What are the material issues the company has identified?

In its 2018 Health for Humanity Report Johnson & Johnson identified a range of material issues, such as product quality, safety and reliability, ethics and compliance, innovation, workplace safety, procurement and supplier management. Among these, respecting and promoting human rights stands out as a key material issue for Johnson & Johnson.

Stakeholder engagement in accordance with the GRI Standards

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) defines the Principle of Stakeholder Inclusiveness when identifying material issues (or a company’s most important impacts) as follows:

“The organization should identify its stakeholders, and explain how it has responded to their reasonable expectations.”

Stakeholders must be consulted in the process s of identifying a company’s most important impacts and their reasonable expectations and interests must be taken into account. This is an important cornerstone for CSR / sustainability reporting done responsibly.

Key stakeholder groups Johnson & Johnson engages with:

Stakeholder Group	Method of engagement
Advocacy Groups/Trade Associations	·      Organisational memberships ·      Direct engagement ·      Dialogue ·      Sponsorships ·      Conferences ·      Research efforts
Consumers	·      Dedicated 24-hour, 7-days-a-week toll-free hotline in 23 languages ·      Johnson & Johnson website ·      Brand websites ·      Social media ·      Focus groups ·      Clinical trials
Customers	·      Direct contact through sales ·      Customer relationship managers ·      Customer call centres ·      Customer meetings ·      Industry trade groups/meetings
Employees	·      Credo survey ·      Intranets ·      Newsletters ·      Company webcasts ·      Town hall meetings ·      Quarterly business updates ·      Training sessions ·      Anonymous 24-hour, 7-days-a-week toll-free hotline in 23 languages
Government/Policy Makers	·      Governmental affairs liaisons ·      Direct engagement ·      Johnson & Johnson Political Action Committee ·      Meetings ·      Advocacy
Healthcare Providers	·      Sales representatives ·      Continuing medical education liaisons ·      Education initiatives ·      Clinical researchers ·      Advisory boards ·      Support and education programmes for caregivers
Socially Responsible Investors	·      Annual report ·      Annual sustainability report ·      Annual shareholders meeting ·      Investor releases ·      Quarterly earnings ·      Road shows ·      Completion of surveys ·      Johnson & Johnson website ·      Conferences ·      Dialogue ·      Direct engagement
Local Communities	·      Direct local engagement ·      Philanthropic efforts ·      Employee volunteers ·      Sponsorships ·      Collaborative partnerships
NGOs	·      Direct engagement ·      Dialogue ·      Collaborative partnerships ·      Sponsorships ·      Organisational memberships ·      Conferences ·      Social media
Quasi-Governmental Organisations/Academic Institutions	·      Direct engagement ·      Collaborative partnerships ·      Face-to-face meetings ·      Research ·      Academic studies
Suppliers	·      Direct engagement ·      Collaborative partnerships ·      Responsibility Standards for Suppliers ·      Outreach by category leaders ·      Supplier scorecards ·      Face-to-face meetings ·      Trainings and workshops ·      Supplier diversity initiatives ·      Surveys ·      Assessments and audits

How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues

To identify and prioritise material topics Johnson & Johnson carried out a survey among over 1,500 stakeholders, who were asked to rank topics by importance to them and by their potential for social, environmental and economic impact.

What actions were taken byJohnson & Johnson to respect and promote human rights?

In its 2018 Health for Humanity Report Johnson & Johnson reports that it took the following actions for respecting and promoting human rights:

• Implementing Global Labor & Employment Guidelines
• Johnson & Johnson’s Global Labor & Employment Guidelines articulate its expectations for labour and employment practices at its sites, including preventing forced labour and child labour, and non-discrimination, among other matters. Johnson & Johnson provides the freedom to establish a formal employee organisation or representation structure across the Enterprise, including in Johnson & Johnson’s operating companies. Company sites can establish an employee representation structure or framework, except where prohibited by law. Minimum notice periods, the management of reorganisations and layoffs, and the policies associated with such actions vary depending on the location, nature, size and scale of the action and applicable law. Local operating leaders try to communicate significant plans of operational changes to employees and their representatives in a timely and practical manner, in advance of actions being taken. Many of Johnson & Johnson’s collective bargaining agreements contain negotiated provisions covering severance or separation pay and benefits. Where there is no legal minimum notice period, Johnson & Johnson operating companies typically provide 30 days of notice.

