2024 TCFD Index

Our sustainability governance is designed to embed environmental, social, and governance (ESG) aspects into core decision-making. We have defined responsibilities and processes to support the integration of sustainability into our operations and strategy.

The Management Board manages the Company and conducts its business with the aim of achieving sustainable value creation. The Supervisory Board has an oversight supervision role, advises the Management Board, and is involved in fundamental decisions. Key elements include implementing long-term strategies, sound financial management, strict legal and ethical compliance. There is also a focus on effective sustainability management to create lasting economic, ecological, and social value, as well as transparent communication.

For detailed information on governance, roles, and responsibilities for impacts, risks, and opportunities, see section "Sustainability Governance"  in chapter “Sustainability Management” in the Sustainability Statement.

The Global Sustainability department drives our strategic sustainability activities and manages initiatives in close cooperation with relevant teams from the business segments and global functions. The Global Head of Sustainability provides regular updates to the Management Board and Supervisory Board on the progress of sustainability initiatives and target achievements. Formal cross-functional project steering committees, project teams, and expert networks support the implementation of sustainability projects. As part of our enterprise risk management, the Corporate Risk Committee analyzes and discusses key risks, including those related to sustainability. The results are compiled twice a year and communicated to the Management Board.

The Corporate Sustainability Committee (CSC) comprises senior representatives from the business segments and global functions, appointed by the Management Board. The CSC is primarily responsible for operational aspects and projects that require broader senior leadership guidance, where appropriate.

The Management Board and Supervisory Board are informed about material sustainability impacts, risks, and opportunities. Updates on related topics and initiatives are provided by the responsible function or segment heads, as well as by the Global Head of Sustainability. Depending on the topic, updates may be provided monthly, quarterly or annually, while some topics are addressed on an ad hoc basis. This includes ESG aspects related to relevant Company processes, such as corporate risk management and internal audits. Impacts, risks, and opportunities are also discussed in updates on material sustainability focus areas related to global targets, customer and investor requirements, and regulatory developments.

We monitor and assess sustainability impacts, risks, and opportunities as part of our business operations, due diligence, and corporate risk management processes. Our corporate risk assessment is conducted twice per year and is based on a catalog of potential risks, including sustainability risks, which are reviewed in each cycle. We have implemented a process to assess sustainability opportunities and monitor negative impacts on people and the environment as part of our corporate risk management system. In chapter "Risks and Opportunities Report" of our Sustainability Statement,  we disclose the identified relevant short-term and medium-term corporate risks.

The Management Board is informed about risk assessment results twice per year. The Audit Committee of the Supervisory Board monitors the effectiveness of the risk management system.

For information on identified risks and opportunities see the topical chapters and the section "Double materiality assessment"  in the chapter “Sustainability Management” in the Sustainability Statement. The topical chapters also outline how we address and mitigate risks.

We continuously refine our risk assessment to better understand how our business operations impact the environment and vice versa. External and internal data help evaluate our impact on climate change, water stress, and resource consumption, as well as how these factors pose a risk to our business. To assess the impact of physical and transition risks related to climate change, we have initiated a climate scenario analysis.

Various functions conduct their own risk assessment activities to support our ongoing due diligence processes. These include, in particular, the Compliance, Procurement, Human Rights, and Environmental Management teams. A description of these assessments is included in the topical chapters.

For detailed information on our corporate risk management, key risks, mitigation strategies, and related controls see chapter "Risks  and Opportunities Report".

The material impacts, risks, and opportunities related to climate change were identified through a double materiality assessment. This includes our impact on climate change resulting from business operations. These factors are also regularly reviewed as part of the risk management process.

For detailed information see environment chapters in the Sustainability Statement.

For more information on the impact of climate related risks and opportunities, please see sections "Climate Scenario Analysis" & "Resilience Analysis" in chapter "Climate Change" in the Sustainability Statement.

For more information on resilience against climate related risks, please see sections "Climate Scenario Analysis" & "Resilience Analysis" in chapter "Climate Change" in the Sustainability Statement.

We monitor and assess sustainability impacts, risks, and opportunities as part of our business operations, due diligence, and corporate risk management processes. Our corporate risk assessment is conducted twice per year and is based on a catalog of potential risks, including sustainability risks, which are reviewed in each cycle. We have implemented a process to assess sustainability opportunities and monitor negative impacts on people and the environment as part of our corporate risk management system. In chapter "Risks and Opportunities Report",  we disclose the identified relevant short-term and medium-term corporate risks.

