We have identified strategic suppliers that we monitor closely because of their importance to our business. This is managed by Fresenius Kabi’s global strategic purchasing organizations. Based on defined processes, Fresenius Kabi classifies strategic suppliers according to their risk and evaluates them regularly. We also conduct supplier audits. Since 2019, Fresenius Kabi has been assessing the aspects of occupational health and safety, environment, human rights, business ethics, and sustainable procurement of relevant1 strategic suppliers – a process which has been continued in 2021, enabling Fresenius Kabi to identify suppliers’ performance on corporate social responsibility (CSR).
Subsequently, suppliers can be requested to implement appropriate measures to reduce their CSR risks. Fresenius Kabi is supported in its supplier evaluation by an external service provider that provides CSR assessments for global supply chains. In addition, we continued to work on integrating supplier assessments based on CSR criteria into supplier processes in 2021. At the end of 2021, more than 70% of the relevant strategic suppliers have been evaluated against CSR criteria, thereby achieving the ambitious goal set internally by the company. The CSR performance of the majority of suppliers was confirmed in the assessment. Strategic suppliers with a low CSR assessment score have been requested in 2021 to take measures to improve their performance.
1Suppliers of APIs, Excipients, Primary Packaging materials, Energy, Disposal services, Filters, Granulates, Lab consumables, Secondary and tertiary packaging, strategic components, Clinical Studies, Medical Devices Components.