Our Responsibility
Our innovations enable us to offer products and services that provide high-quality and affordable therapies to critically and chronically ill patients. We make a difference with our international expertise and interdisciplinary collaboration, which help us to optimize these offers.
As a healthcare Group with around 180,000 employees, Fresenius plays an important role in society. For more than 100 years, our motivation has been to preserve life, promote health, and improve the quality of life for people who are ill.
We aim to provide innovative products and services, and work proactively to enable a growing number of people to have access to high-quality, affordable healthcare. Our common goal is to improve healthcare quality and efficiency. The well-being of patients is always our top priority. It is our point of reference for all our business decisions and inspires us in how we understand our social responsibility, and how to act responsibly.
For Fresenius, economic success is not an end in itself, but a means of continuously investing in medical progress and thus creating added value for society.
Our ethical values go beyond legal requirements. For us, this means acting not only in accordance with the law, but also in accordance with applicable industry codes and our values. We are also guided by the following internationally recognized principles:
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Universal Declaration of Human Rights
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UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs)
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UN Global Compact Principles
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International Labor Organization (ILO) Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work
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OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises
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German Corporate Governance Code
Our value chain
Fresenius operates in more than 60 countries through its subsidiaries, maintains an international distribution network and operates more than 50 production sites. All purchasing processes are controlled by central coordination points in the business segments. Competence teams bundle the needs, conclude framework contracts, and continuously monitor current market and price trends. In addition, they coordinate global procurement for individual production sites or clinics and initiate quality and safety controls for raw materials and procurement goods (see Human Rights).
Supply reliability and quality of care play an important role in an environment characterized by ongoing cost-saving efforts by healthcare providers and by price pressure in the markets. We therefore constantly optimize our purchasing processes, standardize procurement materials, identify new sources of supply, and negotiate the best possible price deals. Maintaining high flexibility while at the same time meeting our strict quality and safety standards is crucial. A broad portfolio of suppliers reduces potential procurement or raw material shortages in both the product and service business (see Procurement management).
Our sustainability governance
At Fresenius, the Group Management Board member responsible for Legal, Compliance, Risk Management, Sustainability, Human Resources, Corporate Audit and for the business segment Fresenius Vamed (subsequently Sustainability Board Member) has overall responsibility for sustainability.
The Group Sustainability function acts as a competence center within the Fresenius Group. The function monitors regulatory developments, identifies key issues, and defines priorities and opportunities for the implementation of the sustainability strategy. It supports group-wide implementation and reviews progress as part of the annual reporting. Throughout the year, it aligns repeatedly with all Group functions and the sustainability officers in the business segments to consider the respective business models and ensure the feasibility of measures. The Group Sustainability function is also responsible for internal and external stakeholder communication and, together with the Group Controlling function, for non-financial reporting.
In the sustainability organization of the Fresenius, the Sustainability Steering Committee, founded in 2023, is responsible for defining the sustainability topics and aspects that the management and supervisory boards will address as a priority. The Sustainability Steering Committee is made up of the Sustainability
Board Member (Chair), the Group Sustainability function, defined functions at the corporate level, and the Sustainability officers from the operating companies. The committee has met at least quarterly since 2024 and is tasked with providing information on current developments, selecting suitable measures for improving Sustainability performance, and monitoring the progress of implementation. In the 2024 reporting year, the sole focus was on implementing the European Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive. To this end, the committee was expanded to include other Group functions. The Chief Financial Officer was also appointed to the committee as an additional member of the Management Board. The measures proposed by the Sustainability Steering Committee are submitted by the Sustainability Board Member on the Management Board for approval, if necessary.
The Management Board and the Supervisory Board review the progress and the results of the sustainability management, which are then published in the Sustainability Statement. The Supervisory Board is supported in this process by the audit performed by the external auditors. The key figures that form part of the remuneration components of the Executive Board are audited with reasonable assurance. The other key figures in the Sustainability Statement and the report itself are subject to a limited assurance review. The Audit Committee of the Supervisory Board has special responsibility for reviewing the Sustainability Statement. The Supervisory Board as a whole is also responsible for monitoring Fresenius’ sustainability performance.
For more information on this topic see the Sustainability Statement.
Further information on our ambitions and highlights in the area of sustainability can be found in our Sustainability Highlights Report 2023.
In addition, our interactive tool allows you to analyze and graph a variety of key figures of the Fresenius Group and the business segments on an annual basis.
Contact
Sarah Tix
Senior Vice President
Head of Group Sustainability
If you have any questions about sustainability, please contact us:
sustainability@fresenius.com