Environmental & Social Information • Mar 24, 2022
Environmental & Social Information
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| Facts & figures | $\boldsymbol{3}$ |
|---|---|
| About the Zur Rose Group | $4\overline{ }$ |
| Foreword | $\overline{5}$ |
| Sustainability approach | 7 |
| Sustainability strategy | 8 |
| Materiality analysis | 9 |
| Committed to the sustainable development goals | $\mathbf{11}$ |
| Sustainability anchored within | 12 |
| Healthy people | 13 |
| Improvement of medication efficacy, better healthcare outcomes | 14 |
| Product quality and safety | 15 |
| Access to healthcare and medication | 16 |
| Digital offering and seamless health journeys | 19 |
| Responsible marketing and sales practices | 20 |
| Employees' occupational health and safety | 22 |
| Healthy planet | 24 |
| $\overline{\bf 3}$ | Climate protection and sustainable energy use | 25 |
|---|---|---|
| $\overline{\mathbf{4}}$ | Packaging materials and waste | 26 |
| $\mathbf{5}$ | Environmentally friendly logistics | 28 |
| $\frac{7}{1}$ | Healthy company | 29 |
| 8 | Reliable digital systems and data protection | 30 |
| 9 | Business ethics and compliance | 31 |
| $\mathbf{11}$ | Corporate governance | 31 |
| 12 | Economic performance | 35 |
| 13 | Corporate culture and attractive working conditions | 36 |
| 14 | Employees' diversity and inclusion | 37 |
| $15\,$ | Talent development | 39 |
| 16 | Healthy relationships | 40 |
| 19 | Identifying stakeholders | 41 |
| 20 | Stakeholder dialogue | 42 |
| $\overline{\bf 22}$ | GRI reporting | 44 |
| 24 | GRI content index | 45 |
Access to healthcare: Zur Rose's subsidiary eHealth-Tec was actively involved in designing the German eRx system.
Health in one click: Start of DocMorris Obesity Care with Novo Nordisk, the first ecosystem health journey, and strategic partnership with Roche Diabetes.
Recycling rate: The Zur Rose Group recycles about 70% of its waste.
1 million downloads: The DocMorris health platform offers a centralised portfolio of comprehensive and easily accessible health services via a new health app.
Employees: 55% of Zur Rose's employees are female and 45% of the employees are male.
The Swiss Zur Rose Group is Europe's largest e-commerce pharmacy and one of the leading medical wholesalers in Switzerland. It also operates the leading marketplace in southern Europe for consumer health, beauty and personal care products commonly sold in pharmacies. The company is internationally present with strong brands, including Ger many's best-known pharmacy brand, DocMorris, and employs more than 2,400 people at sites in Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and France. Now serving more than 12 million active customers in core European markets, Zur Rose generated external revenue of CHF 2,034 million in 2021. GRI 102-4, 6 & 7
With its business model, the Zur Rose Group offers high-quality, safe and cost-effec tive pharmaceutical care, as well as digital services relating to marketplaces, ecosystems, technology and telemedicine. In addition, Zur Rose is actively driving forward its posi tioning as a comprehensive healthcare service provider, with focus on building up and extending its European healthcare ecosystem networking qualified providers of products, services and digital solutions. Its ambition is to provide customer-centred health journeys so people are offered optimum supply and a range of medication and treatment options. By doing so, Zur Rose is pursuing its vision of creating a world where people can manage their own health in one click. GRI 102-2 & 9
Dear Stakeholders
Sustainability is becoming increasingly important – not just for you and me as private individuals, but in the corporate context too. Today, customers insist that companies are managed sustainably, whether it be in terms of energy, CO2 emissions or packaging materials. Investors have also long recognised the relevance, as can be seen from the investments made by both institutions and private clients.
It therefore follows as a logical consequence that the Board of Directors and Executive Board have decided to firmly embed sustainability across the Group in 2021 and steadily build on the issue in the years ahead. We too wish to do our bit – for the environment, the economy and society. We don't just regard sustainability as one more item on the agenda – we see it as a core part of everything we do.
Zur Rose has set the fields of action healthy people, healthy planet, healthy company and healthy relationships as the basic pillars of its sustainability strategy. These were mainly identified in the course of a materiality analysis Zur Rose conducted in 2021, in close consultation with key stakeholders. As part of the strategy, the Zur Rose Group is committing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
From its core business alone, Zur Rose has a special responsibility to society: to create a world where everyone can manage their health in just one click. As well as providing access to high-quality healthcare products and medications, the health and safety of all Group staff are also close to our heart. Other important areas include impact on the environment and the climate, success based on sustainable corporate governance and productive employees and the collective contribution to sustainable development made jointly with the stakeholders.
Diversity and inclusivity are further important aspects of our corporate culture. These are already fully integrated into the business model. Zur Rose is dedicated to building up a workforce that is diverse at all levels as well as to overcoming inequalities and exclusion in the healthcare system. Physical impairment, mobility and age often result in access to healthcare services being very restricted. Zur Rose is aware of groups of people with particular needs and adapts its communication, services and offerings accordingly.
The sustainability strategy drafted last year and the focus on the SDGs are key pillars in our efforts and progress. On this basis, Zur Rose is keen to set and implement targets that are ambitious but nonetheless realistic.
Overall responsibility for sustainable development lies with the Board of Directors and Executive Board. Zur Rose has also appointed a Sustainability Council to act as a coordinating body across locations and businesses. This meets regularly and consists of members of the Executive Board and experts from departments where sustainability is relevant. A new management position has been created at the operating level: Head of Sustainability, to integrate the sustainability strategy across the whole Group and coordinate the initiatives proposed by the Sustainability Council.
In this first Sustainability Report, we disclose current and future trends.1 This transparency helps us to appreciate our strengths and identify room for improvement. We will continue to engage in an active dialogue with major stakeholders to gain sound and relevant findings. The purpose of exchanging views is to jointly encourage the commitment to sustainability and boost the future success of the measures taken. In 2022 the Zur Rose Group will set specific targets for the issues mentioned, so we have a solid foundation for further improvements.2
Walter Oberhänsli Executive Director and CEO
The Zur Rose Group ("Zur Rose") prioritises managing and developing its business sustainably, in line with economic, social and environmental goals. To uphold its core values, Zur Rose strives to stay within planetary boundaries while delivering health to customers and ensuring a secure livelihood for employees and partners. The sustainability approach is structured along four strategic pillars: Healthy People, Healthy Planet, Healthy Company and Healthy Relationships. To contribute to a sustainable future, zur Rose develops and implements measures in these fields and systematically informs its stakeholders about its corresponding performance. GRI 102-11
The Zur Rose Group recognises that strategic planning and management of risks and opportunities are not just financial decisions but must encompass all parts of the business and its impacts. This includes supporting the health and well-being of people as a fundamental aspect of Zur Rose's sustainability strategy (Healthy People). It is also important for Zur Rose to factor in the effect that its business has on the environment and climate, and to take action to protect it (Healthy Planet). Furthermore, the strategy considers Zur Rose's prosperity by ensuring sustainable corporate governance and accounting for any impacts on the workforce (Healthy Company). Finally, Zur Rose strives to maintain healthy relationships and thereby contribute to sustainable development collectively with its stakeholders (Healthy Relationships).
To address these issues systematically, the Zur Rose Group has developed a sustainability approach with initiatives that can be applied holistically across the company. This umbrella strategy covers responsible economic activities, social responsibility, environmental protection, and ethical business conduct – all critical for maintaining its position as a responsible citizen of the world. As part of its ongoing stakeholder engagement, the Group strives to expand transparency on these issues to demonstrate both its continued progress and challenges on its journey toward these goals. GRI 102-11
The sustainability strategy is part of the business strategy, identifying the topics where the Zur Rose Group has a considerable impact on society and the environment and, conversely, the topics that have a significant influence on the Group's success. It also determines how Zur Rose approaches and manages its material topics (see chapter 1.2 for details about the materiality analysis). These material topics lie at the heart of the Group's sustainability endeavours. Zur Rose considers it vital to regularly review its strategic positioning to redefine targets and to adapt to changes at an early stage, including requirements of the capital market, customer expectations or the digitalisation of the business. New legislation, product and service innovations, and the ongoing development of communication channels also require a high degree of flexibility, foresight and adaptability.
To determine the most material economic, environmental, social and governance topics for a company, it is important to view the task through a relevant lens: a materiality analysis. The analysis first develops a comprehensive list of potentially relevant material topics, and then systematically assesses their relevance from different perspectives.
Zur Rose's materiality assessment was conducted in collaboration with external experts, stakeholders, and company management and was facilitated by a specialised external consultancy. For the assessment, a list of potentially relevant topics based on recognised (i) sustainability standards (including SASB and GRI Standards), (ii) criteria used in sustainability rankings, and (iii) topics addressed by peers of the Zur Rose Group was compiled and consolidated into 30 topic groups for further evaluation. These topics were then examined from three perspectives: relevance to the long-term business success of Zur Rose, relevance to stakeholders' decision-making, and impact of Zur Rose's business activities on sustainable development. This entailed:
Once the topics were mapped according to their materiality within these three parameters, they were evaluated and validated by Zur Rose's Sustainability Council. The analysis resulted in the 17 material topics shown in the Focus and Cultivate sections of the materiality matrix below. They form the core of the company's strategic approach to sustainability and the focus for the content of this report. GRI 102-46 3
3 The 17 topics determined to be material include all topics that were assessed to be of the highest (vital) impact relevance, in line with the requirements of the GRI Standards.
