Climate Change Data

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Community Health
• Workforce Development
• Environmental Sustainability
• Philanthropy

Environmental Achievements

• Reduced controllable energy use by 1.6% year-over-year
• Reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 3.7% year-over-year
• Recycled 8,355 tons of paper, saving 142,040 trees
• Implemented low-cost/no-cost energy and water conservation projects

Social Achievements

• Awarded 15,000th medical grant through UnitedHealthcare Children's Foundation, totaling over $40 million
• Employee contributions and United Health Foundation match totaled $57 million, supporting 23,000 charities
• 1.5 million employee volunteer hours donated
• Contributed over $8.5 million to hurricane relief efforts
• Partnered with Cankdeska Cikana Community College to expand substance abuse treatment access
• Partnered with Recipe for Success to improve access to healthy food in underserved communities
• Released America's Health Rankings Health of Women Who Have Served Report
• Supported telehealth program to connect rural communities with care
• Trained community health workers to improve primary care access in Wyandotte County, Kansas

Governance Achievements

• Not disclosed

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Limited access to healthcare in rural and underserved communities
• Substance abuse issues in the Spirit Lake Dakota community
• Shortage of primary care physicians in Kansas
• Impact of hurricanes on communities and healthcare access

Mitigation Strategies

• Partnerships with community organizations to expand access to care (telehealth, community health workers)
• Funding for substance abuse treatment center in Spirit Lake Dakota community
• Grants to support healthy food access and workforce development
• Hurricane relief efforts and support for continuity of care

Supply Chain Management

Supplier Audits: Not disclosed

Responsible Procurement

• Not disclosed

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks

• Not disclosed

Transition Risks

• Not disclosed

Opportunities

• Not disclosed

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: Null

Certifications: Null

Third-party Assurance: Not disclosed

UN Sustainable Development Goals

• Not disclosed

Not disclosed

Sustainable Products & Innovation

• Not disclosed

Awards & Recognition

• Fortune's World's Most Admired Companies
• Dow Jones Sustainability Indices
• The Civic 50
• Project HOPE Global Health Award
• Newsweek's Green Rankings
• Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles
• Military Friendly Employer

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Leading in the Development of the Next-Generation Health System
• Our People and Culture
• Responsible Business Practices
• Environmental Health

Environmental Achievements

• 3.87% year-over-year carbon reduction
• Secured over 8.2 million kWh of renewable energy through energy supply contracts at 16 facilities, offsetting 100% of Scope 2 emissions.
• OptumRx introduced fully sustainable medication packaging, resulting in annual savings of 3M+ pounds of carbon dioxide, 27M+ gallons of water, and 4M kilowatt hours of energy.

Social Achievements

• Launched Diverse Scholars Initiative, providing over $23 million in scholarships since 2007.
• Launched Special Needs Initiative, resulting in 23% reduction in claims rework, 8% reduction in inpatient visits, and $8M in out-of-pocket savings.
• Launched Stride program to improve employee health and wellness.
• Donated more than $30 million in prescription medications in Kansas since 2008.
• Invested $500M+ in new affordable housing since 2011.

Governance Achievements

• Enhanced governance policies to align with best practices.
• Maintained strong shareholder practices.
• Implemented a comprehensive Compliance and Ethics program.

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Rising healthcare costs in the U.S.
• Shortage of healthcare workers.
• Escalating and unsustainable cost of care.
• Challenges in selecting the best site of care for patients.
• Difficulty navigating the healthcare system for patients.
• Need to improve health literacy.
• Need to address social determinants of health.

Mitigation Strategies

• Pursuing sustainable universal coverage.
• Collaborating to achieve market-leading affordability.
• Achieving world-class consumer and physician satisfaction.
• Generating individual health records with personalized recommendations.
• Reinventing healthcare delivery, transforming pharmacy care services, accelerating digital technologies, advancing consumer-responsive benefits, and distinguishing health banking and payment services.
• Strengthening consumer engagement, transparency, and incentives.
• Optimizing sites of care with Centers of Excellence.
• Providing navigation and decision support tools.
• Developing programs to improve chronic disease management.
• Changing behaviors through prevention and wellness incentives.
• Investing in affordable housing and addressing food insecurity.

Supply Chain Management

Supplier Audits: 500 suppliers annually (approximately 30% of annual spend)

Responsible Procurement

• Supplier Code of Conduct incorporated into contractual business agreements.
• Supplier Performance Management Program monitors supplier performance on service delivery, quality, and value.

