Letter on Sustainability

Letter From Sustainability Committee Leadership

As we launch this sustainability hub, which houses publish our first-ever, full Sustainability Report, the world is emerging from one of the most significant periods of upheaval in recent history. COVID-19 transformed businesses and societies around the world, accelerating the need to act on critical global issues. This shift is why, in 2020, we decided to accelerate our sustainability program, laying the groundwork for our new strategy. The foundation of our sustainability ambition is what we’re most passionate about: improving oral health around the world, protecting the environment, being a trustworthy corporate citizen, and fostering a diverse, inclusive environment within our workplace and society. We have increased our involvement in global strategic programs for increased impact, improved our transparency as a business through comprehensive sustainability disclosures, and taken action within all three verticals of ESG: environment, social, governance. Jorge Gomez, CFO of Dentsply Sirona, says that, “2020 was a transformative year – one that underscored the need for companies to take action on the environmental, social, and economic issues that are shaping the world in which we live. We are excited to introduce our first-ever Sustainability Report outlining Dentsply Sirona’s own vision for a sustainable future.”

Minimizing Impact On Environments And Ecosystems

A core part of our strategy is focused on minimizing the impact of our global operations on the environments and ecosystems in which we operate. We believe environmental stewardship is critical for us to achieve our business objectives and safeguard our planet for generations to come. To date, we’ve made significant progress in these areas:

• Aligning sustainability goals that support our vision 
• Establishing a baseline for greenhouse (GHG) emissions 
• Submitting our first comprehensive carbon disclosure rating report to CDP 
• Publishing our first Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB)-aligned Sustainability Factsheet reflecting 2018 to 2020 data and metrics, as well as our Environmental Scorecard
• Publishing our inaugural TCFD-aligned Sustainability Report

We want to be transparent about our progress by continually measuring and analyzing our ESG data and improving our disclosures of key ESG metrics. Importantly, we strive to adhere to the highest standards of data integrity through third-party validation.

At Dentsply Sirona, We See Diversity As A Strength

Diversity is something we view as a great source of strength. We’ve made great progress in our pledge to foster diversity and be a welcoming, inclusive employer. We communicated our Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Strategy and Action Plan, establishing a global D&I Council comprised of diverse employees from different geographies and teams responsible for evaluating existing policies, and championing initiatives that support the Company internally and externally. We also created Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) to help cascade our strategy throughout the entire organization, continued our global engagement survey, and launched a D&I survey in the U.S. to allow employees to be heard on these critical issues that impact us all. Our focus also remains on ensuring our efforts extend beyond our employees, into the services we provide to our customers: “We see diversity at Dentsply Sirona as a great source of strength and are committed to ensuring that our business is not only diverse and inclusive, but is also one where employees feel empowered, motivated and excited to come to work every day,” says Lisa Yankie, CHRO of Dentsply Sirona.

We continue to think and act with the highest integrity as we work to transform dentistry and improve oral health globally. We work with strategic partners to help drive this positive impact at scale. In 2020, we built on this by preparing to launch a 5-year, signature, charitable partnership in 2021 with Smile Train, a renowned global Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), to help drive access to high-quality and safe oral care, and in 2021, we’re launching a partnership with FDI World Dental Federation that promotes sustainability in dentistry from patients to practitioners alongside GSK Consumer Healthcare, Procter & Gamble, Colgate, and TePe, and conducting a materiality assessment in 2022.

Walter Petersohn, Senior Vice President and CCO, states that, “Customer centricity is also core to our mission. Through a unified, partnership-led approach, we collaborate seamlessly with them to leave a long-lasting impact on communities and invite them on our journey towards a sustainable future for dentistry.”

We are proud of the progress we’re making and recognize that the path to becoming sustainability leaders in our industry requires long-term commitment and meaningful action. Progress will require collaboration with our partners, customers, and suppliers, partnering together to continue making a positive impact on the world we live in – enabling healthy smiles, a healthy planet, and a healthy business.

Jorge Gomez, Chief Financial Officer

Lisa Yankie, Chief Human Resources Officer

Walter Petersohn, Chief Commercial Officer