As part of the materiality analysis, the Zur Rose Group ensured a continuous dialogue with its stakeholders (see chapter 5, "Healthy Relationships," for more details about the stakeholder approach). GRI 102-47
Explanation results Impact relevance:
Stakeholder relevance
Business relevance
essential
considerable
| Cultivate Access to health care and medication Diversity and inclusion (employees and patients) Business ethics and compliance Responsible marketing and sales practices Packaging materials and waste |
Focus Improvement of medication efficacy, better health care outcomes Product quality and safety Reliable digital systems and data protection Climate protection and sustainable energy use |
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Environmentally friendly logistics | |||
| Stakeholder dialogue | |||
| 4 Maintain |
Cultivate | ||
| Partnerships for improved care | Digital offering and seamless health journeys | ||
| Social and environmental assessment of suppliers | Corporate Governance | ||
| Labour and human rights | Corporate culture and attractive working conditions | ||
| Network of local suppliers and business partners | Talent development | ||
| Water and wastewater | Occupational health and safety | ||
| Transparent tax practices | Economic performance | ||
| Charitable work | |||
| considerable | essential |
Charitable work
Business ethics and compliance
high
4 Less relevant topics in this quadrant will continue to be managed appropriately, but are not the focus of the sustainability strategy and report.
The Zur Rose Group's strategic approach to managing its material topics is inspired by and aligned with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which were developed as a global blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. While all 17 SDGs are related to the Group's activities and impact, the company has identified seven that are most closely linked to the pillars of its sustain ability strategy. Zur Rose is committed to actively contribute to SDG 3 Good Health and Well-Being, SDG 5 Gender Equal ity, SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth, SDG 9 In dustry, Innovation and Infrastructure, SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production, SDG 13 Climate Action as well as SDG 17 Partnerships for the Goals. In implementing the strategy, the Group will pay particular attention to how it can contribute in the most meaningful way to these goals as a core of its actions as a responsible corporate citizen.
The Zur Rose Group is committed to the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), the world's largest corporate sus tainability initiative with a mission to help companies align their strategies and operations with universal principles re lating to human rights, labour, the environment and anti-cor ruption. The Group's membership since early 2022 underpins its contributions to advancing societal and environmental goals provides a framework to regularly report on its pro gress.
To ensure the successful incorporation and implementation of the strategy at all levels, the Zur Rose Group has assigned relevant resources and accountabilities. Overall responsibility for the sustainable development of the Group lies with the Board of Directors and the Executive Board. To link sustainability to business, Zur Rose established a Sustainability Council as a Group-wide, cross-sectional coordination body. The Council meets regularly and consists of members of the Executive Board as well as functional leaders of sustainability-relevant departments. The Council makes key strategic decisions for sustainable development and recommends suitable initiatives to the Executive Board.
Additionally, a new Head of Sustainability management role was created, whose purpose is to coordinate the Group-wide sustainability strategy and accelerate its embedding in all areas of Zur Rose. Working groups for every field of action defined by the sustainability strategy were also established during the reporting period. They meet regularly throughout the year and submit recommendations to the Head of Sustainability and the Sustainability Council.
The Zur Rose Group believes that this structure puts the company in a strong position for the strategic alignment of its sustainability efforts. Successfully anchoring the strategy within the company is a central task of the newly assigned committees, working groups and decision-makers within Zur Rose. The integration of a sustainable corporate culture, the implementation of measures to increase the environmental and social performance, and the securing of necessary conditions are driven and accompanied by the sustainability strategy.
Although the advent of the internet has facilitated searches for information, the need for professional medical assistance and care is still prevalent. A drug or medication should only be administered and taken when it can benefit a person and ensure better quality or longevity of life. The efficacy of medication contributes to optimal treatment, which in turn leads to better outcomes.
Digital health services, such as those provided by e-commerce pharmacies, promote higher therapy adherence and minimise medication errors and follow-up costs. To that end, the Zur Rose Group aims to create better healthcare outcomes and improve the effectiveness of medications. GRI 203-1 Zur Rose is aware of the importance of its services and knows system failures may have a direct negative impact on customers' health. The Zur Rose Group's vision is to create a world where everyone can manage their health in one click. As Europe's largest e-commerce pharmacy, Zur Rose is working toward this vision by offering high-quality, safe and cost-effective pharmaceutical care.
The Zur Rose Group strives to enhance the experience and health journeys of people living with chronic conditions from their first interaction with the healthcare ecosystem throughout the entire relationship. At the same time, the Group is committed to responding to its customers' current healthcare needs and providing a comprehensive offering. For example, the Zur Rose Group employs a variety of internally and externally developed databases to detect and prevent medication errors. If errors are detected, Zur Rose immediately informs the concerned doctors or customers. In addition, Zur Rose offers their customers a tool to add their medications purchased elsewhere to their medication history. The service used for these additional checks is included in the medi+ service by Zur Rose Suisse. Zur Rose's business unit Dailymed offers a customised blistered medication service which increases adherence.
Another example of how Zur Rose is working to expand and improve its services is focusing on customers with severely impaired vision or blindness. In 2021, the Zur Rose Group examined accessibility issues and modified the website to expand both the product range and the ease of access as of January 2022. Special services such as customised blistering of medication are optimised for patients with impaired vision by working with QR codes which can be interpreted by text-to-speech devices.
By the end of 2021, all services and functions, such as e-commerce, health services and marketplace, were merged into a digital DocMorris health platform with a new app. At the beginning of January 2022, the DocMorris app had already reached the million-download mark, making it one of the fastest-growing health apps in the German market. With its centred portfolio of services and easy access via a mobile app, the DocMorris health platform creates a holistic approach for people to manage their health with just one click - from diagnosis at the online doctor's visit, redemption of e-prescriptions, pharmaceutical advice, interaction checks and adherence, to various delivery options. Zur Rose works so continously align the platform services with customers needs.
With the integration of the DocMorris Express marketplace with its network of more than 200 partner pharmacies and their respective services, customers of the DocMorris health platform now have the option of same-day delivery by local partner pharmacies for their orders of medicines and health products in addition to the mail order route. Same day delivery is already available in many major cities in Germany. GRI 103-1, 2, & 3, 203-2
The strategy of the Zur Rose Group is based on its vision to simplify health care access. This translates into empowering people with various conditions to better manage their health by providing a network of digital services and personalised treatment options that naturally fit into their lifestyle. Within DocMorris, the responsibility for pharmaceutical quality and associated operations lies with the chief pharmacist and pharmaceutical teams that oversee the quality of their processes. Within Zur Rose Suisse, the head of quality and pharmacy is responsible for the quality aspects, while responsible person is a trained pharmacist takes care of quality assurance regarding pharmaceutical decisions. The quality department oversees topics related to the ISO standards and runs the quality management system. This setup is comparable to the setting found in the pharmaceutical industry.
Providing people with high-quality, safe and cost-effective pharmaceutical care is the foundation of the Zur Rose Group's business model. As an e-commerce pharmacy, Zur Rose embraces its role as a reliable and trustworthy interface for customers and as a provider of safe, high-quality pharmaceutical care.
There are numerous ways in which the Zur Rose Group ensures that its drug therapy is safe and effective. DocMorris proactively checks that every prescription is age- and gender-appropriate for the consumer and clarifies the use for which the drug is being prescribed. Since patients often consult various, unrelated physicians, it is important for pharmacists to monitor and intervene before adverse interactions occur. Zur Rose Suisse examines the interactions between medications during the approval process of the order using health questionnaires, current prescriptions and history data. If amendments prove to be necessary, the result of the examinations is discussed with the doctor. Intake instructions are specified by the doctor on each medication and accompanying documentations.
DocMorris employs numerous safe therapy specifications to avoid the misuse of any medicine. The brand applies maximum quantity restrictions for over-the-counter (OTC) medications with high dependence potential (e.g. laxatives, nasal spray). A system-controlled process is applied across all channels through which a customer might purchase the product. This means that although the consumer shops online, a maximum quantity is applied to the basket and cannot be exceeded. These specifications and processes are supervised and further developed by the pharmaceutical teams, the clinical services and pharmaceutical quality (CSPQ) departments as part of general pharmaceutical quality efforts.
The Zur Rose Group strictly applies high quality standards along its supply chain. For example, DocMorris tracks the steps along the supply chain from procurement to collection at the distribution centres, to ensure the quality and safety of pharmaceutical products, ranging from procurement to the collection at the distribution centres. Evaluating suppliers is an important way in which the company determines "safe sources of supply." Moreover, DocMorris conducts visual inspections of packaging and monitors expiration dates. Customer contact information is carefully kept in the event of the need for a drug batch recall. DocMorris also ensures appropriate storage to guarantee a drug's conservation, for instance, logging temperatures to confirm that appropriate refrigeration is maintained. DocMorris uses a specialist shipper to transport medicines that require refrigeration. The transport complies with the regulations of the German AMWHV (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients and Manufacturing Ordinance) and the European GDP (Good Distribution Practice for the pharmaceutical industry). Temperature-controlled transports are 100 per cent logged and can be requested from DocMorris at any time.