• Promoting human rights among suppliers
• The Johnson & Johnson Responsibility Standards for Suppliers outline Johnson & Johnson’s expectations of supplier business conduct. The Standards align closely with relevant provisions of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and the Consumer Goods Forum Forced Labor Resolution and Priority Industry Principles. In 2018, Johnson & Johnson’s updated and launched its online training on Human Rights, a training that is mandatory for all Global Procurement employees and is available to other relevant functions. Additionally, Johnson & Johnson’s cross-functional Human Rights Working Group – comprised of Global Procurement, Law Department, Environmental Health, Safety & Sustainability, and Corporate Governance functional groups – meets regularly, and rolled out the social audit programme in 2018.

• Developing grievance mechanisms
• The Johnson & Johnson Credo Hotline – a grievance mechanism available to all employees, suppliers and other business partners – offers a secure mechanism for anonymous reporting of suspected concerns or potential violations of Johnson & Johnson’s policies or the law. Johnson & Johnson communicates the hotline access broadly, and the visibility of this access and hotline functionality are in scope for enterprise-wide audit procedures. Concerns raised through the hotline are reported at an enterprise level. In addition to the Credo Hotline, employees can anonymously report potential violations to the Human Resources function within each operating company locally.

Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?

The GRI Standards addressed in this case are:

1) Disclosure 402-1 Minimum notice periods regarding operational changes

2) Disclosure 406-1 Incidents of discrimination and corrective actions taken

 

Disclosure 402-1 Minimum notice periods regarding operational changes corresponds to:

• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
• Business theme: Labor/management relations

Disclosure 406-1 Incidents of discrimination and corrective actions taken corresponds to:

• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
• Business theme: Non-discrimination
• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
• Business theme: Non-discrimination
• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
• Business theme: Non-discrimination

 

78% of the world’s 250 largest companies report in accordance with the GRI Standards

SustainCase was primarily created to demonstrate, through case studies, the importance of dealing with a company’s most important impacts in a structured way, with use of the GRI Standards. To show how today’s best-run companies are achieving economic, social and environmental success – and how you can too.

Research by well-recognised institutions is clearly proving that responsible companies can look to the future with optimism.

 

 

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See upcoming training dates.

 

References:

1) This case study is based on published information by Johnson & Johnson, located at the link below. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses. However, we made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the report’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original, please revert to the original on the Global Reporting Initiative’s Sustainability Disclosure Database at the link:

http://database.globalreporting.org/

2) https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/gri-standards-download-center/

Note to Johnson & Johnson: With each case study we send out an email requesting a comment on this case study. If you have not received such an email please contact us.

What are the material issues the company has identified?

In its 2017 Health for Humanity Report Johnson & Johnson identified a range of material issues, such as product quality, safety and reliability, ethics and compliance, innovation, global public health, workplace safety. Among these, promoting environmental and social responsibility throughout its supply chain stands out as a key material issue for Johnson & Johnson.

Stakeholder engagement in accordance with the GRI Standards

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) defines the Principle of Stakeholder Inclusiveness when identifying material issues (or a company’s most important impacts) as follows:

“The organization should identify its stakeholders, and explain how it has responded to their reasonable expectations.”

Stakeholders must be consulted in the process s of identifying a company’s most important impacts and their reasonable expectations and interests must be taken into account. This is an important cornerstone for CSR / sustainability reporting done responsibly.

Key stakeholder groups Johnson & Johnson engages with:

Stakeholder Group	Method of engagement
Advocacy Groups/Trade Associations	·         Organizational memberships ·         Direct engagement ·         Dialogue ·         Sponsorships ·         Conferences ·         Research efforts
Consumers	·         Dedicated 24-hour, 7-days-a-week toll-free hotline in 23 languages ·         Johnson & Johnson website ·         Brand websites ·         Social media ·         Focus groups ·         Clinical trials
Customers	·         Direct contact through sales ·         Customer relationship managers ·         Customer call centers ·         Customer meetings ·         Industry trade groups/meetings
Employees	·         Credo survey ·         Intranets ·         Newsletters ·         Company webcasts ·         Town hall meetings ·         Quarterly business updates ·         Training sessions ·         Anonymous 24-hour, 7-days-a-week toll-free hotline in 23 languages
Government/Policy Makers	·         Governmental affairs liaisons ·         Direct engagement ·         Johnson & Johnson Political Action Committee ·         Meetings ·         Advocacy
Healthcare Providers	·         Sales representatives ·         Continuing medical education liaisons ·         Education initiatives ·         Clinical researchers ·         Advisory boards ·         Support and education programs for caregivers
Socially Responsible Investors (SRIs)	·         Annual report ·         Annual sustainability report ·         Annual shareholders meeting ·         Investor releases ·         Quarterly earnings ·         Road shows ·         Completion of surveys ·         Johnson & Johnson website ·         Conferences ·         Dialogue ·         Direct engagement
Local Communities	·         Direct local engagement ·         Philanthropic efforts ·         Employee volunteers ·         Sponsorships ·         Collaborative partnerships
NGOs	·         Direct engagement ·         Dialogue ·         Collaborative partnerships ·         Sponsorships ·         Organizational memberships ·         Conferences ·         Social media
Quasi-Governmental Organizations/Academic Institutions	·         Direct engagement ·         Collaborative partnerships ·         Face-to-face meetings ·         Research ·         Academic studies
Suppliers	·         Direct engagement ·         Collaborative partnerships ·         Responsibility Standards for Suppliers ·         Outreach by category leaders ·         Supplier scorecards ·         Face-to-face meetings ·         Trainings and workshops ·         Supplier diversity initiatives ·         Surveys ·         Assessments and audits

