Our supplier expectations
At Fresenius Medical Care, we are committed to ethical, responsible, and sustainable business conduct. We expect our suppliers and business partners to uphold these same high standards across their own operations and supply chains.
Global Code of Conduct for Business Partners
The Global Code of Conduct for Business Partners is the cornerstone of our responsible sourcing strategy. It defines the mandatory compliance and ethical standards that guide our supplier selection, contracting, and performance management.
It is implemented across all procurement processes and serves as a binding contractual requirement for doing business with us. It covers the following key areas:
Compliance
Our compliance expectations
Integrity and lawful conduct are fundamental to how we do business at Fresenius Medical Care. We are committed to operating ethically and in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations across every jurisdiction. This includes a strict commitment to anti-bribery, anti-corruption, anti-money laundering, human rights, social standards, and environmental protection.
We uphold these values across our own operations and expect the same dedication from our suppliers and business partners. Our continued success and reputation depend on this shared commitment to ethical business practices.
To learn more about our requirements, please refer to our Compliance Business Partner Brochure and visit our Compliance Overview.
Supplier due diligence
Because compliance is a critical element of our long-term success, we conduct initial and periodic due diligence reviews as part of our supplier lifecycle management. These assessments ensure alignment with our compliance standards and corporate values.
Successful completion of these reviews is a prerequisite for establishing and maintaining a business relationship with Fresenius Medical Care. Suppliers are expected to cooperate fully and actively engage in this process to help ensure continued compliance with our requirements, which may include providing additional information or documentation upon request.
Speak up – Compliance action line
We are dedicated to fostering a culture of integrity, transparency, and accountability. We encourage employees, suppliers, and other business partners to speak up and report any concerns regarding potential misconduct, unethical behavior, or violations of laws, regulations, or our Code of Conduct.
To support this, we provide the Compliance Action Line, an independent, confidential reporting channel operated by a certified third-party provider. All reports are assessed and handled through a fair, consistent, and transparent process that strictly maintains confidentiality.
If you have a concern or wish to report a potential compliance issue, please utilize the Compliance Action Line.
Sustainable procurement
We actively promote sustainable procurement practices and collaborate closely with our partners to drive responsible outcomes. Our dedicated Sustainable Procurement team assesses supply chain risks and opportunities, establishing clear standards to guide compliance.
We are also committed to supporting you on your own sustainability journey. Whether you are just beginning or already advanced, we provide tailored tools, insights, and guidance to help you contribute to our shared goals, including our Scope 3 decarbonization targets.
For inquiries regarding sustainability in procurement, please reach out to our Sustainable Procurement team at SustainableProcurement(at)freseniusmedicalcare.com.
ESG risk management
We prioritize partnerships with companies that share our Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) commitments. Compliance with our defined minimum ESG criteria is a strict prerequisite for collaboration; companies that do not meet these requirements will not be considered for supplier selection.
We embed ESG criteria end-to-end across our entire procurement lifecycle, supported by industry-leading third-party platforms like Jaggaer and EcoVadis:
- Supplier selection
We embed sustainability, compliance, and responsible sourcing principles into our sourcing decisions.
- Contractual assurance
Selected suppliers are required to formally commit to our expectations in the Global Code of Conduct for Business Partners.
- Risk monitoring and mitigation
We continuously monitor supplier ESG performance to help identify, assess and mitigate potential risks.
- Supplier performance management
We collaborate closely with suppliers to drive continuous improvement across cost, quality, service, innovation, sustainability, compliance, and risk management.
Supply chain regulatory requirements
Suppliers are required to comply with applicable ESG, human rights, environmental, product, chemical, and supply chain regulations depending on geography, industry, product category, and scope of operations. Applicable requirements may include:
- EUDR (European Union Deforestation Regulation)
- CBAM (Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism)
- PFAS (Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances)
- RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive)
- REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals Regulation)
Conflict Minerals Policy
Our Conflict Minerals Policy statement reaffirms our commitment to avoiding harm to value chain workers in connection with mineral sourcing.
We monitor adherence to our policy through a third-party managed due diligence process, and suppliers found to be non-compliant with our Conflict Minerals Policy statement are subject to review for ongoing business engagement.