Risk and opportunity management

The Roche Group Policy on Risk Management describes Group risk management as the collective set of risk management processes in the Roche Group. The processes ensure that material risks - the possibility that an event will occur and adversely affect the achievement of Roche’s objectives - are identified, managed and if need be reported. The policy defines the respective basic principles, processes, roles and authorities.

Risk & opportunity management is an integral part of the Roche Group’s business governance on all levels. Risk & opportunity Management includes:

• Identification

• Analysis and evaluation of risks & opportunities

• Appropriate response plans

• Monitoring and reporting of risks & opportunities to provide assurance regarding the achievement of objectives

At Roche Group level this is formalised in the Group Risk & Opportunity Management Process (GRMP), where divisions and Group functions assess risks & opportunities and develop plans for the most material ones identified. 

The consolidated Group Risk & Opportunity Report (GRR) is then discussed and approved together with the business plan by the Corporate Executive Committee and reviewed by the Board of Directors.

This process is supported by Group Risk Advisory, being responsible for the necessary alignment, coordination and development of risk & opportunity management across the Roche Group. The Group Risk & Opportunity Management Process is continuously improved through stakeholder feedback and effectiveness evaluation, and when appropriate through external reviews.

Beside this core activity, Group Risk Advisory fosters best practice, e.g. through risk & opportunity management education and raising of risk & opportunity management awareness. Education includes an online training open to all employees, as well as practice labs or customised trainings for line managers and risk & opportunity managers.

Additional functions and specific initiatives are supported in the establishment of their own risk & opportunity management process, applying the same approach, process and methodology as at Group level.

Beside Group Risk Advisory, many other 2nd lines of control functions perform risk &  opportunity management activities (e.g. Healthcare Compliance, Medical Compliance, Safety, Health & Environment (SHE), Quality, Procurement, Pharma Global Technical Operations). In addition, many cross-functional risk & opportunity management activities occur within Roche, a few of which are described below as examples.

Financial risk management within the Group is governed by policies reviewed by the Board of Directors. Policy implementation and day-to-day risk management are carried out by the treasury functions and regular reporting on these risks is performed by the relevant accounting and controlling functions.

At Roche Group level, a global crisis management organisation is established. Every subsidiary of the Group has furthermore established emergency management teams, with corresponding alarm and escalation procedures and authority to act quickly in the event of crises/emergencies. 

A group wide Business Continuity Programme aims to further strengthen Roche’s business continuity management (BCM) to ensure that all sites respond effectively to catastrophic events and maintain a minimum acceptable level of key products and services. The respective Group BCM policy and guideline are in place, facilitating a consistent and aligned local implementation.

The goal of the Business Environment Trend Analysis is to support Roche in identifying and creating awareness of emerging trends that could significantly impact the strategy, operations and sustainability of our business. 

The Business Environment Trends take a long-term perspective (over the next 10 - 20 years) and support risk & opportunity management and hence informed decision making.

Group Risk Advisory developed a tailored AI solution which further enhances the BETA process and its outcome.

The business environment trends identified for 2026 are:

Global healthcare further evolves towards a continuum of care approach. Integrated solutions (products and services) increasingly leverage the use of data and data insights. Societies’/payers’ expectations for cutting-edge healthcare solutions are contrasted by their ability and/or willingness to afford the increasing cost of innovation.

Accelerating climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss are creating a systemic, non-linear risk landscape likely to intensify, increasing the probability of ecological tipping points and persistent environmental shocks. These interacting hazards will amplify extreme weather and slow‑onset impacts that disrupt infrastructure, transport, supply chains, insurance markets and health systems globally, demanding integrated modelling and cross‑sector planning.

Great‑power rivalry, industrial policy and technology‑security measures are fragmenting trade, finance, data and technology regimes, producing regional blocs, export controls and investment screens over the next two decades. This concentration of critical inputs and advanced manufacturing in a few states will drive reshoring, regional hubs and duplicated capacity, increasing legal/regulatory heterogeneity, costs and operational complexity globally.

A policy-driven shift to electrification and low-carbon technologies is reorganising energy, transport and industrial value chains, driven by rising electricity and compute demand alongside rapid renewable energy and battery deployment. Uneven adoption, critical-mineral bottlenecks, grid and storage constraints, and capital-intensive infrastructure will produce price volatility, permitting and siting challenges, and systemic operational and compliance exposures across regions and sectors.

A bifurcated demographic shift, rapid ageing in advanced economies alongside youthful growth elsewhere, combined with higher‑for‑longer interest rates, elevated public and private debt, and stagnant productivity will compress fiscal space globally. The fiscal squeeze is expected to reduce public healthcare and social investment, elevate affordability and insurance pressures, create uneven care demand and workforce mismatches, and deepen policy fragmentation.

Regulatory convergence among governments, investors and major buyers; driven by climate, biodiversity, pollution and social pressures, is making sustainability a board‑level governance requirement, embedding disclosures, lifecycle rules and product‑level accountability into capital allocation and procurement. This will accelerate digital traceability, chain‑of‑custody data and third‑party assurance, reconfiguring value chains toward circular design while raising compliance, verification and enforcement demands.

Rapid intersection of advanced AI with biotechnology, quantum, neurotechnologies and machine‑readable geospatial/data platforms is building machine‑actionable infrastructure that will materially accelerate biomedical discovery, diagnostics and operational decision‑making. This capability expansion is concentrated among a few firms and states that control compute, curated datasets, specialised hardware and elite talent, producing unequal access, amplified systemic hazards and fragmented cross‑border governance.

Demographic ageing, pervasive AI and automation, the green transition, labour platformisation and geoeconomic fragmentation are converging to restructure global labour supply and job content. This will accelerate automation of routine tasks, concentrate demand for technical and hybrid specialists, expand platform‑mediated staffing and create persistent skills shortages and geographic bottlenecks unless policy, credential portability and supplier governance adapt.

Fast developing digitalisation, geopolitical rivalry and information disorder are fragmenting digital and regulatory ecosystems, while advances in AI, quantum computing and biotech diffusion expand dual-use attack surfaces across laboratory, clinical and supply-chain systems. These dynamics will converge to create persistent cyber-physical threats for health systems, increasing espionage, sabotage, cascading failures and cross-border cooperation friction.

Contacts

Risk Director
Dr. Maurice Dubois
Tel. +41(0) 61 688 11 11
E-mail to Group Risk Advisory