At Zur Rose Suisse, each recipe for compounding is checked regarding its suitability and feasibility for the manufacturing facility before the compounding starts. This process is guided by the Zur Rose Suisse quality management system.
All brands of the Zur Rose Group (Medpex, DocMorris, Eurapon, Zur Rose Suisse) fulfil high quality standards and are ISO 9001 certified.
The Zur Rose Group's supervision ensures that each party responsible for a product is acting to protect customers at all times. At Zur Rose Suisse, PDCA cycles (plan, do, check, act), corrective and preventive actions (CAPA), internal audits and regular meetings guarantee the provision of high product quality and safety. DocMorris holds quarterly Pharmaceutical Safety and Quality (PQS) meetings, which include representatives from various departments involved in the supply process (e.g. chief pharmacist, logistics, purchasing, operations). In addition, DocMorris follows a KPI which is used to measure performance. Among the indicators are measures regarding the adequate and safe delivery of products. The Zur Rose Group regularly reviews regulations that pertain to the health and safety impacts of
its products or services very closely and is constantly working to further improve in this regard. GRI 103- 1, 2 & 3, 416-1
To realise the vision of creating a world where everyone can manage their health in one click, the Zur Rose Group needs to provide a secure supply of pharmaceuticals for the markets served. In this way, it contributes to a health system that provides access to healthcare and medication for as many people as possible, which in turn benefits all of society.
To fulfil its goal of ensuring that the customer's health journey with the Zur Rose Group is efficient and satisfying, the Group strives to make access to healthcare, treatments and medications through its platforms as simple as possible.
The Zur Rose Group was a pioneer in the introduction of electronic prescriptions (eRx) and was well positioned for the planned introduction of eRx in Germany in 2022. The mandatory roll-out will allow many people with the need for prescriptions to gain easy and convenient access to their individual treatment and medication plans. As a partner of IBM, Zur Rose's subsidiary eHealth-Tec was actively involved in designing the German eRx system and thus helped to create the nationwide infrastructure. More specifically, eHealth-Tec and IBM have developed the hardware and software components required to deal with the volume of e-prescriptions expected to be issued in Germany.
The eRx allows patients to map their entire care cycle online, ranging from online appointments, video consultations and e-prescriptions to the delivery of medicines via online pharmacies. According to the German Federal Ministry of Health, patients can choose whether they want to receive and redeem their e-prescription digitally or receive a printout at the doctor's office. For the latter, the DocMorris app provides users with a convenient scan function for the field codes on the print-out when having e-prescriptions filled, allowing the prescription information to be sent to DocMorris quickly and digitally. DocMorris also still offers paper-based prescription processing, which is free of charge.
DocMorris' online service is particularly useful for repeat prescriptions: as part of its service offering to customers who participate in specific indication-related support-programs, the pharmacy can proactively remind customers when it is time to refill their prescription and consistently supports continuous and appropriate access to healthcare and medication while increasing adherence to medication regimen. Similarly, Zur Rose Suisse sends reminders via SMS or email. Moreover, Zur Rose Suisse performs home care (i.e. drug administration at home), which was in high demand during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Zur Rose Group aims to provide constant access to the required care – anytime, anywhere. The development of telemedicine in Germany and the acquisition of Germany's leading telemedicine brand TeleClinic in 2020 enabled the Zur Rose Group to extend its portfolio of services and increase accessibility to acute care in 2021. TeleClinic services were added to the DocMorris website, expanding the breadth of service offering to include care solutions with availability of online doctors and private prescriptions just minutes away. This service, combined with medication delivery to the doorstep, means people can receive diagnoses and treatments within 24 hours without leaving their homes.
In Switzerland, Zur Rose's main customers are over the age of 55 with chronic medical needs. Although figures show an increase in digital usage by the elderly, this customer group may not always be comfortable with technology and digital products and services. To serve them adequately, Zur Rose continues to pursue an omnichannel path to medications so that customers have access to the required pharmaceutical products in the most convenient manner. Customers can make use of phone consultations, visit the pharmacy to consult a pharmacist or request prescriptions electronically or via physical mail.
As 2021 was marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a supply mandate for pharmacies in Germany to process and service mask authorisation cards for FFP2 masks. Order volume was high and required DocMorris to rapidly set up a new process to manage the mask authorisation cards. DocMorris successfully responded to the demand, but the mandate highlighted the need to establish a process for comparable future situations. DocMorris has determined that by steering certain article numbers into separate processing flows as needed, responses can be timelier and the continuation of regular care ensured. Work on this process is currently in the test phase. Zur Rose Suisse set up a new process in 2021 to supply COVID-19 tests and within a short time, the supply and billing processes were adapted to the regulatory requirements (e.g. collection of customers' health insurance data to ensure monthly delivery of maximum five tests per citizen). As part of a collaboration with health insurers, Zur Rose Suisse distributed a newsletter with relevant information about COVID-19 tests and facilitated fast and convenient order processing. For example, customers were able to activate automatic subsequent deliveries.
The pandemic also tested the Zur Rose Group's ability to function smoothly with a largely remote workforce. Due to the digital nature of its business, Zur Rose managed to quickly adapt to the remote set-up. The Group also successfully safeguarded its professional pharmaceutical product and service offerings by implementing shift work and strictly adhering to anti-contamination, safety and hygiene protocols.
In order to ensure that the Zur Rose Group meets and exceeds the expectations of its customers, the Group collects state-of-the-art KPIs to assess customer satisfaction are collected as part of the KPI manual (i.e. Net Promotor Score), whereas other indicators are used to ensure the accessibility of our products and services to all customer groups.
To assess accessibility of services to all age groups, Zur Rose uses customers demographic distribution as an indicator. At DocMorris, more than 65% of our customers ordering prescription products are 60 years old or above. The respective percentage of this age group for OTC is 25%. These indicators underscore the broad accessibility of Zur Rose's products and services to all age groups.
Even if the Zur Rose Group already ensures access for many groups, increasing access to healthcare and medication will be one of the key topics of the Group's sustainability measures, aiming to enable all people to participate from the benefits of Zur Rose's services and promote digital inclusion. GRI 103-1, 2 & 3
5 Source: Pro Senectute Schweiz Digitale Senioren Studie 2020
Customers expect digital offerings to provide a safe and easily accessible supply of medicines. In addition, they want to be able to shop on their own schedule. Healthcare increasingly relies on supporting platforms that integrate health-related data, allowing it to provide better treatment, which in turn leads to healthier people. By advancing digitalisation, the Zur Rose Group can meet customer demands and pave the way for seamless health journeys.
The Zur Rose Group is drawing on its expertise in healthcare, technology, online pharmacy consumer and telemedicine journeys, links to healthcare practitioners, and the newly developed eRx process for Germany to transform the healthcare experience. It thereby aims to gradually bring more end-to-end health journeys across customers with different chronic, acute and discrete health conditions.
The development of end-to-end health journeys and virtual care across platforms is a high priority of the Zur Rose Group's ecosystem strategy and under the DocMorris brand, with a particular focus on the journeys of people living with chronic diseases. The Group works to connect its offerings across its websites and apps with those of third parties in ways that provide an excellent customer experience.
DocMorris co-launched the obesity journey in early 2021, with the aim of expanding into additional markets in Europe. Together with Novo Nordisk, DocMorris designed a health journey that enables people with obesity to address weight loss, mental health and obesity stigmas, while at the same time empowering them to better understand their condition and make improved healthcare decisions. DocMorris Obesity Care, the hub of the collaboration, links people with obesity to tailored treatment options such as medication, digital therapeutics or surgery. The hub facilitates online access to specialised doctors via TeleClinic and offline healthcare professionals via adipositas-spezialisten.de, a tool to help patients locate healthcare practitioners with obesity expertise in Germany.
Together with Novo Nordisk, DocMorris designed a health journey that enables people with obesity to address weight loss, mental health and obesity stigmas, while at the same time empowering them to better understand their condition and make improved healthcare decisions.
Ensuring fair and transparent marketing and sales practices is crucial for the Zur Rose Group. The Group is committed to providing customers with adequate and sufficient information about the positive and negative effects of its products and services.
The pharmacy business is strongly regulated and regulations differ from country to country. In Germany, for example, product-level advertising is not allowed for Rx, while limited and strictly regulated advertising for OTC products is permitted. The Zur Rose Group provides important pharmaceutical information to its customers within the regulatory parameters of each country, including the positive and negative effects of individual medications and the benefits and risks of products and services.
The Group focuses outbound marketing on topics of general interest and offered services rather than on specific drugs. Marketing is more educational in nature with an emphasis on topics like the importance of adherence to a schedule of medication. Zur Rose regularly conducts market research to assess the success of brand awareness and uses conversion KPIs to track and report on the performance of specific campaigns.