How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues

To identify and prioritise material topics, Johnson & Johnson invited more than 1,500 stakeholders to respond to a survey. Stakeholders were asked to rank topics by importance to them and by their potential for social, environmental and economic impact.

 

What actions were taken by Johnson & Johnson to promote environmental and social responsibility throughout its supply chain?

In its 2017 Health for Humanity Report Johnson & Johnson reports that it took the following actions for promoting environmental and social responsibility throughout its supply chain:

• Monitoring compliance with the Responsibility Standards for Suppliers
• Johnson & Johnson confirms and monitors suppliers’ compliance with its Responsibility Standards for Suppliers by means of a formal assessment and audit program. Assessments are conducted through EcoVadis – a third-party program. EcoVadis assessments involve an initial screening of supplier performance. Subsequently, the results (a score) play an important role in deciding which suppliers may require an on-site audit.

• Carrying out Environment, Health & Safety (EHS) audits
• Johnson & Johnson systematically conducts supplier EHS audits. All EHS site audits are conducted according to the audit protocol and checklist developed by the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Initiative (PSCI). Johnson & Johnson identifies supplier non-compliances in the areas of environment, health and safety, and management systems. Non-compliance findings are categorised as critical, major and minor and are communicated to each supplier, along with Johnson & Johnson’s expectations that they must implement time-bound corrective actions and show improvement. Johnson & Johnson also supports suppliers in improving their performance, including through:
  • follow-up technical visits which include expert training and best practice sharing
  • business reviews with direct coaching and guidance
  • information provided in the Sustainability Toolkit for Suppliers
  • supplier relationship management engagement at category level
  • participation in supplier capability-building conferences, webinars and other resources that are available through Johnson & Johnson’s membership in the PSCI
• In 2017, Johnson & Johnson carried out 189 EHS audits and technical visits.

• Conducting social audits
• In 2017, to establish an enterprise-wide framework for addressing human rights in its supply chain, Johnson & Johnson expanded the human rights requirements in its updated Responsibility Standards for Suppliers. In addition, a cross-functional Human Rights Working Group met regularly, guiding and informing the development of Johnson & Johnson’s human rights risk assessment approach and audit program. Johnson & Johnson’s supplier social audit program is scheduled to be fully implemented in 2018. Supplier selection and prioritisation criteria will include results for EcoVadis scores regarding Labour and Business Ethics, location in a country considered high risk for violation of human rights and the supplier category.

Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?

The GRI Standards addressed in this case are:

1) Disclosure 308-1 New suppliers that were screened using environmental criteria

2) Disclosure 414-1 New suppliers that were screened using social criteria

Disclosure 308-1 New suppliers that were screened using environmental criteria does not correspond to any SDG.

Disclosure 414-1 New suppliers that were screened using social criteria corresponds to:

• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
• Business theme: Workplace violence and harassment
• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
• Business theme: Labor practices in the supply chain
• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
• Business theme: Workplace violence and harassment

 

78% of the world’s 250 largest companies report in accordance with the GRI Standards

SustainCase was primarily created to demonstrate, through case studies, the importance of dealing with a company’s most important impacts in a structured way, with use of the GRI Standards. To show how today’s best-run companies are achieving economic, social and environmental success – and how you can too.

Research by well-recognised institutions is clearly proving that responsible companies can look to the future with optimism.

 

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References:

1) This case study is based on published information by Johnson & Johnson, located at the link below. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses. However, we made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the report’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original, please revert to the original on the Global Reporting Initiative’s Sustainability Disclosure Database at the link:

http://database.globalreporting.org/

2) http://www.fbrh.co.uk/en/global-reporting-initiative-gri-g4-guidelines-download-page

3) https://g4.globalreporting.org/Pages/default.aspx

4) https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/gri-standards-download-center/

Note to Johnson & Johnson: With each case study we send out an email requesting a comment on this case study. If you have not received such an email please contact us.

