Dear Readers,
The world is changing, and so is Merck. That makes it all the more important to have a reliable value compass to guide entrepreneurial actions. The financial and economic crisis has shown the negative consequences of not having such a compass – both for society and for companies themselves. We at Merck are taking a different path.
Our values are courage, achievement, responsibility, respect, integrity and transparency. They determine our actions each and every day.
Financial solidity and running our businesses judiciously are principles that enabled us to cope well with the crisis. Our actions are, of course, aimed at business success. At the same time, however, we respect and serve the interests of employees, customers and suppliers, investors and society. Only healthy companies that operate sustainably can contribute to a functioning society as employers, tax payers and corporate citizens. During the crisis, we deliberately renewed our commitment to the United Nations Global Compact. We did so because social and environmental responsibility is not a luxury to us that we only uphold during boom years, but rather are an integral part of our corporate culture. The examples described in this report provide evidence of this.
We also take on responsibility for and with our pharmaceutical, chemical and life science products. Whether through innovative pharmaceuticals to treat disease, specialty chemicals to improve ways to harness and store renewable energy, or materials for biotech laboratories around the world – in order to address global megatrends we invest more than EUR 1 billion in research and development annually.
In early 2011, we decided to increase the share of women in management positions to between 25% and 30% by 2016. We are strengthening our efforts to advance talented employees in order to prepare them for future management tasks. This is just one example among many of how Merck is demonstrating its commitment. Taken together, all of the examples show that responsibility is primarily about sustainability. Merck thinks in generations, not only in quarters. And that’s what we intend to keep doing in the future as well.
Sincerely,
Karl-Ludwig Kley
