Genentech and Priorities
It came to our attention that we tend to point out all the bad stuff going on. Whether it be talking about how social media companies are selling your data, other companies skimming it off your activity, tracking your location, or governments trying to force their way into the blockchain economy we tend to focus too much on the negatives. While that is a natural tendency of human nature (the news has a saying – if it bleeds, it leads), there is plenty of good stuff going on as well. We at TARTLE think it’s our responsibility to make sure you know at least as much about the good stuff as you do the bad.
Some of those good things are coming from a company called Genentech. This 40-year-old healthcare company exists to help better treat people suffering from some of the worst diseases around. Of course, it’s worth noting that this goal isn’t unique in itself. What is unique is that Genentech starts with helping people as the goal. They don’t spend a lot of time talking about profit. Not that they don’t make one, it’s just a natural result of them pursuing their primary goal of improving the health of people everywhere.
Another aspect of the way Genentech operates is that they don’t just work on improving health on the back end, treating people when they are sick. They also work on getting out in front of the problem by taking care of the environment around them.
How are they doing that? Genentech is actually doing quite a bit. They are being transparent about their goals in reducing their water use and greenhouse gas emissions and taking active steps to make those goals a reality. In transportation, they are working on building a complete electric vehicle fleet for their campus as well as providing service for that last leg from public transport not just for Genentech employees but for those of nearby businesses that aren’t big enough to have their own fleet. They are even helping to build out the rest of the infrastructure in the San Francisco Bay Area. In water use, they’ve managed to save 78 million gallons of water in just three years. I don’t care who you are, that’s impressive. In energy, they are working towards having all the electricity needs of its campuses supplied by clean sources. They are already well along the way and plan on getting to 100% clean electricity by 2025.
Now, all of that isn’t to say that Genentech is perfect. What are they missing? What they are missing is the right approach to data. They recently signed a multimillion-dollar deal with 23andMe to gain access to all of the genomic data on file. So, if you have done a DNA test with 23andME, Genentech is able to access and use that information without your knowledge.
Naturally, being able to access large amounts of data like that is a big asset for a healthcare company on the cutting edge of developing new treatments. Yet, they should still be getting their data ethically, not buying it from someone who shouldn’t be selling it in the first place.
This is why TARTLE is working so hard to get our name out. Many companies like Genentech would love to get the information they need from people who give their fully informed consent, yet they haven’t realized that there is a way to do exactly that. All it takes is for them to sign up in our digital marketplace as a buyer and search for exactly the kind of data they need. Not only would they be getting it from people who are willingly sharing their information, they are able to then go back to the same people for follow-ups with responses to treatments, lifestyle questions that might be relevant and much more. What’s more, they are not only getting their data ethically, they are likely to do it at less cost. When people understand what their data is going to be used for, that it will help others, they are more likely to actually donate that information. In that way, sharing data becomes ethical and charitable, and that clearly is good for everyone.
What’s your data worth?
Naturally, being able to access large amounts of data like that is a big asset for a healthcare company on the cutting edge of developing new treatments. Yet, they should still be getting their data ethically, not buying it from someone who shouldn’t be selling it in the first place.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Welcome to TARTLE Cast with your hosts, Alexander McCaig and Jason Rigby. Where humanity steps into the future, and source data defines the path.
Alexander McCaig (00:26):
Hello and welcome back everybody to TARTLE Cast. If you don't follow us on Twitter, follow us on Twitter.
Jason Rigby (00:31):
Alex, it is so important. It is @tartleofficial. T-A-R-T-L-E-O-F-F-I-C-I-A-L. It is Twitter. Subscribe. We'd love to have you do that.
Alexander McCaig (00:42):
Yeah. I mean, we Tweet all the time. So, if you just want a quick little blurb, we'll always be in your face.
Jason Rigby (00:50):
Yeah, exactly. And then we put the shows on there and stuff like that.
Alexander McCaig (00:53):
And we're not putting anything useful. I mean-
Jason Rigby (00:55):
We are putting nothing useful on there.
Alexander McCaig (00:57):
We put nothing useful on our feeds.
Jason Rigby (01:00):
So, I want to get into this because I don't want to-
Alexander McCaig (01:04):
I fricking bet you do.
Jason Rigby (01:06):
Alex, we're always bashing it seems like sometimes. And I always think of that story that you told of the monkey who was carrying the stick. He was totally in his monkey mind, all excited and getting ready to rip some heads off literally.
Alexander McCaig (01:18):
Yeah, down in Gombe, in Africa.
