Our corporate culture has always been characterized by responsible behavior – whether with respect to our products, our employees, the environment, or society. Our approach and our conduct have evolved from a history dating back nearly 350 years; they are derived from our Mission Statement and our Values, and shaped by the external initiatives that we support. Our aim is to operate as a global company that creates added value for consumers, our market partners and the community and that helps them lead better lives. We strive to achieve positive recognition for our company in the community and are committed to operating safely and respecting the environment. Our [...]

[...] 30 Support for culture and sports activities near our sites 20 15 14 18 28 Education 23 19 21 22 16 Environment – – – 5 9 Other 11 27 27 17 14 Disaster relief 5 6 3 10 3 Aid to socially disadvantaged people 41 33 35 – – In 2011, we reviewed the focuses of our social engagement. Many of our projects in the different focal areas support socially disadvantaged people. In order to clearly categorize our activities, we have therefore stopped using “Aid for socially disadvantaged people” as a sub-category. We have added “Health” and “Environment” as focal areas. XLS Download Motivations for our social engagement (%)* 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 * [...]

[...] Company values and external initiatives Our CR strategy covers three action areas: products, the environment, and people. CR strategy Our compliance organization supports compliance with laws and internal regulations. Compliance Guidelines translate the requirements from our Mission Statements and Values into concrete terms. Guidelines and management systems We maintain a continuous dialogue with our stakeholders. Stakeholder dialogue

[...] and marketing of innovative products in an international, motivating and mutually respectful work environment. In addition, “Make great things happen” is also intended to reflect our strong social responsibility and our commitment to reconciling the demands of a career and a family as well as work and leisure. The positive impact of the campaign is confirmed by our ranking among the best employers for experienced scientists in Germany, which was completed between June and November 2012 by the company Universum following a survey of over 5,000 participants. Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany reached sixth place out of 100 companies, which was an improvement of three [...]

[...] by paying them bonuses based on the cost savings or the contribution to occupational safety, environmental protection and quality improvement. Our employees submitted 4,111 suggestions in 2011 and 3,128 in 2012 for improvement. These led to savings amounting to € 1.9 million in 2011 and € 2.0 million in 2012. For this, they received bonuses totaling € 1.1 million in 2011 and € 0.8 million in 2012. Around 70% of the suggestions for improvement related to production areas; the remaining 30% comprised suggestions pertaining to analysis, technology and logistics. The suggestions helped significantly in many instances to optimize production processes and [...]