AstraZeneca Corporate Responsibility 2003 …AstraZeneca Corporate Responsibility Summary Report 2003 03 For more information visit astrazeneca.com We also plan to publish ourfirstUS

Corporate Responsibility Summary Report 2003

Delivering our values

At the heart of our commitment to corporate responsibility areAstraZeneca’s core values. Our continuing challenge is to ensurethat these high level values are translated into consistent andappropriate actions and behaviour worldwide.

This Summary Report is designed to capture the main points of ourapproach to managing this challenge and to present a brief overviewof our 2003 performance in the three areas of sustainabledevelopment: economic, environmental and social responsibility.

Detailed statistics and further information about our policies,principles and commitment are provided on our website,astrazeneca.com, which also provides a feedback facility.

AstraZeneca core values:

> Integrity and high ethical standards> Respect for the individual and diversity> Openness, honesty, trust and support for each other> Leadership by example at all levels

Chief Executive’s message 01Our commitment 02Our goals 04Economic performance 06Environmental performance 08Social performance 10Performance summary 16

AstraZeneca in brief> One of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies> Turns ideas into innovative, effective medicines for

important areas of healthcare> Powerful product range including many world leaders> Spends over $14 million each working day on research

and development > Corporate HQ London, UK; R&D HQ Södertälje,

Sweden; strong presence in key US market> Sales in over 100 countries> Manufacturing in 20 countries> Research in 7 countries> Over 60,000 employees worldwide

AstraZeneca Corporate Responsibility Summary Report 2003For more information visit astrazeneca.com

01AstraZeneca Corporate Responsibility Summary Report 2003For more information visit astrazeneca.com

Chief Executive’s messageRespect for the individual and diversityWe value the different backgrounds andskills that our global workforce brings toour business and are committed toensuring that diversity is appropriatelysupported in the workplace – at all levels.At the end of 2003, we had around 28diversity programmes in place within theGroup and a number of awarenessraising initiatives took place during theyear, mainly within R&D and our USbusiness. Further work is needed toensure that the benefits of diversity arefully recognised across the Group.

Openness, honesty, trust and supportfor each otherOur Code of Conduct has been revisedand re-published during the year and aformal, confidential helpline procedure is now in place for employees wishing to raise concerns on integrity issues orreport inappropriate behaviour. We alsoconcentrated on reviewing and refiningour corporate governance controls andreporting procedures to ensure that weare meeting new laws and regulatoryrequirements. This includes the ability to meet the appropriate executivecertification requirements of theSarbanes-Oxley legislation in the USand the changes introduced in 2003 by the revised Combined Code onCorporate Governance of the UKFinancial Reporting Council.

Integrity and high ethical standardsDuring the year, we added sales andmarketing practices to the Priority ActionPlan to ensure they continue to get theappropriate high level of attention andthat we develop ways of improving ourglobal reporting in this area. Thesettlement of the Zoladex investigationin the US (see page 13) strengthenedour commitment to deliver highstandards of ethical behaviour in themarketing of our medicines worldwide.

Leadership by example at all levelsGood corporate responsibility dependson the right level of commitment from all employees, led by the AstraZenecaBoard, who approve the strategicdirection, and our Senior Executive Teamand management, who are accountablefor the development and implementation

of appropriate programmes in their areasof responsibility. An important step in2003 was the inclusion in our annualcompliance report by senior managementto the AstraZeneca Board (the ‘letter ofassurance’) of a requirement to developlocal CR implementation plans.

Our business is focused on the discoveryand development of life-saving and life-enhancing medicines. Historically,the markets for these therapies havebeen in developed countries but as theeconomies of developing countriesgrow, new markets for our prescriptionmedicines emerge. Our strategy forexpansion in these emerging markets isdesigned to ensure that through timelyinvestment, we are well placed to meetthe needs of patients in these countries.As part of this, we are committed toplaying a role in targeting improvedtreatment of the highest prioritydiseases. In June 2003, we opened our new state of the art laboratories in Bangalore, India. Work there isdedicated to finding the first newtreatment in 40 years for tuberculosis,one of the world’s greatest causes ofdeath from infectious disease.AstraZeneca will make any treatmentinvented in these laboratories availablefor clinical development and supply tothe world’s poorest countries at lowprices in partnership with governments,healthcare systems, internationalagencies and others – all of whom have apart to play in bringing essential medicinesto the patients who need them.

Good corporate responsibility enhancesthe benefits of our medicines, the qualityof our financial performance and thesignificance of our contributions to ourlocal communities. I am committed tothe high standards necessary for ourcontinued business success and formaintaining the value of our contributionto society.

Sir Tom McKillopChief Executive

Our reputation is built on the trust andconfidence of all our stakeholders and is one of AstraZeneca’s most valuableassets. Along with our commitment to competitiveness and performance,we will continue to be led by our corevalues to achieve sustainable success.

Stakeholder expectations are constantlyevolving and we continuously monitor ourinternal and external environment forissues relating to our business that affector concern society today. We use a formalrisk assessment process to identify boththe opportunities and the challenges thatthese issues present, and to plan theactions needed to ensure our response isappropriate and consistent. Our currentPriority Action Plan is shown on page 4.

Corporate responsibility (CR) is not anoptional extra – it must be integral to all that we do. Our strategy to include considerations of corporateresponsibility across all our activities isbeginning to take effect. In particular,relevant aspects are being increasinglyintegrated into our risk assessments,scenario planning, training, purchasingpractices and market access strategy. In2003, we made some good progress,but recognise that there is more work todo to ensure that a sense of corporateresponsibility is consistently embeddedthroughout the Group and activelyinterpreted and managed at a local level.

Because corporate responsibility spansa wide range of issues, they cannot all be covered in this brief introduction.However, I will highlight under each of our core values some areas ofprogress and some where further workis needed. More information is availablein this Summary Report and on ourwebsite, astrazeneca.com.