The Zur Rose Group announced its partnership with Roche in 2021 to develop an integrated diabetes journey to address the needs of 60 million European residents living with diabetes. Thanks to its pool of pharmaceutical experts, eHealth and pharmacy platforms, telemedicine and technology expertise as well as its wide customer reach the Group will create personalised and seamless diabetes journeys and enable healthcare practitioners to be in contact with people living with diabetes when needed. This new ecosystem for consumer-centric diabetes management under the DocMorris umbrella brand will include assets of both the Zur Rose Group and Roche as well as other best-in-class third-party solutions.
Products and services are designed to create a seamless, integrated customer health journey, which is continually monitored and analysed with relevant measures such as post-transaction online surveys. Zur Rose Suisse tracks user behaviour on its website and conducts user surveys and tests, prototyping and A/B testing. Zur Rose Suisse has also established a customer advisory council consisting of a group of customers that Zur Rose Suisse collaborates with, for example, regarding marketing-related topics. DocMorris has created prototypes that are tested with users and allow to gain insights into customer behaviours and needs, which will in turn be incorporated into future releases of the platform, products and services. GRI 103-1, 2 & 3
The safety of customers is of paramount importance to the Zur Rose Group. Accordingly, product information can be found on the package inserts of all prescribed medicines, along with proper dosage information. Zur Rose strictly complies with all regulations pertaining to its products and services, which include safe-use information, as well as a list of the origins of the products' components and the composition of every product. The Group makes special mention of substances that may have environmental or social impacts. All products and services are verified to comply with relevant rules and regulations. GRI 417-1
The Zur Rose Group regularly reviews all relevant publications as well as all marketing and communication regulations closely and constantly works to improve in this regard.
Basic information about how DocMorris handles consumer data is published on the website along with the general terms and conditions that apply to using the online service and the privacy policy.
Due to the complex nature of the regulations that the Zur Rose Group must adhere to, marketing activities are reviewed and approved by the legal department before they are released to the public.
The Group will continue to review its marketing and sales practices in the future and adapt regulatory and pharmaceutical processes where necessary. In addition, Zur Rose aims to make marketing more diverse and take responsibility for all people.
| Zur Rose strictly complies with all regulations | |
|---|---|
| pertaining to its products and services, which include safe-use information as well as a list of the origins of the products' components and the composition of every product. |
|
As a responsible company active in the healthcare sector, the Zur Rose Group highly values supporting the health and safety not only of its customers but also its employees. Zur Rose employs more than 2,200 people at sites in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland. Due to the high level of occupational health and safety that Zur Rose mandates, the Group has a good reputation and is perceived as a responsible employer. The Group consistently complies with all national regulations for occupational health and safety.
All employees receive basic training on occupational health and safety as part of their onboarding, which is documented in the QMS. The training is organised by the Human Resources (HR) department, while the security officer is responsible for the implementation. If individuals have special job requirements – such as operating a particular machine, working with dangerous goods, or managing pharmaceuticals – they will receive training appropriate to their position. Ongoing training is provided as necessary. GRI 403-5
Zur Rose promotes healthy living by emphasising good ergonomics on site. The Group also provides massages, sports programmes and prevention programmes. Some programmes that are classified to be valuable for all are obligatory, while others are available upon request. GRI 403-6
| Key occupational health and safety figures 6 |
2021 |
|---|---|
| Injuries | 194 |
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Lost work days due to work-related injuries | 867 |
| Lost work days due to illness | 31649 |
While the health and safety management system is separate from the quality management system (QMS), all relevant documents are also included in the QMS. Employees are encouraged to participate in discussions that impact them, such as the introduction of safety shoes or knives. Relevant information and updates about health and safety are posted internally. GRI 403-4
For some of its sites, Zur Rose maintains an ambulance which responds to an internal emergency number. The responsible team is retrained every year to handle first aid, resuscitation and automated external defibrillators (AED). The Group also maintains a medical room at some of its sites, for example, in Frauenfeld and Heerlen. GRI 403-3
Safety officers are responsible for the security, safety and health of all units within the Zur Rose Group. They spend approximately 40 per cent of their work time on these aspects. Other members of the Group invest one to four days per year on related issues. During the past two years, the officers and members focused on health and safety issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Each year, Zur Rose conducts at least one external and one internal security audit.
Zur Rose strives to build a more robust internal organisation that is fully dedicated to health and safety. To this end, the Group is currently developing a more comprehensive plan regarding occupational health and safety for 2022. GRI 103-1, 2 & 3
To continue its response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, the Zur Rose Group implemented a digital visitor management system, updated the access control, and renovated the headquarters in Frauenfeld, Switzerland, to minimise the impact of the disease. GRI 102-3 Further achievements during the reporting year included the provision of individual ear protection in specific warehouse areas, the definition and marking of walkways in warehouses and signing a prevention agreement with Switzerland's largest accident insurance, SUVA. GRI 403-7
Zur Rose has a paper-based management system for health and safety which is designed to follow regional laws (e.g. ArG) and industry guidelines (e.g. EKAS 6508) is in place. The system identifies aspects of the organisation that impact health and safety including qualification and training, rules, hazard identification and risk assessment, action control, emergency organisation, involvement, health protection and audit controls. GRI 403-1 Specifically, it lays out the following guidelines:
By following the above guidelines, the Zur Rose Group ensures continuous improvements to its health and safety protocols.
Climate protection and sustainable energy use are crucial for the Zur Rose Group. The Group's priorities include the reduction and management of the company's carbon footprint, the reduction of energy consumption in operations and along the supply chain, the increase of energy efficiency and optimisation, the careful selection of technical equipment, and more efficient processes.
This topic is also increasingly a key concern for several of Zur Rose's stakeholders that have an influence on the Group's business success. Thus, the commitment to climate protection and sustainable energy use is indirectly linked to the company's profitability.
The Zur Rose Group monitors the impact of its business along the supply chain and in the delivery of its products, as well as within its own operations. As regulatory requirements evolve, Zur Rose is prepared to meet these amendments.
To increase environmental efficiency, the site in Heerlen (NL) has started to switch to green electricity, the site in Bremen (DE) also switched its contract to green electricity. Zur Rose is reviewing similar measures for other locations. Moreover, the lighting in the warehouses in Switzerland has been changed from fluorescent lamps to LEDs.
Some pharmaceutical products have special requirements for secure storage (e.g. temperature requirements). In the interests of more efficient refrigeration, Zur Rose Suisse has combined several small chiller cells in its Swiss warehouse into a single larger unit.
The Zur Rose Group's newly established Head of Corporate Sustainability collaborates with representatives of internal working groups to achieve goals related to climate protection and all other relevant aspects of sustainability. The working groups include responsible people both at Group level and per segment. This new structure allows for improvements of internal processes, optimisations of operations and reporting to the management about relevant activities.
The Group's measures regarding climate protection and sustainable energy use are still in an early phase and a crucial component of continuous improvement processes. The current focus is the creation of an impact map to identify commonalities and synergies between Zur Rose's sites. GRI 103-1, 2 & 3
| Energy and Emissions | 2020 |
|---|---|
| Total Energy Consumption in MWh | 10919 |
| Electricity | 8002 |
| Of which from renewable sources | 272 |
| Heat 7 |
2550 |
| Fuel oil | 10 |
| Natural gas | 2323 |
| District heating | 217 |
| Fuels | 367 |
| Diesel | 177 |
| Petrol | 190 |
| 81 Total GHG Emissions in tCO2e |
3099 |
| Scope 1 | 574 |
| Combustibles | 479 |
| Fuels | 95 |
| Scope 2 | 2525 |
| 9 Electricity |
2477 |
| District heating | 48 |
7 Does not include Bluecare, Winterthur and Polyrose, Kirchberg.
8 Calculations in accordance with the WRI/WBCSD Greenhouse Gas Protocol guidelines. Scope 1: GHG emissions from combustibles and fuels. Scope 2: GHG emissions stemming from the production of electricity and district heating. Sources for emission factors: Defra & IEA
9 Greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production of electricity were accounted for in accordance with the 'location-based approach' according to the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Scope 2 standard.
The Zur Rose Group is committed to designing packaging in an environmentally friendly way and avoiding or minimising waste in all its companies and along the supply chain in line with circular economy principles.
Since Zur Rose distributes pharmaceutical products but does not produce them itself, the careful use of packaging materials and the reduction of packaging waste that the company can directly influence apply to the materials that are required for shipping the products to consumers rather than to the actual product packaging.
The mantra of "reduce, reuse, recycle" has been internalised at Zur Rose. The Group has implemented waste management protocols throughout the organisation for packaging materials, logistic waste and domestic waste. In Switzerland, waste has been separated for years (e.g. cardboard, plastic, glass). GRI 306-1 In Germany, the LUCID Packaging Register serves as an online platform to implement the Packaging Act ("Verpackungsgesetz"). The platform is run by the Central Agency Packaging Register ("Zentrale Stelle Verpackungsregister ZSVR"). The German site reports the required information about packaging materials via the platform. The packaging material used in Germany enters the dual disposal system ("duales System"), a take-back system that supports the closed-cycle economy. At the Heerlen-site (NL), DocMorris' logistic and domestic waste is managed by a third party that separates it according to Dutch legislation. GRI 306-2 During the reporting year, the sites in Heerlen (NL) and Halle (DE) largely eliminated the use of filling materials for packaging.
