Stakeholder Engagement

Stakeholders play an important role in Baxter's continued success, and the company strives to take into account their varied perspectives. Baxter engages with stakeholders worldwide to share information, better understand their views on the company’s priorities, programs and performance, and determine opportunities to collaborate and to reach common goals.

Much of the company’s stakeholder engagement focuses on key aspects of Baxter’s business and products. For example, Baxter:

Assembles "advisory boards" of patients, clinicians, health practitioners and researchers to gather feedback related to the company's operations and products;
Has a patient advisory council in Illinois, United States, that provides input from home dialysis patients to help Baxter improve products and services for people with end-stage renal disease;
Uses a pharmacy customer advisory board in the United States to identify market trends and their implications for Baxter and its customers;
Assembles clinical advisory boards of preeminent physicians from around the world to guide the company's clinical product development programs; and
Convenes academic leaders and researchers to serve as advisors or consultants on specific sustainability and scientific issues, such as animal welfare.

Baxter also has relationships with numerous organizations that focus on various aspects of sustainability. See the Affiliations and Memberships and Environment, Health and Safety pages for further details.

For example, Ceres is a national network of investors, environmental groups and other public interest organizations working with companies to address sustainability challenges such as global climate change. Baxter has been a member of the Ceres network of companies since 1997, and has committed to work with Ceres on its sustainability performance and disclosure. The Ceres stakeholder team designated to work with Baxter is an independent group of individuals drawn primarily from the Ceres coalition and represents a range of constituencies that have expertise in environmental, social and governance issues.

Feedback on Sustainability Report

Baxter views its sustainability report as a means to engage with stakeholders and seek feedback on the company’s sustainability initiatives. Ceres and its coalition members provided Baxter input on a detailed outline of its 2010 progress updates for each of the company’s nine sustainability priorities during the content development process. Baxter welcomed the opportunity to hear and consider input on report content while still in a position to implement it. In addition, Baxter engaged several outside experts to provide input on the company’s 2009 sustainability report. See examples of feedback provided, and how it was reflected in the 2010 report.

Baxter Sustainability Report Survey

Baxter also welcomes feedback on its sustainability report from all stakeholders. Readers can provide their input through the company’s sustainability report survey. In 2010, Baxter considered input from about 50 survey respondents in creating this report.

Baxter Stakeholder Groups

Examples of Baxter's stakeholder engagement are referenced in the following table and throughout this report.

