GRI-Report

General disclosures and material topics

GRI 2, GRI 3-1, GRI 3-2

Galenica is publishing its combined 2022 Annual and Sustainability Report in accordance with the GRI Standards 2021. The GRI Content Index, which lists each of the GRI Standards applied and all of the information contained in the report, is available here.

The organisation and its reporting practices

GRI 2-1
Organisation details

a. Name of organisation: Galenica Ltd.

b. Ownership structure and legal form: Galenica is a corporation under Swiss law and, as a holding company, owns all the companies in the Galenica Group directly or indirectly.

c. Organisation headquarters
Galenica Ltd.
Untermattweg 8
CH-3027 Bern

d. Business premises: the Galenica Group operates almost exclusively in Switzerland.

GRI 2-2
Entities included in the organisation’s sustainability reporting

a.-c. The entities included in the combined Annual and Sustainability Report are listed in the Financial Report. The Financial Report also explains the approach for consolidating financial information. Entities included in the key non-financial figures are explained in each case in the key social figures and key environmental figures sections.

GRI 2-3
Reporting period, frequency and contact point

a.-b. The reporting period covers 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2022. The combined Annual and Sustainability Report is published annually.

c. The combined Annual and Sustainability Report 2021 was published on 8 March 2022. The Half-Year report 2022 was published on 9 August 2022.

d. Contact point for questions about the report:
Investor Relations: Felix Burkhard, CFO
Media Relations: Christina Hertig, Head of Corporate Communications

GRI 2-4
Correction or restatements of information

a. In 2022, the Sustainability Committee adjusted some of the sustainability goals. This was approved by the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors at the end of 2022 (see Progress with goals). Furthermore, there were no significant changes to information compared to the previous year.

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External assurance

a. The Sustainability Report 2022 has not been audited externally.

Activities and workers

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Activities, value chain and other business relationships

a.-d. Galenica is active in the healthcare industry and offers healthcare services and products throughout Switzerland. Its customers include patients, pharmacies, drugstores, physicians, hospitals, care homes, health insurance funds and pharmaceutical companies.

Galenica is the leading fully integrated healthcare provider in Switzerland. The business activities of the Galenica Group comprise two segments. The Products & Care segment consists of the Service Units Pharmacies, Healthcare and Products & Marketing. They develop and market health services and products via various channels – in pharmacy stores, online and at home – to private customers and patients as well as to business customers and partners. The Logistics & IT segment consists of the Service Units Wholesale & Logistics and IT & Digital Services. They develop and operate the logistics, IT and digital infrastructure and digital platforms for the entire Galenica Group and for customers and partners in the healthcare industry. More information on activities, brands, products and services can be found in the Management Report and on the Galenica website.

The Galenica Group value chain comprises production, packaging, logistics, marketing and information, retail trade and medication use. A description of the value chain and the economic, social and environmental impact of the Galenica Group can be found here.

The following significant organisational and supply chain changes took place at Galenica in 2022. Together with Medicall, Galenica founded the joint venture Emeda to provide medical and pharmaceutical care to retirement and nursing homes in Switzerland. The Emeda team consists of mobile doctors who specialise in outpatient geriatric medical care for residents of nursing homes. In order to ensure that the training and development of employees in pharmacies and the health advice they provide remains at a high level and continues to advance, Galenica has expanded its existing partnership and acquired a 50% stake in Medinform Ltd. as of 5 July 2022. In addition, Galenica acquired 100% of the shares in Aquantic Ltd., a Swiss software development and consulting firm. In doing so, Galenica is building its digital B2B offering and increasing both efficiency and quality in healthcare for its partners and patients. Another addition is Bahnhof Apotheke Langnau Ltd. and thus also Cannaplant, the leading provider of formulations for medical cannabis preparations. This enables Galenica to offer many patients and their doctors valuable treatments. Galenica also invested in the digital healthcare platform Well, which gives patients easy access to a growing network of service providers. As of 20 September 2022, Galenica sold its subsidiary Careproduct because, contrary to expectations, the Careproduct offering has not been optimally integrated into the Galenica strategy. In 2022, four pharmacies were acquired and three new locations were opened. At the same time, seven locations were closed as part of optimisation measures. At the end of 2022, Galenica’s own pharmacy network comprised a total of 368 pharmacies (+/-0). There were no significant changes in the reporting year with regard to the shareholding structure and locations of suppliers. More information can be found in the Financial Report and Corporate Governance Report.

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Employees

a.-d. As of the end of 2022, Galenica employed 7,608 people. All employees work in Switzerland, which we regard as one region. Galenica discloses information on its staff and other employees under its key social figures. The data is exported and consolidated from the various personnel management systems. The workforce of the Galenica Group does not undergo significant seasonal fluctuations.