02 AstraZeneca Corporate Responsibility Summary Report 2003For more information visit astrazeneca.com

Our commitmentMaking it happenDuring 2003, we continued to drive the integration of CR into businessprocesses and consolidate theframework for local implementation of our global standards to ensureconsistent and appropriate behaviourworldwide.

Senior managers throughout theCompany are accountable for thedevelopment and implementation of CR programmes in their areas ofresponsibility. Based on the global CRpolicy, these programmes are requiredto take account of regional, site orfunctional priorities and objectives. Our CR Management Standards helpmanagers to understand the issues,outline the framework for managing our commitments and provide advice on putting the standards into practice.

The size and scale of AstraZeneca andits business mean that developmentssuch as these take time to embed. LocalCR committees in the US and Swedenhave been established and one isplanned for 2004 in the UK, representingthree cornerstones of our globalpresence. These cross-functionalcommittees have an ongoing role forsetting, monitoring and reviewing CRprogrammes that are relevant andappropriate for their areas. They willwork closely with the Global CRCommittee to share best practice andensure that local and global objectivesare aligned.

We plan to build and extend theseactivities to ensure that CR isconsistently embedded at a local level throughout the Group.

Improving understandingCommunication is essential tosuccessful CR integration. We continueto communicate our CR objectives tobuild awareness and commitment. Wehave made progress but more workneeds to be done. Plans include tailoredcommunications focused on improvingthe understanding of what corporateresponsibility means in practice for alllevels of the organisation. In particular, intoday’s demanding world, we need tocontinue to promote an understandingthat CR implementation does notnecessarily depend on extra resourcebut on the consistent adoption andintegration of CR considerations intoeveryday business thinking.

To help build corporate skills in CRmanagement, we are in the process ofintegrating CR into our LeadershipDevelopment programmes. Thisincludes using case studies todemonstrate the importance of goodCR performance, to raise awarenessand to stimulate discussion of how we can all contribute to delivering our values.

We believe that good corporateresponsibility (CR) performancedepends on the effective manage-ment of the economic, environmentaland social priorities of sustainabledevelopment. This can only be achieved through the successfulintegration of CR considerations into all of our business activities.

Our Global CR Committee leads thedevelopment of CR managementframeworks. The Committee reports toDame Bridget Ogilvie, Non-ExecutiveDirector with responsibility foroverseeing CR in AstraZeneca.

Identifying the prioritiesWe use a risk assessment process tohelp us identify the opportunities andchallenges associated with ourcorporate responsibility. Our CorporateResponsibility Priority Action Plan (setout on page 4) provides a frameworkfor managing these in line with our corevalues, including defined objectives and,where possible, appropriate keyperformance indicators (KPIs).

This year, we have added sales andmarketing practices and access tomedicines to the Plan and we continueto monitor our internal and externalenvironment for emerging issues thatmay require attention and inclusion inthe future.

AstraZeneca Corporate Responsibility PolicyThrough the provision of innovative newmedicines, AstraZeneca improves humanhealth and enhances people’s lives. Ouractivities impact not just on the patients we serve and our investors but also on our employees and on society as a whole. Our continued long term success dependson our ability to integrate successfully ourfinancial obligations with our social andenvironmental responsibilities.

AstraZeneca aims to set, promoteand maintain high standards of corporateresponsibilityworldwide which will ensure that:

> as a minimum, we meet nationaland internationalregulations

> safety, health andenvironmentalconsiderationscontinue to be a fundamentalcompanyconsideration

> we make a positivecontribution to thecommunities inwhich we operate

> the individuality,diverse talent andcreative potentialthat everyemployee brings to the business are fully valued and respected

> sales andmarketingpractices arereputable

> ethical issues aredealt with in aneffective andtransparent way

> our CRcommitments are expanded by encouragingsuppliers to embracestandards similarto our own


We also plan to publish our first US CRReport in 2004 which will outline thecommitment and progress to date inthat country.

Measuring progress Measuring our performance is essentialto understanding the progress we aremaking and identifying potential areasfor improvement. We have for some timehad processes in place for monitoringour economic, environmental, safetyand health performance. More recently,we have been focusing on developingKPIs in other areas of socialperformance. These are listed in thePriority Action Plan and discussedfurther in the narrative of this report and on our website. Establishing KPIs in some areas of social responsibility is proving to be a challenge for industryin general and AstraZeneca is noexception. We are continually exploringthe ways in which we can meaningfullybenchmark our performance.

Auditing complianceAn important step in 2003 was theinclusion of a requirement to developlocal CR implementation plans in ourannual compliance report by seniormanagement to the AstraZeneca Board (the ‘letter of assurance’).

Alongside this, we are building on theexperience of our long standing safety,health and environment auditprogramme to include additional areasof CR, such as purchasing principles,labour practices and communitysupport.

Stakeholder dialogueWe encourage constructive dialoguewith all our stakeholders and others whohave an interest in our activities.Feedback opportunities are integratedinto our employee communicationprogrammes to help us identify areas ofboth satisfaction and concern. We holdface-to-face meetings with investors(mainstream and ethical investorgroups). Our site-based communityliaison staff ensure that our localcommunities – including localcommittees and politicians – are keptinformed of our business activities andplans and given the opportunity to raiseany concerns. The regular contact wehave with customers in our day-to-daybusiness activities provides them with opportunities to comment on CR issues.

During 2003, our CR Committee inSweden held dialogue sessions withinternal and external stakeholders intheir country to help them understandbetter the challenges of their local CRimplementation programmes. Issuesraised by stakeholders included supplychain management, pharmaceuticals in the environment and the extent towhich our core values are reflected inour behaviour and strategic decision-making. The Swedish CR Committee is currently updating the Swedish CRAction Plan in the light of thesediscussions.

In the US, the CR Committee hasinterviews with key stakeholdersscheduled for the first quarter of 2004,the outcomes of which will help shapethe US Priority Action Plan.

