Corporate responsibility

Aetna’s focus on corporate responsibility is evident in everything we do, from adherence to strict ethical guidelines and corporate governance standards to longstanding support of the communities where we do business. We have a clear track record for social responsibility that starts with our member-focused mission statement and set of values and culminates in responsible business policies and practices. It is a record that speaks directly to the priorities of many firms today that want and expect to do business with socially responsible companies.

Nothing speaks to our commitment to responsible leadership more visibly and resolutely than the activities of Aetna's independent charitable and philanthropic arm, the Aetna Foundation. Founded in 1972, the Aetna Foundation is a national health foundation that promotes wellness, health, and access to high-quality health care for everyone. Its giving is focused on:

• Addressing today's alarming obesity rates in children and adults;
• Promoting racial and ethnic equity in health and health care for common chronic conditions and infant mortality; and
• Advancing integrated health care, by improving coordination and communications among health care professionals, creating informed and involved patients, and promoting cost-effective, affordable care.

Since 1980, Aetna and the Aetna Foundation have contributed over $394 million in grants and sponsorships to non-profit organizations. This work is enhanced by the time and commitment of Aetna employees, who have logged more than 2.3 million hours of community service since 2003. To learn more about the Aetna Foundation, visit www.AetnaFoundation.org.

We recognize the impact and importance of diversity in all aspects of our business, whether it is providing products and services to meet a wide variety of consumer needs, fostering relationships with business owners and suppliers from smaller companies, or developing a diverse work force that truly understands and speaks the language of our customers. Our Diversity Annual Report highlights some of the ways diversity is ingrained in our strategy and goals.

• Through recruitment, education and development, we continue to strengthen Aetna’s workplace diversity to mirror the customers we serve.
• We are diversifying our supplier base, purchasing more than $140 million in goods and services from small businessees and certified minority-, women- and LGBT-owned business enterprises in 2010.
• We have created and implemented strategies that concentrate on bringing our health and related benefits to some of the fastest growing segments in the United States.

Aetna for many years has been committed to transforming health care in America by playing a leadership role in advancing public policy solutions. Since the adoption of health care legislation in March 2010, we are focused on achieving compliance, and we continue to offer the benefit of our experience to the rule-making process to help ensure the new law is implemented in a workable fashion.

Going forward, we advocate continued work in several key areas to help make health care reform more effective:

• Addressing the true drivers of medical costs, which are responsible for rising health care premiums
• Reforming the medical payment system
• Harnessing the power of health information technology
• Improving the quality of health care outcomes

Aetna has been engaged in recycling and energy-use reduction programs for many years at Aetna-owned facilities. For example, Aetna has recycled fluorescent light bulbs since 1994, long before it was required. In 2007 Aetna made its commitment to a healthier environment clear with the adoption of a formal environmental policy statement. Aetna has since redoubled its efforts to reduce its carbon footprint through a series of initiatives.

These programs have gained wide recognition. In 2009, Aetna’s innovative efforts to address global climate change were recognized with a Connecticut Climate Change Leadership Award by the State of Connecticut. Aetna also earned Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Silver certification in 2009 for the environmentally friendly construction of the new Aetna Customer Center within its 78-year-old headquarters building. 
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Aetna employees have a long history of service to our nation. For 157 years, they have heeded the call to come to the aid of their fellow citizens at home and abroad. Our archives contain rich details of stories, service and sacrifice by Aetna's military veterans. More 

Aetna's reputation is one of the company's most valuable assets. We have earned this reputation over the course of 157 years by delivering quality products and services, and by adhering to the highest standards of business conduct. These standards include sound corporate governance policies to address the interests of our constituents.

An important principle of good governance is transparency. Aetna, therefore, makes its key corporate governance policies and practices publicly available online. These corporate governance pages contain key information about Aetna's corporate governance in one simple, clear and easy-to-navigate location.

Those policies provide a framework for governance of the company consistent with shareholder and other constituent interests, and with the principles behind the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the New York Stock Exchange's corporate governance rules. We believe that sharing our corporate governance principles with all of our key stakeholders will help ensure that our commitment to excellence, integrity and accountability is apparent to all.