Baxter Stakeholder Groups
Group: Communities
Description	Channels of Engagement	Example
Baxter conducts business in more than 100 countries and operates manufacturing facilities in 27 countries.	Involvement in community organizations and schools Employee volunteer efforts Collaboration with international health and aid organizations Employee participation on boards and leadership in local and national organizations	Baxter works with humanitarian aid organizations, such as responding to earthquake relief efforts in Japan Baxter employees volunteer as part of Baxter’s Science@Work program, delivering professional development to Chicago Public Schools teachers and biotechnology to students. Baxter’s facilities in Asia Pacific organize activities each year for Make a Meaningful Difference Month to encourage employee volunteerism in local communities.
Group: Customers
Description	Channels of Engagement	Example
Includes healthcare professionals, hospitals/clinics, kidney dialysis centers, medical research centers, nursing homes and rehabilitation centers.	Ongoing customer product training and continuing education programs Participation in professional organizations Customer service and clinical helplines Customer publications and presentations Customer satisfaction surveys Baxter attendance at conferences, such as AACN, ASHP, and CleanMed UK Green Nephrology Group Hospital Plastics Recycling Council	Baxter forms various advisory groups to provide feedback on the company’s products and operations.
Group: Employees
Description	Channels of Engagement	Example
48,000 employees worldwide	Town hall meetings, webcasts, and “Lunch and Learn” opportunities on a variety of topics including health/well-being and public policy Employee surveys Focus groups Baxter Intranet, employee newsletter and other updates/viral communications Works councils, facility health and safety committees, and Global Citizen committees (employee groups that review, discuss and implement community outreach activities at Baxter locations) Executive-level Sustainability Steering Committee Regional Sustainability Steering Committees Code of Conduct Ethics and Compliance Helpline Regional Ethics and Compliance Committees Certificate of Integrity and Compliance Baxter Political Action Committee Global Inclusion Council	The company organizes a Baxter World Environment Week to engage employees worldwide with Baxter’s environmental efforts.
Group: Government, Regulatory, Health Authorities
Description	Channels of Engagement	Example
Examples include City of Chicago, Committee for Proprietary Medicinal Products, European Medicines Valuation Agency, European Commission, European Parliament, ministries of health and environment, health and safety agencies worldwide, State of Illinois, U.S. Center for Medicare/Medicaid, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Food and Drug Administration.	Representation on advisory committees Meetings, conferences and collaborations Communication of studies that demonstrate health and economic benefits of Baxter’s products Promotion of national sustainability programs/initiatives Lobbying activities	Baxter supports legislation/regulation that aligns with the company’s business and sustainability objectives.
Group: Industry Organizations
Description	Channels of Engagement	Example
Includes AdvaMed, BIOTECanada, Biotechnology Industry Organization, Eucomed, EuropaBio, European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations, European Organization for Packaging and the Environment (EUROPEN), European Vaccines Manufacturers, Institute for Supply Management, MEDEC, Plasma Protein Therapeutics Association and numerous physician organizations.	Board and committee meetings Educational campaigns Industry events Collaborative lobbying on issues of mutual concern	Baxter co-sponsored the 2010 Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) International Convention. Baxter supported the inaugural World Primary Immunology Week in April 2011 in concert with global industry and advocacy organizations.
Group: Investors
Description	Channels of Engagement	Example
Nearly 85% of Baxter’s shares are held by institutional investors.	Analyst/investor presentations and meetings Socially responsible investment surveys Quarterly earnings announcements and news releases Webcasts/conference calls Annual meeting Road shows, one-on-one meetings and investor visits to headquarters	Baxter discloses its sustainability performance through this report to demonstrate the business value for investors of sustainability-related initiatives.
Group: Non-Governmental and Other Organizations
Description	Channels of Engagement	Example
Examples include AmeriCares, Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship, Campaign for Greener Healthcare UK, Ceres, Chicago Climate Exchange, Climate Leaders, Compliance and Ethical Leadership Council, The Conference Board, The Conference Board Contributions Council II, Corporate Executive Board, Corporate Voices for Working Families, Council on Foundations, Direct Relief International, Ethics & Compliance Officer Association, Global Reporting Initiative, Grantmakers in Health, Partnership for Quality Medical Donations, Pew Center on Global Climate Change, Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics, and World Health Organization.	Feedback on Baxter’s 2009 Sustainability Report Pre-publication review of sections of Baxter’s 2010 Sustainability Report with Ceres stakeholder (see top of page) Participation on various committees Attendance and presentations at sustainability-related conferences and events	Baxter contributes to various white papers and reports issued by non-governmental organizations.
Group: Patients and Patient-Advocacy Groups
Description	Channels of Engagement	Example
Patients worldwide with cancer, hemophilia, immune disorders, infectious diseases, kidney disease, trauma and other conditions, as well as patient-advocacy groups.	Strategic Philanthropic Giving Product donations and grants Fundraising Patient websites (i.e., There For You)	Baxter supports certain programs through patient-advocacy groups, such as the World Federation of Hemophilia’s (WFH) Global Alliance for Progress (GAP) program, which works to improve the diagnosis and treatment of hemophilia in developing countries.
Group: Suppliers
Description	Channels of Engagement	Example
Baxter works with a broad network of suppliers to provide product inputs and goods and services not used in products.	Supplier Quality Standard and Ethics and Compliance Standards for Baxter Suppliers Sustainability language included in Baxter requests for proposal (RFP) and standard supplier agreement Supplier audits and site visits Environmental and ethics and compliance training and Ethics and Compliance Helpline Lean and Green toolkit and Lean and Energy toolkit Supplier diversity program and Global Supplier Sustainability Program Benchmarking sustainability programs with top suppliers Rx-360 (International Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Consortium)	Baxter collaborates with its suppliers to identify opportunities to reduce environmental impacts, improve suppliers’ environmental performance, and minimize transportation-related emissions.
Group: Universities/Academia
Description	Channels of Engagement	Example
The Center for Corporate Citizenship at Boston College, Cornell University Johnson School of Management, Cranfield University UK, Illinois Institute of Technology, Northwestern University, University of Wisconsin	Forums on sustainability and climate change Information sharing about sustainability with administration, faculty and students Select projects and student research	Baxter opened “Baxter Scientia Japan at Nagoya University” to advance care and treatment of ESRD patients