Our rolling programme of AstraZenecasite audits included 14 in 2003, 11 ofwhich covered CR, helping us to monitor progress and identify areas for improvement in the consistentadoption of our standards. Of the 11sites audited, five were marketingcompanies, four were manufacturingsites and two were research facilities. In particular, the audits highlighted theneed to continue to support managerswith clear guidance on what is requiredof them in these early days of local CRimplementation.

A new CR Audit Handbook that providesguidance and support in the new areasfor our internal auditors was publishedduring the year and we are now workingto build on this with further guidelinesand training to ensure an appropriatefocus on CR in all of our audits.

Additionally, AstraZeneca’s GroupInternal Audit function works to review,among other things, compliance withlaws, regulations and Group policies.During 2003, a number of reviews wereconducted and reported to the AuditCommittee of the Board. Areas coveredincluded our Code of Conduct and ourCode of Sales and Marketing Practices.

Dame Bridget OgilvieNon-Executive Director with responsibility foroverseeing CR in AstraZeneca“AstraZeneca continues to make progress inthe integration of CR into all its activities.Staying in tune with the changingexpectations of its stakeholders is an everpresent challenge.”

IssueIntegration of CR into all activities

Corporate governance

Access to medicines

Sales and marketing practices

Compliance

Human rights

Diversity/equal opportunity

Use of laboratory animals

Animal welfare

Suppliers

Community support

Safety, health and environment(SHE)

ObjectiveCR considerations are included in all relevant strategies and decisions

Deal with all stakeholders with the highest ethical standards

To consider access to medicines when defining pricing andmarket access strategies for new brands

High ethical standards of sales and marketing in all countries of operation

Global consistency of implementation of CR standardsincluding new governance laws and regulations

Ensure that we consistently live up to our core values and ourcommitment to the principles of the UN Declaration of HumanRights worldwide

Ensure diversity is appropriately supported in our globalworkforce and reflected in our leadership

Minimise the number of animals used

Ensure high standards of care for those that are used

Encourage our suppliers to embrace CR standards similar toour own and working with them to share best practice andhelp them improve, if appropriate

Ensure optimum effectiveness of our commitment tocommunity support, which focuses on health, scienceand education

Enable the sharing of best practice

Compliance with the SHE Policy

“No hurt, harm or alarm”

Be among the industry leaders in SHE performance

Action planContinued internal communication of policies, framework,management standards and guidelines

Continued local implementation and global auditing

Integration of CR into learning and developmentprogrammes

Sampling employee understanding and opinion

Internal communication and training in our revised Code of Conduct for all employees

Improve systems for reporting concerns

Communication of our framework for considering access to medicines early in product development

Monitor local alignment with global principles

Share good practice

Further develop mechanisms for monitoring and reportingcompliance

Establish KPIs

Continued development of audit processes to include CR

Establish a means of collecting Human Resources data on a consistent global basis

Establish KPIs based on the planned areas of datacollection

Creation of diversity programmes

Ensure recruitment processes are appropriate

Establish a means of collecting Human Resources data on a consistent global basis

Continued adoption of alternative techniques wherepossible

Continued monitoring using established procedures

Build CR into the external spend and suppliermanagement processes that we are developing

Continued communication of our Community Support Policy worldwide

Monitoring activity and sharing best practice through the global community support database

Aim to eliminate all injuries and accidents

Economise on the use of natural resources and work to minimise our impact on the environment

As part of the overall CR integration objective, ensure that SHE considerations continue to be integrated into all activities across the Group


Our goalsCorporate Responsibility Priority Action Plan

KPI (where appropriate)2 yearly global employee survey plus ad hoc ‘pulse’ surveys

2 yearly global employee survey

Candidate drug identified for development as a new tuberculosistreatment

Under discussion

Number of audits conducted

Under discussion

Number of diversity programmes

Percent of women at senior levels

Number of animals used

Number of business control meetings including CR

Percent of community programmes focused on our priorities ofhealth, science and education

Accidents with injury (Target: 30% reduction by 2005*)

New cases of occupational illness (Target: 30% reduction by 2005*)

Unplanned releases to the environment not contained within siteboundary (Target: 50% reduction by 2005*)

Total waste produced (Target: 10% reduction by 2005*)

Global warming potential (Target: 10% reduction by 2005*)

Ozone depletion potential (ODP) (Target: 30% reduction by 2005*)

* Against 2001/2002 reference point

Progress in 2003CR implementation included in ‘letter of assurance’ process

CR included in global risk assessment

Local CR committees established in the US and Sweden

CR module approved for inclusion in leadership development programme

See page 2

Code of Conduct revised and re-published

International, confidential employee telephone helpline established

See page 7

Collective global approach agreed

Appointment of Access to Medicines Director (Oncology and Infection)

See page 14

Network of promotional standards experts established

See page 13

11 CR audits carried out by SHE auditors, complemented by Group Internal Audit reviews

See page 3

Human Resources global database project on track

See page 11

Around 28 diversity programmes in place

13% of our 200 most senior managers are women

Human Resources global database project on track

See page 12

242,000 animals used in 2002 (2003 figure not yet available)

See page 14

150 business control meetings included CR considerations

CR built into contracts and master agreements

See page 11

90% of community programmes focused on our priorities

Inclusion in the UK’s Business in the Community One Per Cent Club

See page 15

14% reduction in accidents with injury, relative to hours worked

52% reduction in new cases of occupational illness, relative to hours worked

18% reduction in unplanned releases

15% reduction in waste, relative to sales

3% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions

18% reduction in ODP emissions

See pages 9, 12 and 16


Our business is focused on delivering value for our shareholders andfor society by maintaining a flow of new medicines designed to meetthe needs of patients and the healthcare professionals who treat them.

Jonathan SymondsChief Financial Officer “You can read regularly in the newspapersabout companies that have lost valuethrough failing to manage some aspects that affect their reputation. These aspectscan be far more important to the marketthan decisions that directly affect acompany’s profits.”