Jason Rigby (01:21):
In that documentary you watched, horrific. But we see companies and we see them like, "Oh, we're going to make profits."
Alexander McCaig (01:29):
I'm sorry. I'm thinking about it, I'm picturing the scene of him dragging this huge branch.
Jason Rigby (01:34):
Yeah. He's like a serial killer.
Alexander McCaig (01:40):
He's just hauling, dude, with this branch like acting like he's all big and tough.
Jason Rigby (01:44):
Yeah. He's ready.
Alexander McCaig (01:45):
Oh gosh. All right. I'm-
Jason Rigby (01:46):
He was ready to kick some ass.
Alexander McCaig (01:47):
I'm civilized.
Jason Rigby (01:48):
So, we look at companies that are doing... Basically eating up humanity, ripping humanity's heads apart. But there are companies that are doing good, and I... We had talked about this the other day is to create a balance because we want to have a balance in everything that we do, and we want to share companies that are doing well, and this is one Genentech, it's prioritizing the health of people and the planet. How are they doing that? Well, first let's talk a little bit about the company. It's G-E-N-E-N-tech. So, hopefully its Genentech. They were founded more than 40 years ago and remains a place where bright minds come together to develop medicines for people with serious and life-threatening diseases, such as cancer and multiple sclerosis. As a healthcare company, it's especially important for the organization to model change required to improve the health of every person. Notice that they said to improve the health. That's true healthcare.
Alexander McCaig (02:46):
I haven't heard one thing about profits.
Jason Rigby (02:48):
Oh, no, you're not. This is the beautiful part.
Alexander McCaig (02:50):
How do we get the smartest minds in the world together to keep people healthy?
Jason Rigby (02:54):
Yeah, I want to read this again. Think about this. It's especially important that the organization... So, the organization, they're thinking to themselves... Think of an organization, like systems all put into play to model, good word, the change required to improve the health of every person on the planet.
Alexander McCaig (03:08):
So, what they're saying is we need to be flexible to how people are changing and how disease is changing, and we have to meet people there as a flexible company to say, "We're here to help you in your current state."
Jason Rigby (03:22):
Yeah, and number five on our big seven is public health. So, we're right in agreement with them. If you want to know more about the big seven, we're going to have our new update on tartle.co. It'll be out probably by the time this episode's out.
Alexander McCaig (03:34):
Yeah, definitely.
Jason Rigby (03:35):
This is going to be out here very soon, and you can go on there and read about number five, public health and number seven, and how you can share your data to help public health. But Genentech has embraced this responsibility to have better healthcare for the planet-
Alexander McCaig (03:48):
I love that word responsibility.
Jason Rigby (03:49):
And they embraced it. That's a great word.
Alexander McCaig (03:51):
They're like, "We need to be responsible for helping out."
Jason Rigby (03:54):
First publishing greenhouse gas emissions and water use reduction [inaudible 00:03:57] back in 2006 and setting aggressive environmental-sanitary goals around energy, water, waste and transportation impacts ever since. So, in 2006 it said, "We're going to make sure that we have these sustainable goals, as far as a business, the way we use energy in our big buildings, the way we use water and how our employees are transported."
Alexander McCaig (04:21):
15 years ago, these guys woke up. I use guys as an agnostic term for gender. I don't want to offend here.
Jason Rigby (04:30):
And so for its parent company Roche, or R-O-C-H-E.
Alexander McCaig (04:33):
Roche.
Jason Rigby (04:34):
Roche has been recognized for over a decade as one of the most sustainable companies in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for environmental, economic and social performance.
Alexander McCaig (04:43):
I mean, it is Roche. I mean Roche owns a-
Jason Rigby (04:45):
R-O-C-H-E.
Alexander McCaig (04:46):
Yeah, Roche.
Jason Rigby (04:48):
To reinforce Genentech's long-term commitment to environmental sustainability. I want you guys to listen, this is really cool. It has developed a 2050 zero emissions roadmap.
Alexander McCaig (04:59):
For Genentech?
Jason Rigby (05:00):
Yeah, by 2050. Now here's what they pledged because they said they pledged-
Alexander McCaig (05:05):
It's 30 years.
Jason Rigby (05:06):
Pledged to reduce the company's environment impact by 50%. So, they've already reduced it, now they're going to reduce it another 50% before the end of this decade. So, before the end of this decade. So, they have what? Eight, nine years to do it? And achieve zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Alexander McCaig (05:23):
That's amazing, zero!
