Preventive & Remedial Action

To prevent, eliminate, or minimize human rights risks, both the Group and each business segment take appropriate preventive measures tailored to the individual case in our own business and in the value chain. In cases where our business activities have caused or contributed to human rights violations, we take appropriate and effective case-specific remedial action.

Preventive Measures

The following overview provides a non-exhaustive summary of potential standard preventive measures for Fresenius’s own operations and / or the value chain. 

Own Operations

Standard preventive measures within our own operations include, among others, a binding Code of Conduct for our employees, guidelines on social and labor standards, as well as management systems for occupational health and safety.

In addition to training on human rights and communication measures related to our Human Rights Statement, our Internal Control System (ICS) and regular internal audits strengthen the implementation and monitoring of our human rights due diligence obligations.

Value Chain

Our measures within the value chain include, among other things, a Code of Conduct for business partners as well as risk-based training on human rights requirements, including information on the grievance mechanism.

These are complemented by risk-based assessments and ongoing monitoring of our business partners. Human rights and environmental clauses in contracts, along with our memberships in industry and multi-stakeholder initiatives, further support the implementation of our due diligence obligations throughout the value chain. In addition, within the scope of our influence, we develop specific prevention measures tailored to the results of regular and event-driven risk analyses and document these accordingly.

Further information on specific preventive measures can be found under Risk Analysis and Impact as well as in the 2024 CSRD report in the chapters “Own workforce” and “Workers in the value chain”.

Remedial measures

The aim of any remedial action is to end or minimize and, if possible, reverse the human rights or environmental violation. To measure effectiveness, we review the implementation of the measures at a case-specific interval. If necessary, we initiate further measures. A process is only considered closed when all remediation measures have been fully implemented. 

To address negative impacts on rightsholders, we have developed a toolbox to provide practical support for human rights specific remediation measures. This is aimed at colleagues involved in investigating human rights and environmental violations affecting employees of Fresenius as well as workers in the value chain and consists of various components. These include general guidance on remediation in accordance with the LkSG and international human-rights-related standards and principles. It also includes guidance on dealing with specific human rights violations and a handout for evaluating the effectiveness of remediation.

Appropriateness and effectiveness review of the measures taken

We continuously review the effectiveness of preventive and corrective measures after implementation. This evaluation also incorporates new insights, such as those from our risk analysis and feedback from the affected stakeholder groups. If required, we initiate targeted adjustments to further enhance the effectiveness of the measures.

Human Rights at Fresenius

Our Human Rights Program

Further Information

Group-wide Governance & Responsibilities Risk Analysis & Impact Grievance Procedure & Handling