AstraZeneca is listedin the 2004 DowJones SustainabilityIndexes (World and European).Participation in thistype of survey is an important meansof evaluating ourperformance andunderstanding better the demands of sustainabledevelopment.


Economic performance


Shareholders naturally look for a good return on their investment butincreasingly people want assurance that they are investing in a company that delivers a return in a responsibleway. The establishment of ethicalinvestment indices such as Dow Jones Sustainability reflects these rising expectations.

Failure to deliver our core values couldseriously impact our reputation, whichwe recognise is an important driver ofthe Company’s worth.

Managing riskAstraZeneca’s Risk Advisory Group, led by our Chief Financial Officer,Jonathan Symonds, looks at the risksthe Company faces and how they arebeing addressed. Increasingly we areintegrating reputational risk, includingCR, into our risk management processesand aim to ensure that managers build itinto their everyday thinking. Appropriatetools are available in the form of a sharedrisk management philosophy, principlesand a framework that all managers canuse to reflect on behaviours, assessrisks and positively shape their decisionmaking.

Corporate governanceAn essential part of our corporateresponsibility is to continue to operate tohigh standards of corporate governance.

During the year, we reviewed and refined our corporate governancecontrols to ensure that we are meetingnew laws and regulatory requirements.This includes the ability to meet theappropriate executive certificationrequirements of the Sarbanes-Oxleylegislation in the US and the changesintroduced in 2003 by the revisedCombined Code on CorporateGovernance of the UK FinancialReporting Council.

AstraZeneca’s senior Non-ExecutiveDirector, Sir Peter Bonfield, wasnominated in 2002 as the contact forinvestors wishing to raise high levelconcerns about any potential corporategovernance issues.

We also reviewed and re-published ourCode of Conduct to make sure that itcontinues to be appropriate. Compliancewith the Code is mandatory and ismonitored through the annual ‘letterof assurance’ process and GroupInternal Audit reviews. The revisedversion is being widely circulated toemployees and communication toolsprovided to managers to supportdiscussions with their teams aboutwhat is expected of them.

The Code of Conduct includesprocedures for employees to raiseintegrity concerns, including aconfidential telephone helpline number.

Contributing to economicdevelopmentOur medicines are designed to improvehealth and quality of life. They also bringother benefits to society. Reducing theincidence of disease or the time neededfor treatment relieves pressure onhealthcare systems and helps toimprove productivity.

As the economic burden of fundingtherapies grows, we are increasinglyincluding explanation of the economic,as well as the therapeutic, advantages of our medicines to help ensure that thefull benefit to healthcare providers andsociety is understood.

Our business activities also benefit thecommunities around us through localemployment and wages, taxes,community support and local andnational sourcing of materials andservices.

Investing in innovationAstraZeneca spends around $14 millioneach working day on research anddevelopment – which is an importantcontribution to the combined commit-ment of the pharmaceutical industry,which is the source of the vast majorityof medical innovation, researching anddeveloping over 90% of new medicines.

> The installation of two new largeenergy efficientcombined heat andpower (CHP) plants inthe UK and PuertoRico will reduce ourCO2 emissions by anestimated 50,000tonnes each year.CHP is the simul-taneous generation of heat and power in a single process.

> At our US headquarters in Wilmington,Delaware, our employees have formed an environmental awareness team, whichparticipated in a range of projects duringthe year including the re-forestation of10,000 acres of biologically critical habitatin the state of Delaware.

> In Sweden, as part of our commitment to ensuring correctdisposal of pre-scribed treatments,we supporteda major campaign, in partnership with other interestedparties, to encouragepatients to returnsurplus medicines to their pharmacists.

> An energy efficientHVAC (heating,ventilation and air conditioning)system has beeninstalled at ournew researchlaboratories inBangalore, India,opened in 2003.

> Leading by example in the use of alternatives to business travel, our 2003 Senior ManagersConference,involving over 200 AstraZenecaleaders from around the world,took place as avideo-conference.


Environmental performanceWe continue to pursue sustained improvement in areas where webelieve our global business has the greatest potential impact on theenvironment: climate change, ozone depletion and waste production.


expected to be maintained, we arecommitted to maximising other ways ofreducing our reliance on air and roadtransport, including rationalising ourproduct distribution networks and usingalternatives to business travel, such asvideo-conferencing.

Ozone depletion Some of our products, such as asthmatherapies, are presented in a pressurised,metered dose inhaler that uses non-toxic,stable gases to propel the treatmentsafely and effectively to a patient’sairways. The most commonly usedpropellants have been CFCs, whichcontribute to ozone depletion as well asbeing greenhouse gases.

AstraZeneca has been very active in the development of alternatives to CFC-driven inhalers such as dry powderinhalers and pump sprays. We have also now begun the regulatory approvalprocess for a new generation ofrespiratory HFC inhalers that do notdamage the ozone layer. However, CFC-driven inhalers continue to be usedby patients who cannot tolerate, or donot have the choice of, alternatives. In2003, decreased sales of our CFC-driveninhalers resulted in an 11% decrease inour overall release of ozone depletingsubstances. We are still planning to reachour target of reducing CFC emissions by30% against the 2001/2002 referencepoint by 2005. Exact timing will dependon gaining regulatory approvals for thenew inhalation devices.

Our use of ozone depleting substancesfor refrigeration and fire suppression hasbeen substantially reduced and is beingphased out completely.

Minimising wasteWe aim to use materials efficiently andmaximise re-use and re-cycling. Wherepossible, we avoid the use of the mosthazardous substances and aredeveloping avoidance and substitutionstrategies to assist this process.Approaches to reducing the amount ofwaste we generate include the improvedoperation of existing productionprocesses and the better design of newones, improved purchasing processesand internal waste awarenessprogrammes. In 2003, we reduced ourtotal waste by 3% including a 9%reduction in hazardous waste.

