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Corporate Social Responsibility
Celesio not only takes responsibility for its employees, customers and shareholders; it also makes a commitment to society and the environment. For Celesio, acting responsibly means operating with a long-term perspective, which also includes working to achieve goals which lie beyond the scope of the corporate balance sheet. Company founder Franz Ludwig Gehe already committed to a sustainable and responsible way of doing business as early as 1835.
The term Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) covers a company’s responsibility for its social, economic and ecological environment. The company’s fundamental goal which was envisioned by Franz Ludwig Gehe in 1835 when the company was set up – to ensure good supply of medicines to as many people as possible and thus to improve people’s health – remains visible in the socio-political and social commitments of the Celesio Group to this day.
Both in the European countries in which Celesio is active and in developing countries, the aim is to allow people to benefit from the expertise, experience and the success of Celesio. Celesio’s code of conduct and environmental guidelines anchor the group’s voluntary obligations in its day-to-day work. In March 2008, a special central office was set up to deal with all areas of Corporate Social Responsibility. It coordinates and manages CSR projects. In October 2008, Celesio introduced a series of CSR events. These promote discussion about responsibility in the context of corporate activities. The events feature participants from industry, politics, science and the public.
Improved healthcare provision in developing countries
In addition to numerous national, regional and local commitments, in 2008, Celesio also continued its cooperation with the aid organisation Doctors for Developing Countries (”Ärzte für die Dritte Welt”) which began in 2004. In October 2007, the partnership agreement was extended for a further three years. In this partnership, Celesio supports the outstanding work of doctors, who work to ensure basic medical provision in the world’s poorest countries and to treat common diseases. The Doctors for Developing Countries operate medical clinics and carry out programmes of immunisation and HIV and tuberculosis treatment. Since the organisation was founded in 1983, more than 2,300 doctors have been on over 4,600 voluntary missions in developing countries. Celesio not only supports Doctors for Developing Countries financially, but also with specialist expertise and the personal commitment of Celesio employees. Celesio pharmacists also support the doctors locally.
In 2007, the Pushpa Celesio Children’s Tuberculosis Clinic was inaugurated in India. Children living in the poorest conditions have virtually no hope of getting a bed in a public hospital: their families can neither afford a visit to the doctor nor a stay in a hospital. The Celesio clinic is essential for these children’s survival, and has correspondingly been at full capacity since it opened. During their treatment, which lasts up to six months, the young patients are also given school lessons at the hospital. Celesio funds the staffing of the hospital in order to ensure its long-term operation.
Apotheke DocMorris also supports Doctors for Developing Countries. In the Mathare Valley slum in Nairobi, Kenya, the Celesio subsidiary helps to treat children with rickets. To this end, Apotheke DocMorris is supplying the vital medicine Vigantol free of charge from June 2008 to June 2009. It was thus able to help 210 children suffering from rickets by the end of 2008. Aside from Doctors for Developing Countries, Apotheke DocMorris is also involved in the project Insulin for Life (”Insulin zum Leben”) run by the German Diabetes Union. With the help of its customers, Apotheke DocMorris made a donation worth 60,000 euros in money and supplies in 2008.
Dedication for reliable provision of medicines
As well as donating money and supplies, Celesio is also active in self-help development. Since 2004, 23 Celesio pharmacists from five different countries have supported 31 projects by Doctors for Developing Countries with their specialist knowledge. During the period under review, projects were carried out in Calcutta and Nairobi. The pharmacists work locally to try to ensure a reliable supply of medicines. In developing countries in particular, counterfeit medicines represent a major health risk. According to data from the World Health Organisation (WHO), up to ten per cent of all medicines in developing countries are counterfeit. In the best case, these medicines have no effect; in the worst case, they lead to drug resistance and endanger the life of the patient. In order to help identify counterfeit medicines early on, Celesio provides mini-laboratories where regular pharmaceutical tests can be carried out. Celesio pharmacists test medicines for their effectiveness on site, train the personnel in how to use the mini-laboratories, and advise the Doctors for Developing Countries on how to choose reliable manufacturers and suppliers. This commitment is showing results: whilst the first tests in 2004 showed a counterfeit ratio of 31 per cent, this ratio fell into the single percentile range in the following years. At the end of the year under review, a counterfeit ratio of zero per cent was recorded in Nairobi for the first time.
Contrary to the situation in developing countries, in Europe, the strict regulations continue to ensure comprehensive drug safety. Together with the pharmaceutical industry, Celesio aims to eliminate any remaining risks.
Actively protecting the climate and the environment
For one year, the Celesio Group headquarters and GEHE Pharma Handel in Stuttgart participated in ECOfit, the environmental programme of the state of Baden-Württemberg. For the duration of the programme, data on energy, water and paper usage was gathered, analysed and translated into environmentally sustainable target values for Celesio. The improved planning of wholesale routes all over Europe and the reduction of delivery frequency per pharmacy in France and Austria not only cuts fuel costs, but more importantly they significantly reduce CO2 emissions.
The range of opportunities to reduce the burden placed on the environment is broad, even in the operational business. It encompasses everything from recyclable transport boxes in wholesale to campaigns by wholesalers or pharmacies to collect and properly dispose of thermometers containing mercury.
Environment-related projects and initiatives are to be expanded throughout the group in the next few years.
