Better Health for All

Inogen's core business of portable oxygen concentrators (POCs) delivers substantial health benefits, improving mobility, reducing hospital stays, and extending the lives of patients with chronic respiratory conditions.

The company's purpose is "improving lives through respiratory care," and it has sold or rented over one million systems worldwide since its inception in 2001. There is no evidence of harmful products, and the company's entire business model is oriented toward health improvement. However, Medicare reimbursement rates for POCs were cut by 50% in 2013, and Medicare does not cover the purchase of Inogen POCs, only rental, making them less accessible. Inogen sells products in 60 countries, but specific reach to vulnerable populations is not detailed. The company discloses ESG-related risks in its 10-K reports. Inogen invested $21,943,000 in R&D in 2022. POCs are a more environmentally friendly alternative to traditional oxygen tanks, contributing to sustainable energy use. The company has a DEIBA Taskforce and an Inclusion Ambassador program, and conducted a pay equity analysis in July 2022, resulting in a $4.6M salary investment. Inogen offers a tuition reimbursement program and has certified HR and facilities teams in Mental Health First Aid. The company has a corporate wellness program and enhanced mental health coverage. Inogen reported zero known information security breaches from 2020-2022 and plans to establish an ISO 27001 compliant IT management system. During COVID-19, the company implemented work-from-home options and additional safety measures for onsite employees. Inogen owns or has licensed rights to approximately 66 patents as of December 31, 2022. Clinical trials are used to validate product benefits, requiring informed consent and institutional review board approval.

Fair Pay & Worker Respect

In 2024, the CEO to median employee pay ratio was 53:1.

Employee engagement is low, with an overall rating of 2.6 out of 5 stars based on 440 reviews, and an employee recommendation rate of 32%. This rating is 25% below the manufacturing industry average of 3.5 stars.

Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing

Inogen reported zero substantiated forced or child labor incidents in 2022, 2023, and 2024.

The company states it takes a systematic approach to managing corporate responsibility risks and aligns its Human Rights Due Diligence process with the United Nations Guiding Principles. For conflict minerals (3TG), Inogen uses the RMI Template to trace origin, but acknowledges that most first-tier supplier responses are at the company/division level, not specific product/part number levels, preventing conclusive determination of countries of origin. Inogen's Conflict Minerals Policy, adopted in 2015 and updated in 2020, is communicated to first-tier suppliers. The company's Human Rights Policy was adopted in May 2020. Critical and major suppliers agree to Inogen’s Supplier Code of Conduct, which includes requirements to respect human and labor rights, protect the environment, and comply with the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Honest & Fair Business

Inogen reported zero environmental, production, or market-related regulatory fines in the past three years.

The company has a formal whistleblower protection policy, including a toll-free hotline and online reporting mechanisms, which encourages reporting and prohibits retaliation, but there is no evidence of independent investigation processes. Six out of seven directors on the board are independent. A Code of Ethics and Conduct is in place, addressing anti-bribery, gratuities, and political contributions, and explicitly covers the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and similar international laws. Mandatory business ethics training is also conducted, but its frequency and effectiveness metrics are not provided. Less than 10% of ethical claims are independently verified, with only the Quality Management System certified by an independent notified body.

Kind to Animals

Inogen does not use animal testing in its research and development activities.

Consequently, no live animals are used in testing, and the company has no in-house or contracted animal testing operations. As a medical technology company producing portable oxygen concentrators, the concepts of cruelty-free certification for its products, alternative testing methods, humane certifications for animal operations, wildlife conservation impact, ethical input substitution, animal-related supplier audits, cage-free sourcing, animal agriculture ethics, animal-free R&D collaboration, and public policy engagement on animal welfare are not applicable to its core business or are not discussed in the provided reports.

No War, No Weapons

Inogen, Inc. is a medical technology company focused on portable oxygen concentrators, and multiple articles confirm it is not involved in arms or defense contracts, nor does it develop dual-use technology or engage in military AI or surveillance activities.

The company has secured annual export licenses for Iran, an embargoed regime. While Inogen states a commitment to aligning with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, its implementation is uneven as it only supports the principles in principle. The company's Code of Ethics and Conduct outlines ethical standards, but these are general and do not specifically address categories of weapons or conflict-related red lines. Inogen has a conflict minerals policy requiring suppliers to use materials from certified conflict-free smelters and submit reporting templates, but no quantitative data on the percentage of its supply chain verified conflict-free is available. The company expects suppliers to comply with international and local laws, including human rights, environmental, and anti-corruption regulations, but this is a basic guideline without specific humanitarian procurement standards. No known concerns regarding human rights violations were raised in 2022, but the frequency of due diligence is not specified beyond being conducted throughout the supply chain and operations, indicating infrequent or unspecified reviews.

Respect for Cultures & Communities

The provided articles, including Inogen's ESG Report Summary (Article 0) and policy documents, consistently indicate a lack of specific quantitative data or concrete evidence for any of the KPIs related to Respect for Cultures & Communities. Article 0 explicitly states that the report "lacks specific data on cultural appropriation incidents, cultural impact assessments, local employment ratios, grievance mechanisms, complaint resolution times, FPIC participation rates, community governance inclusion, cultural preservation investments, local procurement shares, indigenous supplier counts, cultural site protection, social license operations, charitable giving to cultural heritage organizations, community fund allocations, and language inclusivity."

Other articles either focus on general ESG commitments, policy statements without metrics, or pertain to the Inogen Alliance, which is a separate entity. Therefore, no KPIs can be scored based on the provided evidence for INGN.US.

Safe & Smart Tech

Inogen reported a data breach in April 2018, affecting 30,000 customers.

The breach, which occurred between January 2, 2018, and March 14, 2018, involved unauthorized access to an employee email account, potentially exposing names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, dates of birth, dates of death, Medicare IDs, insurance information, and medical equipment usage. No evidence of misuse of customer data was found. In response, the company conducted a forensic investigation, implemented password changes, multi-factor authentication, and enhanced training. The company implemented multi-factor authentication for remote email access following the 2018 incident. Inogen's privacy policy, last updated in August 2021, references compliance with HIPAA and CCPA, and the company discusses compliance with FDA, GDPR, and other international regulations in its SEC filings.

Zero Waste & Sustainable Products

Inogen's products are designed to minimize energy and material usage, with a focus on repairability and reusability, and returned functioning units are cleaned and tested for reuse, indicating the application of circular design principles to several product categories.

The company conducts proper hazardous waste disposal and complies with the RoHS directive. No material environmental law violations or regulatory notices were reported from 2020-2022, and no monetary value of environmental fines and sanctions was reported for the same period. Devices are repairable with replaceable components, indicating average repairability. Inogen requires its suppliers to comply with ISO 9001 and ISO 13485 quality management systems, as well as environmental regulations such as RoHS, REACH, and California's Proposition 65.