INDIANAPOLIS, May 4, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) today released two new reports that provide a comprehensive overview of the company's corporate responsibility efforts. The reports highlight how Lilly is evolving its approach to corporate responsibility by increasingly leveraging its assets and capabilities in partnership with others to have greater, more sustainable impact.

The 2014 Corporate Responsibility Update offers a thorough look at the company's progress on numerous fronts, including charitable contributions, philanthropic initiatives, global health efforts, environmental performance, ethics and compliance, and more. The 2015 Global Health Programs Report details the work that Lilly and its nearly 50 partners have undertaken through the company's two signature global health programs--the Lilly MDR-TB Partnership for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, and the Lilly NCD Partnership for non-communicable diseases, with a focus on diabetes.

Corporate Responsibility Update Highlights 


    --  Lilly gave more than $590 million in charitable contributions in 2014,
        including cash, products, and other in-kind donations.
    --  The company has committed more than $200 million since 2003 to fight
        MDR-TB and diabetes in lower-income communities through its Lilly Global
        Health Programs.
    --  Elanco, Lilly's animal health division, is pursuing numerous efforts to
        reduce hunger, including a $3 million commitment to Heifer International
        to help break the cycle of hunger for families in China, India,
        Indonesia, and Zambia.
    --  The company helped more than 200,000 people facing financial hardship
        gain access to Lilly medicines through Lilly TruAssist, the company's
        U.S. patient assistance program.
    --  Employees and the Eli Lilly and Company Foundation donated more than
        $12.7 million to the United Way in 2014, which is a company record.
    --  More than 24,000 employees in nearly 60 countries volunteered in their
        local communities through Lilly's 2014 Lilly Global Day of Service.
    --  Nearly 700 employees from 50 different countries have volunteered as
        Connecting Hearts Abroad ambassadors since the program launched in 2011.
    --  Every year since 2006, Lilly has received a 100 percent rating on the
        Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Corporate Equality Index and has been on
        HRC's "Best Places to Work" list.
    --  For the fourth year in a row, in 2014, Lilly was named to DiversityInc's
        "Top 50 Companies for Diversity" list, which recognizes corporate
        diversity best practices.
    --  The company reduced water intake by 35 percent in absolute terms between
        2007 and 2013, exceeding its goal of a 25 percent reduction during that
        period.

The company's Corporate Responsibility Update also serves as Lilly's annual Communication on Progress to the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC). As a signatory of the UNGC, Lilly shares its progress annually on 10 widely accepted principles related to human rights, labor, the environment, and anti-corruption.

Global Health Programs Report Highlights


    --  Through the Lilly MDR-TB Partnership, the company has collaborated with
        nearly 40 partners since 2003 to fight the rising burden of MDR-TB, with
        a current focus in China, India, Russia, and South Africa.
    --  Lilly has provided more than $20 million in funding for TB drug
        discovery and strengthened the capacity of more than 100,000 healthcare
        providers to better recognize, diagnose, and treat MDR-TB.
    --  Through the Lilly NCD Partnership, the company is working with seven
        partners in Brazil, India, Mexico, and South Africa to find new diabetes
        care solutions for people living in poverty. The NCD Partnership is
        based on the concept of shared value, in which a company applies its
        unique assets and capabilities to create value for society and itself.
    --  Both partnerships leverage Lilly's novel research, report, and advocate
        framework designed to explore and evaluate evidence-based solutions to
        find best practices that can be adapted, replicated, and scaled.

You can watch a video about Lilly's corporate responsibility efforts here. More information is available at www.lilly.com/responsibility and www.lillyglobalhealth.com .

About Eli Lilly and Company
Lilly is a global healthcare leader that unites caring with discovery to make life better for people around the world. We were founded more than a century ago by a man committed to creating high-quality medicines that meet real needs, and today we remain true to that mission in all our work. Across the globe, Lilly employees work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. To learn more about Lilly, please visit us at www.lilly.com and newsroom.lilly.com/social-channels. (CR-LLY)

Refer to: David Marbaugh; marbaugh@lilly.com; (317) 489-7109

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SOURCE Eli Lilly and Company