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Zoetis Releases Sustainability Report, Creates Foundation for Vets, Farmers
Glenn Polyn//June 4, 2021//
Zoetis Releases Sustainability Report, Creates Foundation for Vets, Farmers
Glenn Polyn //June 4, 2021//
Listen to this articlePress release: Zoetis
Zoetis today published its 2020 Sustainability Report, “Our Journey Toward a Better World,” describing its commitment to continued disclosure on environmental, social and governance (ESG) topics and progress toward the company’s Driven to Care long-term sustainability aspirations. The report highlights the company’s journey to champion a healthier, more sustainable future through specific commitments to Communities, Animals and the Planet; these commitments build on Zoetis’ purpose and help achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Complementing the report is a comprehensive ESG Appendix, an update from the company’s baseline disclosure published in November 2020, which shares key ESG performance indicators, including those set out by the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) for the biotechnology and pharmaceuticals industry.
Building on its history of supporting the people who care for animals, Zoetis is proud to commit $35 million over five years through the newly established Zoetis Foundation. The signature work of the Foundation will advance opportunities for veterinarians and farmers, with grantmaking focused on enabling thriving professions and livelihoods. Initially, the Foundation will focus on scholarships and diversity initiatives to help drive a more inclusive veterinary community in the U.S. In 2022, the Foundation’s work will expand to support veterinary debt relief, additional diversity, equity and inclusion programming, and mental wellness for farmers and veterinarians in the U.S., as well as support farmer and veterinary livelihoods in Africa, Australia, Brazil, China and Europe.
“Zoetis has a long history of addressing important challenges faced by veterinarians and farmers. Our new charitable foundation represents the next chapter in extending and driving forward these commitments,” said Jeannette Ferran Astorga, dead of sustainability at Zoetis and president of the Zoetis Foundation. “Specifically, the Zoetis Foundation will look for opportunities to address lack of diversity in both professions, the need for resources that support emotional well-being, financial burdens such as veterinary student loans, and lack of access to a higher standard of animal care in underserved areas.”
In 2020, Zoetis donated over $6 million to support animals and the people who care for them, with 9.6 percent of all community investments supporting COVID-19 relief efforts across the globe. As progress toward its goal to provide at least $1 million in scholarships to veterinary students annually, in 2020 the company provided over $934,000 in scholarships to support over 400 students. In the U.S., 34 percent of students supported by the Zoetis and Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges Veterinary Student Scholarship Program were diverse. Zoetis also provided over $1.83 million through charitable programs and in-kind donations to care for animals impacted by disasters around the world.
