At Roche, sustainability is a core part of our ethos. We are committed to operating in ways that enhance society and the environment, and this commitment includes the behavior of our suppliers. Roche Procurement supports the Roche mission, Doing Now What Patients Need Next, by collaborating with our suppliers to achieve sustainability.

Sustainability Standards, as outlined in the Supplier Code of Conduct, list our expectations towards suppliers in the areas of ethics, human rights & labour, health & safety, environment and management systems.

In order to enhance and accelerate those standards, supplier collaboration is imperative. We partner and collaborate with our Suppliers to identify opportunities that can improve compliance, safety and innovation and create value for the entire supply chain. This is achieved through environmental stewardship, Greenhouse Gas reduction, protection of Vulnerable Populations (e.g. children; underage workers; migrants; indigenous peoples; local underprivileged communities; and people with low levels of education), advocating for diversity and inclusion, and increased supply chain transparency.

Sustainable Procurement also means that Procurement advocates for and enables Roche to work with responsible suppliers. In this way, we are able to use our reputation and credibility to make a positive impact on environmental and social issues.

The vast majority of our carbon impacts are embedded in the goods and services that we buy. This is why we are committing to partnering with our suppliers to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and increase the sustainability of our supply chain. We are also aligning our expectations of our suppliers with industry-wide sustainability initiatives:

Our framework for engaging with our suppliers is based on 3 principles:

1. Commit - we expect our suppliers to make carbon reduction and sustainability commitments similar to ours in ambition

2. Report - we expect our suppliers to use a recognised reporting mechanism to track their progress against their commitments

3. Reduce - we expect our suppliers to partner with us on ]projects with the aim of reducing the carbon footprint of the goods and services that we buy from them

This forms part of our Supplier Relationship Management programme and features as an ongoing agenda item in supplier review meetings.

As of February 2023, we are in active collaboration with suppliers corresponding to nearly 20% of our Cat 1 and 2 emissions.

Innovation is a key aspect of sustainability at Roche, ensuring that we continually evolve and adapt to consistently deliver to our patients what they need next. Access to innovation is facilitated in a large part by our value chain, with Startupsmore often than not holding the key to unlocking potential. The Roche Global Procurement team have worked to re-establish processes; designed to assess, quantify, monitor and mitigate the risks of Startup engagement, whilst focusing on faster, simpler and more agile ways to onboard. This in turn allows business stakeholders to survey the market and add value through Startup expertise.

The ‘Startup Portal’ allows interested Startups to actively register their interest in working with Roche. Due diligence can be undertaken that is fit for purpose enabling a more suited onboarding process.

The result? Mutually beneficial partnerships with industry leading and innovative companies, working together with Roche to provide sustainable solutions that will ultimately benefit our patients and society at large.

To register as a Startup looking to work with Roche – please click here.

Successful supplier partnerships at Roche require an equal, open and transparent relationship, with honest feedback being a two-way process. Roche is also committed to giving credit to our supplier’s where it is due. Internally, regular google+ posts are released bringing to the attention of our Global Procurement teams the suppliers that have demonstrated outstanding loyalty, commitment and partnering. Supplier Day brings together strategic suppliers with Roche colleagues and senior leadership. This invitation-only event includes keynote presentations, panel discussion, working sessions, startup-arenas, networking opportunities and supplier awards. At Roche’s Supplier Day, awards are given out to deserving winners in the areas of exceptional sustainability achievements, innovative and exclusive solutions, successful and solid partnerships, robust business continuity, solid implementation of diversity program, and for the establishment of new outstanding partnerships.

In addition to Supplier Day, Roche Startup Day takes place in order to drive partnerships, innovation and new ways of working with Startup suppliers. The event brings together Startups with Roche colleagues in order to create a platform where business challenges are shared and addressed by Startups. The event is led by groups driving innovation within Roche (Global Procurement, InnoLAB) with the ultimate goal of finding solutions for our most prominent business challenges under a one Roche approach.