Our commitment

For Fresenius Medical Care, managing sustainability successfully means creating lasting value – economically, ecologically and socially. Responsible conduct in compliance with our core values and applicable legal requirements is a key element of our corporate culture.

Responsibilities and processes in the area of sustainability are clearly regulated at Fresenius Medical Care. According to our global sustainability governance structure, sustainability is firmly established at Management Board level. The highest governing body for sustainability issues is our Sustainability Decision Board. Headed by CEO Rice Powell, it is responsible for integrating sustainability into the Company’s strategy and business. Together with the Sustainability Decision Board, the Management Board decides on strategic initiatives.  The Management Board and the Supervisory Board review the progress of sustainability management, which is then published in the separate Non-Financial Group Report.

Another important part of our global sustainability governance is the Corporate Sustainability Committee, which acts as an advisory and steering committee. It comprises senior representatives from all regions and global functions who have been nominated to adequately represent regional and functional interests in our sustainability activities. The Sustainability Decision Board and the Corporate Sustainability Committee enable the Global Sustainability department to manage Fresenius Medical Care’s sustainability activities.

In 2020, we advanced our sustainability efforts and launched a new Global Sustainability Program. It defines global targets for eight focus areas in the period from 2020 to 2022. These are derived from the results of our materiality analysis that we carry out to identify the most relevant sustainability topics for our business. The eight focus areas are: patients, employees, anti-corruption and bribery, data protection and privacy, labor and human rights, sustainable supply, environment, and occupational health and safety.  The Global Sustainability Program will shape our operations and create valuable opportunities for us to integrate sustainability principles into global activities and assume even greater accountability.

Each year, we disclose information on our sustainability activities as part of our Non-Financial Report. The report is our opportunity to regularly share how we create value for all stakeholders, including our patients, employees, investors, and beyond. The report covers different focus areas. These comprise our patients and employees, environmental protection, combating bribery and corruption, and respect for human rights. It's a transparent way to discuss what we stand for as a company and what actions we take to advance these areas.

As a global healthcare company, we work continuously to save lives, promote health and improve the quality of life of our patients. We want to make a difference to the lives of others with our products and services by enabling better access to good and affordable health care in many countries. To us, human rights are an integral part of our corporate responsibility.

To fulfill our responsibility as a health care company, we are committed to respecting human rights in our operations and complying with the laws of the countries in which we do business. The below statement is unique to Fresenius Medical Care. However, in its development, we considered for purposes of guidance, the principles described in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the International Labour Organization’s 1998 Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. This statement complements our commitment and our principles toward respecting human rights, as addressed in our Code of Ethics and Business Conduct.

Our Code of Ethics and Business Conduct constitutes a binding framework that governs how Fresenius Medical Care employees interact with patients, colleagues, suppliers and society. The Code defines practices beyond legal requirements. It covers material non-financial topics that are relevant for Fresenius Medical Care ranging from patient care, quality and innovation, anti-corruption and bribery to worker protection, the environment and health and safety. The Code of Ethics and Business Conduct and our underlying values also include Fresenius Medical Care’s commitment to respecting material human rights topics such as working conditions, non-discrimination and grievance mechanisms. It applies worldwide to the members of the Management Board, to all of the company’s employees as well as to the operations of all direct and indirect subsidiaries that are majority-owned or controlled in some other way by us.

Compliance with the Code of Ethics and Business Conduct is essential for Fresenius Medical Care’s long-term success as it is the foundation of our corporate culture and an integral part of day-to-day work. Specialized functions at global, regional and local level are responsible for implementing and communicating these principles within the organization. Training programs on the Code of Ethics and Business Conduct are designed to increase awareness of the applicable rules and help employees to understand them better and comply with them. The training programs are held regularly and are mandatory for all relevant employees. Standardized processes are in place to allow employees to attend the programs.

To identify and prioritize the topics that have the strongest impact on the economy, society and the environment and matter most to our business, we conduct a formal materiality analysis every three years.

In 2019, we conducted a thorough materiality analysis in accordance with the German Commercial Code to help us identify topics that are important to the business and our stakeholders and that therefore need to be covered in our reporting.

Our materiality analysis comprised five steps:

1. In a first step, we created a comprehensive list of potential material topics based on a competitor benchmark, our corporate risk management reporting, ESG ratings and rankings such as DJSI, CDP and MSCI, best-practice guidelines including GRI or the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB). The list also included the results of our trend and media analysis.

2. To prioritize the sustainability topics according to their business relevance, we then conducted an online survey, in which we asked representatives of all regions and functions to assess the importance of the individual topics for Fresenius Medical Care.

3. To gain an internal perspective on our contribution to sustainable development, we used the comprehensive and internally accepted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a proxy to help us understand how our business activities impact non-financial aspects.

4. We then asked our stakeholders for feedback and identified external stakeholders to review the results and make sure that the materiality analysis process and the results derived from it are sound.

5. Finally, we involved senior management and asked them to test the results of our materiality analysis and validate the outcome.

In 2020, we reviewed our materiality analysis. It confirmed the prioritization of key areas identified in 2019. We continuously monitor and evaluate upcoming topics and areas of interest for our stakeholders.

In response to the economic, social and environmental challenges that our planet faces, the United Nations defined 17 goals for a sustainable development. The so-called Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a worldwide agenda to reduce hunger and poverty, improve health, enable equal opportunities and protect the planet. We too expressly support the comprehensive approach of the SDGs. In line with our corporate purpose “Creating a future worth living. For patients. Worldwide. Every day.”, we support in particular SDG 3, which focuses on good health and well-being.

In addition, we seek to make a responsible contribution to further SDGs: