ALCON AG.
2U3.XETRA | Manufacture of medical and dental instruments and supplies
Alcon AG is a global medical company specializing in eye care products. It develops, manufactures, and markets a wide range of surgical and vision care products. Its surgical products include equipment and instruments for cataract, refractive, vitreoretinal, and glaucoma surgery. The vision care seg...Show More
Better Health for All
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Alcon's core business delivers exceptional health benefits, with its products improving vision for over 1.1 million individuals
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and a goal to reach 5 million people with untreated cataracts by 2025
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. The company invested $876 million in R&D in 2024
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, representing 8.94% of its $9.8 billion sales
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. Alcon also demonstrates strong environmental mitigation efforts, achieving a 12.2% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions
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and a 96.7% landfill diversion rate
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. However, the company initiated a Class 2 device recall in November 2024 for 41,718 units
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of Monarch III D delivery cartridges due to a molding defect
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. Its health equity programs, including $42.7 million in donations in 2024
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, represent approximately 0.43% of its sales. Alcon trained 158 surgeons in 2024
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, who performed nearly 68,000 procedures
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. While adhering to the Declaration of Helsinki for clinical trials, the company reported 5 clinical trial violations in 2022
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.
Fair Money & Economic Opportunity
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Alcon AG is a medical company specializing in eye care products, not a financial institution. The provided articles detail its operations in developing, manufacturing, and marketing surgical and vision care products, as well as its philanthropic efforts related to eye care access and internal diversity initiatives. There is no evidence in the articles that Alcon offers lending, insurance, deposit services, or any other financial products to consumers. Consequently, all Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) within the 'Fair Money & Economic Opportunity' rubric, which are designed to assess financial institutions based on metrics like APRs, loan books, customer credit scores, and banking deserts, are not applicable to Alcon's business model.
Fair Pay & Worker Respect
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Alcon's employee Total Recordable Case Rate (TRCR) was 0.53 in 2024, which is significantly below the industry average of 1.72.
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The voluntary employee turnover rate was 5.3% in 2024.
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Approximately 7.81% of the workforce were temporary associates in 2024, with US temporary employees not eligible for benefits.
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For its Switzerland operations, Alcon received a Fair-ON-Pay Attestation in 2021, indicating a gender pay gap within a 5% tolerance threshold based on 2020 data.
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In 2024, 9% of Alcon's associates were covered by collective bargaining agreements.
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Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing
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Alcon requires all suppliers to comply with its Third Party Code of Conduct, which covers labor rights, health and safety, and anti-bribery, and adherence to this code is a key factor in supplier selection.
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In 2024, Alcon conducted third-party manufacturing and product audits on 100% of its Tier 1 suppliers.
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In 2019, Alcon directed 12% of its US supplier spend to qualified diverse suppliers.
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Honest & Fair Business
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Alcon has a Global Policy on Anti-bribery, effective January 1, 2021, which applies globally and prohibits bribery and facilitation payments, with narrow exceptions for transparently paid government fees.
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Its Third Party Code of Conduct, effective January 1, 2019, also prohibits bribery and sets rules for gifts, donations, political contributions, and lobbying, requiring transparent documentation.
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Third parties are subject to risk screening, due diligence, and contractual anti-bribery clauses, and prospective merger, acquisition, and joint venture partners undergo anti-bribery due diligence.
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The company conducts an annual auditing and monitoring program.
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The Code of Business Conduct training, which covers ethics, achieved a completion rate of 98% or better in the last five years.
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Alcon also maintains an independently managed, confidential online and telephone Ethics Helpline, available 24/7 in 21 languages, with processes in place for associates to raise concerns about unethical behavior without fear of retaliation, and allows anonymous reporting where permitted by local law.
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However, the effectiveness of this program is not publicly measured.
Kind to Animals
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Alcon conducted third-party manufacturing and product audits on 100% of its Tier 1 suppliers in 2024.
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The company's animal testing policy prohibits testing on finished cosmetics and their ingredients.
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For other animal testing, the policy mandates consideration of the Three Rs (Replace, Reduce, Refine) and the use of alternatives wherever scientifically valid and acceptable to regulators.
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The company has no animal agriculture operations or sourcing of eggs, meat, or dairy.
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No War, No Weapons
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Alcon's 2019 Conflict Minerals Report indicates that 265 out of 346 unique smelters/refiners (76.59%) identified in its supply chain were categorized as 'Conformant' by RMI, a third-party certification.
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However, the report also noted that incomplete supplier information prevented a complete determination of conflict mineral origins.
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Planet-Friendly Business
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Alcon reported Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions of 204,978 tCO2e in 2024, representing a 12.2% year-over-year reduction.
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However, Scope 3 emissions are not disclosed. The company aims for carbon neutrality across global Scope 1 and 2 operations by 2030
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, but does not have SBTi-validated targets. In 2024, 24.20% of total energy consumption was sourced from renewables. Alcon achieved a 96.74% non-hazardous waste landfill diversion rate in 2024.
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The company does not currently utilize carbon offsets.
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Disclosures are aligned with TCFD standards, covering governance, risks, opportunities, risk management, metrics, and targets.
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A qualitative climate scenario analysis was conducted in 2024 for 1.5°C and 4°C pathways for 2030 and 2050 using IPCC scenarios.
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In 2024, Alcon began working toward lifecycle assessments of its products and intends to pilot in-house LCA studies in 2025, with over 38 new R&D projects generating an initial Environmental Sustainability Scorecard.
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Respect for Cultures & Communities
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The provided articles do not contain specific, concrete data points for any of the KPIs related to 'Respect for Cultures & Communities'. Metrics such as formal partnerships with indigenous or local community groups, percentage of company revenue reinvested in local community development, number of cultural appropriation incidents, existence of a cultural impact assessment protocol, proportion of workforce recruited from local communities, coverage of formal grievance mechanisms for community concerns, average time to resolve community complaints, percentage of affected communities participating in FPIC processes, representation of community members in board or advisory bodies, percentage of reinvestment allocated to cultural or linguistic preservation programs, proportion of procurement spending directed to local suppliers, number of indigenous or minority-owned suppliers engaged, actions taken to protect cultural or heritage sites, percentage of operations with a documented social license to operate, percentage of revenue donated to cultural heritage organizations, percentage of non-core revenue distributed to community development funds, assessment score of language inclusivity in products and communications, effectiveness of response to cultural incidents or controversies, or percentage of employees completing cultural sensitivity training are not detailed with specific numbers, dates, or outcomes in the evidence provided. Article 0 explicitly notes 'Data gaps regarding specific cultural impact assessments and community engagement metrics'.
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Safe & Smart Tech
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Alcon has established a comprehensive governance process for artificial intelligence, including a global policy on responsible AI, yearly training for all employees, and regular reporting to executives and the Board.
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This is supported by a Responsible AI Centre of Excellence and an Enterprise AI Steering Committee.
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The company demonstrates strong regulatory compliance, adhering to all applicable regulations throughout its product life cycles, including specific medical device standards.
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Notably, Alcon has not been subject to warning letters or similar enforcement actions by global health authorities since 2019.
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Alcon provides comprehensive privacy and cybersecurity training to all associates annually, covering topics such as phishing and credential management, supplemented by monthly security awareness communications and phishing prevention campaigns.
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However, user control over personal data is limited, with the only explicit control mentioned being the ability to unsubscribe from investor email alerts.
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Zero Waste & Sustainable Products
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No evidence available to assess ALCON AG on Zero Waste & Sustainable Products.