Our Strategy
Medtronic’s approach to corporate citizenship begins with our Mission, written 50 years ago by our founder Earl Bakken. In it he articulates the company’s call to “alleviate pain, restore health and extend life” and “to maintain good citizenship as a company.”
A half-century later, our Mission continues to serve as an ethical framework and inspiration for employees worldwide. It guides our day-to-day work and remains the foundation upon which we will build our future.
But as societal challenges grow increasingly complex, 21st century expectations of business are moving beyond merely fulfilling citizenship obligations to leveraging all corporate assets to create significant and positive social and economic impacts and enhance environmental performance.
Motivated by this new landscape, Medtronic conducted an eight-month corporate citizenship strategy development project during fiscal year 2010. Through this process, we developed a long-term vision, improved programmatic consistency and relevance, and began to define robust metrics, governance structures, and a sequenced plan of action.
Our corporate citizenship vision is two-fold:
- to operate responsibly in all facets where our business intersects with society, and
- to leverage our resources, assets, and expertise to catalyze dramatic improvement in the lives of those affected by chronic disease.
To demonstrate our vision, we have integrated numerous independent citizenship initiatives into a holistic overview defined by four citizenship pillars. The first two are specific to our product and industry focus, and speak to Medtronic’s unique opportunities. The second two more generally address stakeholders’ expectations of a responsible company.
- Global Leadership in Addressing Chronic Disease
- Collaborative Culture of Innovation
- Total Employee Engagement
- Progressive Environmental Stewardship
Global Leadership in Addressing Chronic Disease
With expertise in treating a range of chronic illnesses – including heart disease and diabetes, two of the four leading chronic illnesses globally – Medtronic is uniquely positioned to help decrease the number of lives affected or lost worldwide.
Collaborative Culture of Innovation
By promoting an innovative culture and fostering collaboration among our employees, physicians, engineers, regulators, and patients, we develop cutting-edge products, therapies and programs that multiply our impact.
Total Employee Engagement
Medtronic maintains a competitive advantage by attracting and fully engaging diverse and dedicated talent at every level of the company.
Progressive Environmental Stewardship
Our commitment to conserve natural resources, promote energy efficiency, eliminate waste, and address these issues during new building construction and facility modification achieves both environmental and business benefits.
Activities associated with these pillars are outlined in our corporate citizenship overview.
Our prevailing objective is to achieve meaningful advances in preventing and treating chronic disease. We will accomplish this by improving access to our therapies through opportunities that promote shared value, a model in which social and business impact are maximized when pursued in concert with one another.