Jason Rigby (05:24):
To accomplish these goals, the company is evolving the way it managed transportation in its campus environment and actively engaging employees at all levels of the organization in the process.
Alexander McCaig (05:35):
Okay, and so that's phenomenal, right? So, F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG is a Swiss multinational healthcare company. I can't even say it. Screw it. But here's the point, Genentech is an American biotechnology company and it's a wholly-owned affiliate of the Japanese biotechnology company, Chugai Pharmaceuticals. So, Chugai I guess is underneath Roche, and then underneath Chugai is Genentech. So shout-out to the American branch, which is two steps away, two degrees away from their parent Roche here, but they do some quite amazing stuff.
Jason Rigby (06:12):
I want you to listen to this statement-
Alexander McCaig (06:14):
Please give me the statement.
Jason Rigby (06:15):
This is such a beautiful statement and I want you to talk about this. Genentech, the company, believes that living in a clean safe environment is a basic human right.
Alexander McCaig (06:26):
Shouldn't it be? Should people be living in filth and disease?
Jason Rigby (06:29):
Well, we don't care as long as you're producing for us.
Alexander McCaig (06:31):
But that's a lot of the mindset in a lot of places.
Jason Rigby (06:34):
Yeah, you're a widget to make profit off of.
Alexander McCaig (06:36):
You're rubber trees. I don't want to get into that. We have a whole episode on it. Yeah. So, but that's the point. I mean, it's not even a belief for them. Shit. Genentech, guys, just be matter-of-fact about it, you don't have to believe, you know for a fact that that is the state of life people should be in because that keeps them healthy, and if you really feel like you need to be flexible in the pharmaceutical technology that you're delivering, this biotechnology, well then you got to meet them at their house and you got to meet them in the hospital.
Jason Rigby (07:13):
They have electric Genen-buses in San Francisco, so they pick people up on these electric buses that they have.
Alexander McCaig (07:20):
Yeah. Novartis has a whole campus in Jersey that does the same thing.
Jason Rigby (07:23):
Yeah, and so this is the way that they're... They also say that they're doing training to help people become good neighbors and have a change in their communities, so it impacts beyond.
Alexander McCaig (07:36):
They're stepping beyond just the campus of biotechnology. They're like, "Well, how do we, then... If we want to meet people with our technology at their homes, how do we take our employees and how do we help elevate them in their communities?" It's a very positive, systemic effect that they're trying to create.
Jason Rigby (07:51):
Yeah, and this is a pretty heavy duty article. So, maintaining a sustainable campus environment, that's how they do it with transportation, is with electric buses, and they're going to be having plug-in hybrids by 2030 on all their sales vehicles. They have 1200 sales vehicles. Genentech campus was dying to enhance health resource conservation energy performance. About 95% of electricity companies used on its campus is from clean sources, and by 2025, it will be a 100%. That's in four years. As an early adopter of WELL building certification, W-E-L-L. I've never heard of that.
Alexander McCaig (08:26):
I didn't know that.
Jason Rigby (08:27):
Yeah, we'll have to look at that. I'd be curious to see what that is. As an early adopter of WELL, W-E-L-L building certification for new building construction, four of the company's newest buildings were developed according to green building principles with an emphasis on sustainability, wellbeing, community and innovation. The Genentech childcare center is a L-E-E-D platinum building, two others are L-E-E-D gold buildings, and one is a WELL gold building. So, this WELL must be part of this. The company is retooling a number of its older buildings to meet the criteria for Fitwel champion status.
Alexander McCaig (09:02):
Yeah. Well, it's cool. So, if they get certain subsidies for being environmentally friendly with that LEED certification, but it's just nice to see that the data that they're using in terms of the environment is helping guide them towards better decision-making. So, you remember how we used this as an example for everybody? It's like, "We need to use this data to guide our future." Well, Genentech has smartened up and they're doing what they can, because again, they're the ones with the resources that have the ability to do this once they get the data in their hand.
Jason Rigby (09:32):
Dude, think about this. Their campus alone in the last three years has saved 78 million gallons of water through limiting irrigation and reusing reverse osmosis reject water.
Alexander McCaig (09:44):
So, if you think about that, remember-
Jason Rigby (09:45):
78 million gallons, one corporation.
Alexander McCaig (09:47):
So, that means they're actually saving things that they feel are human right?
Jason Rigby (09:52):
Yes. What if every corporation decided to do this and each corporation was saving 78 million gallons of water? How much water would we have then?
Alexander McCaig (10:01):
Just so much clean water. Just leave it alone. I think it's amazing.