10 Only material consumption of DocMorris/Aporot/Tanimis (Heerlen, Netherlands) reflected as process of data collection and evaluation of material consumption and material recycling content is not yet set up for all sites.
11 100% FSC-certified
12 Of which 50% from recycled material and biodegradable
| Resource consumption | 2021 |
|---|---|
| Material in t 10 |
1178 |
| Cardboard boxes 11 |
1108 |
| 12 Filling materials |
20 |
| Labels | 30 |
| LDPE bags | 10 |
| Stretch films | 10 |
| 2020 | |
| Total waste in t | 655 |
| Non-hazardous waste in t | 642 |
| Incineration | 185 |
| Recycling | 457 |
| Hazardous waste in t | 13 |
The Zur Rose Group implements targeted measures to optimise its packaging. In cases where package fill material is needed, the Group is increasing its use of recycled materials. In addition, all cardboard boxes must bear the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) seal indicating the pulp was produced sustainably. Starting from the second half of 2021, catalogues were printed on FSC certified paper. Packaging adhesives are transitioning to environmentally friendly alternatives. Zur Rose is also adjusting the size of packages and carrying out test runs with packages in letter format and alternatives to shipping boxes.
At PromoFarma, current investigations include searching for new providers in Spain to create smaller boxes and looking at ways to unify distributions with DocMorris.
In 2021, all German sites decreased the amount of filling materials used. The Heerlen site (NL) uses filling material with a high percentage of recycled, fully biodegradable plastic and some sites use sustainable packaging only. The logistics in Bremen (DE), for example, use 100 per cent recycled fibres and paper as filler and the Heerlen site (NL) similarly uses recycled materials for the required residual filling materials.
In Switzerland, Zur Rose Suisse is making progress in better transport planning in the B2B business. By increasingly grouping orders together, Zur Rose saves on trips and reduces the need for packaging materials.
The site managers of the respective organisation's logistics departments are responsible for optimising packaging and, where possible, developing packaging processes to include more sustainable materials or reduce consumption of materials. This is facilitated by the regular exchange of knowledge between site managers.
The Zur Rose Group is fully committed to addressing its waste production, despite high costs and the need for extensive process adjustments to implement some of the changes. The Group is currently working with several manufacturers to introduce reusable packaging for the delivery of products. Although market conditions in 2021 influenced efforts regarding packaging materials (i.e. shortage in paper supply), Zur Rose pursued an efficient and resource-friendly approach and continued to work hard to minimise packaging materials and waste. GRI 103-1, 2 & 3
The Zur Rose Group's concern for the environment has resulted in efforts to design environmentally friendly logistics processes. The Group pays close attention to how it delivers consignments and maintains a direct dialogue with logistics partners on improvements. The Group has also explored how to optimise its own vehicle fleet to minimise its environmental impact.
The Zur Rose Group locations buy the majority of their almost 180,000 products from pharmaceutical companies, wholesalers and brand-name manufacturers in the country where they operate. In Germany and Switzerland, Zur Rose has around 1,600 suppliers and service providers and more than 1,300 sellers (most of them pharmacies) in Spain and France. Products are securely stored in Zur Rose's warehouses and packaged and delivered to customers by transport partners. In Switzerland, approximately 84 per cent of products go to physician clients with their own practice pharmacy and shop-in-shop pharmacies (B2B). Around 16 per cent is dispatched directly to end-customers (B2C). In Germany, orders are delivered directly to end-customers by Zur Rose's transport partners. In Spain and France, orders are fulfilled by affiliated partners via the marketplace and sent to end-customers.
Logistics depend largely on external providers that are committed to reducing their environmental footprint. These include, for instance, DHL and Swiss Post that started offsetting their CO2 emissions in 2021. In Germany, the Zur Rose Group has launched its first steps toward green delivery by reviewing and working with suppliers that offset their CO2.
The Chief Operations Officer (COO) of the Zur Rose Group is responsible for ensuring efficient and optimal logistics processes throughout the Group. Each of Zur Rose´s logistic site has a site manager who reports to the COO regarding logistic processes and optimisations.
With these measures and responsibilities, the Zur Rose Group aims to reach its goal of integrating the Group's systems with ecologically friendly carriers in the upcoming years to drive environmentally friendly logistics. GRI 103-1, 2 & 3
As a leading player in the healthcare industry, the Zur Rose Group recognises its obligation to set and maintain high ethical and quality standards for the use of technology in providing services and products to customers. Subject to pharmacist confidentiality by law, the protection of patients' privacy is a high priority and keeping their data safe and secure is essential. Although technology is crucial to Zur Rose's business, it also presents risks that must be constantly tracked and minimised.
The Zur Rose Group embraces technologies that can provide services and products to customers in a safe, inclusive and easy-to-access manner. At the same time, Zur Rose has intensified efforts to achieve Group-wide, coherent standards regarding data management, information security and ease of access to technological services. The Group conducted several internal audits that have confirmed general compliance with data protection rules and regulations and provided additional insights for optimisations.
Protecting personal data that is entrusted to the Zur Rose Group is not just about technology – it is a way of working that involves all employees. Thus, large-scale training and awareness creation are indispensable. Both data privacy and information security are part of the mandatory internal training, and awareness programmes will be further instituted in the future.
In 2021, the Zur Rose Group received no significant complaint regarding violations of the protection and loss of client data. Nevertheless, the Zur Rose Group is constantly working to further enhance its processes regarding customer privacy. GRI 418-1
Corporate digital responsibility is driven by the CEO as part of the sustainability initiative. The Zur Rose Group has dedicated specific resources to work on corporate digital responsibility and information security and raised awareness of the topic on multiple levels and across all segments.
The Zur Rose Group will continue to emphasise high ethical and qualitative standards for its products and services. Zur Rose will continue to keep up with the latest changes and improvements to data protection regulation to ensure that all products and services correspond to state-of-the-art compliance requirements. GRI 103-1, 2 & 3
At the Zur Rose Group, business ethics and compliance are a high priority: all employees must familiarise themselves with the legal provisions and regulations, as well as internal rules, directives and regulations that are relevant to their professional activities.
The Zur Rose Group's Code of Conduct, which sets out the binding principles of business conduct for all employees at all levels, was revised in the reporting year and adopted by the Board of Directors in December 2021. GRI 102-16
In accordance with the EU Directive on the Protection of Whistleblowers, an online reporting system was set up in the reporting year through which employees can report concerns based on sufficient indications regarding potential compliance violations. The report can be made anonymously or with the name of the person making the report. Such reports have no negative consequences of any kind for the person who submits them.
The revised Code of Conduct and the information on the whistleblower system were communicated to all employees in January 2022.
The Zur Rose Group manages legal and compliance risks. Zur Rose is not aware of any incidents of corruption during the reporting period. GRI 205-1 & 3 The Group also had no legal proceedings brought against them based on anti-competitive behaviour, cartel or monopoly formation, nor was it in non-compliance with laws and regulations in the social and economic sphere. GRI 103-1, 2 & 3, 206-1, 419-1
The Zur Rose Group complies with regulatory requirements in the area of corporate governance. However, corporate governance goes beyond regulatory requirements. It includes the establishment, implementation and monitoring of internal rules, governance structures, processes and practices that lead to accountability and ensure leadership in the Group's best longterm interests.
This chapter presents a summary of key aspects of Corporate Governance at Zur Rose. More details can be found in the Corporate Governance section of the Zur Rose Annual Report.
The Board of Directors supervises the Zur Rose Group, while the Executive Board is responsible for the operational management. The CEO is responsible for managing the business of the Zur Rose Group. Under his leadership the Executive Board deals with all issues of relevance for the Group, takes decisions within its authority and submits motions to the Board of Directors. The Group structure is organised into segments responsible for regions and revenue, B2C, B2B2C/B2B and marketplace business models and the finance, technology, operations and strategy and digitalisation functions. The members of the Executive Board are responsible for devising and achieving their entrepreneurial objectives and running their units independently. Human Resources, Legal, Communications, Investor Relations, Sustainability and Internal Audit report to the CEO; Finance reports to the CFO. These provide services for the whole Group.
The majority of the Board of Directors of Zur Rose Group AG are independent directors. The Board uses the criteria in the Swiss Code of Best Practice for Corporate Governance from economiesuisse to determine whether its members are independent. This states that non-executive members who either never belonged to the Executive Board or did so more than three years ago and who have no or only relatively minor business relations with the Company are deemed independent. The term of office of members of the Board of Directors is not a criterion for judging their independence. With the exception of the CEO Walter Oberhänsli, no members of the Board of Directors act as an executive for the Zur Rose Group or have done so within the past three reporting years. None of the directors have significant business relations with the Zur Rose Group. There are no crossdirectorships.
