Sustainability

The Board of Directors is committed to building on Zuellig Pharma’s rich heritage, to continue bringing long-term benefits and value to communities throughout Asia. For over a century, the organisation’s commitment to facilitating access to healthcare, alongside environmental and social contributions, have built a solid reputation of trust, integrity and quality in the industry.

Together with Management, The Board actively oversees and guides Zuellig Pharma’s sustainability strategy and performance, with a focus on four key pillars: Improving Health Outcomes, Nurturing Talent, Respecting the Environment, and Setting the Highest Standards of Integrity.

Recognising the growing significance of sustainability in transforming business practices, the Board has established the ESG Committee to review the organisation’s sustainability strategy, approve material policies, endorse investment requests and ensure that sustainability is incorporated into the purpose, governance, decision-making and reporting transparency.

The organisation has appointed ESG Leads and ESG Councils across all major markets, to enhance impact and spearhead agendas tailored to domestic needs. This supports the existing Sustainability Steering Committee; chaired by CEO John Graham, comprising members of the Executive Management Team and leaders from relevant key functions. The committee oversees all ESG material topics and ensures that ownership and execution are aligned to the organisation’s strategic objectives.

The 2023 Sustainability Report reflects Zuellig Pharma’s unwavering commitment to heightened standards of transparency and accountability. This report is certified in compliance with updated GRI standards, representing the pinnacle of disclosure and best practice in sustainability reporting. It incorporates TCFD that enhanced the organisation’s understanding of climate-related risks and opportunities, resulting in strengthened risk management and better-informed strategic planning.

Over the past year, the organisation achieved significant milestones, including EcoVadis Platinum certification for the third consecutive year, and Climate Change and Supplier Engagement CDP scores of "A-" and “A” respectively - the highest in our sector globally. The organisation continues to make substantial progress towards attaining SBTi-approved carbon reduction targets with ambitious 1.5°C alignment, as evidenced by the 38% reduction indirect and indirect greenhouse gas emissions, four years ahead of schedule.

Zuellig Pharma will continue to be evaluated by its success in executing its sustainability agenda and achieving the ambitious targets outlined in this report. The organisation’s values – Integrity and Trust, Passion for Excellence, Collaboration, Innovation and Personal Growth – will continue to guide its people, policies and processes to ensure the long-term interests of its stakeholders are met and the performance of Zuellig Pharma is sustained.

At Zuellig Pharma, our mission to make healthcare more accessible is the cornerstone of our business, driving us to establish the highest standards of quality and excellence for healthcare solutions we provide across Asia. We firmly believe that a robust sustainability framework is essential to our mission, serving as the foundation upon which we build a sustainable future for all our stakeholders.

In 2023, Zuellig Pharma was appointed as the first and only transport services organisation in APAC, and one of only two companies worldwide, to be included in the prestigious A- list for Climate Change by CDP. CDP operates the largest independent global environmental disclosure system, assessing over 23,000 companies representing two- thirds of global market capitalisation.

Within an industry where 80% of emissions originate from the supply chain, we also stand out as the first and only transport services organisation worldwide to receive an A score on supplier engagement. This places us among the top 2% of CDP respondents named in CDP’s global supplier engagement leaderboard.

Zuellig Pharma is one of the few organisations to have its GHG reduction targets recognised as 1.5°C aligned, the most ambitious designation available through the SBTi, achieved by 1,000 companies worldwide. Our commitment to reducing carbon emissions has yielded significant results, with a reduction of 38% on direct and indirect emissions. This is equivalent to 178,000 tons of carbon or 10.7 million tree seedlings planted and grown for 10 years, putting us four years ahead of our original targets.

Our pursuits and results extend beyond environmental sustainability. For the third consecutive year, Zuellig Pharma has been ranked within the top 1% of organisations worldwide receiving an EcoVadis Platinum medal for our performance in environmental efforts, labour and human rights, ethics, and sustainable procurement, improving on our 2022 #1 score worldwide among 2,800 logistics organisations.

Innovation has fuelled our commitment towards better health outcomes for patients and communities we serve. Our eZTracker solution has successfully tracked $19 million worth of suspected counterfeits and diversions through over 200,000 scans. Additionally, we have worked with governments to serve over 100 million patients across Asia, through vaccination distribution and disease awareness initiatives.

Across the organisation, we continued to foster a culture of openness, care, growth and trust to drive engagement and harness the passion of our colleagues. Through initiatives such as our DEI Inspire Talk series and organisation-wide events marking International Women’s Day, Global Pride Day, and World Mental Health Day, we ongoingly advocate inclusiveness among our colleagues where individuals are valued for their uniqueness and empowered to reach their full potential. Notably, our gender pay gap stands at 0.6% in comparison to the 17% global average. Women constitute 48% of our workforce; 51% of whom are middle and senior managers; and 51% are successors to critical positions.

Gaining stakeholders' trust through transparency and accountability lies at the core of our operational ethos. For the third successive year, we have selected key metrics for thorough validation and external assurance by Bureau Veritas. We have shifted from being certified "with reference" to "in accordance" with the updated GRI standards, aligning with best practices and adopting more rigorous reporting benchmarks. This meticulous exercise underscores our commitment to upholding the highest standards of data integrity and reliability, ensuring that the information we share is accurate and trustworthy.

Zuellig Pharma stands on a hundred-year legacy of trust and service excellence, guided by our unwavering commitment to integrity, collaboration, excellence, innovation and personal growth. These core values are exemplified in our promise to prioritise the needs and wellbeing of our clients, customers, communities and the environment. We continue to listen, learn, evolve and grow; for tomorrow’s generation and healthcare ecosystem to thrive.