Engaging with our various stakeholders is crucial for us. Through this dialogue, we communicate our decisions and actions transparently in order to secure our social license to operate. We aim to conciliate divergent interests while also building trust and sustaining it in the long term. We pursue a continuous dialogue with our stakeholders and use this exchange to identify trends and developments in society and in our business fields so as to take them into account in our sustainability endeavors. We regularly conduct a systematic materiality analysis to learn about our stakeholders’ expectations. In doing so, we identify the economic, social and environmental issues that are important to our stakeholders – and thus also to us.
We have established guidelines and principles for interacting with certain stakeholders, with a focus on compliance. For example, we have defined internal guidelines and review processes for our relationship with patients, for interactions in the healthcare sector and for business partnerships.
Our most important stakeholders:
Associations/political decision-makers
Communities
Competitors
Customers
Employee representatives
Employees
Healthcare systems
Media
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
Patient organizations
Patients
Sales and business partners
Scientists
Shareholders
Supervisory authorities
Suppliers
The Merck family
We organize interactions with our stakeholders on a decentralized basis – based on business requirements, legal framework conditions (for example, interactions with patients or political decision-makers), relevance, and the type of interaction. We communicate regularly with our stakeholders through a variety of channels. For instance, we conduct stakeholder surveys and organize topic-specific dialogues at regional, national and international level. We also participate in exchange through discussions and informational forums as well as through our advocacy work and industry coalitions.
We believe that the interests, views and rights of our workforce are integral components of our strategy and business model. We engage in regular dialogue with our employees through different formats such as surveys or Employee Resource Groups to gather insights into their needs and concerns. This feedback directly informs our policies and initiatives, which are aimed at continuously enhancing employee welfare, belonging, and inclusion. By integrating employee perspectives into our decision-making processes, we aim to ensure that our business model not only drives financial performance but also fosters a culture of respect and empowerment.
We are committed to promoting a strong sense of belonging among our employees. Therefore, we approach Belonging & Inclusion with the same sense of purpose as our Group’s other business objectives. For example, we aim to help every employee maximize their potential, regardless of their backgrounds and identities, including gender identity, ethnicity, race, religion, faiths, sexual orientation, national origin, socioeconomic and family status, different mental or physical abilities, neurodiversity spectrum, age, military service, and political perspective. We believe that our Belonging & Inclusion approach inspires progress, strengthens our ability to innovate in all areas of our business sectors and fuels our efforts to make positive impacts in the communities where we live and work.
In our Human Rights Charter and the complementary policies, we outline our commitment to uphold the rights of our employees, aiming to ensure a safe, equitable, and inclusive work environment. For example, our Social and Labor Standards Policy states that our company does not tolerate any form of discrimination, physical or verbal harassment or intolerance. We conduct regular risk assessments to identify and mitigate any potential human rights risks within our workforce. More information on our own workforce can be found under S1.
Our commitment to respecting and protecting the human rights of workers in our value chain is a core element of our overall strategy. Our objective is to ensure that no violations of human rights occur at our business operations or at those of our suppliers and business partners. This objective is embedded in applicable company policies and operational guidelines. In 2025, for example, we integrated sustainability criteria into our procurement decision-making processes for selecting suppliers and evaluating their performance. In addition, we are active members in multi-stakeholder groups to gather and share information about the interests of workers and vulnerable groups in our supply chains. We conduct supplier sustainability audits and provide training programs to promote equal treatment, ethical business practices and compliance with applicable laws. More information on our processes for engaging with workers in our supply chain can be found under S2.
With regard to consumers and end-users, we want to conduct high-quality clinical research that complies with applicable laws and regulations. We set Group-wide requirements that aim to ensure that high ethical and scientific standards are met when we conduct our clinical trials. Our top priority is the safety, well-being, dignity, and rights of the sick and healthy people who take part in our clinical trials. Once our products are commercially available, they can only be purchased from a pharmacy with a prescription from a licensed physician. This is to ensure the safe use of our medicinal products for our end-users as access to the drug is only given when medically justified. We aim to ensure that our products are effective in combating a disease, while posing the lowest possible risk for the end-users.
Furthermore, we prioritize access to our products and services as well as access to (quality) information based on their impact on patients – particularly in low- and middle-income countries. We focus on availability, accessibility and affordability. Alongside access to our healthcare portfolio, our health equity ambition focuses on diseases that disproportionately affect underserved populations. Our approach involves close cooperation with governments of various countries, non-governmental organizations and other stakeholders. In the context of access to (quality) information, our business model focuses on strengthening healthcare systems and local healthcare capabilities with the aim of enhancing the skills and capacities of scientific and medical professionals through a network of experts. More information on processes for engaging with consumers and end-users can be found under S4.
In order to gain a comprehensive understanding of our internal and external stakeholders, we identified and classified stakeholders and users of sustainability statements as part of the materiality analysis. Further information can be found in the process description for determining and evaluating our material IROs under step 3 Listing and involving relevant stakeholders.
Information from the administrative, management and supervisory bodies on the views and interests of the stakeholders concerned regarding the company’s sustainability impacts
Our Executive Board assumes Group-wide responsibility for our sustainability strategy. It approved our three strategic sustainability goals in fiscal 2020. The Group Corporate Sustainability unit is responsible for the development and design of the sustainability strategy and informs the Executive Board about the progress and need for action at least once per year. Group Corporate Sustainability is part of the Group function SQ that reports to the Chief People Officer – who represents the entire Executive Board. At Executive Board level, responsibility for environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) aspects also lies with the Chief People Officer. The Head of SQ also acts as Chief Sustainability Officer. She informs the Executive Board about relevant sustainability topics such as climate change mitigation.
Group Corporate Sustainability is also responsible for coordinating the Group Sustainability Committee (MSC), which is chaired by the Chief Sustainability Officer. The committee consists of representatives from our business sectors and from key Group functions, such as Procurement, Communications and Reporting. Members of the Executive Board may participate in the meetings of the MSC.
The MSC steers and monitors the Group-wide implementation of the sustainability strategy, defines priorities and approves globally applicable sustainability policies. Moreover, it ensures that the initiatives of our various business sectors, Group functions and subsidiaries are in harmony with our global sustainability strategy. In addition, it recommends relevant actions and projects to the Executive Board. Within their respective area of responsibility, each Executive Board member is also responsible for sustainability, reviews the priorities that have been set and decides on the implementation of initiatives.