CVS Caremark’s 2011 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Report provides an overview of the company’s social and environmental commitments, and offers progress updates on the company’s CSR-related initiatives and goals. There may be certain events or activities referenced in this report that were initiated in 2011 but came to fruition in early 2012. Our 2011 CSR report is our fifth annual publication of this type.
We plan to continue reporting on an annual basis.
Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)
CVS Caremark recognizes the value of universally accepted standards for this type of voluntary reporting. The global Reporting Initiative (GRI), one of the most accepted frameworks in the world, served as a guide in determining content and performance metrics to include in the 2011 Report. We have provided an index of the GRI standard disclosures, including performance indicators, in this report. It can be found on the GRI Index page. Based on the criteria for GRI G3 guidelines and Application Levels, the 2011 CVS Caremark CSR Report meets requirements for Level B. More information on GRI is available at www.globalreporting.org.
Materiality Assessment
As part of this year’s reporting process, we commissioned a third party to help us identify and prioritize the company’s material issues.
The process for determining materiality involved gathering inputs from various internal and external sources, and then evaluating and prioritizing the issues found based on their relevance and importance to the company and significance to stakeholders. The sources used in this process included:
- Internal documents and plans that articulated the company’s business objectives and strategies, policies, programs and risk factors
- Communications prepared by the company for external release
- Feedback and insights from employees and customers
- Shareholder communications and any actions filed against the company
- Traditional media coverage
- Online and social media outlets
- Industry trade groups
- General trending issues of relevance
After reviewing these sources, we compiled a matrix of issues and prioritized each one based on the following criteria:
- The importance of the issue to and potential impact on CVS Caremark
- The importance of the issue to and potential impact on our stakeholders
- The amount of reasonable control CVS Caremark has over a particular issue
Based on the assessment and a review of the GRI guidelines, the material issues of greatest importance to CVS Caremark and its stakeholders, over which the company has a reasonable level of control with respect to its related business activities, fall into the following areas: evolving role of health care, privacy practices, governance practices, stakeholder engagement, political contributions and public policy, management of the company’s carbon footprint and meeting customer needs.
Reporting Year
CVS Caremark fiscal year 2011 (January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011), unless otherwise noted.
Information Integrity
CVS Caremark management is responsible for the preparation and integrity of the information in this report. The metrics and goals in this report are established and measured by the groups responsible for achieving them. Through a system of internal controls, including a review process involving internal subject matter experts, we believe this report accurately and fairly represents our CSR activities, programs and results for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2011. The report was reviewed and approved by members of CVS Caremark senior management. However, this report has not been externally audited or verified by an independent third party, and at this time, the Company does not have a policy for external assurance of its CSR Report.
Your Feedback
This report is an important tool for communicating our corporate social responsibility performance and progress. Your feedback is important to us as we continue to look for ways to improve our reporting and provide you with the information you need. Please submit your feedback to CSR@cvs.com.
Preparation of this Report
CVS Caremark
Corporate Communications Department
One CVS Drive Woonsocket, RI 02895
401-765-1500
CSR@cvs.com
This report contains certain forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. For these statements, the company claims the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The company strongly recommends that you become familiar with the specific risks and uncertainties outlined under the caption “Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements” in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011 and in its reports filed quarterly on Form 10-Q.