Unplanned releasesUnplanned releases can cause damageboth to the environment and to ourrelationships with our local communitiesand regulators. We aim to eliminate suchincidents by ensuring that our processesare robust and reliable. In 2003, we hadnine unplanned releases that were notcontained within the site boundary(compared to 10 in 2002).

Pharmaceuticals in the environmentTraces of pharmaceuticals can some-times be found in the environment.Studies in recent years by industry,academic and regulatory bodies suggestthat the concentrations being found inwatercourses are many times less thanthose that would pose significant risk tohumans and are not high enough tocause immediate or short term harm toaquatic life. Nevertheless, we recognisethat stakeholders may be concernedabout longer term effects and this is oneof our priority areas of study. We continueto work alongside other pharmaceuticalcompanies and regulatory bodies toprovide further improvement to theexisting techniques used to assess theenvironmental risk associated withpharmaceuticals.

Consistent with our commitment toproduct stewardship, we also aim tominimise the amounts of any of ourproducts being released into theenvironment from our facilities. We areimproving our effluent treatment processesglobally including the installation of a $36million state of the art biological treatmentfacility at our plant in Bristol, UK.

Proposed EU chemicals policyIn October 2003, the EU Commissionpublished draft legislation regarding theapproval of chemicals in Europe, a keycomponent of which is the introduction ofa new regulatory system called REACH(Registration, Evaluation and Authorisationof Chemicals). AstraZeneca supports theCommission’s efforts to overhaul theregulatory framework for approval ofchemicals in Europe and through EFPIA,the pharmaceutical industry’s tradeassociation in Europe, we are activelycontributing to the dialogue on this issue.We agree with the principles of theproposal but, working with EFPIA andother industry trade associations, weseek to ensure that the eventualregulation is not only effective but alsoworkable and avoids obstacles that mayunnecessarily harm our competitiveness.

A detailed analysis in 2001 of the potentialenvironmental impacts of our business,combined with stakeholder discussions,helped us to identify our priority actionareas. We have clear targets for reducingour impact, as set out on page 5, andhere we summarise our progress. Moreinformation and detailed statistics areavailable on our website.

Our challenge is to sustain improvementas we grow our business. There is nocompletely satisfactory measure that canbe used to relate resource consumptionto the size of a complex global businesssuch as ours. In common with othersimilar companies and in line with theGlobal Reporting Initiative, we usereported sales to calculate our resourceefficiency. This is because reported salesis a transparent, audited number thatenables comparison over time, as shownon page 16 (but it should be noted thatexchange rate fluctuations can have aneffect on reported sales).

Climate changeOur global warming emissions ariseprimarily from the use of energy at ourfacilities, transport and the propellant gasused in some of our inhalation products.

During the year, we completed a strategicstrengthening of our product portfoliowith a range of new high quality medicinesthat will drive AstraZeneca’s futuresuccess. Planning for the new productshas included making necessary changesto our manufacturing processes andincreasing the size of our sales forces(and consequently the distance travelledon business). Despite these changes,improvements in efficiency and lowercarbon intensity of our fuel sources,coupled with a reduced use of our CFC-driven inhalers, led to total emissions fromall sources decreasing by 2% in 2003.We are still working hard to meet ourtarget of a 10% reduction in our globalwarming potential over the 2001/2002reference point by the end of 2005.

We continue to implement programmesto maximise energy efficiency. We arealso working to increase the amount ofenergy purchased from renewableresources and most of our sites aroundthe world have local programmes in placeto improve energy efficiency.

Whilst the current level of travel activity of our sales forces (up 10% in 2003) is


Social performanceManaging our business in a constructive and responsible way meansunderstanding and responding appropriately to the issues relating toour activities that affect or concern society.

> During 2003, wedeveloped a newautomated systemfor collectingHuman Resourcesdata globally.

> We strengthenedour commitment to high ethicalstandards in the sales andmarketing of ourmedicines globally.

> We continue tomake progress,but recognisethere is still work to do in ensuring that diversity is appropriatelysupported in our workforce.

> As part of ourcommitment to employeewellbeing, at least60% of our staffworldwide nowhave access to confidentialcounselling and support.

> Our overallcontribution to ourlocal communitiesthrough charitabledonations andsponsorshipstotalled $22 millionin 2003.


Here we describe our approach to someof the social issues relating to ourbusiness. You can read more aboutthese and other areas of our socialperformance on our website.

Human rightsWith over 60,000 people working in 45 countries, AstraZeneca is a majoremployer worldwide. Our core valuesreflect our commitment to ensuring thatall of our people are treated with integrityand respect within a working environ-ment that recognises the freedom of theindividual.

AstraZeneca supports the principles setout in the UN Declaration of HumanRights. Our Code of Conduct and ourGlobal Human Resources policies detailthe high standards of ethical behaviourwith which everyone in AstraZeneca isexpected to comply, both in spirit andletter.

This includes only employing adults, as defined by the labour laws in thecountries in which we operate and, as a minimum, compliance with nationallegal requirements regarding wages andworking hours. All our employees havethe right to be a member of a tradeunion. We have agreements with tradeunions in a number of countries wherecollective bargaining is customarypractice within a country’s legalframework and where employeessupport it.

We also work closely with our majorsuppliers and use purchasing practicesto encourage similar standards to ourown. We do not think it is appropriate for AstraZeneca to promote individualrights and freedoms more widely insociety, but we believe that we can anddo influence others through leading byexample.

We have been working to improve ourglobal reporting processes, building on our long standing systems formonitoring compliance wherever weoperate. During 2003, we developed anew automated information system forcollating, reporting and analysingemployee demographics globally. By the end of the year, this was operationalacross the UK, the US and Sweden(where more than 60% of our employeesare located) and the rest of the world isexpected to be brought into the systemduring 2004.

Working with suppliers In 2003, we published a revised CRPrinciples in Purchasing guide whichincluded further guidance for ourpurchasing community in working withsuppliers to encourage similar standardsto our own, share best practice andstimulate improved CR performance.Time will be required to fully implementthese guidelines.