What are the material issues the company has identified?

In its 2014 Citizenship and Sustainability Report Johnson & Johnson identified a range of material issues, such as access to and affordability of health care, global health, ethical performance, compliance, product pipeline. Among these, given the expanse of its product portfolio, its global presence and the highly regulated environment in which it operates, [tweetthis]promoting product quality and safety stands out as Johnson & Johnson’s top material issue[/tweetthis].

Stakeholder engagement in accordance with the GRI Standards

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) defines the Principle of Stakeholder Inclusiveness when identifying material issues (or a company’s most important impacts) as follows:

“The organization should identify its stakeholders, and explain how it has responded to their reasonable expectations.”

Stakeholders must be consulted in the process of identifying a company’s most important impacts and their reasonable expectations and interests must be taken into account. This is an important cornerstone for CSR / sustainability reporting done responsibly.

Key stakeholder groups Johnson & Johnson engages with:

Stakeholder Group	Method of engagement
Patients and others who use Johnson & Johnson’s products and services	·         Product packaging, labeling and package inserts ·         Customer call centers ·         Websites ·         Clinical trials ·         Email and conventional mail ·         Market research ·         Brochures ·         Product labeling and inserts
Doctors/nurses/hospitals/health care providers	·         Sales representatives ·         Continuing medical education liaisons ·         Education initiatives ·         Clinical researchers ·         Advisory boards ·         Support and education programs for caregivers ·         Email and conventional mail
Communities	·         Interactions with civic organizations, business groups, schools ·         Community action panels ·         Open houses ·         Facility transparency pages posted to Johnson & Johnson’s Responsibility website ·         Community liaison ·         Annual report
Employees	·         Credo survey ·         Intranet ·         Newsletters ·         Company webcasts ·         Town hall meetings ·         Company meetings ·         Government Affairs & Policy legislative update meetings ·         Quarterly business updates ·         Health Policy Excellence ·         Legislative position and external policy information via the Government Affairs & Policy website ·         Training sessions ·         Employee surveys ·         Work councils and union interactions
External manufacturers, contractors, suppliers	·         Supplier website ·         Workshops ·         Trainings ·         Contract negotiations ·         Performance reviews ·         Webinars ·         Dialogue ·         Auditing
Governments and regulators	·         Government Affairs liaisons ·         Annual report ·         Direct contact ·         Lobbying ·         Johnson & Johnson Legislative Day in Washington, D.C., and similar events at U.S. state and national capitols worldwide ·         Visits to Johnson & Johnson facilities by state and national policy makers
Industry organizations	·         Participation in work groups, meetings, research efforts
Shareholders and the investment community	·         Annual report ·         Annual shareholders meeting ·         Investor updates ·         Press releases ·         Quarterly results presentations ·         Road shows ·         Broker conferences ·         Site visits ·         Dialogue ·         Direct contact
NGOs and charitable organizations	·         Direct contact ·         Dialogue ·         Collaborative partnerships ·         Annual reports
Customers	·         Direct contact through sales, customer relationship managers and members of management as required and/or appropriate
Scientific Community	·         Medical and scientific meetings ·         Training programs and facilities ·         Collaborative research efforts ·         Position paper development

How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues

Stakeholder engagement at Johnson & Johnson is a constant, ongoing activity occurring at all levels of the organization. On any given day, Johnson & Johnson employees around the world engage with many different stakeholder groups that share Johnson & Johnson’s interests in advancing human health and well-being, stewarding a healthy environment and leading a dynamic and growing business responsibly.

Johnson & Johnson considers a variety of factors before engaging with stakeholders to ensure the most optimal outcome. Some of these factors include:

• The possible alignments of Johnson & Johnson’s goals and values with that of the stakeholder group;
• Johnson & Johnson’s ability to improve health conditions;
• Johnson & Johnson’s ability to improve social, environmental or other conditions;
• The opportunity that Johnson & Johnson and the stakeholder group have to learn from one another;
• The identity, including the composition and values, of the stakeholder group. The potential for the stakeholder group to have a positive impact on other stakeholder groups, Johnson & Johnson’s customers, the public at large and Johnson & Johnson;
• Johnson & Johnson’s ability to effectively participate in the engagement.

In 2013, Johnson & Johnson conducted a Citizenship & Sustainability materiality assessment to identify those topics of greatest interest to both Johnson & Johnson and its stakeholders; specifically, those reflecting Johnson & Johnson‘s significant economic, environmental and social impacts and those that could substantively influence the assessments and decisions of stakeholders. In 2014, the materiality assessment conducted in 2013 was expanded to include input from a larger group of external stakeholders. Over 200 geographically diverse customers/healthcare providers, universities, suppliers, NGOs and investors were invited to provide input to the process. Responses received were aggregated with the external stakeholder responses received in 2013 and a revised ranking of the material issues was generated.

What actions were taken by Johnson & Johnson to promote product quality and safety?

In its 2014 Citizenship and Sustainability Report Johnson & Johnson set the following targets for promoting product quality and safety, based on the company’s approach to materiality – on taking action on what matters, where it matters:

• Promoting the standardization and implementation of Johnson & Johnson’s Quality Policy across the Johnson & Johnson family of companies

True to its decentralized business model, each member of the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies maintains its autonomy to best serve its customers at the local level. However, Johnson & Johnson has integrated its total approach to Quality so that it can speak as one company to all its stakeholders, including health authorities, customers and healthcare professionals worldwide. Four years ago Johnson & Johnson formed the Johnson & Johnson Quality & Compliance (J&J Q&C) organization to ensure the standardization and consistent implementation of its Quality Policy and Quality Policy Standards across the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies. The Johnson & Johnson Quality Policy governs Johnson & Johnson’s operating companies to help ensure they design, make and deliver Johnson & Johnson’s products in a consistent way. A three-phased approach to deploy a common set of Quality Policy Standards was two-thirds complete. Phase 1 deployment completed December 2013; phase 2 completed December 2014; phase 3 was on track for completion by December 2015.

• Promoting compliance through a closed-loop, independent audit approach

A closed-loop, independent audit approach is in place to help ensure facilities and external manufacturing sites operate in compliance to Johnson & Johnson’s Quality Policy and Quality Policy Standards, as well as health authority requirements. Johnson & Johnson has a clear and systematic process in place to remediate compliance gaps and minimize their impact on the customer experience. Results, current status and progress are all reported to business leaders and Johnson & Johnson company governing bodies to help them support their sites’ efforts to achieve compliance in a timely manner. In the first three-year cycle, all of Johnson & Johnson’s facilities have been audited. As part of the closed-loop audit program, all findings are tracked to successful completion. In 2015 the audit program was expanded to include external manufacturing sites, using a phased approach.

• Achieving an integrated and proactive approach to quality, safety and continuous improvement

Johnson & Johnson’s quality and continuous improvement approach includes a Management Review Process that requires each of Johnson & Johnson’s operating company’s executive management to continuously improve quality by reviewing its Quality System every six months to ensure its suitability, adequacy and effectiveness. Independent Quality Review Boards (Quality, Medical, Regulatory representation) within each business unit make decisions independent of commercial considerations to ensure they meet the high-quality standards expected of all Johnson & Johnson companies to do what’s right for Johnson & Johnson’s customers. As a result of these efforts, Johnson & Johnson has achieved an integrated and proactive approach to quality and continuous improvement. For the benefit of its customers, Johnson & Johnson continues to look at quality and safety throughout all phases of product life cycles. Health and safety impacts are assessed for all of Johnson & Johnson’s significant product categories in each business segment throughout the world. In addition, Chief Medical Officers are setting new benchmarks for medical safety and have implemented a consistent global approach for monitoring the use of in-market products.

• Using Johnson & Johnson’s expertise to influence and shape regulations

Johnson & Johnson is exploring new ways to continue to foster its proactive quality culture and use its expertise to engage in leadership roles with external stakeholders to influence and shape regulations, ensuring the Company continues to deliver safe and effective products to improve the lives of its patients and customers. In one example, Johnson & Johnson’s Pharmaceutical segment is piloting segment-wide metrics related to new leading indicators that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is considering to make requirements.

Which GRI indicators/Standards have been addressed?

The GRI indicator addressed in this case is: G4-PR1: Percentage of significant product and service categories for which health and safety impacts are assessed for improvement and the updated GRI Standard is: Disclosure 416-1 Assessment of the health and safety impacts of product and service categories

 

References:

1) This case study is based on published information by Johnson & Johnson, located at the link below. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses. However, we made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the report’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original, please revert to the original on the Global Reporting Initiative’s Sustainability Disclosure Database at the link:

http://database.globalreporting.org/

2) http://www.fbrh.co.uk/en/global-reporting-initiative-gri-g4-guidelines-download-page

3) https://g4.globalreporting.org/Pages/default.aspx

4) https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/gri-standards-download-center/

Note to Johnson & Johnson: With each case study we send out an email to your listed address in request for a comment on this case study. If you have not received such an email please contact us.