Prototype company example
Johnson&Johnson
Johnson&Johnson’s legal filings cover issues missing from the sustainability messages reviewed.
Read the findings ↓
Illumination Index
12/22
Findings ↓
Research detail ↓
Sources ↓
Johnson & Johnson’s environmental reporting, outside checks of selected data, and legal records about talc litigation and opioid settlements.
What was reviewed:
What this means for you:
An outside reviewer may check selected figures without assessing whether a report covers every important issue. Check what the review actually included.
Details behind the findings
Outside review
Selected sustainability information was checked by independent organizations.
Separate legal records
The study also examined talc litigation and opioid settlements.
What The Illumination Index Found
The study identified climate targets approved by the Science Based Targets initiative, an organization that checks targets against climate science. It also identified reviews of selected information by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and ERM Certification and Verification Services.
1
Outside organizations checked selected information.
Findings
What this means:
Approval of a climate target and review of reported data are different checks. Neither automatically establishes that a report covers every relevant issue.
Talc litigation appeared in separate legal records.
The study identified talc-related legal proceedings in public records that were not discussed in the selected sustainability messages it reviewed.
2
What this means:
Allegations, proposed settlements and court decisions mean different things. Reporting a legal issue does not mean treating every allegation as proven.
Opioid settlements added information beyond environmental performance.
3
The study also considered opioid settlements in public records when assessing which issues the selected sustainability messages addressed.
What this means:
Sustainability reporting can cover environmental, social and governance issues—often shortened to ESG. Product safety, public health and company oversight can matter as well as emissions.
How to read the research detail
These are the original names used in the research. Each indicator is a question applied to the same selected messages and records. The explanation below each name tells you what was checked. The number records what the researcher found in those materials.
Some labels need their explanation. “Third-party verification” checks whether outside support is missing or described inaccurately; a higher value does not mean more outside review.
0 - Not detected
1 - Partially detected
2 - Clearly detected
ESG means environmental, social and governance. TCFD means Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, a framework for reporting climate related business risks and opportunities. Indicator values describe the original coding behind the overall result.
References
Johnson & Johnson. (2025, June 11). 2024 Health for Humanity report. https://healthforhumanityreport.jnj.com/2024/_assets/downloads/johnson-johnson-2024-health-for-humanity-report.pdf
Johnson & Johnson. (2026, February 11). Form 10-K: Annual report for the fiscal year ended December 28, 2025. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0000200406/000020040626000016/jnj-20251228.htm
Johnson & Johnson. (2025, February 13). Form 10-K: Annual report for the fiscal year ended December 29, 2024. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. https://s203.q4cdn.com/636242992/files/doc_financials/2024/q4/Form-10-K-2024-as-filed-13Feb2025.pdf
Johnson & Johnson. (n.d.). Environmental sustainability. https://www.jnj.com/our-societal-impact/global-environmental-sustainability
J&J MedTech. (n.d.). Sustainability. https://www.jnjmedtech.com/en-US/service/healthsystems/sustainability
Johnson & Johnson [@jnj]. (2024, December 20). Our commitment to creating a healthier planet goes hand in hand with our mission to impact health for humanity [Instagram post]. Instagram.
Science Based Targets initiative. (2025). Target dashboard: Johnson & Johnson. https://sciencebasedtargets.org/target-dashboard
Net0Tracker. (2025). Johnson & Johnson. https://net0tracker.com/corporates.html/Johnson%20&%20Johnson/
InfluenceMap. (2025). Johnson & Johnson. LobbyMap. https://lobbymap.org/EN/company/Johnson-Johnson
Sustainability Magazine. (2026, February 5). How J&J leads healthcare innovation through sustainability. Sustainability Magazine. https://sustainabilitymag.com/news/johnson-johnson-healthcare-innovation-sustainability