Business Ethics

Our commitment to corporate compliance

Inappropriate conduct undermines fair competition, damages our credibility, and ultimately threatens our capacity to do business. Therefore, it is essential for us to comply with strict ethical standards, as well as international and local laws. We ensure this by following our Code of Conduct, establishing compliance committees, and implementing a compliance management system.

Code of Conduct

Our Code of Conduct is built on Fresenius Kabi’s values and guides us when we face a compliance issue or an ethical dilemma. It is a binding framework that leads us to the right decision, irrespective of hierarchy, and clarifies our mission, values, and principles.

Third-Party Code of Conduct

We value sustainable relationships and strive to conduct business only with partners who share our commitment to the highest ethical standards. We expect our business partners and suppliers to commit to our ethical principles in any contract, and we have set those expectations forth in our Third-Party Code of Conduct. 

Compliance management system

It is not enough to prevent compliance violations – they must also be identified and sanctioned. To ensure this, we have implemented a compliance management system based on international regulations and guidelines. The system is based on three pillars: prevention, detection, and response.

Preventing compliance violations

Our compliance tools focus on prevention. They include: 

• Educating on risk identification and assessment
• Implementing regular training
• Raising awareness for employees
• Providing ongoing consultation, binding policies, and standard operation procedures 

Furthermore, our compliance cockpit tool provides managers of each subsidiary with an overview of compliance-relevant key parameters. We review these parameters every year and define monitoring measures for any subsidiaries with an increased risk profile. 

Detecting potential compliance violations:

In line with our “Speak Up Policy”, we strongly encourage employees, customers, suppliers, and third parties to direct reports on potential compliance or human rights violations in connection with our business operations to our dedicated global reporting channels. 

Responding to compliance violations:

We designate case teams to review and investigate reported incidents thoroughly. When a violation is detected, we take immediate action. We strive to improve these internal processes and compliance measures continuously. 

Reporting misconduct

We are fully committed to compliance. We strongly encourage employees, customers, suppliers, and any other third parties to direct any report on potential compliance violations or human rights concerns in connection with our business operations to our dedicated global reporting channels.

You can write an e-mail to compliance@fresenius-kabi.com to ask questions, seek guidance, or report any suspected misconduct.

You can also call the local whistleblowing hotline number: 0800 30 00 74.

In addition, we offer a reporting platform, available 24/7, where potential compliance violations or human rights violations can be reported. Anonymity and translation services are available. You can make your report under www.complianceactionline.ethicspoint.com.

Any question or report is treated confidentially and carefully by the Fresenius Kabi Ombudspanel. This specialised, independent board of compliance experts has experienced global investigators reporting to Fresenius Kabi’s chief compliance officer.

We do not tolerate retaliation against reporters. Please see detailed information on our case management process and other possible reporting channels in our “Speak Up Policy”.

Thank you for speaking up and helping to maintain integrity!

Our compliance focus topics

Respecting human rights

We aim to uphold human rights and pay particular attention to fair and safe working conditions, the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining, and equal treatment. We condemn child labor, forced or exploitative labor, and modern slavery. We strive to safeguard society, the environment, personal data, and confidential information.

Fresenius Kabi is committed in respecting human rights. We underline this commitment with our human rights statement.

Ensuring a sustainable supply chain

We carefully select business partners and suppliers to ensure responsibility in our entire supply chain. We expect third parties to adhere to our Third-Party Code of Conduct. To identify compliance risks, we conduct due diligence prior to any work together. This helps to detect potential compliance concerns with third parties early on to ensure our high compliance standards are met.

Fighting bribery and corruption

We are committed to fully complying with all applicable anti-corruption and anti-bribery (ABC) laws. We have implemented a comprehensive, global ABC Policy with clear rules and principles to avoid bribery and corruption within the company and with third parties. 

Zero tolerance for antitrust violations

All employees must ensure unwavering compliance with antitrust laws wherever they are and in any transaction. Our global antitrust policy prioritises risk assessment, controls for sensitive transactions, training and communication, reporting of antitrust cases and remediation, monitoring, and legal support. We provide a comprehensive policy to ensure antitrust compliance in all business operations and legal entities.