed to 350 million women and children around the world through WBA’s partnership with Vitamin Angels since 2013. 

Since 2019, Boots, No7 Beauty Company and The Hygiene Bank have worked together to donate more than 220,000 essential hygiene and personal care products to the 1 in 5 people in the UK living in poverty. WBA also partners with organizations such as Susan G. Komen, Macmillan Cancer Support and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society to support people living with cancer.

Healthy and Inclusive Workplace
Healthy and Inclusive Workplace

By meeting the needs of our team, we are better equipped to meet the needs of our customers and patients. We strive to embrace our teams’ unique identities and perspectives while reflecting our global diversity in our leadership. 

In fiscal 2022, WBA increased the number of business resource groups to 24 and made progress on its goals to increase the number of women and people of color in leadership by 1.4 and 7.1 percentage points, respectively.  

Walgreens increased spend with Tier 1 Diverse Suppliers to $625 million in fiscal 2022 from $500 million in the previous year. Walgreens also expanded its U.S. mental health and well-being platform for team members and families, called Be Well Connected, to provide more well-rounded, around-the-clock support. 

Healthy Planet
Healthy Planet

We aim to protect our planet in ways that are both environmentally conscious and socially equitable. In the past fiscal year, our total carbon emissions have decreased by 8 percent from 2021, ensuring we are on track to reduce our total emissions by 30 percent by 2030 with a base year of 2019.

Boots UK achieved its goal of maintaining 100% plastic-free online deliveries and is on track to reduce food waste by 50 percent as part of the WRAP Food Waste Reduction Roadmap. 

The Recycle at Boots scheme in the UK has seen more than 96,000 registered users deposit more than 1 million beauty, health, wellness and dental products for recycling, diverting 54 metric tonnes of plastic waste from landfill. Boots UK has committed to collaborating with industry partners to achieve net zero emissions by 2040. 

Sustainable Marketplace
Sustainable Marketplace

As an owned brand developer and supplier partner, we hold ourselves responsible to innovate and commit to sustainable practices. We are a Champion of the Sustainable Procurement Pledge to ensure we are meeting global standards. 

By fiscal 2025, Boots UK and No7 Beauty Company aim to make 100 percent of plastic packaging reusable or recyclable and achieve 30 percent average recycled content across plastic packaging as per The UK Plastics Pact. Walgreens committed to do the same by fiscal 2030. 

Walgreens also committed to achieve 100 percent certified RSPO palm oil through physical certification and credits by the end of 2023 and increase the physical certified portion by 5 percent each following year.