For businesses, the ultimate praise is when people admire your brand. Admiration from peers can feel even more special, which is what makes Fortune’s annual “World’s Most Admired Companies” among the cream of the crop in recognition.

Cigna was named 108^th overall on this year’s list of 333 companies. We fully recognize there is more work to be done – but we are proud to get this esteemed recognition nonetheless. The list, which is a collaboration between Fortune and Korn Ferry, is based on surveys with executives, directors, and analysts, who rate enterprises on nine criteria, ranging from investment value and quality of management and products to social responsibility and ability to attract talent.

Below, we look at some of our achievements in these areas.

Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG)

Cigna has been a leader in the ESG space for a number of years. In 2021, we were named to the 100 Best Corporate Citizens list by 3BL Media for the seventh consecutive year.  

“Our ESG approach underscores our mission to improve the health, well-being, and peace of mind of those we serve, and is a foundational part of who we are at Cigna.”Kari Stevens, vice president and chief counsel at Cigna Corporation

"We are proud to continue serving as a leader and steward of a well-functioning health care ecosystem because it is the backbone of society," Stevens added.

We developed our first annual Diversity Scorecard Report in 2021, which tracks our progress on our diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work across three critical areas – colleagues, clinical, and communities. For example, the scorecard shows we’re on track to meet our commitment to achieve $1 billion in diverse spending by 2025, ensuring that the businesses with which we work are representative of the communities we serve.

As a health services company, our health equity mission is to ensure that all people have the opportunity to achieve their full health potential regardless of social, economic, or environmental circumstances. In 2021, we committed to doubling the number of social determinants of health screenings, assessments, and referrals for at-risk customers, ensuring that those in underserved areas are connected with community organizations that can help address key issues such as employment, education, food security and access, literacy, and more. We also committed to doubling the number of completed health equity actions year-over-year – such as delivering a COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy campaign aimed at reducing disparities in vulnerable populations and launching a preterm birth pilot program to help reduce disparities among African American/Black and Hispanic women and infants. We exceeded our goals and this progress drives improved equity in health status, utilization, outcomes for customers impacted by health disparities, and delivers on our promise to understand our customers’ needs to help them achieve healthier, more secure lives.

After achieving our 2020 environmental targets within our domestic legacy Cigna portfolio, we set new, next-generation environmental targets that provide the company with a path to support long-term decarbonization of operations, procurement of renewable energy, and reduced water consumption at high-risk and high-priority sites, along with reducing waste and increasing landfill diversion rates.

Investment Value

We remain focused on executing our growth strategy, guided by our framework of delivering differentiated value, partnering and innovating, and expanding addressable markets. Cigna Corporation has two primary growth engines, Cigna health plans and Evernorth. Cigna health plans comprise the company’s commercial offerings, which predominantly serve employers, and government offerings, which serve individual consumers through Medicare Advantage and local market exchange plans. Evernorth is the company’s rapidly expanding health services organization, which serves employers, health plans, and government entities with pharmaceutical, specialty, and care delivery that includes virtual care offerings. Each of these businesses have attractive growth opportunities in front of them – both strategically and operationally. Most importantly, these two entities are a powerful combination.

Overall, we are well-positioned for continued growth in 2022. Strong performance by Evernorth in 2021 validates our company’s ongoing commitment to prioritize the evolving health, well-being, and financial needs of our customers, patients, clients, and provider partners in this particularly fluid environment.

We have aligned the right mix of talent, expertise, and capabilities, and maintain our balanced approach in today’s market. Our recent results show solid revenue and earnings contributions across our businesses, led by Evernorth. We ended 2021 with adjusted earnings per share (EPS) growing by 11% year over year to $20.47. We expect continued revenue and attractive EPS growth in 2022, while paying a meaningful dividend.

Cigna’s strong track record of execution, led by our experienced management team, continues to be recognized by investors. In addition, investors remain encouraged by Cigna’s ongoing shareholder-friendly actions, including the recent 12% dividend increase and continued share repurchase.

“As I look at the other companies on Fortune’s list, they all take bold steps forward by constantly adapting and growing – challenging the status quo.”Ralph Giacobbe, senior vice president of investor relations at Cigna.

"Investors take note of Cigna’s ability to leverage its strong portfolio of businesses to realize this growth and constantly propel innovation, and we continue to see significant value creation for clients, customers, and shareholders going forward," Giacobbe added.

Creating a Workplace Culture of Belonging

We understand this recognition from Fortune is broader than DEI, but we believe our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion in our workplace impacts the perception our peers have of Cigna Corporation.  

The launch of our Enterprise DEI Council in 2021 is a proud achievement in this space. The council is made up of leaders from across our company and tracks progress and accountability for our ongoing DEI and health equity efforts. Additionally, the council advances behaviors and actions that facilitate belonging, innovation, and equity for all Cigna colleagues. Since 2020, Cigna has achieved 96% diverse talent slates for external requisitions for senior level individual contributor roles, achieved 72% external women and ethnic minority hires, and improved Cigna's DEI Index Score to 80%. Our DEI Index score is measured by a subset of questions contained in our annual Employee Insights survey.

Additionally, we are changing the way we think about talent review and planning practices, with the focus of increasing the diversity of our leadership. We’ve seen increased representation of women and ethnic minorities in early career leadership development programs, including interns and full-time employees. Our total U.S. workforce currently includes 70.2% women (70% globally), which is well above the U.S. labor force rate of 47%. The percentage of ethnic minorities in our U.S. workforce is 36.9%, which is higher than the U.S. labor force rate of 22%. And, we are on track to achieve our goals to increase the representation of women at the director and senior director levels to 50% by 2024 and to increase ethnic minority representation within those roles.

“There’s no denying that fostering a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace is not only the right thing to do, it is also good for business – as we all need to be constructing workforces that are more reflective of the communities we serve.”Cindy Ryan, executive vice president and chief human resources officer at Cigna

“We are proud of our achievements in DEI but fully recognize that there is still work to be done," she added. "We remain committed to tracking our progress in this space and being transparent and accountable in our path toward real, sustainable change.”