Jason Rigby (10:06):
Yeah, and so they engage their employees in caring for our planet. They have Act Together, Act Now, a website which explains how the actions we take as individuals and the power of the actions we take together, make a difference.
Alexander McCaig (10:18):
How many times do we got to say? This is just a great example of that data and the power of collective data coming together. We, when we take control of this thing, that's ours and we shared that, there is a lot of good that happens with it. And when we get millions of people coming together, or even smaller amounts of groups, that collective power of that data can help define what the future looks like.
Jason Rigby (10:39):
Yeah, they also asked their leaders to set annual sustainability goals in categories where employee actions and business poly can make a difference.
Alexander McCaig (10:47):
They shouldn't have asked them, they should have told them.
Jason Rigby (10:49):
Yeah, but I mean, I just see this going in the right direction. Leaders budgeted for 2021 at the objective of cutting greenhouse gas emissions from the air travel by 50% from the 2019 levels, which COVID helped them do that, but obviously, they are probably automatically saved that just based off of COVID.
Alexander McCaig (11:07):
Yeah, there's one thing I got to talk about it.
Jason Rigby (11:09):
Yes.
Alexander McCaig (11:10):
In January of 2015, Genentech signed a $60 million deal with 23andMe that gave Genentech access to the genomic and patient reported data held by 23andMe.
Jason Rigby (11:24):
That's crazy-
Alexander McCaig (11:26):
23andMe, it's not your freaking genome.
Jason Rigby (11:28):
How much did that cost?
Alexander McCaig (11:29):
60 million just for access. 23andMe, that's not your genome. Your business should be selling the kits and then helping deliver that data back to people. It is not your business to sell that [crosstalk 00:11:41].
Jason Rigby (11:41):
So, Genentech has mine because I did 23andMe. So, Genentech has my-
Alexander McCaig (11:44):
Genentech has access to your things.
Jason Rigby (11:45):
Yeah, to my DNA.
Alexander McCaig (11:47):
Get a class-action lawsuit together.
Jason Rigby (11:52):
Genentech has grown tremendously over the past 40 years, but its clarity of purpose, approach to value and respecting each individual, besides when they get data, and dedication to giving back...
Alexander McCaig (12:01):
Genentech, we knew you were going to slip somewhere. We found it.
Jason Rigby (12:05):
The company is proud to be a leader in the collective effort to solve the global environmental crisis, and committed to it's part in creating a cleaner, healthier, and more sustainable world. So environmental-wise, they're doing great data.
Alexander McCaig (12:16):
Data respect-wise, you and 23andMe, come on guys.
Jason Rigby (12:18):
We would love to have either one of you, 23andMe or Genentech, we'd love to have you on the podcast. We always ask all these companies, we always want all of them to come on the podcast.
Alexander McCaig (12:28):
Why does nobody want to talk with us?
Jason Rigby (12:32):
And we're going to have a conversation where we're going to be unifying. We're going to be speak truth, and I would never want anybody to feel like we're imposing on their free will in a conversation that we have.
Alexander McCaig (12:45):
Let me know what your perspective is.
Jason Rigby (12:46):
We would even send questions over, and they can review them.
Alexander McCaig (12:49):
Tell me what your perspective is. Come on here. Let's dialogue about it, and I'm going to hit you with some hard logic, and I'm going to say, "Is that ethical? Is that moral? Is it a egalitarian? Is it unifying? Does it respect the person's value?" Okay, well then do you-
Jason Rigby (13:05):
I think it's just going to be you and I, Alex, on the podcast from here on out.
Alexander McCaig (13:07):
Do you meet that criteria? Well, no. I guess we don't have any guests.
Jason Rigby (13:13):
Oh, Lord.
Alexander McCaig (13:14):
Well, Genentech, you have 50% of the picture. Let's hit it home with the data, right?
Jason Rigby (13:17):
You're giving an example for other businesses with these big campuses, because the scientists have to work at the labs. They can't work from home obviously.
Alexander McCaig (13:25):
No, and just because you've got a big campus doesn't mean you're doing a lot of great stuff.
Jason Rigby (13:28):
Yeah, exactly. So, we love that.
Alexander McCaig (13:31):
Just because you got the bigger stick, doesn't mean you're the strongest.
Jason Rigby (13:33):
No, that monkey grabbing it-
Alexander McCaig (13:35):
But Genentech, shout out.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
Thank you for listening to TARTLE Cast with your hosts, Alexander McCaig and Jason Rigby. Where humanity steps into the future, and source data defines the path.