The Board of Directors consists of seven members. When members are nominated, the emphasis is on experience in leadership and management roles, e-commerce, technology, digitalisation, law, regulatory issues, healthcare, marketing, finance and accounting, M&A, capital markets, risk management, compensation and sustainability, plus in particular international experience. During the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders on 29 April 2021, Prof. Dr. Andréa Belliger was elected to the Board. As a result, one director is female. Tobias Hartmann did not stand for re-election. The Board of Directors strives to make a balanced allowance for the skills and knowledge that reflect the strategic and operational focus of the Zur Rose Group, the international outlook and the accounting requirements for listed companies. The skills and knowledge needed are broadly covered by the Board.
Under the Articles of Association of Zur Rose Group AG, no member of the Board of Directors may hold more than ten additional mandates and, in addition to those, no more than four in listed companies. Each of these mandates is subject to approval by the Chairman of the Board of Directors and, in case of a mandate of the Chairman of the Board of the Directors, by the majority of the other members of the Board of Directors. Any exceptions (e.g. mandates in companies that are held at the request of the Zur Rose Group or companies controlled by it or in charitable organisations) are defined in the Articles of Association.
The Audit Committee and Compensation and Nomination Committee are standing committees of the Board of Directors. The Audit Committee is comprised of three non-executive members of the Board of Directors and assists the Board of Directors in overseeing the management of the business, in particular in its non-delegable duties of ultimate supervision and financial control (Art. 716a CO). The Audit Committee also assists in the preparation of the annual report and financial statements by forming its own judgement of the organisation and operation of the internal and external control systems, as well as the financial report. The Compensation and Nomination Committee comprises three members of the Board of Directors and supports the Board of Directors in establishing and reviewing the compensation strategy and guidelines, and in preparing the proposals to the General Meeting of Shareholders regarding the compensation of the Board of Directors and Executive Board. The Board of Directors may resolve to establish (and dissolve) additional committees and entrust them with certain responsibilities and project-related tasks. GRI 102-18
Overall responsibility for the sustainable development of Zur Rose lies with the Board of Directors and the Executive Board. The Sustainability Council makes key strategic decisions for sustainable development and recommends suitable initiatives to the Executive Board.
To link sustainability to business, Zur Rose established a Sustainability Council as a Groupwide cross-sectional coordination body. The Council meets regularly and consists of members of Zur Rose Group's Executive Board as well as functional leaders of sustainability-relevant departments. The Council makes key strategic decisions for sustainable development and recommends suitable initiatives to the Executive Board. Additionally, the new management role of Head of Sustainability was created in 2021. The purpose of the Head of Sustainability is to coordinate the Group-wide sustainability strategy and accelerate its embedding in all areas of Zur Rose.
The Sustainability Council reports on a regular basis about important developments to the Executive Board and the Board of Directors. As part of the materiality assessment (see chapter 2.2), the material topics were presented to and approved by the Executive Board and the Board of Directors.
The Zur Rose Group has a system in place to monitor and control the risks associated with its business operations. This process includes the identification, analysis, control and reporting of risks. The Board of Directors and the CEO are responsible for creating the necessary organisational framework for the operation of the risk management system, while the CFO is operationally responsible for risk management control. In 2021, a total of 181 risks were identified at the Zur Rose Group. For each of these risks, a risk owner has been defined who is responsible for taking concrete measures and monitor their implementation.
In 2021, the position Head of Internal Audit was created and filled. The purpose of Internal Audit is to provide independent assurance to the Audit Committee and the Board of Directors that the organisation's risk management, governance and internal control processes are operating effectively. Internal Audit conducts operational and systems reviews and assists the Group's organisational units in regulating, improving and assuring the effectiveness of their risk management and internal control processes. Internal Audit coordinates its work as far as possible with the external Auditors. The Board of Directors may entrust Internal Auditing with special audits, internal investigations or other tasks extending beyond the regular activities of Internal Auditing. In case of significant findings identified during an audit, the Head of Internal Audit informs the Delegate of the Board and CEO, the Head of the Board of Directors as well as the Head of the Audit Committee.
The value and success of the Zur Rose Group AG largely depends on the quality and commitment of its employees. Its compensation policy supports the goal of recruiting, motivating and retaining qualified individuals for the Group. The performance-related and share-based components are also designed to align the way of thinking and acting with shareholders' interests. The compensation system is based on the following principles:
The compensation system for the Executive Board is aligned with the corporate strategy and linked to the relevant key performance indicators for the variable compensation elements. This allows the compensation of the members of the Executive Board to be determined transparently and based on performance. The Board of Directors decides on targets. The Zur Rose Group plans to link compensation to ESG criteria as well.
Criteria such as position, responsibility, experience and market data are used to determine the compensation of the Executive Board. The individual compensation of the members of the Executive Board consists of a fixed and a performance-related salary component limited in amount, as well as pension and fringe benefits (e.g., company car).
Base salaries are determined based on the scope and responsibilities of a given position and the qualifications required to perform the job, the market rate of compensation, and the personal qualifications, experience and performance of each member of the Executive Board. Payment is made monthly in cash.
For more details, see the Compensation Report section of the Zur Rose Annual Report. GRI 103-1, 2 & 3
| Compensation Structure | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Element | Purpose | Instrumental | Performance criterion |
Performance period |
Determinants |
| Fixed basic annual salary |
Recruitment, retention, motivation |
Cash compensation |
- | - | Position, qualification, market rates |
| Short-term variable compensation |
Rewarding performance |
In cash | Revenue, EBIT, individual targets |
1 year | Financial result and qualitative performance |
| long-term variable compensation |
Rewarding sustainable value creation, Alignment with shareholders' interests |
Shares (2/3 in performance share units and 1/3 in restricted stock units |
Revenue growth, relative Total Shareholder Return |
2 years | Success of the Group, share price performance, competitive position |
| Pension and fringe benefits |
Protection against risks, employee recruitment and retention |
Pension plan, insurance plans, fringe benefits |
- | - | Market rates and legal requirements |
As a market-oriented organisation, the need to provide stable, future-oriented economic performance is a key driver for the Zur Rose Group. Zur Rose invests in its future growth by extending its leadership in technology, seizing opportunities for e-prescriptions in Germany and advancing its internationalisation strategy. The topic is relevant to all stakeholders – from employees to investors.
Providing people with high-quality, safe and cost-effective pharmaceutical care is core to the Zur Rose Group's business model. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for Zur Rose's products and services: simple access through socially distanced online shopping. Consequently, a positive financial outcome was achieved.
The Zur Rose Group acknowledges that risks are part of entrepreneurial activity. With its well-established risk management processes, Zur Rose identifies risks at an early stage and assesses, controls and minimises them with targeted measures to guarantee a sustainable economic performance. The risk management policy describes responsibilities as well as goals and processes of risk management.
The objective of the internal control system (ICS) for the accounting process is to provide reasonable assurance that financial statements are prepared in accordance with the rules. The system includes measures to ensure complete, accurate and timely transmission and presentation of information relevant to the preparation of the consolidated financial statements and the combined management report. Each subsidiary company within the Group has a local internal control system.
As in previous years, the Zur Rose Group invested in expanding its business in 2021, which led to a financial loss even though revenue has expanded. In the reporting year, the Zur Rose Group's net revenue was CHF 1,726.5 million (previous year: CHF 1,476.9 million), of which CHF 1,466.5 million were costs of goods (previous year: CHF 1,235.6 million) and CHF 148.4 million were personnel expenses (previous year: CHF 142.9 million).
For more information on the Zur Rose Group's economic performance, see the Annual Report 2021. GRI 201-1
Group controlling of the Zur Rose Group is in charge of the preparation of the consolidated financial statements. This corporate function specifies the requirements for the reporting content that is mandatory for all companies, while also controlling and monitoring the timing and process-related requirements. Group controlling manages any changes in the participation structure and adjusts the scope of consolidation of the Group accordingly. The basis for the preparation of the financial statements is the Group-wide accounting manual. External experts are consulted for special topics, such as the accounting of intangible assets in the context of company acquisitions, pension obligations or share-based payments.
Although the Zur Rose Group is well positioned thanks to its established reporting and controlling process, it is constantly working to optimise its internal processes and controls. GRI 103-1, 2 & 3
The Zur Rose Group provides an equitable work environment where everyone can access equal opportunities to flourish. With a value-oriented corporate culture and the creation of attractive working conditions, Zur Rose influences the satisfaction and commitment of its employees and enhances its reputation as an attractive employer in the regions of operations. Attractive working conditions are characterised by a competitive remuneration system, attractive social benefits, flexible working models and an inspiring and inclusive working atmosphere, among other things.
Throughout 2021, Group HR drove various activities with the support of local HR departments, management and staff. Among the most significant activities was the bottom-up establishment of the Group-wide employer branding and employer value proposition.
A series of focus group workshops were held with representatives from the entire Group to identify strengths of Zur Rose's corporate culture and working conditions as well as areas with optimisation potential. The participants were asked to explain what they appreciate about Zur Rose as an employer and where they see possibilities for improvement. Many evaluated the Group as an attractive employer for reasons including the premium brand, growth potential, innovation, digitalisation and global reach. When it came to working conditions, the participants cited individual responsibility, diversity of tasks, challenges, collaboration and flexibility as their main reasons for appreciation. Cultural factors such as openness, teamwork, adaptability, support of management and colleagues, empathy and appreciation also make Zur Rose an attractive employer. In addition, focus group members appreciated access to training and educational programmes, personal development, flexible work hours, opportunity to work from home, salary, work equipment and internal job rotation opportunities.
