Better Health for All
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Fresenius is a global healthcare group whose core business aims to save and improve lives, providing essential products and services for dialysis, hospitals, and critical care.
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Fresenius Medical Care (FMC) is the world's leading provider of dialysis products and services, caring for 299,352 patients in 3,675 clinics across approximately 40 countries, and providing around 48 million treatments annually.
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FMC's FDA-approved 5008X HVHDF machine, launched in 2024, has demonstrated a 23% reduction in mortality for treated patients.
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Fresenius Kabi markets affordable, high-quality medicines and low-cost biosimilars in approximately 40 countries.
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The company has no identified revenue from products with well-established negative health outcomes. However, in 2024, FMC had 17 recalls of drugs and devices (10 in the U.S. and 7 outside the U.S.).
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The company acknowledges significant negative health externalities from GHG emissions, water withdrawal (11% of sites in extreme high-water stress), and single-use plastics (70% non-recycled waste in 2024).
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While it achieved a 25% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2024 compared to 2020, and has water-saving projects, these impacts remain notable.
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Fresenius has robust internal processes for risk assessment, materiality assessments, and internal controls, disclosing risks in its reports. It also has comprehensive data protection with Global Privacy Principles, Data Protection Officers, and investments in cybersecurity and AI governance. Fresenius has more than 176,000 employees.
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The company provides extensive support for its over 176,000 employees, including paid parental and caregiver leave, and collaborates with organizations like ESICM for medical professionals' growth.
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Mental health support for employees includes free telephonic counseling and reduced costs for behavioral health visits.
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The company engages in extensive health education for medical professionals and patients, including programs like "My Kidney Life Plan" and AI-supported cancer screening. It has a comprehensive ethical framework for clinical trials, adhering to international standards, ensuring informed consent, and independent review. The company has signed the World Economic Forum's Zero Health Gaps Pledge
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and established a Global Health Equity Steering Committee in 2024, with initiatives like improving food security for dialysis patients.
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However, quantitative data on the percentage of vulnerable populations reached, the percentage of R&D budget allocated to health improvement, the percentage of health-related expenditure on prevention, or the funding percentage for health equity programs is not provided.
Fair Money & Economic Opportunity
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Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA is a global healthcare group, and the provided articles detail its employee compensation, profit-sharing, pension plans, diversity initiatives, and general sustainability performance. There is no evidence in the articles to indicate that the company offers lending, deposit, or other financial services or products to consumers. Consequently, all Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) related to 'Fair Money & Economic Opportunity' are not applicable to Fresenius's core business activities as evidenced.
Fair Pay & Worker Respect
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In 2024, there were 38 substantiated incidents of discrimination and harassment, and two identified violations of occupational health and safety standards under the German Act on Corporate Due Diligence Obligations in Supply Chains.
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The gender pay gap was 26.0%, meaning women earned 74% of men's average gross hourly pay.
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The Group Employee Engagement Index was 4.021 on a scale of 1-6 in 2024, translating to approximately 67%.
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The CEO to median employee pay ratio was 105.8:1.
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In 2024, approximately 74% of global employees were covered by collective bargaining agreements.
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The company reported a Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (LTIFR) of 2.8 in 2023.
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The voluntary employee turnover rate was 9.8% in 2024.
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Approximately 3% of the workforce was on temporary employment contracts in 2024.
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Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing
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Approximately 2.4% of the total procurement budget, specifically €183 million out of €7.6 billion in 2024, was directed to diverse suppliers in the U.S.
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Fresenius Kabi suppliers are audited every three to five years.
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The company has limited primary information beyond its tier-one suppliers.
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Honest & Fair Business
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Fresenius operates a 24/7, anonymous whistleblower system, the Fresenius Integrity Line, which is externally operated by an independent provider.
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This system supports reporting in over 30 languages through multiple channels
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and provides comprehensive protection against retaliation for good faith reporters.
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Reports are acknowledged within 7 days,
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with feedback provided at the latest within three months of receipt.
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The company regularly publishes anonymous information on reports received, topics, conclusions, and measures taken, and the procedure's effectiveness is reviewed annually.
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The company maintains a comprehensive, Group-wide Code of Conduct that explicitly prohibits corruption and bribery, including facilitation payments.
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Its Compliance Management System (CMS) is built on prevention, detection, and response,
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with its design reviewed by a law firm and an auditing firm according to IDW PS 980, confirming it is effectively anchored and appropriately designed.
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Fresenius conducts risk-based due diligence on business partners, obligating them to ethical practices.
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In 2024, 81% of employees in at-risk functions received compliance training,
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and 12 internal audits related to corruption were conducted at operating sites.
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No new convictions for corruption or bribery violations were reported for Fresenius in 2024.
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Kind to Animals
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Fresenius Medical Care and Fresenius Kabi only conduct animal testing when legally required or mandated by national and international laws.
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Such tests are approved by an ethics committee
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and carried out by recognized third-party research institutes.
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Fresenius Medical Care outlined its commitment to animal welfare in a global company position paper in 2022.