GRI 2-8
Workers who are not employed

a.-c. In addition to the Group’s own employees, temporary employees are used as required and paid at an hourly rate, particularly in operational and warehousing roles. These are sourced via partners and are under contract with them. More detailed information on temporary employees is not available as it is not recorded in all our personnel systems. There are seasonal fluctuations during the reporting year, with temporary employees being particularly in demand prior to the Christmas trading period. Most of the business activities are carried out by employees of the Galenica Group.

Governance

GRI 2-9
Governance structure and composition

a.-c. The Executive Committee and the Board of Directors with its committees are presented in the Corporate Governance Report. Additional information on the governance structure and composition can be found in the organisational regulations and the Annual Report. The Board of Directors has ultimate responsibility for economic, environmental and social topics. Other central bodies are the Governance, Nomination and Sustainability Committee of the Board of Directors, the Executive Committee and the Interdisciplinary Sustainability Committee. You can find more information about the sustainability organisation here.

GRI 2-10
Nomination and selection of the highest governance body

a.-b. The nomination and selection procedure for the highest governance body is described in the articles of association, the organisational regulations and the Corporate Governance Report.

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Chair of the highest governance body

a. The entire Board of Directors, including the Chair of the Board of Directors, is independent and does not play an operational role in the company.

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Role of the highest governance body in overseeing and managing impacts

a.-c. The role of the highest governance body in overseeing and managing impacts is described in the Corporate Governance Report.

GRI 2-13
Delegation of responsibility for managing impacts

a.-b. Information on the delegation of responsibility for managing impacts can be found in the Corporate Governance Report, the Annual Report, the articles of association and the organisational regulations.

GRI 2-14
Role of the highest governance body in sustainability reporting

a.-b. The Board of Directors reviews and approves the combined annual and sustainability report. In addition, the Board of Directors acknowledged the updated relevance matrix in 2021.

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Conflicts of interest

a.-b. Information regarding conflicts of interest can be found in the articles of association, the organisational regulations, the Code of Conduct and the Annual Report. The other activities and vested interests of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee are disclosed in the Corporate Governance Report. No conflicts of interest were identified and/or disclosed in the reporting year.

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Communication of critical concerns

a.-b. This information is confidential and is not communicated externally by Galenica.

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Collective knowledge of the highest governance body

a. The members of the Board of Directors are regularly provided with written and oral information on sustainability topics to strengthen their collective knowledge about sustainable developments.

GRI 2-18
Evaluation of the performance of the highest governance body

a.-c. Please refer to the Corporate Governance Report for information on the evaluation of the performance of the highest governance body.

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Remuneration policies

a.-b. Information about remuneration policies is disclosed in the articles of association, the organisational regulations, and the Remuneration Report.

GRI 2-20
Process to determine remuneration

a.-b. In Switzerland, the Annual General Meeting is required by law to vote on the principles of remuneration procedures for listed companies. This was the case with Galenica 2018. Each year, the Annual General Meeting votes on the approval of remuneration. All voting results are published in the minutes of the Annual General Meeting. Further information on the process to determine remuneration can be found in the articles of association, the organisational regulations and the Remuneration Report.

GRI 2-21
Annual total compensation ratio

a.-c. This information is confidential and is not communicated externally by Galenica.

Strategy, policies and practices

GRI 2-22
Statement on sustainable development strategy

a. Sustainability is an integral part of Galenica’s corporate management. Galenica is convinced that it can only achieve long-term economic success if it bears social responsibility and uses natural resources in a respectful and efficient manner. The relevance of sustainability to Galenica is explained in the Foreword to the Annual Report by Chair of the Board of Directors Daniela Bosshardt and CEO Marc Werner.

GRI 2-23
Declaration of commitment to principles and practices

a.-f. In addition to the statutory provisions, the Code of Conduct of the Galenica Group sets out the ethical rules and standards that all employees must adhere to. The Code of Conduct of the Galenica Group defines the ethical rules and standards that must be followed by all employees. It must be signed by all employees upon taking up employment as part of the employee manual. The Code addresses critical circumstances such as bribery, insider trading or discrimination and provides instructions for action. The Code of Conduct thus contributes to the removal of taboos from certain grey areas. The Code of Conduct was approved by the Audit and Risk Committee of the Board of Directors.

The precautionary principle is anchored in the sustainability principles of the Galenica Group: “the respectful and efficient use of resources and reduction of negative environmental impacts.”

Galenica aims to minimise greenhouse gas emissions, reduce waste and dispose of it safely. Galenica has defined specific environmental targets in order to achieve these ambitions.

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Embedding policy commitments

a. Information on integrating the economic, ecological and social commitments can be found here. In 2023, Galenica plans to integrate the topic of sustainability even more systematically at the strategic level and in its internal structures, processes and business activities.

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Process to remediate negative impacts

a.-e. Galenica has an external Whistleblower Reporting Office. This offers all employees and business partners the opportunity to anonymously report suspected breaches of the rules. Suspected breaches of the rules by employees indicate potential for improvement and possible misconduct. All reports are investigated.

