Companies that do not just care about their financial bottom line but also about the environment and society are more successful. Today, this fact has reached more than just investors. But investor attention is not the only reason why Bachem is committed to corporate social responsibility (CSR), making sustainability one of its five strategic key focus areas. At Bachem, we believe that companies play a broader role by being responsible toward employees, the environment, society, and customers.

Recognition of the CSR management system

This commitment is reflected in the CSR strategy of the Bachem Group. It is aligned with the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and encompasses a CSR Vision and Mission, a CSR Strategy, defining which topics are to be managed (materiality) as well as CSR Goals and Measures, that are updated on an annual basis. Bachem upheld its commitment to the Responsible Care® program for over two decades, but the CSR management system implemented in 2020 is clearly the next level of engagement in sustainability, an engagement, that was rewarded through an EcoVadis Silver Rating, indicating that Bachem Group ranks in the top quarter of companies assessed for their CSR performance.

Bachem’s prime contribution to sustainability is to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all of all ages by offering the highest quality products and services to its customers, supporting the development of new medicines and drugs. The company celebrated its 50th anniversary this year and is the undisputed market leader when it comes to peptide production.

Ongoing enhancement through ambitious objectives

Beyond its core business Bachem’s CSR mission is to continuously improve the performance as an attractive employer, in safeguarding the environment, and in acting ethically.

To this end, in 2021 the Board of Directors (BoD) set long-term targets for the group in the field of occupational health and safety, diversity, and equal opportunity as well as in energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Energy efficiency and fighting climate change

For a manufacturing company like Bachem, energy is an important asset. But the company still wants to contribute to decoupling economic growth and resource consumption. By 2026 the BoD targets the energy consumption per FTE to decrease by 20 percent. This is an ambitious goal as new production facilities are taking up operation during that period.

Bachem stands behind the Paris agreement on climate change and supports efforts to fight global warming. Along with the energy consumption reduction additional measures will lead to a halving of the so-called Scope 1 (direct) and Scope 2 (from the purchase of energy) GHG emissions until 2026 and to climate neutrality by 2030.

High focus on the well-being of employees

Concerning occupational safety and health, Bachem shows an already high standard. Nevertheless, as the company needs the best employees, able and willing to innovate and meet the future needs of customers, there is a strong focus on their wellbeing. Bachem’s vision is – amongst other contributions to an attractive working environment – zero accidents. With that vision in mind, a substantial reduction of lost time incidents is targeted, down to or below one such incident in 200’000 working hours.

Bachem attaches great importance to diversity and equal opportunities

Bachem adheres to the principles of fairness and honesty, providing equal terms of employment to all employees. This commitment to equality is evidenced by the company’s approach to diversity, recognizing the value of every employee’s contribution to success, and believing that an environment of inclusion fosters innovation.

Bachem is committed to gender equality. Wage gap analyses are routinely carried out and appropriate consequences are drawn in the event of irregularities. In addition, measures are being taken to increase the share of women in the workforce as well as in upper management and regional executive committees by 10 percent in five years. Another fundamental intent of Bachem is to reflect the communities of which it is a part. Site management will define the demographic characteristics that should be appropriately represented and take the necessary steps to achieve this.

Committed to CSR leadership

Bachem will bring its commitment to sustainability to life. The company thereby demonstrates that it is not only a leader in the production of peptides and oligonucleotides for research, clinical development, and commercial application but also in delivering on its broader promise to meet the highest standards in corporate social responsibility for a better world tomorrow.