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Sustainable Products & Innovation

• OptumRx sustainable packaging

Awards & Recognition

• Dow Jones Sustainability Index member
• Civic 50 recipient
• JUST Capital member of the JUST 100
• Newsweek Green Rankings Top 10%
• National Business Group on Health Platinum award
• CDP Climate 2019 – B Score
• Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index
• Disability Equality Index
• INROADS Frank C. Carr Award recipient
• Viqtory Military Friendly Employer
• 2019 CPA-Zicklin Index Trendsetter
• Fortune’s World's Most Admired Companies No. 1 rank in insurance and managed care sector

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Climate Change
• Environmental Health
• Responsible Business Practices
• Our People and Culture
• Helping to Create a Modern, High-Performing Health System

Environmental Achievements

• Reduced 2017 Scope 1 and Scope 2 (Market-Based) GHG emissions by 9.51% in 2020 compared to 2019.
• Implemented approximately 756.44 MWh in energy-efficiency measures, reducing annual operational costs by over $77,000.
• Procured 5.15% of annual energy use from renewable sources.
• Achieved 100% renewable energy for 41 sites, offsetting 100% of Scope 2 GHG emissions for those sites.

Social Achievements

• Not disclosed

Governance Achievements

• Board-level oversight of climate-related issues through the Public Policy Strategies and Responsibility Committee.
• Incentives for management of climate-related issues, including monetary rewards for emissions reduction targets and supply chain engagement.

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Increased cost of raw materials due to increases in fuel/energy rates.
• Increased likelihood and severity of wildfires impacting facilities and business operations.
• Aging utility infrastructure leading to potential impact on business operations.
• Supply chain disruptions due to extreme weather events and natural disasters.

Mitigation Strategies

• Analyzing the deregulated energy market to develop electricity and natural gas procurement strategies, resulting in annual savings and cost avoidance.
• Incorporating environmental management into the Real Estate Services platform and collaborating with Enterprise Resiliency & Response to monitor weather-related risks.
• Utilizing a risk-based business continuity planning process, including risk scenario-based exercises, written contingency plans, and a 24x7 incident response center.
• Deploying investments in backup emergency power systems at critical sites.
• Engaging suppliers and business partners to evaluate distribution and logistics and reduce the environmental impact of the supply chain.
• Assessing sustainability practices of critical suppliers to identify supplier policies and goals for waste and carbon reduction.

Supply Chain Management

Supplier Audits: 500+ Tier 1 suppliers annually (approximately 30% of annual spend)

Responsible Procurement

• UHG Code of Conduct
• Formal review of sustainability practices of most critical suppliers

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks

• Extreme weather events and natural disasters
• Wildfires

Transition Risks

• Increased cost of raw materials due to increases in fuel/energy rates
• Changes in regulations

Opportunities

• Deregulated energy procurement opportunities
• Increased resiliency and business continuity, decreased operating costs

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: Greenhouse Gas Protocol

Certifications: Green-e

Third-party Assurance: AA1000AS

UN Sustainable Development Goals

• Not disclosed

Not disclosed

Sustainable Products & Innovation

• Not disclosed

Awards & Recognition

• Not disclosed

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Health Equity
• Expanding Access to Care
• Improving Health Care Affordability
• Enhancing the Health Care Experience
• Achieving Better Health Outcomes
• Building Healthier Communities
• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
• Pay Equity
• Employee Health and Well-Being
• Training and Development
• Reducing Carbon Emissions
• Reducing Waste
• Water Management
• Corporate Governance
• Compliance and Ethics
• Data Privacy and Cybersecurity
• Supply Chain Management
• Supplier Diversity

Environmental Achievements

• Removed all single-use plastic and paper products in the Asia-Pacific region, preventing over 68,000 pounds of waste in a landfill annually.
• Optum Tech team avoided 600,000 kilograms of waste by repurposing or recycling electronics.

Social Achievements

• 28M virtual care visits delivered to UnitedHealthcare members in 2021.
• 2M+ in-home clinical visits through HouseCalls program in 2021.
• 14.4M UnitedHealthcare members access care from physicians in value-based arrangements.
• $800M invested in affordable housing since 2011.
• Grew Optum Health’s network to 300K+ behavioral health providers serving 37M individuals.
• $3.8B+ spent with diverse suppliers over the last decade.
• 35% lower costs for Medicare Advantage members served by Optum Health physicians in value-based arrangements.
• Closed approximately 110 million gaps in care.

Governance Achievements

• Enhanced board oversight of the company’s ESG agenda.
• Formed the Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Office and an Advancing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Board.

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Reduced level of preventive care during the pandemic.
• Fragmented health care system difficult to navigate for many.
• High health costs and inadequate access.
• Long-standing disparities in care.
• Climate change poses risks to human health.
• High rates of emotional exhaustion, depression and anxiety among health care workers.

