Making a positive impact

We’re integrating environmental initiatives into all our activities. These range from simple things like turning off unnecessary lights and using recycled paper for most printing to buying green energy from renewable sources and upgrading the heating and cooling systems at major sites.

Across our production sites on four continents, we manufacture to strict local, national and international guidelines. We minimize the environmental impact of our manufacturing activities by reducing energy and water consumption, CO₂ emissions and waste, and recycling more. 

All of our production sites operate under ISO 14001 certification, the international standard for environmental excellence, as does our corporate headquarters in Geneva. 

Our responsibility for both our environment and our people is evident in our award-winning global headquarters. The soaring glass-clad complex, along with three renovated 19th-century historical buildings, is a testament to sustainable development and an integral part of the surrounding environment.

The innovative lake-water energy project is a long-term investment that represents energy savings of 1,500 tons of oil and reduced air emissions of 5,000 tons of CO₂ per year for the Merck Serono buildings. These environmental benefits will increase as other buildings in the neighborhood are connected to the system – which began with the UN European Headquarters in 2009.

We are also transforming our Biotech Center in Corsier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland into a large-scale biotech plant. While the current plant is already certified according to ISO 14001, the new expansion exceeds the standard requirements for environmental management. The plant should receive certification from the health authorities by 2012.

What’s more, we encourage our employees to avoid driving to and from work through a variety of incentives and plans that promote environmentally friendly alternatives such as public transport, carpooling and cycling.

Two key global projects support our corporate objective of giving people in need access to effective, high-quality pharmaceuticals.

The first is the Minilab project to tackle the scourge of counterfeit medicines endangering the lives of people in developing countries, an initiative we support through the Global Pharma Health Fund. To counter such fakes, we sponsor the distribution of a portable laboratory kit to check the authenticity of medicines in the field, quickly and cost-efficiently.

In the second, we work with the World Health Organization (WHO) to fight the worm disease schistosomiasis. Every year, this disease kills between 200,000 and 300,000 people – mostly children – in developing countries. We’re donating the drug Cesol® 600 – the only available and effective treatment for all forms of schistosomiasis – to this initiative. In 2011, we announced plans to boost these efforts and double our annual donation of tablets from 25 million to 50 million until the disease has been officially eliminated in Africa.

As part of our partnership with the WHO, we also carry out research into new therapies for malaria. We’ve tested hundreds of compounds in our Geneva laboratories and one promising drug candidate has already met an important pre-clinical milestone. The WHO will enlist the help of private donors to help fund a full development program.

We contribute our time, skills and resources to help our local communities and we’re active in local charities, often through our employees whose enthusiasm and engagement are remarkable. For instance:

Around the world, over 16,000 people work for Merck Serono. And we want to offer them a globally uniform, transparent and motivating environment.

The growth of our business and the need to reinforce our entrepreneurial success mean we must be as competitive as possible when it comes to finding and retaining talent. So we strive to create an environment where employees can add value, enjoy attractive rewards and training opportunities, and benefit from excellent career prospects created by sustainable growth.

In 2008 and 2009 the renowned journal ‘Science’ confirmed we’re succeeding in our efforts. It ranked Merck Serono as number seven among the world’s top 20 employers in the life science industry. We received particularly high scores in three categories: social responsibility, employee loyalty, and alignment of work and personal values.

Responsibility for employees also means fostering a healthy work-life balance. Our Geneva headquarters offer the following:

And, of course, we make health and safety in the workplace a priority – a commitment that’s reflected in a number of prevention and education programs as well as in rigorous safety procedures.