Company values and external initiatives

Our corporate culture has always been characterized by responsible behavior – whether with respect to our products, our employees, the environment, or society. Our approach and our conduct have evolved from a history dating back nearly 350 years; they are derived from our Mission Statement and our Values, and shaped by the external initiatives that we support.

Our aim is to operate as a global company that creates added value for consumers, our market partners and the community and that helps them lead better lives. We strive to achieve positive recognition for our company in the community and are committed to operating safely and respecting the environment.

Our conduct is founded on our Values : courage, achievement, responsibility, respect, integrity, and transparency. They underpin our daily work and our interactions with our customers and business partners. We view open, honest communication internally and externally as an essential trust-building element.

Furthermore, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany supports relevant initiatives by other organizations concerning for responsible corporate governance:

• Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany has been participating in the United Nations Global Compact since 2005 and has expressed its commitment to comply with the compact’s ten principles regarding human rights, labor standards, environmental protection, and anti-corruption. In our annual Global Compact Communication on Progress, we explain how we incorporate the ten principles into our business processes.
• In 2006, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany signed the Responsible Care Global Charter adopted by the International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA). Within the scope of this voluntary initiative and of the resulting guidelines of the German Responsible Care® program , we have committed ourselves to defining standards in the areas of product responsibility, environmental protection, health, plant safety, and security that go beyond legal obligations. In particular, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany is currently focusing on product safety, environmental protection and occupational safety.
• Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany signed the Code of Responsible Conduct for Business  in 2010. This code is the result of an initiative of German companies with the aim of firmly establishing measurable standards with respect to fair competition, social partnership, merit and sustainability at the involved companies.

In 2012, we contributed to the policy paper “Das Nachhaltigkeitsverständnis der deutschen Chemie-Branche” (“The Understanding of Sustainability within the German Chemical Industry”), in which three partners formulated their common understanding of sustainability: the German Chemical Industry Association (VCI), the German Employers’ Federation of the Chemical Industry (BAVC) and the German Mining, Chemical and Energy Industrial Union (IBBCE). The aim of this special sustainability initiative is to:

1. Expand the position of the chemical industry as a key industry of the German economy for sustainable development
2. Continue to create attractive working conditions in the chemical industry
3. Create a climate of transparency and trust through active, open dialogue with government, business and society

Our corporate Mission Statement, our Values and these external initiatives result in requirements for responsible corporate governance that we incorporate into both our Corporate Responsibility strategy and our Group-wide guidelines. These guidelines include the Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany Social Charter and the Code of Conduct  as well as other topic-specific corporate principles, policies and standards. In this way, we provide our employees with the support they need to implement the above-stated requirements in their daily work and thus put them to practice within the company.