During the year, we continued ourprogramme of priority audit of mainsuppliers. In total, 14 sites were auditedat our major chemical suppliers. Twopotential new chemical suppliers werealso audited and at one of these, weidentified the need for an improvement in standards before any work could becommissioned by AstraZeneca.

CR is also being integrated into theregular business control meetings thatare being introduced into our purchasingpractice. In 2003, approximately 150meetings that took place included CRconsiderations.


Social performance continuedTo that end, we are increasing theemphasis on the management of drivingactivities in our marketing companiesaround the world. Vehicle accidents area common cause for concern for manycompanies and we are working togetherwith other organisations to sharelearning and best practice.

In 2003, our overall frequency rate foraccidents with fatal and serious injuries toAstraZeneca employees and contractorsfell by 13%. This is largely due to animprovement in contractor performance.

Our wellbeing programmes are designedto promote physical and psychologicalwelfare and include physical fitnessactivities, nutrition advice and stressmanagement courses. Examples of goodpractice from Europe, Asia, North andSouth America feature prominently in ourimprovement plans and are sharedworldwide through our ‘Wellbeing inAstraZeneca’ communications.Programmes vary depending on country,culture and need. They include flexibleworking arrangements, access to fitnessand social activities and support for staffexperiencing stress. Communications tohelp ensure that employee wellbeingremains high on the agenda include face-to-face discussions with the top 200managers in the Company, addressingtheir personal wellbeing and that of theirstaff.

In 2003, our overall frequency rate ofoccupational illnesses (per million hoursworked) improved by 47%, with a

particularly encouraging decrease in thetwo major areas of work-related upperlimb disorder and work-related stressillness.

DiversityOur approach to diversity takes accountof all the ways in which our employeesare different – not just in terms of genderand race, but also culture, age, abilityand family situation. We value thecreative energy that these differencesbring to our business.

In 2002, we identified that we had work to do to ensure that diversity isappropriately supported in our work-force and reflected in our leadership. We made some progress during 2003.Our R&D community, which has beenactive for some time in this area,introduced an innovative, interactivediversity programme which is beingrolled out to the R&D workforce. 42workshops were completed in 2003. In addition, diversity improvement planswere created and implemented for thesix major areas of R&D. Our Operationsgroup included as one of their threeglobal people targets the requirementthat each of our 20 manufacturing sitesshould prepare priority action plansaddressing their diversity needs. Duringthe year, around 15 plans werecompleted. With seven diversity plans inplace in the US, our total is now around28 programmes.

Our challenge is to build on this work andcontinue to drive improvement in other

Employee safety, health andwellbeingWe believe that if we are to expectpeople’s continued energy andcommitment at work, we must providethe right environment in which they feelsafe and well and positive andenthusiastic about what they are doing.Our broad range of occupational safetyand health programmes is focused oncontinuous improvement in thefrequency rates for accidents with injuryand for new cases of occupationalillness, with a target for achieving a 30%reduction (against the 2001/2002reference point) by the end of 2005. Tohelp us meet this target, we continue todevelop behaviour-based safety andhealth programmes and make themwidely available. When accidents occur,we investigate thoroughly to ensure weunderstand the root causes, take stepsto avoid repetition in the future andcommunicate to build awareness andbest practice.

Although our overall accident frequencyrate for employees improved by 5% in2003, we are disappointed that weshowed little improvement in our vehicleaccident record. Around a third of thetotal accidents reported (including onefatal accident in Germany) were relatedto driving. This remains the greatestcause of accidents with injury toAstraZeneca employees. Driver traininghas always been a core feature of oursafety education programmes, but werecognise, and take seriously, the needto improve our performance in this area.

> Pilot projects that aimto build understandingof the causes of minorvehicle accidents toreduce the likelihood of more serious onesoccurring will beimplemented inEurope, Asia Pacificand the Americas.This is in addition tothe defensive drivertraining programmesthat are already in place.

> In the US, oursenior managersand their directreports allattended diversitytraining andstarted work on developingdiversity actionplans for theirfunctional areas.Seven plans werecompleted by theend of the year.


we added sales and marketing practicesto the Corporate Responsibility PriorityAction Plan to ensure they continue toget the appropriate high level of attentionglobally. Our AstraZeneca Code of Salesand Marketing Practices outlines thehigh standards of ethical behaviour wedemand in the marketing of ourmedicines. It is based on the globalindustry code of conduct (the IFPMACode of Pharmaceutical MarketingPractice), as well as the codes ofmarketing practice, laws and regulationsapplicable in each of the countries inwhich we operate. The IFPMA Code andour own Code of Practice embody theprinciples proposed in the World HealthOrganisation’s ‘Ethical Criteria forMedicinal Drug Promotion’, although theWHO suggestion that advertising ofprescription medicines to the publicshould not generally be permitted is notconsistent with the law or self-regulatorystandards in certain countries – notablythe US.

Compliance with our Code ismandatory. Whilst we have localmonitoring systems in place, includingauditing of our marketing companies by Group Internal Audit, we are nowlooking to establish KPIs in this area that will enable improved reporting of our global performance. A variety oflegal, regulatory and self-regulatorymechanisms are applied to pharma-ceutical marketing activities around the world and different interpretations of what constitutes acceptable practiceexist according to national cultures and

attitudes. For example, direct toconsumer advertising of prescriptionmedicines is illegal in many countries,yet it is not only legal in the US but alsoconsidered by many to have a positiveinfluence on patient welfare. During2003, we tested draft reporting criteriawhich we hope will lay a basis for ameaningful global promotionalregulatory monitoring system whichtakes account of the different nationalenvironments. We have established aglobal network of promotional standardscontacts in our marketing companies(known as ‘Nominated Signatories’) andhave begun to share experience andbest practice amongst this group.

