Stakeholder Dialogue

Millions of people around the world have an influence on, and an interest in, our business. We believe that active and constructive dialogue with our stakeholders improves how we formulate and implement our business strategy, and helps us understand the needs of the societies in which we operate.

These, our stakeholders, consist of a number of different groups:

• Employees and their representatives
• Customers – patients and the medical and scientific communities, including their professional associations
• Shareholders and financial analysts
• Authorities and the public sector
• Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs) and interest groups
• Neighbours and local communities
• Suppliers and business partners
• Business and industry associations
• Media

Our reputation is a direct reflection of how well we demonstrate our corporate principles to the outside world. Hence, it is vital for us to engage and listen to the various groups which impact on our business. We frequently run key stakeholder meetings or workshops in order to listen to the views of different interest groups and make sure they are widely heard and understood inside our organisation. Analysis of customers, investors, NGOs, employees and other stakeholder groups means we can keep in touch with their views and react quickly and appropriately.

We keep our stakeholders up-to-date on our actions and opinions through a variety of channels, including our annual reports, this sustainability website and a host of other publications and events. Our annual general meeting is also an important forum for discussion and debate with a key stakeholder group – our shareholders.

We have longstanding co-operative relationships with a number of stakeholders, particularly NGOs. We make an active contribution to these relationships, providing human resources, expertise and sometimes funding. A cross-section of the organisations and initiatives we are currently involved with includes:

• National and international business and industry associations
• World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD): Roche is one of the founding members of the WBCSD and is active in a number of its working groups.
• International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Business Charter for Sustainable Development: Roche endorsed the charter as a founding signatory in 1992.
• Responsible Care: Roche believes the Responsible Care programme is an important component of sustainable development and is committed to its implementation.
• World Environment Center (WEC): Roche has been an active member since the early 1990s.
• Global Environmental Management Initiative (GEMI)
• IMD Centre for Sustainable Management
• International Business Coalition on AIDS/HIV
• PharmAccess International, CARE Programme
• European Coalition of Positive People (ECPP)
• Development and disaster relief organisations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross and its national associations

Patient groups are important in helping Roche to gain a greater understanding of what it is like to live with a disease, the challenges facing patients and their families and the role that drug therapies play in the management of the disease. They also provide the company with an insight on how to support healthcare professionals who in turn support patients.

Roche wishes to ensure that collaborations reflect common values of intergrity, maintenance of independence, respect, equity, transparency, and mutual benefit.

Roche has established a set of guidelines which should underlie the relationship between Roche and any patient group. Any agency working with patient groups on behalf of Roche must follow these guidelines.

Our relations with suppliers and service providers are governed by internal guidelines and conform to internationally recognised standards of ethical business practice. These guidelines formally set out the sort of conduct we expect of the companies from which we purchase products and services.

Most manufacturers of specific intermediates or products in whose development Roche was or is involved are already committed to meeting Roche standards. And they are covered by our compliance monitoring procedures. We keep a particularly close eye on our suppliers' performance in key areas like workplace safety, industrial hygiene, pollution and waste management. The aim is to ensure that our suppliers and service providers meet our standards as well as all legal requirements.

Cooperation and social dialogue with external partners and stakeholder groups is important to Roche. Topics such as research and development of pharmaceuticals, innovation in the healthcare field, or access to medical care are high-priority issues and while pharmaceutical companies are only one part of the solution, we believe we have a duty to society and to our stakeholders to make balanced, constructive contributions to the public debate on these wide range of issues. In order to do this, we work closely with the relevant government offices, regulatory authorities and non-government organisations both globally and at the local level, to help shape opinion on proposed legal or political changes by making informed contributions to the public debate on such changes.

Our commitment focuses on working with the following organisations. Roche is actively represented in most of these organisations by senior members of management:

• European Roundtable of Industrialists (ERT)
• economiesuisse
• SwissHoldings
• Swiss Society of Chemical Industries (SSCI)
• European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA)
• Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA)
• International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Associations (IFPMA)
• Emerging Biopharmaceutical Enterprises (EBE)
• Biotechnology Industry Association of America (BIO)
• Interpharma
• Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed)
• European Diagnostic Manufacturers Association (EDMA)
• Japanese Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (JPMA)

We also work with many national and international organisations, government agencies and non-governmental organisations. Cooperation takes place at every level: Activities are coordinated and supported at the corporate level by the Corporate Office and Corporate Public Affairs, and at the divisional level by divisional regulatory and public affairs specialists. All public affairs activities at the corporate and divisional levels, and at our affiliates, comply with the law and are responsive to situations and circumstances. Roche publishes its positions on major issues and posts them on the Internet. Managerial and non-managerial staff at all Roche affiliates have access to these publications.

Roche's involvement occurs within a context of openness and transparency:

• Unless specifically stated otherwise, Roche supports jointly developed platforms and positions and is committed to them.
• Roche limits its involvement to selected organisations and areas that are directly related to its corporate mission or the basic conditions required to fulfil that mission.
• Roche joins an organisation only if active involvement within the organisation, either in a leadership role or in working groups, is possible and desirable. The commitment must be specific and long-term, if feasible.
• We have a right and a duty to contribute to the debate on public policy issues by bringing relevant facts and consequences to the attention of government policy makers, but we will never interfere with their decision-making authority.
• It is Roche policy not to take a public position on an matter involving party politics or religion.