ICON PLC (ICLR) offers late stage outsourcing services to pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies. Noteworthy is its recent support of Pfizer and BioNTech on their COVID-19 vaccine trial, where the company worked with 153 sites in the US, Europe, South Africa, and Latin America to ensure the recruitment of more than 44,000 trial participants over a four-month period. Also of note is the nature of ICON’s business, where its leadership in the development of new drugs can have a significant impact on patient health and wellbeing. The company established its ESG Committee in 2019 and has established specific goals and objectives aligned with the 2030 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Among these are environmental goals to use 100% renewable electricity by 2025, a 20% reduction in kilowatt hours of electricity by 2030 and net zero carbon emissions on Scope 1 & 2 by 2030. ICON has significant diversity and inclusion efforts in place, led by its Inclusion & Belonging Steering Committee. Governance is strong, with eight independent directors out of ten as of December 2020. Following the merger of ICON with PRA, four of the twelve board seats are held by women.

Professional employer organization Insperity, Inc. (NSP) fills a lucrative niche within mid-high income white-collar employers, serving them as they outsource their increasingly complex human resources and benefit services needs. NSP has conservation initiatives to improve its carbon footprint. 463,400 pounds of paper are recycled through NSP’s conservation efforts, equivalent to 3,940 trees saved, 88,000 gallons of oil, 1.62 million gallons of water, and 695 cubic yards landfill space. NSP is highly involved in the community, with 60% of NSP’s employees participating in community activities. NSP also fosters a culture of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion which helps its own employees as well as its clients.

QSV holding LabCorp (LH) chartered an ESG Steering Committee in 2020 that works together with the company’s CEO and Executive Committee. The company has environmental initiatives in place to reduce emissions and optimize energy consumption. These include optimizing its courier vehicle fleet, investing in more energy efficient equipment and LED lighting, and utilizing renewable energy sources. In 2019, the company reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 3.6% while total energy consumption was flat relative to the prior year. Led by its Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, social initiatives include adding historically Black colleges to key recruiting schools, putting greater emphasis into developing female leadership and facilitating forums for women to share perspectives with the executive team, and promoting use of employee resource groups. In 2020, 78% of global interns were female and, in the U.S., 32% were underrepresented minorities. LabCorp was one of only 18 companies recognized by the U.S. National Business Group on Health for the Best Employers Excellence and Well-Being Platinum Award. Governance is a critical issue within LabCorp and in QSV’s analysis of the business. Nine out of 10 board members are independent, and five out of 10 board members are female and/or ethnically diverse. Stockholder friendly policies include annual election of directors, annual say-on-pay vote, shareholder right to call special meetings, and no supermajority voting requirement. 77.5% of CEO compensation is performance based and at risk.