Code of Conduct

These are the guiding principles which embody our vision of the company we strive to be: an innovative company which enjoys the pride of its employees and deserves the lasting trust of its partners.

Our aim as a leading healthcare company is to create, produce and market innovative solutions of high quality for unmet medical needs. Our products and services help to prevent, diagnose and treat diseases, thus enhancing people's health and quality of life. We do this in a responsible and ethical manner and with a commitment to sustainable development respecting the needs of the individual, the society and the environment.

Service to Patients and Customers

A prime objective of Roche is to meet the patients' and customers' needs for high quality products and services. This implies identifying and solving their problems and anticipating their future needs by maintaining close contacts with them and listening to what they say. Our commitment includes full respect for patients' individual rights.

Respect for the Individual

We believe that the success of our company depends on the combined talents and performance of dedicated employees. For this reason, we want:

• to build respect for the individual into all our work by ensuring that all members of the organisation understand their responsibility to respect each other's rights and dignity;
• our people to develop their talents and make optimal use of their abilities and potential and to encourage information-sharing and open dialogue;
• to provide recognition based on performance and contribution to Roche's success;
• to promote diversity and equal opportunities;
• everyone in the organisation to work under optimal conditions of health and safety.

Commitment to Responsibility

We want to meet high standards of performance and corporate responsibility in all our activities and we apply our Corporate Principles in our dealings with business partners. We are committed to selecting, developing and promoting employees and managers with self-drive and empathy who:

• combine professional competence with a leadership style that motivates people to high performance;
• have an open mind and a sense of urgency, understand the needs of the company and have the courage to question conventional wisdom;
• have the flexibility required to broaden their experience;
• live these corporate principles in their decisions and actions.

Commitment to Performance

We aim to continuously create value for our stakeholders and to achieve sustainable, high profitability. We do this in order to maintain our commitment to research, to ensure our growth and independence, to provide employment opportunities, to cover risks and to pay an attractive return on invested capital.

Commitment to Society

We want to maintain high ethical and social standards in our business dealings, in our approach to medical science, in our efforts to protect the environment and ensure good citizenship. We will maintain these standards by adherence to local, national and international laws and co-operating with authorities and in proactively communicating with the public. We support and respect the human rights within the sphere of our influence. We recognise the need to work in partnership with our stakeholders, regularly seeking their views and taking them into account.

Commitment to the Environment

As part of our commitment towards sustainable development we proactively seek to employ new, more sustainable technologies and processes and to minimise our impact on the environment.

Commitment to Innovation

Innovation across all aspects of our business is the key to our success. Being active in high-technology fields, we must recognise new trends at a very early stage and be open to unconventional ideas. We see change as an opportunity and complacency as a threat. We therefore encourage everywhere in the company the curiosity needed to be open to the world and new ideas.

Continuous Improvement

We are committed to benchmarking our principles and achievements against the industry and best practice; this includes transparent reporting. We will continue to put in place directives and processes that enable us to implement each of our Corporate Principles.