CSR 2022 / Access to Care / Community Impact / Operating Responsibly / Leadership View

Operating with integrity and respect is at the core of how we do business with our members, customers and suppliers and as a corporate citizen in our communities.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas is committed to building upon its contributions to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). Our Center for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion aims to strengthen and embed DEI in everything we do.

In 2022, we’ve focused on elevating our DEI strengths, impact and progress by:

Cultivating an equitable environment for employees and members.
Growing our position as a DEI industry leader.
Addressing systemic barriers that may create disproportionate advancement opportunities for people of color.
Evolving our supplier diversity practices to improve our utilization and spend with diverse suppliers across all areas of the organization.

By embedding DEI across our business and processes, we have accelerated opportunities to drive diverse engagement and inclusive experiences for our employees, members, customers and communities.

Woman wearing glasses gazes into the distance.

icon graphic of a handshake

8 Business Resource Groups

tap into the perspectives of employees who share diverse interests and backgrounds

Business Resource Groups

Our eight Business Resource Groups bring together employees with common interests or backgrounds to impact the business and our communities.

The BRGs provide peer support and mentoring and deliver valuable insights to business leaders about diverse communities.

“Employees can be their authentic selves and know this is a safe place to talk about their needs, resources and what’s going on in the community,” says Joe Smith, state chair of the Pride Alliance.

Black man a wearing beanie in an office looks at a computer intently.

"It’s good to appreciate all the people who have fought for what we have today, but we’re still not done."

- Joe Smith, Texas state chair of BCBSTX's Pride Alliance BRG

Supplier Diversity

A diverse supply chain is critical to the success of our business. Our employees, members, customers and communities we serve expect us to be inclusive in all aspects of our business, including our third-party relationships.

This includes our supply chain, our providers, producers and other business partners. These diverse partnerships improve our ability to innovate, maximize our operational effectiveness, and ultimately, enhance our ability to serve our members.

Our total spend with diverse suppliers increased from 4.27% in 2021 to 4.71% in 2022, representing 2022 disbursements of $170.2 million to diverse-owned businesses.*

BCBSTX is a member of several nonprofit advocacy organizations that promote the inclusion of their business members, assisting in their growth and connecting them with prospective customers:

National Minority Supplier Development Council
Women’s Business Enterprise National Council
National LGBT Chamber of Commerce
National Veteran’s Business Development Council
Disability:IN

Two well-dressed women discuss business in an office.

We engage with these organizations in matchmaker events, access their databases to identify potential businesses for inclusion in sourcing opportunities and participate in their conferences.

* Applies to Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans in Illinois, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas

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Recognition of our DEI Practices, Programs and Strategies

Diversity MBA
50 Out Front Best Places to Work for Women and Diverse Managers

Best in Class ranking for recruitment, representation and accountability

Forbes
Best Employers for Women, Best Employers for Diversity

National Business Inclusion Consortium
Best-of-the-Best Corporation for Inclusion

G.I. Jobs
Military Friendly Employers (Silver)

Human Rights Campaign Foundation
100% on the Corporate Equality Index

Disability:IN
100% on the Disability Equality Index

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100% of electric power-related emissions offset

with renewable energy credits

Sustainability

Commitment to sustainability is at the core of our business practices. We operate in accordance with the triple bottom-line theory, which calls for the pursuit of actions that support people, the planet and prosperity. We’re committed to reducing our emissions in measurable ways.

A beekeeper holds a rack pulled from a hive.

Two honeybee hives were installed at BCBSTX’s Richardson headquarters to support biodiversity.

Five of our 2022 energy efficiency projects resulted in a reduction of about 170,000 kilowatt hours in electricity usage across the enterprise — roughly equivalent to the amount of carbon sequestered by 2,000 tree seedlings growing for 10 years.*

We continue to offset 100% of our electric power usage-related emissions with the purchase of renewable energy credits. Our employees recycled nearly 409,000 pounds of paper and 57,400 pounds of electronic equipment in 2022. These recycling efforts translate to saving about 5,400 trees, 1.4 million gallons of water and 709 cubic yards of landfill space.

BCBSTX’s Richardson office recently installed two honeybee hives on the north side of the building to support biodiversity. “Some will simply see the bees as a novelty, but I genuinely hope that most people who engage with this program, on any level, come to understand it as a barometer of the health of the larger ecosystem,” says Terry Bridges, the BCBSTX facilities representative overseeing the hives.

The company also participates in science-backed initiatives that support strategic sustainability decision-making. Our headquarters building earned the WELL Health-Safety Rating certification in 2022 and maintained its certification by Fitwel.

* Applies to Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans in Illinois, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas

Employee Health

The health and well-being of our employees is a top priority. We provide a wide variety of programs and resources led by Motiva, our corporate employee health and well-being team, to help employees enhance their physical and mental health. In 2022 we launched a one-stop internal website for the array of in-person and virtual fitness options, mental health resources, nutrition information and wellness incentive programs that help employees keep on track. These resources give employees the tools to manage stress and anxiety, improve nutrition, sleep, exercise habits and more. In Our Power of Movement Challenge, 515 employees logged nearly 8,170 hours of physical activities, roughly translating to 395,893 miles.

Black man bicycles during tough workout in garage.

As part of a broader initiative targeting six areas that have a major impact on quality of life and health outcomes, BCBSTX physicians and guest experts held webinars for employees on cancer screenings, immunizations, diabetes, cardiovascular care, behavioral health and maternal and infant health.

icon graphic of a person jumping rope

8,170 hours of physical activities

logged by employees in our Power of Movement Challenge

Ethics and Compliance

External recognition assures our customers, business partners and our communities that we are a company committed to ethics and integrity. That’s why we were proud to be named one of the 2022 World’s Most Ethical Companies^® by Ethisphere^® for the seventh straight year.

This designation recognizes a broad range of initiatives focused on culture, compliance practices, governance, environmental and social impacts, leadership and reputation.

In addition to this global recognition, our toolkit designed to assist managers in navigating employee concerns was named a “best practice” by Health Ethics Trust. These honors recognize our ability to sustain a robust compliance program even during times of change. Through it all, we maintain a strong ethical culture by leaning on our core values of integrity, respect, commitment, excellence and caring, which form the foundation of our codes of conduct.

Bearded man in blue work shirt smiles while shaking hands.