Clinical trials A potential new medicine enters clinicalstudies only after its potential efficacy and adequate safety has been confirmedin pre-clinical trials, which include animaltesting. All proposed clinical trials arereviewed and approved includingconsideration of the pre-clinical data, the safety of the trial and the nature andamount of information given to trialvolunteers. We have strict guidelines toensure that volunteers and patients takingpart in trials understand their purpose and are not exposed to unnecessary risksand that the privacy of health informationof individuals taking part is protected.

We continue to monitor the safety of ourproducts after they have been approvedas new medicines, including collectionof data on any adverse reactions to atreatment.

areas of our organisation, at all levels. OurSenior Executive Team has responsibilityfor reviewing the diversity among the topmanagement of the Company, includingthe percentage of women at a seniorlevel. In 2003, 13% of our 200 mostsenior managers were women.

Sales and marketing practicesDuring 2003, AstraZeneca settled aninvestigation into US sales andmarketing practices for Zoladex prostatecancer treatment, admitting violation ofthe Prescription Drug Marketing Act byproviding free samples of the product tophysicians between 1993 and 1996,with the understanding that thesephysicians would bill Medicare forreimbursement. AstraZeneca alsosettled civil claims, without admittingliability, involving allegations that theCompany provided inducements tophysicians to purchase Zoladex and forimproperly setting and reporting itsprice. The settlement provides for a fiveyear Corporate Integrity Agreement withthe Office of the Inspector General (OIG)for the Department of Health andHuman Services under whichAstraZeneca is required to keep in placeits current compliance programme andprovide periodic reports to the OIG onthe status of compliance activities. Thetotal payment associated with thesettlement was $355 million.

We are committed to ensuring that improper practice such as this is notrepeated. In addition to the strong UScompliance programme, during the year

> Within the UKFTSE100,AstraZeneca is one of two companieswith the highestrepresentation ofwomen on theBoard (four out of 13 Boardmembers arewomen).

> During 2003, an employeeassistanceprogramme, CALM(Counselling andLife Management)was made availableto staff in Japan.

Jane HenneyErna Möller

Dame Bridget OgilvieMichele Hooper


Social performance continuedreduction include our commitment toadopting alternative techniques.

The welfare of the animals we use is a top priority. Our research sites aresubject to formal inspections by our own staff every two years in addition tothe mandatory visits by governmentauthorities around the world. Meetinglocal regulatory requirements is aminimum baseline and we have our own strict guidelines on animal welfareas outlined in our Bioethics Policy andsupported by programmes such asanimal care training for our laboratorytechnicians.

Where we outsource animal studies togive us access to additional expertise or capacity, inspections to ensurecompliance with our own standards are a significant part of our animalwelfare programme.

Access to medicinesThe increasing demand for newmedicines that improve and extend livesis driven both by the ageing populationand advances in technology. At thesame time infectious diseases such asHIV/AIDS are threatening to overwhelmthe populations of some of the leastdeveloped nations. Governments areresponding in different ways to balancehealthcare budgets against the everincreasing demand for wider access to medicines. The challenge forAstraZeneca is to address the continueddownward pressure on the costs of

our products whilst continuing ourinvestment in research and ensuring that wherever possible medicines areavailable to those that need them.

Although essential medicines arebecoming increasingly available to thosethat need them in developing countries,there are still many other factors such as basic hygiene, healthcare infra-structure and training and educationthat are also pre-requisites beforesignificant progress can be made indelivering medicines to patients in these countries.

Each of our development products isreviewed independently in relation topricing and access in all markets, so that plans can be put in place early forthose which may be regarded asessential medicines – either becausethey address diseases prevalent indeveloping countries or because theyare potentially a leading or uniqueproduct in their class, offering significant patient benefit in a serious or life threatening condition. In thesecircumstances, we aim to makearrangements to ensure patient accessto these medicines through charitabledonation, expanded accessprogrammes or differential pricing.

The appointment in January 2004 of an Access to Medicines Director, a newposition in the Company, strengthensour commitment. Working in theOncology and Infection therapy areas,

Animal welfareLaboratory animals continue to play avital and necessary role in the researchand development of new medicines forimportant areas of human healthcare.This includes early testing of the effects ofnew compounds and the requirement byregulatory authorities for the submissionof safety data from animal studies beforea new medicine can be tested in healthyvolunteers and then patients.

As we continue to expand our R&Dactivity, we aim to manage the potentialincrease in use of animals by adoptingalternative techniques such ascomputer simulations, informatics andhigh throughput screening, whicheliminate the use of animals or reducethe number needed. As well asdeveloping our own alternatives, we alsoadopt those successfully developed byothers and we continue to work,alongside the rest of the pharmaceuticalindustry, with regulatory authorities toagree reductions wherever possible inthe animals required by their protocols.

In 2002, we used around 242,000animals, a small reduction on 2001(248,000). Some 98% of these wererodents and fish. Approximately 4% wereused by external contractors. Thenumber of animals we use each year willcontinue to fluctuate. Increases can resultfrom a rise in the number of compoundsin development and from our furtheradoption of tests using geneticallymodified animals. Factors influencing a

> In the UK, AstraZeneca supports theBrightside Trust, a charity that aims to helpunderprivileged young people enter themedical and healthcare professions. Thisaddresses a particular issue for modernmedical practice – that most disadvantagedcommunities do not have access todoctors with a similar background. Oursupport includes a one year secondment tothe charity as well as a $160,000 financialcontribution over three years.

> Prior to its launch, we implemented anexpanded access programme for Iressa, our new treatment for lung cancer, whichmade the therapy available to patients withlung cancer for whom no other treatmenthad been successful. During 2002 and 2003, over 42,000 patients in 70 countriesreceived Iressa through this route.


In all cases of facilitating access to ourmedicines, we can only be successful if we can ensure that the product is notdiverted away from those who need itand that we retain intellectual propertyrights which enable us to protect ourcore business and provide for futureinvestment in the discovery anddevelopment of new medicines for a wide range of diseases.

