Business Ethics

A culture of integrity, accountability & transparency

Ethical business conduct isn’t just morally imperative – it’s also good for business. According to the 2021 Edelman Trust Barometer, 76% of respondents said they refuse to buy products or services from a company they do not trust. 

There is no doubt: Business ethics have a significant impact on building trust, complying with regulations, fostering employee engagement, meeting customer needs, enhancing financial performance, and promoting ethical practices in the supply chain.

That's why business ethics plays an essential role in our CSR agenda.

Our success depends on our integrity, which is one of our six core values. These values form the DNA of our corporate culture, representing what we stand for: customer focus, quality, integrity, collaboration, creativity, passion, and commitment. We live these values in our daily work, every decision we make, and our interactions with business partners, suppliers, customers, healthcare professionals, and the general public. 

For us, integrity means doing the right thing, within legal requirements and beyond. We have built a culture of integrity, accountability, and transparency – a culture that our employees around the globe uphold every day. But making this a reality is a team effort. 

Together, we respect human rights, enable a sustainable supply chain, extinguish bribery and corruption, and take a zero-tolerance approach to antitrust violations. We deliver on our commitments and act with high standards of integrity and compliance because ethics go hand-in-hand with successful business. In fostering this kind of culture, we gain trust, strengthen our reputation, and drive sustainable performance.

people working in office

Business ethics & the UN Sustainable Development Goals

With our good corporate citizenship activities, we primarily support SDG 8.
 

SDG 8 aims to promote sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, as well as full, productive employment and decent work for all. Our investments promote local innovation and education in countries of varying economic backgrounds. These efforts help contribute to consistent, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth and employment. We also believe it is critical to protect labor rights and promote safe, secure working environments for all workers by assessing occupational health and safety (OHS), environment, ethics, and more. We expect our business partners and suppliers to commit to our ethical principles as well. We run a program designed to detect, prevent, and respond to potential compliance risks,

Our commitment to corporate compliance

Inappropriate conduct undermines fair competition, damages our credibility, and ultimately threatens our capacity to do business. Therefore, it is essential for us to comply with strict ethical standards, as well as international and local laws. We ensure this by following our Code of Conduct, establishing compliance committees, and implementing a compliance management system.

Code of Conduct

Our Code of Conduct is built on Fresenius Kabi’s values and guides us when we face a compliance issue or an ethical dilemma. It is a binding framework that leads us to the right decision, irrespective of hierarchy, and clarifies our mission, values, and principles.

Fresenius Kabi Code of Conduct

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Fresenius Kabi Code of Conduct

Third-Party Code of Conduct

We value sustainable relationships and strive to conduct business only with partners who share our commitment to the highest ethical standards. We expect our business partners and suppliers to commit to our ethical principles in any contract, and we have set those expectations forth in our Third-Party Code of Conduct. 

Fresenius Kabi Third Party Code of Conduct

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Fresenius-Kabi-Third-Party-Code-of-Conduct.pdf
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Fresenius Kabi Third Party Code of Conduct

Compliance management system

It is not enough to prevent compliance violations – they must also be identified and sanctioned. To ensure this, we have implemented a compliance management system based on international regulations and guidelines. The system is based on three pillars: prevention, detection, and response.

Preventing compliance violations

Our compliance tools focus on prevention. They include: 

  • Educating on risk identification and assessment
  • Implementing regular training
  • Raising awareness for employees
  • Providing ongoing consultation, binding policies, and standard operation procedures 

Furthermore, our compliance cockpit tool provides managers of each subsidiary with an overview of compliance-relevant key parameters. We review these parameters every year and define monitoring measures for any subsidiaries with an increased risk profile. 

Detecting potential compliance violations:

In line with our “Speak Up Policy”, we strongly encourage employees, customers, suppliers, and third parties to direct reports on potential compliance or human rights violations in connection with our business operations to our dedicated global reporting channels. 

Responding to compliance violations:

We designate case teams to review and investigate reported incidents thoroughly. When a violation is detected, we take immediate action. We strive to improve these internal processes and compliance measures continuously. 

Reporting misconduct

We are fully committed to compliance. We strongly encourage employees, customers, suppliers, and any other third parties to direct any report on potential compliance violations or human rights concerns in connection with our business operations to our dedicated global reporting channels.

You can write an e-mail to compliance@fresenius-kabi.com to ask questions, seek guidance, or report any suspected misconduct.

In addition, we offer a reporting platform, available 24/7, where potential compliance violations or human rights violations can be reported. Anonymity and translation services are available. You can make your report under www.complianceactionline.ethicspoint.com.

Any question or report is treated confidentially and carefully by the Fresenius Kabi Ombudspanel. This specialized, independent board of compliance experts has experienced global investigators reporting to Fresenius Kabi’s chief compliance officer.

We do not tolerate retaliation against reporters. Please see detailed information on our case management process and other possible reporting channels in our “Speak Up Policy”.

Thank you for speaking up and helping to maintain integrity!

Our compliance focus topics

Respecting human rights

We aim to uphold human rights and pay particular attention to fair and safe working conditions, the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining, and equal treatment. We condemn child labor, forced or exploitative labor, and modern slavery. We strive to safeguard society, the environment, personal data, and confidential information.

Fresenius Kabi is committed in respecting human rights. We underline this commitment with our human rights statement.

Ensuring a sustainable supply chain

We carefully select business partners and suppliers to ensure responsibility in our entire supply chain. We expect third parties to adhere to our Third-Party Code of Conduct. To identify compliance risks, we conduct due diligence prior to any work together. This helps to detect potential compliance concerns with third parties early on to ensure our high compliance standards are met.

Fighting bribery and corruption

We are committed to fully complying with all applicable anti-corruption and anti-bribery (ABC) laws. We have implemented a comprehensive, global ABC Policy with clear rules and principles to avoid bribery and corruption within the company and with third parties. 

Zero tolerance for antitrust violations

All employees must ensure unwavering compliance with antitrust laws wherever they are and in any transaction. Our global antitrust policy prioritizes risk assessment, controls for sensitive transactions, training and communication, reporting of antitrust cases and remediation, monitoring, and legal support. We provide a comprehensive policy to ensure antitrust compliance in all business operations and legal entities.