In 2021, the Group-wide HR function was significantly enhanced to further shape corporate culture and working conditions. New positions were created at the Group level concerning Talent Acquisition, Talent & Leadership Development and HR IT. The latter is concerned with implementing Group-wide software solutions for HR processes. The goal of these HR initiatives is to integrate the culture of the entire Zur Rose Group and create a positive experience for all employees. GRI 103-1, 2 & 3
A series of focus group workshops were held with representatives from the entire Group to identify strengths of Zur Rose's corporate culture and working conditions, as well as areas with optimisation potential.
The Zur Rose Group values diversity and strives for inclusion of all employees. To that end, Zur Rose actively promotes diversity and inclusion within the Group and works to eliminate any forms of discrimination. With this commitment, Zur Rose will benefit from access to a larger and more diverse talent pool, both in terms of current employees as well as in its attractiveness to external talent. At the same time, Zur Rose contributes to the prevention of discrimination based on gender as well as other forms of discrimination, thus making an impact on diversity and inclusion within society.
Awareness of diversity and inclusion is a key element of the Zur Rose Group Leadership Academy which will be launched in 2022. The training sessions delivered as part of the Academy are designed to educate and enable leaders to act as ambassadors for the diversity and inclusion goals of Zur Rose. This includes emphasising the importance of inclusive language and management practices as well as promoting and supporting self-organised communities for topics of interest for selected stakeholder groups, such as LGBTQ+. Additional diversity and inclusion initiatives, which go beyond leadership enablement, are planned for 2022.
One challenge in the diversity and inclusion domain is to increase the share of women in the tech team.
Gender pay equality is one of the corporate priorities. In 2021, Zur Rose carried out and implemented a Group-wide job grading to improve the comparability of positions across the Group. The job grading can be linked to salary benchmarks across the wider marketplace, preparing the ground for ongoing improvements in the Zur Rose Group's remuneration governance. The current data situation does not allow a comparison within employee categories. However, the Zur Rose Group is in the process of developing an internal data and analysis system to compare basic salaries between men and women for each employee category.
Composition of the workforce in 2021
Workforce by employment type (in FTEs):
13 Does not inlcude PromoFarma Ecom, S.L. GRI 102-8
Temporary
Additionally, a Group-wide flexible work policy was developed and introduced. The pandemic made work-from-home a necessity that proved to be a viable choice. As part of the transition to a post-pandemic phase, Zur Rose will continue to offer up to 40 per cent mobile work for all positions that allow for mobile work.
Zur Rose's brands undertook numerous initiatives and activities to foster diversity and inclusion throughout 2021, including:
TeleClinic promotes a "Remote First Model" for its employees. The model provides a physical workspace but accommodates employees who prefer to work remotely. In turn, this enables TeleClinic to diversify its workforce by expanding recruitment to various countries. TeleClinic has also introduced "Ask Us Anything" sessions and engages in ongoing stakeholder dialogues to ensure that issues impacting diversity and inclusion are addressed.
Zur Rose Suisse has enhanced employment conditions for employees working part-time by adapting pension fund conditions in Switzerland and by proactively guiding and informing employees about ways to achieve a better work-life balance.
As geopolitical circumstances create large numbers of immigrants in the countries relevant for Zur Rose's operations, all entities have expanded their talent acquisition activities toward recruiting new colleagues in all states of their career with a migration background. As of 2021, the Zur Rose Group employs more than 64 nationalities.
Responsibilities for diversity and inclusion are shared between local and Group-wide HR management. The Group-wide HR function is responsible for the Zur Rose Group's overarching diversity and inclusion strategy and its implementation in the form of tangible Group-wide measures. This includes Group-wide HR processes, representation in employer branding, stakeholder dialogues, awareness measures and other instruments. The Group also strives to guarantee fair remuneration. Local operational HR management is responsible for diversity and inclusion practices into action on a local level, for example, in local job advertisements, recruiting processes, internal selection and staffing procedures and fair remunerations. The newly installed HR IT system Workday will enable Zur Rose to run Group-wide diversity and inclusion data analyses starting in 2022. For example, the system will provide a simpler method to determine the proportion of women at each management level.
To ensure long-term success, it is important for Zur Rose to observe and plan ahead to overcome potential challenges. Disruptions in the supply chain (e.g, due to the COVID-19 pandemic) had limited impact on the Group's business but they continue to be a concern. Another challenge for Zur Rose is recruiting sufficient pharmaceutical staff to handle the huge increase in order volumes expected when electronic prescriptions become mandatory in Germany in 2022. One way Zur Rose is addressing this is by providing recruitment referral compensation.
The Zur Rose Group's goal is to maintain a workforce characterised by diversity and to foster an inclusive corporate culture in which all employees feel a sense of belonging. Each employee is important to Zur Rose, whether they are interns, managers, permanent or temporary workers, part-time or full-time employees. At the same time, the Group seeks to hire people with a passion for their job, the courage to question existing protocols and the will to move things forward. In other words, Zur Rose encourages its employees to co-create the future of the organisation: a creative and implementation-oriented environment with continuous development of each individual. GRI 103-1, 2 & 3
Customised talent development
At the local level, numerous personnel development measures pertaining to budgets and programmes were implemented. For instance, Zur Rose conducted a management training session in the operations area in Switzerland, TeleClinic implemented "Growth Weeks" for all employees, and pharmaceutical employees received professional development training. As the Zur Rose Group has grown rapidly through acquisitions, finding synergies between local and group activities is important.
Zur Rose took the first steps toward establishing Group-wide talent development offerings in 2021. The Group plans to include Group-wide training for interdisciplinary competences (e.g. soft skills, personal development) in 2022. Zur Rose will also offer language courses for English and the national languages of the countries where Zur Rose is located. Additionally, Zur Rose will offer targeted professional training classes, such as IT development. Finally, Zur Rose will implement a Group-wide leadership academy in 2022. GRI 103-1, 2 & 3
The ability to retain high performers and knowledge carriers is a high priority for Zur Rose's long-term success. In addition, Zur Rose fosters the development of employees' strengths and potentials and aims to provide them with the skills necessary for outstanding performance in their role. All forms of education and training, competence building and career development are of utmost importance for Zur Rose.
To underline the company's commitment to professional development and ensure that employees receive the appropriate education and training, Zur Rose is introducing a new Groupwide performance management system, #OurJourney, in 2022. As part of #OurJourney, managers will perform a minimum of two employee dialogues per year with each member of their team. The system help create a common cultural approach to employee dialogues by providing harmonised guidelines. Extensive training and enabling measures are planned for the first half of 2022.
Retention of high performers is pursued by our commitment to fill open positions through internal candidates wherever possible. The Zur Rose Group considers internal promotions an effective way to both reward individuals for strong contributions and professional growth and to drive long-term growth of the company and the respective individual. Our goal is to specifically develop competencies, which are key to pursuing the strategic goals of the Group, creating a strong internal talent pipeline for business critical roles and lowering our dependency on the external job market. In addition, promising long-term career opportunities add to Zur Rose's attractiveness as an employer of choice.
The Zur Rose Group strives to maintain a continuous and transparent dialogue with relevant stakeholders and to take their interest into account in corporate decision-making processes. Furthermore, Zur Rose views strong partnerships and regular exchange as essential to advance the common mission of sustainable development.
As part of the materiality analysis (see chapter 2.2 for more details), Zur Rose identified and maintained a continuous dialogue with its most important stakeholders. The Group mapped out the relevant stakeholders by determining which stakeholders are significantly impacted by its business activities, and hence crucial to the success of Zur Rose. The ensuing dialogue with relevant stakeholders facilitated the determination and communication of the most material economic, environmental, social, and governance topics for Zur Rose. GRI 102-42
The following table summarises Zur Rose's most important stakeholders and the way in which Zur Rose engages with them.
| Stakeholder | Examples of engagement |
|---|---|
| Business partners |
Individual meetings |
| Investors | Regular exchange between investors and Zur Rose's Management and Investor Relations Team |
| Customers | Individual discussion on customer service, regular surveys on relevant topics, comments on popular forums (trusted pilot or similar) |
| Suppliers | Individual discussions |
| Employees | Individual meetings, information on important developments by e-mail/intranet |
| Civil society | Regular exchange with various NGOs and patient associations |
The Zur Rose Group encourages an open dialogue with its most important stakeholders through continuous and transparent exchanges. Dialogues with key partners and pooling of expertise can lead to outstanding developments, such as raising awareness and promoting advanced care for specific diseases to improve pharmaceutical care. Healthy partnerships can also advance environmental goals through coordinated efforts regarding packaging materials and waste, while partnerships within the healthcare ecosystem can contribute to cost containment.
