Our people

Following the science of climate change

Jennifer Zachary, executive vice president and general counsel, who also leads safety, security and the environment, on our effort to help reduce the impacts of climate change

April 26, 2021

It’s been six years since the Paris Agreement on climate change, and the science is telling us we all need to do more to tackle the climate crisis.

At Merck, we’re doing our part by reducing our carbon footprint to help prevent the worst impacts of climate change.

We’ve just announced a major initiative to achieve carbon neutrality across our operations by the year 2025 and to reach a 30% reduction in value chain emissions – primarily emitted by our suppliers – by 2030.

We are pursuing renewables to reduce our emissions by signing on to three new Virtual Power Purchase Agreements, adding clean electricity to the grid – which helps us to achieve this goal.

Our initiatives — whether health care or climate — will always be driven by science. It’s how we’ve operated in our decades-long work in environmental sustainability. We’re fully committed to the goals of the Paris Agreement to reduce demand for energy and minimize greenhouse gas emissions, and we’re doing our part to help achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which include taking urgent action to combat climate change.

We’re always proud to bring innovative medicines to market, because that’s what we do best. All of us understand that health and climate are linked. Acting on climate change is another way we show how we contribute to a healthier world – because climate change affects the social and environmental determinants of health, such as clean air, safe drinking water, sufficient food and secure shelter.

It’s how we operate responsibly, a commitment that underpins our social justice efforts, our stand against systemic racism and for health equity and economic inclusion.

We’ll always be pioneering ways to make our medicines and vaccines more sustainable so we can preserve and protect the planet – and those that live on it – for generations to come. It’s an individual responsibility and just as important, a collective responsibility. We believe it’s always better to be part of the solution.

If you want to learn more about our Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) efforts, you can visit our Corporate Responsibility Report.