The Management Board is informed about risk assessment results twice per year. The Audit Committee of the Supervisory Board monitors the effectiveness of the risk management system.

For information on identified risks and opportunities see the topical chapters and the section "Double materiality assessment" in chapter "Sustainability Management" in the Sustainability Statement. The topical chapters also outline how we address and mitigate risks.

We continuously refine our risk assessment to better understand how our business operations impact the environment and vice versa. External and internal data help evaluate our impact on climate change, water stress, and resource consumption, as well as how these factors pose a risk to our business. To assess the impact of physical and transition risks related to climate change, we have initiated a climate scenario analysis.

Various functions conduct their own risk assessment activities to support our ongoing due diligence processes. These include, in particular, the Compliance, Procurement, Human Rights, and Environmental Management teams. A description of these assessments is included in the topical chapters.

For detailed information on our corporate risk management, key risks, mitigation strategies, and related controls, see chapter "Risks and Opportunities Report".

We monitor and assess sustainability impacts, risks, and opportunities as part of our business operations, due diligence, and corporate risk management processes. Our corporate risk assessment is conducted twice per year and is based on a catalog of potential risks, including sustainability risks, which are reviewed in each cycle. We have implemented a process to assess sustainability opportunities and monitor negative impacts on people and the environment as part of our corporate risk management system. In chapter "Risks and Opportunities Report" , we disclose the identified relevant short-term and medium-term corporate risks.

For more information on the resilience against climate related risks please see sections "Climate Scenario Analysis" & "Resilience Analysis" in chapter "Climate Change" in the Sustainability Statement.

For detailed information, please see environment chapters in the Sustainability Statement.

The structure of the internal risk management system is based on the internationally recognized framework for company-wide risk management, the "Enterprise Risk Management - Integrated Framework" of the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). The sustainability-related risk and opportunity management is part of the internal risk management system.

For further information on the approach to sustainability-related risks and opportunities, see section "Risks and Opportunities Report"  in chapter "Sustainability Management" in the "Sustainability Statement".

Our environmental management approach is key to mitigating environmental impacts and addressing risks and opportunities. It includes continuous monitoring of national and international regulations to ensure compliance and align with evolving requirements. We have established internal environmental standards, complemented by external certifications such as ISO 14001 and ISO 50001, where necessary or appropriate.

Our production sites, distribution centers, laboratories and dialysis clinics are subject to internal and external audits to verify compliance with environmental laws, local regulations, certifications, and internal guidelines.

We use both location-based and market-based methods based on the residual mix that quantify emissions based on emission factors per country. We calculate our Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions following the methodology of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. For the calculation of Scope 1 emissions, we use the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ (DEFRA’s) latest version of this guidance. We use International Energy Agency (IEA) emission factors, Reliable disclosure systems for Europe (RE-DISS) Residual European Mix as well as US Residual Mix (Green-e Energy Emissions Rates) for electricity consumption to calculate indirect emissions from electricity.

For more environmental metrics used, see our Sustainability Statement as well as our ESG Performance Data.

Scope 1: 360,802 tCO2e

Scope 2 (location based): 450,611 tCO2e

Scope 2 (market based): 326,635 tCO2e

Scope 3: 2,881,287 tCO2e

For detailed information on resilience against climate related risks, please see sections "Climate Scenario Analysis" & "Resilience Analysis" chapter "Climate Change" in the Sustainability Statement

For detailed information, please see environment chapters in the Sustainability Statement.

We aim to achieve climate neutrality in our operations globally by 2040 (90% reduction of marked-based Scope 1 and Scope 2 compared to base year 2020, excludes the use of carbon credits). By 2030, our objective is to reduce our combined direct (Scope 1) and indirect (Scope 2) market-based GHG emissions by 50% compared to our 2020 base year emissions (915,732 tCO2e). Our global targets are developed using the guidance of the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi Corporate Net-Zero Standard published in March 2024) for achieving the Paris Agreement’s goal to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5°C.

In 2024, we reduced our market-based Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 25% compared to our baseline. With this, we continue to achieve a minimum annual average reduction of 5% to be on track to meet our 2030 emission reduction target.