Our approach to sustainability
Our sustainability governance structure
As sustainability is built into our business strategy, a strong commitment from all business areas and senior management is reflected in our sustainability governance structure:
The
of the Board of Directors (BoD) is responsible and accountable for governing sustainability at the Board of Directors level. It supervises and provides advice on the sustainability strategy. The
(CEC) is responsible and accountable for the overall strategy of Roche. It has delegated the responsibility for establishing, managing and coordinating the implementation of the sustainability strategy to the Corporate Sustainability Steering Committee and appoints its members. The Corporate Sustainability Steering Committee sets the sustainability strategy and monitors its implementation.
The Corporate Sustainability Operations Committee is responsible for implementing and advancing our sustainability agenda, and reporting on the objectives and progress towards these objectives, across all relevant global and affiliate functions that make up our global sustainability network.
The Global Sustainability Network contributes to the sustainability agenda, and delivers on the objectives in cross-functional and cross-divisional working groups.
Roche’s approach to sustainability reflects our decentralised model: sustainability is implemented locally, answering local needs and meeting local expectations, and is the responsibility of the local management teams.
Ultimately, sustainability is part of everyone’s job at Roche.
The
Our Culture
Business integrity
As one of the world’s largest healthcare companies, Roche takes its obligation to meet the highest standards of business ethics and integrity very seriously. Meeting those standards is the responsibility of every employee.
Our standards of business integrity are set forth in our
To further promote and support a shared understanding, Roche has implemented a number of
Detailed guidance has been issued for example:
The
seeks to prevent the infringement of business integrity by addressing topics such as bribery, improper advantages, facilitation payments, gifts, entertainment, dealing with business parties and conflicts of interest. The
– A Guide to Competition Law helps raise awareness of how antitrust and competition laws apply to business conduct and decision-making. The
- intends to ensure professional behaviour and reinforce Roche’s reputation as a trustworthy company and reliable partner. An insider declaration must be signed by employees who have access to sensitive data or who are authorised to undertake major financial transactions.
We make every effort to inform and train all employees, and business critical contractors on the basic business standards, including providing interactive learning solutions.
Responsible marketing
The pharmaceutical industry is governed by strict regulations and guidelines for the sale and marketing of products. Our
Our goal is to enable healthcare professionals to make decisions independently, based on all relevant data available, in order to deliver the greatest medical benefit to patients. To help us maintain good marketing practices, we expect all Roche employees to:
comply with applicable laws, regulations, industry codes and Roche standards
defend Roche’s products and interests against unfair competitive practices
seek help and advice in case of doubt
in the event of compliance concerns
We specially train staff who interact with healthcare professionals and healthcare organisations and maintain rigorous standards of
In addition, Roche uses a Marketing and Sales Compliance questionnaire to help local line managers assess compliance and awareness of responsible marketing practices. Equally, all general managers must annually sign an “assurance declaration on compliance”, acknowledging compliance with these practices.