CEO’s Declaration of continued support

Responsibility is not optional at Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany – it is part of who we are. For more than three centuries, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, has combined entrepreneurial success with responsible conduct and has made the fulfillment of our corporate responsibility an integral part of our identity.

To align our efforts internationally, we joined the United Nations Global Compact in 2005. We are committed to this path and stand firm in our continued support of the ten principles established by the compact, which cover human rights, labor regulations, environmental protection, and anti-corruption.

We want to leverage our knowledge and expertise to help address the major challenges of our time. For example, as a leading company in the pharmaceutical and chemical sectors, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, is well placed to contribute meaningfully in the field of healthcare.

Access to medical care is a universal human right and we want to make sure that it becomes a reality for everyone. For that reason, we have partnered with the World Health Organization (WHO) to combat the tropical disease schistosomiasis. We are donating praziquantel tablets, which are needed to treat this dangerous and wide-spread parasitic worm disease. To date, 38 million children in 19 countries have already been treated. And we intend to do more. After all, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, has committed to donating tablets until schistosomiasis has been eliminated in Africa.

Working to improve global access to health is one aspect of our responsibility efforts, but by no means the only one. As this progress report shows, responsibility is a basic tenet of our activities. We are living the principles of the Global Compact throughout our company – and will continue to do so.

Karl-Ludwig Kley
Chairman of the Executive Board

Merck KGaA
Frankfurter Straße 250
64293 Darmstadt
Germany
Tel.: +49 615172-0
Fax: +49 615172-8793
E-mail: comms@emdgroup.com
Website: www.emdgroup.com  

Your point of contact for this report:
Maria Schaad
Group Communications