People’s health and the health of our environment are inextricably linked. That’s precisely why environmental sustainability is deeply connected to The Cigna Group’s mission to improve the health, well-being, and peace of mind of those we serve.

As a global business with over 70,000 employees, it is our responsibility to minimize our impact and footprint on the environment while leading the world to a cleaner, more sustainable future. We believe environmental stewardship has an important health impact and also makes sound business sense.

Changes to climate affect Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) and can lead to poorer health outcomes. According to the World Health Organization, climate change has a direct impact on people’s access to clean air, safe drinking water, sufficient food, and secure shelter. Health costs from damage to our environment are estimated to reach up to $4 billion per year by 2030.

That’s why we’re proud that The Cigna Group joined the global RE100 pledge to transition to 100% renewable electricity usage by 2030. Through RE100, we stand alongside over 440 global companies, including Adobe, Google, Deloitte, and Nike, to show leadership in renewable energy adoption in our operations and encourage suppliers and customers to take similar steps to reduce emissions by accelerating the shift to sustainable electricity.

“This global commitment represents a meaningful step for our company. It shows that we are taking responsibility for our impact on the environment, and creating a better, more sustainable future for the customers, clients, and communities we serve.” Kari Knight Stevens, chief human resources officer at The Cigna Group

Started by The Climate Group, RE100 works with leading businesses around the world to switch the private sector’s electricity demand to renewables and to accelerate the transformation of the global energy market and the world’s transition to a low-carbon economy. The Cigna Group will report electricity data annually to RE100, which will report on the company's progress.

“We are proud to be joining this initiative in recognition of our efforts to move to 100% renewable electricity by 2030,” said Peter Barnett, global head of real estate at The Cigna Group. “This is one way we are helping our overall decarbonization strategy and ensuring sustainable business growth.”

This commitment is just one example of the work we’re doing to protect our environment. Read on to learn about the ways The Cigna Group is committed to building a sustainable future.

1. Setting and Reaching Ambitious Yet Achievable Environmental Goals

Beyond our pledge with RE100, we set and achieved our goal to reduce Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse (GHG) emissions by 50% ahead of schedule – which included direct emissions from the sources we own or control and indirect emissions from the generation of the energy we purchase and consume. Next, we’ll refresh our near-term Scope 1 and 2 emissions reduction goal in line with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), and by 2040, we aim to be fully carbon neutral for these emissions.  

Our Scope 3 GHG emissions are primarily made up of purchased goods and services and our investments. We formally committed to SBTi in early 2024. As a next step, we plan to set a near-term science-based Scope 3 reduction target and receive validation from SBTi.

To support these goals, we’ve begun implementing energy-efficiency projects, optimizing our building operations, and minimizing waste generated across our enterprise. When renovating existing spaces or building new spaces, we prioritize creating collaborative and productive green-built environments. For example, we prioritize LEED certified buildings as recognized by the U.S. Green Building Council and include “green leasing” language wherever possible. We continue to explore a variety of options to help with our goals, including onsite and off-site energy generation, power purchase agreements, and green energy credit purchase programs. 

We have already made significant steps forward on a number of these projects and initiatives. One example is the successful decarbonization of our most energy-intensive operation at our largest data center in Connecticut – we signed a utility contract to ensure the use of 100% green, renewable energy to power this site. Another example is our specialty recycling program at The Cigna’s Group's four pharmaceutical fulfilment centers, which diverts plastic pill bottles and other materials from landfills. Through this program, we were able to recycle approximately 800 metric tons of pill bottles and approximately 1,500 metric tons of cardboard in 2024. The plastic from the pill bottles will be used to manufacture post-consumer recycled goods such as park benches, composite lumber, and mulch.

2. Innovations in Digital Health and our Global Footprint

Digital health technology can help us all reduce our carbon footprint. By replacing an in-person visit with virtual care, the patient can eliminate a drive to the doctor’s office and opt for a wholly digital experience for certain health episodes, without the need for paper records. Additionally, by increasing the convenience and ease-of-access for preventive care visits, we can reduce overall reliance on emergency-room visits and ambulatory care by catching symptoms and conditions earlier – again reducing our impact on the environment.

We estimate that approximately 8,300 metric tons of GHG emissions were avoided in 2024 as a result of patients using our MD Live virtual care services versus driving to and from a clinic.[1] This is equivalent to removing approximately 2,000 gas-powered passenger vehicles off the road for one year.

We are proud to lead the charge toward digital health and virtual care with the integration of MD Live, a division of Evernorth Health Services, and a number of investments and innovative partnerships with digital health startups through The Cigna Group Ventures. We are committed to providing our customers, clients, and communities with digital tools that make health care more affordable, convenient, and seamless – and help reduce our impact on the environment.

3. Community Impact and Climate Resilience

Community resilience in regard to climate change is top of mind when it comes to our sustainability efforts. We understand that climate change and environmental risk poses unique challenges to clients and communities in the form of extreme weather events and other emergencies – specifically to people’s health and public health systems. We maintain an online Disaster Resource Center for first responders, health plan customers, and employer clients. This resource is continually updated by our Employee Assistance Consultant team, which has deep knowledge of our provider network and can make real-time updates to help people in need.

We also support customers during extreme weather events through our Customer Disaster Response Program, which offers access to trained clinicians through our Employee Assistance Program, onsite critical incident support, and flexibility to make temporary policy changes, such as waiving various medical requirements, refilling prescriptions, and expanding our help line to proactively address customer service issues and provide personal assistance and support for all affected by a disaster. In addition to directly supporting our customers through these resources, The Cigna Group Foundation utilizes charitable contributions and partnerships with credible, leading disaster relief organizations to support communities impacted by extreme weather events.

Outside of our enterprise-level strategy to reduce emissions and waste, we also raise awareness about environmental stewardship among our workforce of over 70,000 employees across the world, which has led to employee-driven action. Employees have organized a number of community-oriented environmental projects, including an electric vehicle experience day, planting vegetable gardens, and building a production-scale aquaponics system on the grounds of our corporate headquarters. (Pictured on left: The Cigna Group employees tending to the vegetable garden at our corporate headquarters in Bloomfield, Connecticut.)

Tying it All Together: Our Corporate Impact and Sustainability Framework

At The Cigna Group, our corporate impact and sustainability approach underscores our mission to improve the health and vitality of those we serve. The Cigna Group is proud to have been named among America’s Climate Leaders by USA TODAY, and by 3BL Media on their 2024 100 Best Corporate Citizens list for the 10th consecutive year. Our corporate impact and sustainability framework is structured around four pillars – Healthy Environment, Healthy Society, Healthy Workforce, and Healthy Company. We drive action through this framework to demonstrate our commitment to serving as a leader and steward of a well-functioning ecosystem of health because it is the backbone of society.

Through our Healthy Environment pillar, we strive to identify new efficiencies and make strategic investments that reduce our environmental impacts. We believe responsible environmental stewardship can improve health and well-being. While we know there is more work to do, we are proud of the progress we’ve made, and we are committed to continuing to do our part to build a healthier, more sustainable, and inclusive world.