G1 Business Conduct

Corruption risks have been assessed as particularly elevated in certain markets in Eastern Europe compared with other markets where AddLife operates, as well as in dialogue and negotiations with customers in the public sector, where relationships between public and private actors in procurement situations entail increased exposure to undue influence.

G1-1 Business conduct policies and corporate culture

AddLife is driven by a clear vision to improve people’s lives by being a leading and value-creating partner in Life Science. The Group’s subsidiaries work closely with customers in healthcare and research to offer advanced, high-quality solutions to patients and users. This entails a particular responsibility to act in compliance with laws and regulations, and with integrity, transparency and respect towards customers, partners, employees and society. The decentralised business model enables agility and local accountability but also requires shared values and principles in order to establish and promote a robust corporate culture. 

The Group’s Code of Conduct provides practical guidance on how AddLife assumes responsibility and acts in day-to-day decisions and actions, in light of the Group’s vision and core values: simplicity, responsibility, commitment and innovation. During the reporting period, the Code of Conduct and the Supplier Code of Conduct were updated to align more clearly with international standards. The updates were adopted by the Board of Directors after the end of the financial year. In updating the Code of Conduct and the Supplier Code of Conduct, the interests of the Group’s key stakeholders were taken into account. These interests have been considered as part of the ongoing stakeholder dialogue conducted through the Group’s various channels, in which the expectations and views of key stakeholders are captured and taken into consideration. The Code of Conduct and the Supplier Code of Conduct are available to all stakeholders on AddLife’s website.

In addition to the Group’s Code of Conduct, AddLife governs its work on business ethics and compliance through additional group-wide policies. The policies are developed based on the outcome of the Group’s double materiality analysis, the strategic sustainability work and requirements from key stakeholders based on an ongoing dialogue. During the reporting period, AddLife developed the governing documents Sustainability Due Diligence Policy, Sustainable Sourcing Policy and Anti-Corruption Policy. The Anti-Corruption Policy was adopted by the Board of Directors during the reporting period, while the first two policies were adopted by the Board of Directors after the end of the financial year. The management of each subsidiary is responsible for implementing the policies locally, and the governing documents are made available through the Group’s internal channels and communicated to external parties through contractual terms and the Supplier Code of Conduct.

The table below summarises the group-wide policies that were in place during the reporting period. The Board of Directors approves all policies, and Group Management has ultimate responsibility for their implementation.

AddLife strengthens and monitors the effectiveness of the policies, as well as compliance with the international frameworks and standards to which the Group has committed, through several initiatives:

• AddLife Academy offers training in business ethics guidelines, leadership and core values through both digital and in-person courses. All employees complete the group-wide course on Vision and Corporate Philosophy. 
• An annual employee survey is conducted to evaluate the corporate culture, and the results are used as a basis for improvement actions in each subsidiary.
• Ethical guidelines and a group-wide whistleblowing channel contribute to an open and transparent culture in which employees can report any violations anonymously.
• The Board of Directors and Group Management receive regular updates on changes in legislation and new requirements related to business ethics. 

To enable and detect any potential irregularities, the Group has a group-wide whistleblowing channel for reporting suspected wrongdoing that affects the organisation, people, society or the environment. This may include suspected criminal acts, irregularities or breaches, such as conflicts of interest, fraud, corruption and bribery, environmental violations, deficiencies in the working environment and discrimination. The whistleblowing channel is provided by an external partner, and each case is handled in a manner that ensures an objective and independent review. The external platform ensures that reports are handled confidentially and anonymously by encrypting and deleting metadata. Reports are handled only by a limited number of designated individuals with a mandate to manage whistleblowing cases. It is also ensured that no person involved in the reported misconduct takes part in handling the investigation. Where necessary, external legal expertise is engaged, in particular in cases of suspected criminal activity, and serious matters are escalated to Group Management and the Board of Directors. The whistleblowing channel is available to both employees and external stakeholders via the Group’s website. In addition to the whistleblowing channel, employees can always report problems or concerns to their immediate manager or to the Group function.

The use of the whistleblowing channel is monitored through a compilation of reported cases and actions taken, which is reported to Group Management and the Board of Directors. In the most recent employee survey, 93 percent of employees stated that they are aware of the channel and how to report, which overall indicate a strong confidence in the whistleblowing mechanism.

Initially, the most material and strategic areas will be prioritised in the dialogue and in the action plans, but the process will be applicable to all material sustainability matters that have been identified as part of the Group’s double materiality analysis, in order to proactively manage negative impacts and risks in the upstream value chain. Each subsidiary is responsible for implementing the process for sustainability due diligence in the supply chain in its own operations and for managing the operational dialogue with its suppliers, customers and other stakeholders. At Group level, AddLife communicates the Group’s objectives, activities and outcomes through the annual sustainability report.

G1-3 Prevention and detection of corruption and bribery

AddLife has zero tolerance for corruption and bribery, as set out in the Group’s Code of Conduct and Anti-Corruption Policy. To reduce the risk of irregularities and ensure compliance, AddLife has established the following governance and practices:

• Clear guidelines for ethical business conduct through the company’s Code of Conduct and Anti-Corruption Policy.
• Anonymous and confidential reporting of suspected corruption or other breaches through the Group’s external whistleblowing channel.
• Business ethics requirements that are integrated into supplier agreements and communicated through the company’s Supplier Code of Conduct.
• Anti-bribery management systems in subsidiaries operating in markets with a higher risk of corruption.

The Anti-Corruption Policy, which was adopted during the reporting period, will be communicated and implemented over the coming years. During the reporting period, the Group has offered, through AddLife Academy, training in business ethics guidelines, leadership, the company’s values and the Code of Conduct, including guidelines for business ethics and good business practice, to all employees and members of the Board of Directors.

AddLife’s objectives related to business ethics have been developed based on the Group’s Code of Conduct and aim to ensure responsible operations with respect for human rights and sound business ethics in all business relationships throughout the value chain. The objectives have been defined at Group level for the entire business and have been adopted by the Board of Directors, without the involvement of other stakeholders. Progress against the objectives is followed up annually by Group Management and local management teams and form the basis for local actions.

The strategic objective related to sustainability in the supply chain relates to AddLife’s material risk associated with the management of relationships with suppliers, as well as the environmental and social impacts identified in the upstream value chain. During the reporting period, outcomes for the key performance indicator were not monitored or reported. Instead, the Group has focused on establishing the structures, processes and ways of working needed to measure and evaluate target achievement over time. This includes initiating the project and activities described under “Sustainability due diligence in the supply chain” in this chapter. These efforts form the basis for, going forward, systematically monitoring the proportion of AddLife’s suppliers with elevated sustainability risk that are engaged in line with the long-term objective for 2030.

In addition to the strategic objective, AddLife also monitors a number of other key performance indicators to track impacts and risks related to compliance and the principles of the Code of Conduct. These other key performance indicators are integrated into the metrics presented below and include objectives to:

• Zero tolerance for corruption, bribery and non-compliance, which is evaluated through the key performance indicator “G1‑4 Confirmed cases of corruption and bribery”. The outcome for the period and comparative figures are presented below under the metrics relating to corruption and bribery.
• All employees must complete AddLife’s training in the Code of Conduct. The outcome for the period and comparative figures are presented in the table below.

G1-4 Incidents of corruption or bribery