Our Responsibility

Our innovations enable aus 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 more than 190,000 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:

• Universal Declaration of Human Rights

• UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs)

• UN Global Compact Principles

• International Labor Organization (ILO) Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work

• OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises

• 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 organization

 

At Fresenius, the Group Management Board member responsible for Legal, Compliance, Risk Management, ESG, Human Resources and for the business segment Fresenius Vamed (subsequently ESG Board member) has overall responsibility for sustainability.

The Group ESG 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 ESG 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 ESG officers in the business segments to consider the respective business models and ensure the feasibility of measures. The Group ESG function is also responsible for internal and external stakeholder communication and, together with the Group Controlling function, for non-financial reporting.

The ESG Steering Committee, which was newly created at the end of 2023, consists of the ESG Board member (Chair), the Group ESG function, defined functions at Group level, and the ESG officers of the business segments. The committee will meet quarterly starting in 2024 and will be tasked with providing information on current developments, deciding on appropriate measures to improve ESG performance, and monitoring the progress of implementation. The measures proposed by the ESG Steering Committee are submitted to the Fresenius Group Management Board for approval by the ESG Board member.

The Management Board and the Supervisory Board review the progress and the results of the sustainability management, which are then published in the separate Group Non-financial Report. 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 Group Non-financial Report and the report itself are subject to a limited assurance review. The Audit Committee of the Supervisory Board has special responsibility for reviewing the Group Non-financial Report. The Supervisory Board as a whole is also responsible for monitoring Fresenius’ sustainability performance.

 

For more information on this topic see the Non-Financial Report.

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.