IHP REVEALS ITS WINNER OF THE CSR INITIATIVE OF THE YEAR 2020

IHP REVEALS ITS WINNER OF THE CSR INITIATIVE OF THE YEAR 2020

LONDON, UK – International Health Partners (IHP) is delighted to announce Accord Healthcare as the winner of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Initiative of the Year. The prize, which rewards best practice in this area across generics, biosimilars and value-added medicine industries, is sponsored by International Health Partners as part of the 2020 Global Generics & Biosimilars Awards.

Accord Healthcare has been recognised for the way it increases patient access to life-changing medicine through targeted initiatives. The judges commended “a well-rounded CSR programme” that seeks to positively impact local communities, communities beyond its customer base, the environment, and staff. It also empowers employees and increases accountability through an employee-led programme with 32 champions across the company’s sites.

“Congratulations to Accord for your excellent and comprehensive CSR programme,” said Adele Paterson, CEO of International Health Partners.

In 2020, six companies entered for the award including Eurofarma, Hemofarm and Stada. The judges awarded second place to Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories for its Community Health Intervention Programme (CHIP), which seeks to help vulnerable communities including immigrant workers, and has integrated a Covid-19 response without compromising initial objectives. Sandoz received a special commendation as an industry leader in social business, for its commitment to affordable pricing during Covid-19.

“It’s great to see generics companies reaching out to underserved communities through the development of some amazing CSR programmes,” added Adele. “It’s even better to see companies reaching out during this time of uncertainty. We’ve had many great entries this year and I hope all companies engaging in this way continue to be encouraged to do so.”

Accord Healthcare has set the pace in several ways, including an increased commitment to CSR during Covid-19. It has launched My Place, a campaign to help champions support local initiatives by setting up regional charitable partnerships. This helped increase community giving to more than £25,000, supporting charities across Europe. Examples of support include setting up a community landing site to support a local Air Ambulance, and donating 5,000 face masks to Cork ARC, a charity supporting cancer patients.

Accord Healthcare has also donated more than 60,000 treatments via IHP in the last year and works toward larger CSR goals. Over the next five years, it commits to reduce energy usage and water consumption by 25% across its manufacturing sites, reduce usage of single-use plastic by 50kg per person, and send less than 1% of waste to landfill. It will work toward carbon neutrality at all owned sites by 2030. Other initiatives include the provision of environmental education and project opportunities to STEM students.