GRI 2-26
Mechanisms for seeking advice and raising concerns

a. Internal and external stakeholders may raise concerns through the external Whistleblower Reporting Office. Reports of violations of the Code of Conduct must also be sent to line managers and/or the Head of the Group's Legal Department. Reports of corruption and bribery must also be reported to the committee appointed by the Board of Directors. Various channels and points of contact are available to employees through which they can report concerns or matters of key importance. These include the Service Unit Human Resources (HR), staff committees, the employee survey and the annual performance reviews. The Executive Committee deals with key and critical points from the employee survey or the staff committee and derives effective measures.

GRI 2-27
Compliance with laws and regulations

a.-d. All companies of the Galenica Group continued to operate in compliance with the law in 2022: there were no fines or monetary sanctions resulting from non-compliance with legislation and/or regulations. For more information, please refer to the Corporate Governance Report.

GRI 2-28
Memberships in associations and interest groups

ASSGP, Association of the Swiss Self-Medication Industry
Blistersuisse
GESKES, Society for Clinical Nutrition in Switzerland
GSASA, Swiss Association of Public Health Administration and Hospital Pharmacists
Helvecura Genossenschaft, compulsory storage organisation for therapeutic products
Refdata, Refdata Foundation
Avenir Suisse
Medswiss.net Trägerverein, Swiss Umbrella Association of Physician Networks
pharmalog, Swiss Pharma Logistics Association
pharmaSuisse, Swiss Association of Pharmacists
ScienceIndustries, Business Association for Chemistry-Pharma-Biotech
Swiss Medtech, Swiss Medical Technology Association
GFH Healthcare Retailers Association
VIPS, Association of Pharmaceutical Companies in Switzerland
VSVA, Association of Swiss Mail-order Pharmacies
Association QualiCCare, Association for the Improvement of Quality in Treatment of Chronic Diseases in Switzerland
ASTAG, Swiss Commercial Vehicle Association
Freedom Healthcare Alliance
GIRP, European Healthcare Distribution Association
HIV, Trade and Industry Association of the canton of Bern
eHealth Interest Group
SGGP, Swiss. Society for Health Policy
SMVO, Swiss Medicine Verification Organisation
SVKH, Swiss Association for Therapeutic Products in Complementary Medicine
Swissholdings, Association of Industrial and Service Groups in Switzerland
VNL Schweiz, Verein Netzwerk Logistik e.V., Logistics Network Association

Stakeholder engagement

GRI 2-29
Approach to stakeholder engagement

a. The stakeholders of the Galenica Group include interest groups and organisations that directly or indirectly affect – or are affected by – the company’s values, actions and performance. Galenica maintains relationships with its direct stakeholders – customers, shareholders, suppliers, scientific institutions, current and potential employees, authorities, non-governmental organisations and others – that are characterised by transparency, honesty and mutual respect. Its customers include patients, pharmacies, drugstores, physicians, hospitals, care homes, health insurance funds and pharmaceutical companies. In order to measure customer satisfaction and potential for improvement, Galenica relies on internal performance indicators as well as the results of independent target group surveys. Based on the insights gained, Galenica wants to continuously improve the customer experience and offer customers added value with new measures and offerings.

Our relations with our various suppliers are characterised by a continuous improvement process as part of quality management in all Service and Business Units. Quality, costs and prices, as well as potential innovations, are regularly discussed with suppliers and business partners. Such interactions create transparency and help to ensure that services are provided as smoothly as possible.

In 2021, Galenica held meetings with representatives of external stakeholders for the first time to review the relevance of sustainability issues and assess the impact of Galenica’s business activities on the social, environmental and economic environment. More information on the materiality process can be found under Sustainability at Galenica.

GRI 2-30
Collective bargaining agreements

a. None of the Galenica Group’s employees are subject to a collective bargaining agreement. Galenica offers all employees fair and attractive employment conditions. More detailed information on employment conditions can found in the employees section and on the Galenica website.

Material topics

GRI 3-1
Process to determine material topics

a.-b. The Sustainability Committee has identified the environmental, social and economic sustainability topics related to the business model of the Galenica Group. In 2021, Galenica reviewed the relevance of the topics as part of a materiality process and defined the social, environmental and economic impact of Galenica’s business activities. Based on an online survey, internal and external stakeholders evaluated the topics according to their relevance and impact. Interviews were also held with representatives of all external stakeholders to discuss the evaluations. This resulted in the updated relevance matrix. The Executive Committee and the Board of Directors have taken note of the updated relevance matrix and have classified all topics as material. These also form the core of sustainability reporting.

In determining the content of sustainability reporting, Galenica has taken all four reporting principles into account: stakeholder engagement, sustainability context, materiality and completeness. More information can be found under Sustainability at Galenica.

GRI 3-2
List of material topics

a. The relevance matrix shows all material topics.

b. Changes in reporting: in the 2022 Sustainability Report, there were no significant changes to the list of material topics or the delimitation of topics compared to the previous year.