The Zur Rose Group maintains regular contact with its relevant stakeholders. Stakeholder dialogues take place continually in all segments of the Group. The department or function that is in direct contact with the stakeholder(s) is responsible for the respective stakeholder dialogue and therefore responsibilities are shared between HR, Investor Relations, Account Managers, Procurement and Logistics. The Head of Corporate Sustainability is responsible for gradually building and managing the ongoing formal stakeholder dialogue on the topic of sustainability. While regular exchanges take place in a more informal way, a structured stakeholder survey on the topic of sustainability was conducted in 2021.
The accompanying table gives an overview of the key topics and concerns that are raised by Zur Rose's stakeholders.
| Stakeholder | Topics and concerns |
|---|---|
| Business partners |
- Good corporate governance as a competitive advantage - Ensure compliance with laws, trust of customers/investors/ employees in the company - Reliable digital systems and data protection as well as intelligent and efficient use of data |
| Investors | - Business ethics and compliance - Economic performance - Reliable digital systems and data protection |
| Customers | - Ensure secure and reliable data protection - Product quality and safety, including instructions for storage and protected fast deliveries if required - Compliance with labour and human rights (in the company and with suppliers) - Future-oriented measures in the area of packaging materials/ waste and climate protection |
| Suppliers | - Business ethics and compliance - Reliable digital systems and data protection |
| Employees | - Corporate culture and attractive working conditions - Further development in the area of diversity, equal opportunities and equal treatment - Labour and human rights as a general prerequisite - Occupational safety and health protection - Talent development |
| Civil society | - Corporate Governance - Business ethics and compliance - Product quality and safety - Social and environmental assessment of suppliers |
In 2021, the Zur Rose Group developed a guideline for inclusive language to appropriately and respectfully engage and communicate with customers, employees and other stakeholders. Zur Rose achieved its goal to draft all official communication with inclusive language by the end of 2021.
The Zur Rose Group takes part in various sustainability initiatives. The Group joined the Valuable 500, a network of international businesses that have committed to putting disability inclusion on their leadership agenda. Zur Rose is working hard to create an inclusive and respectful environment where all employees can bring their strengths, work together as a diverse team and make the most of their potential. By building a workforce that is as diverse as Zur Rose's customers, employees become a lasting source for sustainable growth.
The Zur Rose Group has committed to the UNGC and will be a member as of January 2022. The Group will publish its first communication on progress in its next sustainability reporting.
The Zur Rose Group commits to the SDGs and identified the most relevant goals for its business model (see chapter 2.3 for more details). GRI 102-12
Through the open exchange of ideas, concerns and expertise, Zur Rose factors in the contributions of all of its constituencies to collectively scale sustainable development. The Zur Rose Group is aware of its responsibility to contribute to sustainable development and committed to foster a sustainable future together with its stakeholders. GRI 103-1, 2 & 3
Dialogues with key partners and pooling of expertise can lead to outstanding developments, such as raising awareness and promoting advanced care for specific diseases to improve pharmaceutical care.
44
This report has been prepared in accordance with the GRI Standards: Core option. The scope of the consolidation of the report can be seen in the Annual Report 2021, Accounting Policies. GRI 102-45 For the Materiality Disclosures Service, the GRI Services team reviewed that the GRI content index is clearly presented and the references for Disclosures 102-40 to 102-49 align with appropriate sections in the body of the report.
| Disclosure | Title | Page |
|---|---|---|
| GRI 101: 2016 | Foundation | |
| GRI 102: 2016 | General Disclosures | |
| Organizational profile | ||
| Name of the organization | ||
| Activities, brands, products, and services | ||
| Location of headquarters | ||
| Location of operations | ||
| 102-5 | Ownership and legal form | AR2114 |
| Markets served | ||
| Scale of the organization | ||
| Information on employees and other workers | ||
| Supply chain | ||
| 102-10 | Significant changes to the organization and its supply chain | None |
| Precautionary Principle or approach | ||
| External initiatives | ||
| 102-13 | Membership of associations | None |
| Strategy | ||
| Statement from senior decision-maker | ||
| Ethics and integrity | ||
| Values, principles, standards, and norms of behavior |
| Governance | ||
|---|---|---|
| Governance structure | ||
| Stakeholder engagement | ||
| List of stakeholder groups | ||
| 102-41 | Collective bargaining agreements | 35 % |
| Identifying and selecting stakeholders | ||
| Approach to stakeholder engagement | ||
| Key topics and concerns raised | ||
| Reporting practice | ||
| Entities included in the consolidated financial statements | ||
| Defining report content and topic Boundaries | ||
| List of material topics | ||
| 102-48 | Restatements of information | None |
| 102-49 | Changes in reporting | None |
| 102-50 | Reporting period | Dates15 |
| Date of most recent report | ||
| 102-52 | Reporting cycle | Annually |
| Contact point for questions regarding the report | ||
| Claims of reporting in accordance with the GRI Standards | ||
| GRI content index | ||
| 102-56 | External assurance | None |
| Disclosure | Title | Page | Reason for Omission | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Improvement of medication efficacy, better healthcare outcomes | |||||
| Management Approach | |||||
| GRI 203:2016 Indirect Economic Impacts | |||||
| Infrastructure investments and services supported |
|||||
| Significant indirect economic impacts |
|||||
| Product quality and safety | |||||
| Management Approach | |||||
| GRI 416:2016 Customer Health and Safety | |||||
| Assessment of the health and safety impacts of product and service categories |
|||||
| Access to healthcare and medication | |||||
| Management Approach | |||||
| Digital offering and seamless health journey | |||||
| Management Approach | |||||
| Responsible marketing and sales practices | |||||
| Management Approach | |||||
| GRI-417:2016 Marketing and Labeling | |||||
| Requirements for product and service information and labeling |
|||||
| Employees' occupational health and safety | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Management Approach | ||||
| GRI 403:2018 Occupational Health and Safety | ||||
| Occupational health and safety management system |
||||
| Hazard identification, risk assessment, and incident investigation |
||||
| Occupational health services | ||||
| Worker participation, consultation, and communication on occupation- al health and safety |
||||
| Worker training on occupational health and safety |
||||
| Promotion of worker health | ||||
| Prevention and mitigation of occupational health and safety impacts directly linked by business relationships |
||||
| Work-related injuries | ||||
| Climate protection and sustainable energy use | ||||
| Management Approach | ||||
| GRI 302:2016 Energy | ||||
| Energy consumption within the organization |
| GRI 305:2016 Emissions | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct (Scope 1) GHG emissions | |||||
| Energy indirect (Scope 2) GHG emissions |
|||||
| Packaging materials and waste | |||||
| Management Approach | |||||
| GRI 301:2016 Materials | |||||
| Materials used by weight or volume | |||||
| Recycled input materials used | |||||
| GRI 306:2020 Waste | |||||
| Waste generation and significant waste-related impacts |
|||||
| Management of significant waste-related impacts |
|||||
| Waste generated | |||||
| Environmentally friendly logistics | |||||
| Management Approach | |||||
| Reliable digital systems and data protection | |||||
| Management Approach | |||||
| GRI 418:2016 Customer Privacy | |||||
| Substantiated complaints concerning breaches of customer privacy and losses of customer data |
| Business ethics and compliance | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Management Approach | |||||
| GRI 205:2016 Anti-corruption | |||||
| Operations assessed for risks related to corruption |
|||||
| Confirmed incidents of corruption and actions taken |
|||||
| GRI 206:2016 Anti-competitive Behavior | |||||
| Legal actions for anti-competitive behavior, anti-trust, and monopoly practices |
|||||
| GRI 419:2016 Socioeconomic Compliance | |||||
| Non-compliance with laws and regulations in the social and economic area |
|||||
| Corporate governance | |||||
| Management Approach | |||||
| Economic performance | |||||
| Management Approach | |||||
| GRI 201:2016 Economic Performance | |||||
| Direct economic value generated and distributed |
|||||
| Corporate culture and attractive working conditions | |||||
| Management Approach |
| Employees' diversity and inclusion | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Management Approach | |||||
| GRI 405:2016 Diversity and Equal Opportunity | |||||
| Diversity of governance bodies and employees |
|||||
| Talent development | |||||
| Management Approach | |||||
| Stakeholder dialogue | |||||
| Management Approach |
Zur Rose Group AG Walzmühlestrasse 60 8500 Frauenfeld Switzerland T + 41 52 724 00 20 zurrosegroup.com [email protected]
Anne Walter Head of Corporate Sustainability T + 41 52 724 1506 [email protected]
Christoph Herrmann Head of Investor Relations T + 41 58 810 11 49 [email protected]
Lisa Lüthi Head of Group Communications T + 41 52 724 08 14 [email protected]
Zur Rose Group AG, Frauenfeld Consultant on materiality and sustainability reporting: Sustainserv Boston, Frankfurt, Nashville, Zurich Consultant on sustainability strategy: Joschka Fischer & Company, Berlin
schneiterpartner AG, Zurich
Christian Grund, Zurich
The statements in this report relating to matters that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to: future global economic conditions, foreign exchange rates, statutory rulings, market conditions, the actions of competitors and other factors beyond the control of the Company. This Sustainability Report is published online in English. A printed summary report is also available in the Annual Report in English and German.
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