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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.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois 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.
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.
Their activities in 2022 included:
- Hosting a discussion on what it means to be transgender as an educational opportunity for allies.
- Creating programming to support our first official Juneteenth holiday.
- Presenting about Native American engagement at Seramount’s 2022 EmERGe Leadership Summit.
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.*
BCBSIL 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
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
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
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. 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 2.9 million pounds of paper and 82,000 pounds of electronic equipment in 2022.
BCBSIL supports urban beekeeping, hosting more than 100,000 honeybees at our Illinois headquarters since 2019.
These efforts translated to saving about 27,400 trees, 10 million gallons of water and 4,900 cubic yards of landfill space. Composting partnerships diverted nearly 70,000 pounds of organic waste in Chicago. Leftover prepared food from the Chicago headquarters is donated to The Chicago Bridge Project, providing nearly 5,000 meals for city shelters in 2022.
BCBSIL actively minimizes waste output when expanding its building portfolio. Our design and construction team diverted nearly 91% of the construction-related waste from landfill during the modernization of a dynamic new workplace that opened in 2022 in Downers Grove. We’re also conscious of the biodiversity impact of our facilities and have continued to support urban beekeeping, hosting over 100,000 honeybees at our Illinois headquarters since 2019.
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 renewed 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, 732 employees logged more than 12,000 hours of physical activities, roughly equivalent to 59,200 miles.
As part of a broader initiative targeting six areas that have a major impact on quality of life and health outcomes, BCBSIL physicians and guest experts held webinars for employees on cancer screenings, immunizations, diabetes, cardiovascular care, behavioral health, and maternal and infant health.
12,000 hours of physical activities
logged by employees in our Power of Movement Challenge
Ethics and Compliance
External recognition assures for 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.
Last Updated: March 10, 2023