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Fresenius Kabi focuses its research and development on biosimilars, clinical nutrition, and generic drugs, which typically require less or limited animal studies.
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Fresenius Medical Care is exploring data-based methods, mathematic modeling, and virtual clinical trial simulations.
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Fresenius Kabi cooperates with professional non-clinical CROs or academic institutions that follow the 3R principles (Reduce, Replace, Refine) regarding the use of laboratory animals.
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The company does not operate its own animal husbandry or captive operations, relying on third-party organizations for animal testing.
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No War, No Weapons
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Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA's core business is healthcare, with no involvement in weapons production or military technologies.
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The company received contracts totaling approximately $28.46 million from the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency for medical supplies.
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Fresenius states it is guided by the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and its subsidiary's Supplier Code of Conduct is based on these principles.
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The company's Supplier Code of Conduct includes a zero-tolerance policy for corruption and bribery.
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Planet-Friendly Business
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The company's total Scope 1, 2, and 3 greenhouse gas emissions for 2024 were 4.199 million tCO2e.
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Scope 3 emissions were disclosed for the first time in 2023
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and are externally verified.
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The company committed to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) in January 2024
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and plans to submit Scope 1, 2, and 3 targets for validation in 2025
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, with a goal to reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 50% by 2030.
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In 2024, 27.6% of the company's total energy consumption was sourced from renewables
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, and photovoltaic systems are in operation at 15 sites.
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Water consumption per net revenue was 100 m3 per €1 million revenue in 2024.
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The recycling rate for hazardous waste was 37% and for non-hazardous waste was 40% in 2024.
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The company has a net-zero target for Scope 1-3 by 2050
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and a climate neutrality target for Scope 1-2 by 2040
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, with an interim goal of reducing Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 50% by 2030.
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The company supports TCFD recommendations
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, and its 2024 climate scenario analysis followed TCFD guidelines
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, considering IPCC scenarios SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, and SSP5-8.5.
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In 2024, 65.80% of water consumption was from areas of high water stress
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, with a target to reduce process water withdrawal in these areas by 20% by 2030.
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Respect for Cultures & Communities
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Fresenius has comprehensive grievance and whistleblower systems available to employees, service providers, suppliers, customers, patients, residents, and other potentially affected parties.
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These systems are accessible 24/7, can be used anonymously, and are available in up to 27 languages, with telephone reporting in more than 30 languages.
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Additional information on these mechanisms is provided by segments including Fresenius SE, Fresenius Kabi, Fresenius Helios, and Quirónsalud.
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Furthermore, the company has a Group-wide guideline for handling compliance incidents, which has been in effect since 2023.
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Since 2024, incidents can be assigned a possible reference to human rights, and the effectiveness of the complaints procedure is reviewed annually.
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In 2024, 28 human-rights-related reports were received, with 4 identified as violations in own operations and 0 as severe human rights violations.
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Safe & Smart Tech
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Fresenius reported zero serious cyber incidents from a Group perspective in 2021-2023
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and no data breaches with direct financial or reputational impact in 2024.
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The company has established binding principles and suitable governance models for ethical AI, including data protection-specific risk assessments for AI applications.
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ISO/IEC 27001 certifications are in place for information security management system at Group and business segment levels.
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Its security training program achieved an 88% success rate in phishing simulations in 2023,
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with basic data protection training mandatory for all employees and updated training occurring at least every two years.
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Fresenius has a policy against feeding confidential data into public generative AI systems without explicit whitelisting.
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A formal Coordinated Vulnerability Disclosure (CVD) program is in place,
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with vulnerability reports acknowledged within 7 business days.
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Data minimization practices include deleting web server logs after 7 days
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and storing contact data for up to 6 months,
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collecting only necessary data,
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and anonymizing IP addresses.
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Fresenius maintains a strong regulatory compliance program, with Binding Corporate Rules (BCRs) approved by data protection authorities,
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use of Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs),
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adherence to GDPR, HIPAA, and TTDSG,
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a Data Protection Officer reporting to the Management Board,
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and a Group Head of Data Protection.
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In 2023, 123 violations of personal data protection were reported to the supervisory authority,
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demonstrating proactive reporting.
Zero Waste & Sustainable Products
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In 2024, the company achieved a waste diversion rate of 72.69% for its total waste.
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For hazardous waste, 70.69% was diverted from disposal in the same year.
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The recyclability of product components is 24% for machines, while packaging contains 79% recyclable content.
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The company demonstrates a strong focus on waste reduction through numerous initiatives, including 100 projects under the Green & Lean initiative, six waste efficiency initiatives at manufacturing sites, and specific programs such as the reuse of 112,000 sharps containers,
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an estimated reduction of 46 million plastic cups annually,
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and the return of over 55,000 blue drums for reuse.
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Fresenius Kabi products, like the AmiCORE Apheresis System, have an expected lifespan of up to 15 years,
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with spare parts available for 7-10 years,
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indicating a focus on durability and repairability. However, the company currently lacks a measurable Group-wide waste reduction target, though local internal targets for recovery rates are in place.
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