Building Sustainable Value for Our Business and Society

KENILWORTH, N.J., September 22, 2021 /3BL Media/ - Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, affirmed its commitment to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) priorities as core to our company and a strong driver of sustainable value for our business and society. In our 2020/2021 ESG Progress Report, we describe our most recent advances toward achieving our ESG priority objectives, as well as our efforts to address the health and economic challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic uncovered and intensified.

We are proud of our work in ESG, which is grounded in and catalyzed by the core values that have guided our mission for more than 130 years: a focus on the health and wellness of people and animals, respect and commitment to our employees and their families, the highest standards of ethics and integrity, and scientific excellence in innovation. Every day, these values guide us as we work to bring hope and help to humanity and animals, through our discovery of important medicines and vaccines, our social responsibility, and the positive impact on health and health equity for all.

Sustaining our high level of ESG performance builds on our company’s legacy of creating long-term value for our business and the communities that surround us. It ensures we apply our global resources and investments to the areas that are most critical. We continue to challenge ourselves to innovate, make ambitious commitments, and engage collaborative partnerships to solve major global issues.

As part of our responsibility to patients, employees, customers, communities, shareholders, and the planet, we strive to:

• Sustain our long-term business success and investments in the discovery and development of innovative medicines and vaccines that address the most critical health care needs for people and animals around the world;
• Develop affordable and accessible product solutions that make the strongest contributions to health and health equity;
• Foster an inclusive workforce that is gender-balanced and embraces employees who reflect diversity in race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, culture, faith, prior military service, ability, and relevant experiences;
• Accelerate achievement of our climate goals and reduce our environmental impact on the health of people and the planet;
• Operate with the highest standards of ethics and integrity, holding ourselves accountable to those we serve through our transparent governance and reporting practices.

Our new ESG report outlines the steps we are taking to secure a better future for all. From expanded patient access to essential therapies, to new Global Diversity & Inclusion goals that will accelerate our success in cultivating a diverse and inclusive workforce, to our recent announcement to achieve carbon neutrality across our operations by 2025, and much more, we are ensuring the company continues to bring value to the world.

We encourage you to learn more about our 2020/2021 efforts and achievements and our broader commitments for the future – in the full ESG Report, available online at Merck.com.