Product donations and patientassistance programmesOur product donations and patientassistance programmes make productsavailable free of charge or at reducedprices. In 2003, our expanded patientassistance programmes in the UScontributed to a total spend of $724 million in this area, at averagewholesale price.

Community supportWherever AstraZeneca is locatedworldwide, we aim to make a positivecontribution to our local communitiesthrough charitable donations, sponsor-ships and other initiatives that help tomake a difference. In particular, we focus on bringing benefits in ways thatare consistent with our business ofimproving health and quality of lifeand on promoting the value of scienceamong young people.

In 2003, our spend on communitysponsorships and charitable donationstotalled $22 million.

Improving data collectionIn 2002, we introduced a centraldatabase to improve our processes for capturing the full extent of ourcommunity support initiatives, productdonations and patient accessprogrammes around the world and to ensure the information can be shared internally to promote bestpractice. In 2003, over 1,000 projectswere entered into the database,covering activities in 34 countries.

For the first time, in 2003 AstraZenecawas included in the UK Business in theCommunity’s One Per Cent Club, anindex of companies that contribute 1%or more of their annual operating profitto community support.

the role will initially focus on Iressa, ournew lung cancer treatment, and otheremerging treatments for cancer.

Whilst we support the concept ofdifferential pricing in this context, wecontinue to seek safeguards thatdifferentially priced products are notdiverted from the patients who needthem, to be sold and used in moreaffluent markets. Differential pricing canonly be of benefit in countries wherehealthcare systems can delivermedicines to the patients that needthem and ensure that they are usedappropriately.

Research into neglected diseases of thedeveloping world is essential to theeffective treatment of these diseases inthe future. AstraZeneca has recentlymade a substantial investment in newresearch facilities in Bangalore, India, thatare focused on finding a new treatmentfor tuberculosis – a major and increasingthreat to life in developing countries.

Should we be successful in identifying a potential new medicine, a key prioritywill be to develop it in partnership withgovernments, local organisations andinternational bodies in order to achievethe earliest possible approval accordingto global standards. We hope that wecan then again work in partnership with the relevant global and localorganisations to ensure that any newtreatment reaches the patients whoneed it.

> In December 2003, AstraZeneca announceda $360,000 three-year partnership withPeking University’s Guanghua School of Management to fund the China Center for Pharmacoeconomics and OutcomesResearch in a series of research andeducational programmes aimed atsupporting China’s continued reform of its healthcare system. In particular, theprogrammes will focus on building researchskills and expertise in health economics.

> The Together Rx programme in the US, runby AstraZeneca and six other pharma-ceutical companies, provides eligibleMedicare patients with up to 40% savingson medicines used to treat a range ofcommon conditions that affect older people.

Sir Tom McKillop


2003 performance summary2001 2002 2003 2005 target

Economic $m (where relevant)

Sales 16,222 17,841 18,849 –

Operating profit 4,156 4,356 4,111 –

Dividends 1,225 1,206 1,350 –

Ratio of market capitalisation to book value of net assets 8.0 5.5 6.1 –

R&D investment 2,687 3,069 3,451 –

Total wages 3,542 3,993 4,745 –

Taxation 1,214 1,177 1,143 –

Environmental

Greenhouse gases1

CO2-equivalents (million tonnes) 1.87 1.77 1.72 1.59

Index (tonnes/$m sales) 115 99 92 –

Energy

GWh 2,170 2,240 2,440 –

Index (MWh/$m sales) 134 126 129 –

CFCs

Total ozone depletion potentialCFC11 equivalent (tonnes) 110 99 88 75Index (kg/$m sales) 7.0 5.6 4.7 –

Waste

Hazardous waste (kte) 36.7 31.1 28.3 –

Total waste (kte) 65.5 60.3 58.4 –

Index – total waste (tonnes/$m sales) 4.04 3.38 3.10 3.26

Unplanned releases

Contained within site boundary 24 17 8 –

Not contained within site boundary 12 10 9 6

Social

Safety and health: AstraZeneca employees

Number of accidents with injury (per million hours) 4.16 3.84 3.64 –

Number of accidents with injury and days lost (per million hours) 2.86 2.84 2.66 –

Cases of occupational illnesses (per million hours) 3.83 3.15 1.67 2.44

Safety and health: AstraZeneca employees and contractors

Number of accidents with injury (per million hours) 4.18 4.11 3.57 2.90

Number of animals used in research 248,000 242,000 –2 –

Site audits that included CR – – 11 –

Community support ($m)

Sponsorships n/a 9.7 16.4 –

Charitable contributions n/a 3.3 5.6 –

Total n/a 13.0 22.0 –

Product donations and patient assistance programmes at average wholesale price ($m) n/a 303.0 724.0 –

Regulatory infringements – safety, health and environment

Prosecutions 1 1 1 –

Legal sanctions 4 7 4 –

Failures to obtain correct permits 1 0 0 –

Infringements of operating permits 7 6 12 –

Total 13 14 17 –1 Figures are calculated in line with the Greenhouse Gas (GhG) Protocol guidance (ghgprotocol.org) 2 2003 figure not yet available n/a Not applicable

During 2003, AstraZeneca sold its MarlowFoods operation. Although no changes havebeen made to the absolute performancefigures, the SHE improvement targets andtheir reference points have been modified inline with the WRI/WBCSD protocol. Thisavoids incorporating the reduction inemissions resulting from the divestment aspart of our improvement process.

With the exception of the economic data, theabove represents preliminary figures only.Final statistics will be published on ourwebsite, astrazeneca.com Des

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AstraZeneca Corporate Responsibility Summary Report 2003For more information visit astrazeneca.com

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Documents

AstraZeneca Corporate Responsibility 2003 …AstraZeneca Corporate Responsibility Summary Report 2003 03 For more information visit astrazeneca.com We also plan to publish ourfirstUS