Our corporate culture has always been characterized by responsible behavior – whether with respect to our products, our employees, the environment or society. Our approach and our behavior have evolved from a history dating back nearly 350 years and are shaped by a family of owners whose entrepreneurial creed begins with the sentence "Entrepreneurial success starts with people."
Mission Statement and ValuesThe
Mission Statement formulated in 1991 defines our self-image as a successful and responsible company. Our aim is to operate as a global company that creates added value for consumers, our market partners and the community. We endeavor to achieve positive recognition for Merck in society and have an obligation to operate safely and to respect the environment.
To us, transparent communication is a requirement for entrepreneurial activity that creates trust. The
Merck Values were formulated in 2007: courage, achievement, responsibility, respect, integrity and transparency. They give us orientation, and they determine our business relationships and how we cooperate within the company.
Commitment to external mission statementsIn addition, Merck supports a number of external principles. In 2005, we joined the United Nations Global Compact to express our
commitment to comply with the principles concerning basic human rights, labor standards and environmental protection and to fight corruption. In November 2010,
Merck signed the Code of Responsible Conduct for Business, an initiative by German companies aimed at firmly establishing measurable standards with respect to fair competition, social partnership, merit and sustainability at the involved companies.
In 2006, Merck signed the Responsible Care Global Charter adopted by the International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA). Within the scope of this voluntary initiative and the resulting guidelines of the German
Responsible Care® Program, we have committed ourselves to applying standards in the areas of product responsibility, environmental protection, health, plant safety and security that go beyond legal obligations. In particular, Merck is currently focusing on product safety, environmental protection and occupational safety.
Corporate Responsibility organizationAt Merck, responsible behavior is one of the basic principles of company management and is therefore also firmly established in our corporate strategy.
As the top executive body of the company, the Executive Board examines relevant corporate responsibility issues and their risks and opportunities for the company at least twice a year. During the reporting period, these included such issues as reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, access to medicine, compliance with environmental and social standards in the supply chain, and Merck’s special responsibility as a research-based company.
The activities and measures are coordinated Group-wide by a Corporate Responsibility (CR) manager. With the goal of integrating CR issues into daily business practice, this manager works closely with employees from various units, including representatives from Human Resources, Environment, Health, Safety, Security, Quality (EQ), and the Compliance Office.
Merck plans to establish a Corporate Responsibility Committee in 2011. The goal is to better coordinate and steer the numerous individual responsible conduct topics, thereby firmly anchoring them in the company.
In 2006, we introduced our Group-wide
Operational Excellence program to continuously improve entrepreneurial processes. The purpose is to achieve the most economic and most efficient level of operation in all our production facilities. With this program, we are also implementing various measures related to our corporate responsibility, for example for environmental protection, occupational health and safety, employee development and company management.
