Driving change in human and planetary health

We are taking determined action to prevent serious chronic diseases, focusing on improving urban health for vulnerable communities and preventing childhood overweight and obesity. These efforts are complemented by our Transformational Prevention Unit, which aims to develop scalable and accessible science-based solutions that can predict and pre-empt obesity and its consequences.

Our pioneering urban health programme, Cities for Better Health (CBH), sits at the forefront of our prevention efforts. Now with a broadened scope that aligns with our expansion into new therapy areas, this public-private partnership drives action to prevent serious chronic diseases across a global network of 51 large cities.

The Childhood Obesity Prevention Initiative (COPI) is the latest initiative to come out of CBH. Taking aim at childhood overweight and obesity, it seeks to deliver measurable, community-driven interventions promoting healthy eating and physical activity among children living in underprivileged urban communities.

Guided by a global evidence-based framework, these measures will target children aged between six and 13, aiming to positively affect diet and physical activity, improve health-related quality of life and promote healthy weight. The initiative complements our ongoing collaboration with UNICEF to tackle childhood obesity, where we are focusing on building healthy environments that enable and empower children to eat well and be active.

Millions currently lack access to diabetes care due to high costs or unavailability, often with devastating consequences.

In 2024, we reached 8.4 million vulnerable people with diabetes, a 5% decrease from last year, mainly due to reduced tender sales of human insulins. Despite this, our commitment to addressing health inequity remains unwavering. We are intensifying efforts to make care more affordable for vulnerable populations, improve supply chains and build capacity for diagnosis and disease management.

Key initiatives include Changing Diabetes^® in Children (CDiC), which has reached over 64,000 children with type 1 diabetes in low- and middle-income countries since 2009. Support can include free life-saving medicine, blood glucose monitoring equipment and medical supplies for young people under 25.

In the past year, the programme integrated new digital elements to support access to care in vulnerable settings. This includes the ‘Diabetes Besties’ video series, which helps bridge the gap in patient education for children living with diabetes.

Other initiatives include Partnering for Change, a collaboration with the Danish Red Cross to address health issues in humanitarian crises, and iCARE, an integrated business model aimed at breaking down barriers to diabetes care in Middle Africa and Indonesia. iCARE provides affordable insulin, trains healthcare providers and empowers people with diabetes to improve their health and quality of life.

Our commitment to delivering life-changing medicines to millions of people worldwide compels us to responsibly manage our use of water, energy and resources.

We have made significant progress in reducing our scope 1 and 2 emissions since 2019. However, our scope 3 emissions, which comprise about 96% of our total emissions, continue to rise as we grow to meet increasing demand for our medicines. To achieve net zero emissions by 2045, we have a roadmap to reduce scope 3 emissions by 33% by 2033, using 2024 as the baseline. This target – which covers nearly 70% of our scope 3 emissions in accordance with Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) provisions – is aligned with climate science and has been submitted to the SBTi for validation.

Key decarbonisation measures include switching to low-carbon materials and feedstock across our production network, shifting our distribution model to low-emissions transportation and supporting our suppliers in transitioning to renewable energy. To date, more than 1,800 suppliers have already committed to make the switch. At the same time, we acknowledge that these measures will not be enough to meet our target, and will therefore investigate additional levers – including new technologies – to close this gap.

Additionally, we have sharpened our focus on the impact of our operations on nature and biodiversity, setting an ambition to halt nature loss across our value chain by 2033 and achieving nature-positive status by 2045.

Around the world, millions of people with serious chronic diseases depend on medical devices. Once used, many of these devices end up in landfills or are incinerated, wasting tonnes of valuable materials that could be recycled. As the number of people who rely on our medicines increases, so does our obligation to help address the related environmental issues – including plastic waste.

To this end, we are targeting a 30% reduction in the amount of plastic used per patient by 2033, underpinned by the adoption of a reduce, change and avoid approach across our diabetes and obesity portfolio. We aim to achieve this by transitioning from disposable to reuseable devices and by developing new medicines designed to be administered less frequently.

In addition, we are scaling up our ReMed™ device take-back scheme to avoid plastic waste ending up in landfills. ReMed™ is built on the success of our local take-back pilot programmes, enabling pen users to return their used devices to give the plastic a new life. Four years on, and more than four million returned pens since the launch of the first pilot, the scheme is now active in seven key markets – including Denmark, where we collaborate with other healthcare companies to offer a unique industry-wide solution. The same collaborative model will be piloted in the UK in 2025.

The extraordinary surge in demand for our life-changing medicines in recent years has led to a substantial increase in the number of new hires as we expand our workforce to keep pace. Last year alone, we added 13,030 employees across our global organisation, which now comprises 77,349 colleagues worldwide.

Our focus is on sustainably scaling our organisation; ensuring it is run efficiently, our priorities remain clear and our resources are used optimally. This approach helps safeguard the wellbeing of our expanding workforce and bolsters our reputation as a highly engaged and supportive place to work. Last year, we recorded an overall engagement score of 85% in our annual company survey, which saw a record 90% of all employees participate.

To support the integration of our new colleagues, we aim to equip all new hires with the support and resources they need to onboard and connect with our strong company culture and purpose, which remain essential to our success.

By dedicating additional time and resources to this integration process, we also help to foster an environment that values diverse perspectives and ensures every employee feels included.

Moreover, it is crucial that we maintain a sustainable work-life balance for all our employees. As our business grows, we are carefully monitoring workplace stress levels, targeting a 10% annual reduction in the number of employees reporting symptoms of stress. Although we did not meet this target in 2024, when overall stress levels remained unchanged year-on-year at 13.8%, we will continue to implement new measures to address symptoms of stress at the earliest opportunity.

The foundation of our commitment to supporting the wellbeing and development of our employees is the Novo Nordisk Way; a set of guiding principles constituting the core of our identity and operations. It bridges our company’s past, present and future, steering our strategy, decisions and behaviours. By familiarising new employees with the 10 Essentials that direct the decisions and actions of every Novo Nordisk colleague, we uphold our dedication to the company’s core values of openness, accountability and respect. We employ a distinctive, systematic approach known as facilitation – value audits – to ensure that all employees adhere to these Essentials.