We live up to our responsibility for our employees, our products and the environment. We also live up to our responsibility for society. That is because not only ownership, but also business success creates responsibility.
Firmly establishing and managing responsible behavior throughout the company is one of the basic principles of company management at Merck. As the top executive body of the company, the Executive Board examines overarching corporate responsibility issues at least twice a year. During 2010, these included such issues as greenhouse gas emissions, access to medicines, supply-chain monitoring, and Merck’s special responsibility as a research-based company. The latter resulted in, among other things, the adoption of policies on stem cell research and on the use of nanotechnology. In November 2010, Merck signed the “Code of Responsible Conduct for Business”, an initiative by German companies aimed at firmly establishing measurable standards with respect to fair competition, social partnership, merit, and sustainability.
Merck is a member of the FTSE4Good Index, a leading international stock index for socially responsible investing. Environmental protection as well as adherence to and support of human rights are examples of the inclusion criteria.
As part of a materiality analysis, we identified and prioritized those sustainability topics of greatest importance to Merck. The results of the analysis influence the selection of corporate responsibility (CR) activities and key issues described on the following pages as well as in the extensive Corporate Responsibility Report, which is published every two years and posted on our website. The analysis took into account the perspectives of different stakeholder groups, including for instance employees, business associates, site neighbors, and investors.