The Rising Importance of Social Value for Life Sciences
5 minutes to read
The betterment of society is inherent to the life sciences sector's pursuit of developing treatments that save and enrich lives. However, intentionally pursuing social value offers companies multiple benefits beyond this core purpose. These include aiding talent recruitment and retention in a fiercely competitive labour market, elevating brand trust and public perception, promoting diversity, equality and inclusion and supporting employee health and wellbeing.
Looking at talent recruitment and retention a 2022 survey of 2,000 workers found 76% desire working for positively impactful companies. Over half would contemplate resignation if employer values misalign with their own.
Many of the larger, established players in the life sciences sector are responding by elevating commitments to increase their social impact. For example, GSK is investing heavily in UK STEM education equity programmes. One flagship initiative aims to provide STEM mentoring to approximately 4,000 young people aged 11-25 from under-represented backgrounds over the next three years.
In addition, it runs a GSK “Science in the Summer” programme that offers free, hands-on STEM learning to students, again from traditionally under-represented groups. To achieve this, GSK regularly partner with several organisations including STEM Learning and the Association for Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers.
This expanding social focus is likewise shaping real estate decisions – from selecting locations that enable community engagement and improve the lives of local communities to designing inclusive and healthy workplaces.
Taking a broader look at the life sciences sector, an analysis of the top 20 global life sciences companies reveals the following actions and associated impacts for real estate:
*The social component of ESG or social value covers all the ways companies interact with their employees, suppliers, customers and the communities in which they operate. In the context of the built environment, social value is created when buildings, places and infrastructure support environmental, economic, and social well-being.
Example actions
- Inclusive product design from start to finish.
- Focus on R&D projects that advance health equity.
- Boost clinical trial diversity.
- Setting robust ethical standards in research and development.
- Assembling diverse R&D teams that reflect the communities they serve.
- Strategically investing and partnering with innovative companies that were started by underrepresented founders.
- Supplier management to ensure that contract research organisations adhere to social policies.
Example impacts on real estate.
- Locating clinical trials in areas with more diverse populations.
- Designing inclusive R&D facilities.
- Strategically locating labs and offices in cities with a large diverse population to tap into a wider talent pool.
Exemplar
Pfizer are evolving how they partner with clinical trial sites by choosing locations in communities that represent a diverse pool of potential participants.
| TRAINING AND SKILLS DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT |
Example actions
- Invest in projects helping underserved local communities.
- Skills training partnerships.
- Local apprenticeships and internships.
- Scholarships and fellowships.
- Early talent outreach programmes.
- Engaging with local suppliers, with an emphasis on broadening the supplier base to include more minority-owned businesses.
Example impacts on real estate.
- Seeking locations that foster community connections and social impact, for example via public space amenities, events programming and events space, employment opportunities, affordable housing, clean transportation, and public safety.
- Partnering with landlords to support social value creation.
Exemplar
AstraZeneca supports the Cambridge community in a variety of ways including through its Charity of the Year programme, which involves supporting local charities such as Jimmy’s Cambridge, the city’s first year-round night shelter. The company also mentor’s individuals in science and business, with over 100 of its employees serving as STEM volunteers in Cambridge. Additionally, AstraZeneca collaborates with the Cambridge Science Centre, the Cambridge Festival, and the Cambridge Judge Business School to support initiatives that aim to inspire and cultivate future talent.
Example actions
- Differential pricing.
- Developing or licensing generic versions of branded drugs once patents expire.
- Value-based agreements which tie drug prices to patient outcomes.
- Non-profit partnerships and other philanthropic ventures to distribute treatments to underserved communities.
- Expanding access and affordability of treatments globally, with a particular focus on underserved markets and low and middle-income countries.
- Enhanced patient support services and education programmes.
- Invest in the research, development, and delivery of treatments for healthcare challenges faced by underserved communities.
Example impacts on real estate.
- Locating new operations in low and middle-income countries.
Exemplar
Johnson & Johnson was ranked 2nd globally in the 2022 Access to Medicine Index that ranks the world’s top pharma companies based on progress in making medicines available and accessible to low and middle-income nations. It is expanding its network of Satellite Centres for Global Health Discovery. The centres are designed to advance the early-stage discovery and exploratory science needed to address diseases that disproportionately impact the world’s most vulnerable people.
Example actions
- Purpose-driven culture and values.
- Strong ethical conduct and human rights policies.
- Setting diversity, equality, and inclusivity targets.
- Investing in employee development, diversity, and inclusion programmes.
- Comprehensive benefits coverage to keep employees healthy.
Example impacts on real estate.
- Work environments that are designed to support and promote employee health, well-being, and engagement.
- Flexible work options.
- Onsite health services, wellness programmes and amenities.
- Inclusive work environments equipped for different needs.
- Fit-out and design that reflects corporate brand and purpose.
Exemplar
MSD’s new HQ in London is being designed to the highest standards of sustainability. The building will include an education centre, a publicly accessible auditorium and a new public realm. It will also include a biophilic zone which will give visibility of plants from every workspace.
As the wide range of examples show, strategies to increase social impact are fundamentally shaping decision-making across all aspects of leading life sciences companies, from R&D to talent strategies. Real estate serves as a critical enabler, whether through purposeful workplace design and fit-out or strategic location planning.