CSR and Sustainability in the News

Amgen announced that 34 science teachers in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico are this year’s recipients of the 19th annual Amgen Award for Science Teaching Excellence. The award recognizes science teachers from kindergarten through twelfth grade who have significantly influenced their students through exemplary science teaching and have achieved results in student learning in communities in which Amgen operates.

BASF has recently donated $100,000 to Children's Specialized Hospital Foundation, based in Mountainside, New Jersey. This donation will aid renovation efforts for the hospital's Toms River, New Jersey, facility. BASF has been a supporter of Children's Specialized Hospital for several years, including a previous donation to construct a therapy gym at the hospital's inpatient rehabilitation center in New Brunswick, New Jersey. In total, the company has donated more than $600,000 to the Children's Specialized Hospital Foundation since 2006.

Bristol-Myers Squibb has awarded five grants totaling $1.5 million to organizations that empower African-American women with Type 2 diabetes to better manage their disease. The grants are part of Together with Diabetes, a five-year $100-million initiative to improve health outcomes with people with Type 2 diabetes in the United States by strengthening patient self-management education, community-based supportive services, and broad-based community mobilization.

Dow Chemical participated in the 4th annual World Economic and Environmental Conference (WEC 2011) in Qingdao, Shandong, Province, China, which is jointly hosted by the UN Industrial Development Organization and the International Energy Conservation Environmental Protection Association. Dow was also presented the "Carbon-Value Innovative Value Award" at the event for its research and exploration of low-carbon solutions.

GlaxoSmithKline (GKS) has made a new offer to supply its rotavirus vaccine, Rotarix, to the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) Alliance at $2.50 per dose as part of the company’s efforts to increase access to medicines and vaccines in the developing world. GSK made the offer in response to a request by UNICEF, which will review the offer. If accepted, large-scale vaccination could begin later this year, according to GSK.

Employees of Roche held Roche Children’s Walk to raise awareness for children in need which involves employees walking to collect donations for daycare centers in Malawi and children’s charities in their own countries. The commitment is supported by Roche, which organizes the walk, and matches donations by employees. The event, held in mid-June, involved more 15,000 employees at more than 100 sites worldwide. To date, the program, which began in 2003, has raised more than CHF 7 million ($8.4 million).

Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of Sanofi , reported that the World Health Organization has granted prequalification to the company’s Typhim Vi polysaccharide typhoid vaccine, making it the first WHO prequalified typhoid vaccine. WHO prequalification is a key step that allows for the procurement of vaccines by UNICEF and other United Nations organizations such as the Pan American Health Organization.

United Way Worldwide launched an effort to recruit one million volunteer readers, tutors, and mentors on June 21, which was designated as a day of action to bring people together to volunteer in their communities. This year, more than 200 communities in all 50 states mobilized volunteers for projects focused on education, income and health.