Mitigation Strategies

• Increased in-home visits and member outreach activities.
• Advancing value-based care models, optimizing site of service and working to lower prescription drug costs.
• Expanding telehealth access, increasing provider incentives to complete preventive care and increasing access to in-home care.
• Investing in and sourcing 100% of our global electricity demand with renewable sources by 2030.
• Reducing paper usage and advocating for the reduction of paper across the health system.
• Automating processes, investing in clinical platforms that remove administrative barriers, and simplifying workflows at the point of care.
• Providing 24/7 access to virtual behavioral coaching.

Supply Chain Management

Supplier Audits: 443/year

Responsible Procurement

• Supplier Code of Conduct
• Climate risk assessment

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks

• Air pollution
• Extreme heat
• Intensifying wildfires

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: SASB

Certifications: WELL

Third-party Assurance: Upstream Sustainability Services, Jones Lang LaSalle IP, Inc

Awards & Recognition

• Fortune’s 2022 World’s Most Admired Companies list
• Dow Jones Sustainability World and North America Indices
• America’s most community-minded companies by the Civic 50
• Forbes’ list of 2021 World’s Best Employers
• Best Places to Work for LGBTQ Equality by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index
• 2021 Brillante Award for Corporate Excellence by Prospanica
• Best places to work for disability inclusion by the Disability Equality Index®
• Military Friendly® Employers list

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Building a modern, high-performing health system
• Healthy environment
• Our people and culture
• Responsible business practices

Environmental Achievements

• 24% reduction in inbound paper
• Completed our first assessment of scope 3 emissions

Social Achievements

• 40% of top management positions are held by women
• 39K employees participated in Employee Resource Groups, up 17,500 from 2021
• 75% positive employee experience score, up from 72% in 2021
• $100M scholarship program launched to help build a diverse health workforce
• Conducted our first Human Rights Impact Assessment
• 2.2M in-home health assessments provided to older adults, including 670,000 in low-income communities
• $0 copays initiated for five lifesaving drugs for fully insured commercial plan members

Governance Achievements

• 33% female independent directors on our board
• Named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World and North America Indices since 1999

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Overall emissions increased in 2022 due to operations and square footage of acquired businesses and increased employee return to work sites.
• Rising health care costs
• Wide health disparities
• Fragmented health care experience for many
• High costs of biologic drugs
• Climate change impacts on human health
• Extreme weather events impacting customers, members, employees, and providers
• Scope 3 emissions representing the bulk of overall emissions

Mitigation Strategies

• Roadmap to increase energy efficiency and pursue generation of new renewable energy
• Implementing our decarbonization strategy
• Supporting the development of additional renewable energy sources and directly generating renewable energy
• Initiating energy efficiency improvements at key sites
• Eliminating out-of-pocket expenses for five critical medications
• Making low-cost insulin available through the Optum Store
• Embracing biosimilar medications
• Covering three anti-inflammatory biosimilars
• Developing plans to strategically enable us to achieve our goals
• Assessing the full breadth of direct and indirect emissions
• Supporting the global energy transition
• Developing new contracting standards
• Completing scope 3 assessment to identify opportunities for action
• Engaging suppliers to track, report, and commit to reducing their carbon footprint
• Updating procurement policies, employee and supplier trainings, and other procurement practices
• Weather risk mitigation plan with operational redundancies
• Identifying critical sites susceptible to utility outages and weather-related impacts and implementing backup emergency systems
• Providing support during extreme weather events (e.g., early refills, easing restrictions on out-of-network providers)
• Transitioning to a digital-first health system with less paper usage
• Piloting new approaches to long-term waste management and prevention
• Reducing water usage in water-stressed regions

Supply Chain Management

Supplier Audits: 498/year

Responsible Procurement

• Supplier Code of Conduct
• Sustainable procurement strategy informed by supply chain ESG risk assessment
• Engaging suppliers to gather qualitative and GHG emissions data

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks

• Extreme weather events

Transition Risks

• Regulatory changes, market shifts

Opportunities

• Development of energy-efficient products

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: SASB

Certifications: HITRUST

Third-party Assurance: Independent certified public accountants

Sustainable Products & Innovation

• Surest health plans
• Integrated benefits card

Awards & Recognition

• Fortune’s 2023 “World’s Most Admired Companies” list
• One of Fortune’s Most Innovative Companies for 2023
• Forbes’ list of America’s 500 Best Large Employers for 2022
• Named one of America’s most community-minded companies by Points of Light

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Employee Experience
• Energy Consumption
• Carbon Emissions
• Water Use
• Waste Management

Climate Goals & Targets

Supply Chain Management

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities