Merck publishes Purpose for Progress Impact Report 2025/2026
We’re building on measurable progress and announcing updated goals for 2030
August 18, 2026
Merck’s newly published Purpose for Progress Impact Report 2025/2026 demonstrates how every action we take is driven by a singular purpose: to use the power of leading-edge science to save and improve lives around the world.
We achieved our sustainability goals that were set for completion in 2025, delivering on commitments to advance health access, strengthen employee engagement and inclusion, reduce our environmental footprint and uphold responsible business practices. We’re building on that momentum with an updated set of sustainability targets.
Importantly, we’ve set an access to health goal to reach 100 million people with access solutions that close gaps in care by 2030 — driven by the dedication of our colleagues and partners to help strengthen health systems from prevention and diagnosis to treatment and ongoing care.
This goal reflects our commitment to addressing systemic barriers that delay access to prevention, limit people’s ability to start treatment or disrupt care.
“Our commitment to access to health is rooted in our purpose to help save and improve lives. This new goal reflects our ambition to close gaps in care, so more people can access timely, quality care where it is needed most.”
- Rob Davis
Chairman and CEO, Merck
Key takeaways from this year’s report
Access to health
Our innovative medicines and vaccines can only make a difference if they reach those who need them. We’re proud to have achieved and exceeded our access to health goals for the 2021-2025 period, with:
- More than 445 million people enabled to access our innovative medicines and vaccines globally through access solutions (2021-2025) — surpassing our goal to enable 350 million people by 2025
- Approximately 82 million people reached through our social investments in low- and middle-income countries and in underserved populations in high-income countries — including more than 15 million people in 2025 alone — surpassing our goal of reaching 50 million people by 2025
- 90% of countries reached around the world with our products in 2025, exceeding our goal of 75%
Future focus: We’re proud of our progress advancing access to health, but we aren’t stopping there. As detailed above and in the Purpose for Progress Impact Report 2025/2026, we’re building on our strong foundation by sharpening our focus on closing gaps in care — the challenges people face in receiving evidence-based, medically recommended care.
Our new goal to reach 100 million people with access solutions that close gaps in care by 2030 builds on our experience and capabilities, and is designed to deliver meaningful, measurable impact for patients and health systems over time. Implementation will be led by functions across our company, working in collaboration with external partners and stakeholders, to drive sustained impact.
Employees
Merck’s inclusive and innovative culture is key to enabling our colleagues to deliver breakthroughs for all who depend on us. In 2025, we achieved our employee engagement and inclusion goals.
In addition, our commitment to investing in the growth, success and well-being of our people is reflected in initiatives such as:
- Participation of more than 28,000 employees in our employee business resource groups (as of Dec. 31, 2025), representing more than 35% of our global workforce
- Access to mental health support resources available for employees in more than 80 countries
Future focus: Looking ahead, we’ll continue investing in an agile, skills-based team that’s prepared to drive our next wave of scientific innovation. Our new goal reflects a shift to a culture index that provides a more holistic view of the employee experience, reinforcing that a strong culture is an enterprise-wide priority and a foundation for innovation, resilience and long-term value.
Environmental sustainability
We’re committed to reducing our environmental footprint. In 2025, we:
- Achieved our goal to source 100% of our purchased electricity from renewable energy by 2025
- Achieved our 2025 operational waste goals, sending only 12% of global operational waste to landfills/incineration without energy recovery (against a 20% target) and having 64% of sites send zero waste to landfill (against a 50% target)
- Achieved our 2025 water goal by maintaining use at or below 2015 levels
- Reduced operational greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (Scopes 1 & 2) by 31% from a 2019 baseline and reduced Scope 3 GHG emissions by 10% from a 2019 baseline
Future focus: On our path to achieving net-zero GHG emissions across our entire value chain by 2045, we’re actively driving toward our near-term 2030 targets. This includes reducing our Scope 1 and 2 operational emissions by 46% and cutting our Scope 3 value chain emissions by 30%.
Ethics and values
Operating with integrity is the foundation of our company. Our 2025 progress included:
- More than 99% of employees completed ethics and integrity training
- 100% compliance maintained for privacy and data protection
Future focus: Looking ahead, we’ve set new goals to ensure employees feel empowered to report concerns as we aim to maintain the highest standards of trust. For example, we’re working to achieve at least 99% global employee completion of enterprise training to ensure understanding of reporting processes and channels through 2030.
Ultimately, these milestones demonstrate that at Merck, our purpose is backed by measurable performance. As we accelerate progress toward our new goals, we remain committed to delivering long-term value for both our business and society by turning scientific innovation into sustainable global impact.
Learn more about our sustainability progress and future commitments in these areas in the Purpose for Progress Impact Report 2025/2026.
Awards and recognitions
We’re proud to be recognized for our long-standing commitment to operating responsibly, including being designated by Newsweek/Statista as one of America’s Most Responsible Companies (2025, 2026) and by TIME as one of the World’s Most Sustainable Companies (2026).
