Better Health for All
40
Sartorius's principal goods and services are integral to the development and production of biotech medications, vaccines, and cell and gene therapies, making significant contributions to improving healthcare access and public health outcomes. The company's offerings support vaccine production, including for COVID-19, Chikungunya, and Hepatitis B
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,
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,
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, and facilitate cancer treatment research
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. Its partnership with VectorBuilder aims to accelerate biopharmaceutical innovation and improve healthcare accessibility through gene vector and mRNA bioprocess solutions
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. Sartorius does not have any products or activities with negative health outcomes. The company's operations do not involve holding healthcare-related patents. Sartorius also partnered to train healthcare professionals in East Africa to enhance medicine procurement and distribution for rural populations
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, and invested 400 million euros in 2021 to expand production facilities for vaccine purification
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.
Fair Money & Economic Opportunity
0
Sartorius AG operates in the biopharmaceutical and laboratory equipment sectors. Its core business does not involve providing financial services, lending, or deposit products to consumers. As confirmed by the articles, no activities, initiatives, or policies related to fair money, economic opportunity, financial inclusion, or customer empowerment in finance were found.
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Therefore, all KPIs related to financial products, pricing, debt, and customer financial outcomes are not applicable and score 0, as per the rubric's definitions for non-financial entities.
Fair Pay & Worker Respect
30
In 2024, 99.92% of Sartorius employees were paid at or above applicable local benchmarks for adequate wages.
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The CEO to median employee pay ratio was 32 in 2024.
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As of December 31, 2024, 52% of all employees were covered by collective bargaining agreements.
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The recordable occupational injury rate (TRIR) for employees in 2024 was 0.66 per 200,000 hours worked, with no fatalities.
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The gender pay gap among employees was 11% in 2024.
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The employee fluctuation rate was 11.4% in 2024.
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In 2024, there was one substantiated or partially substantiated complaint of discrimination, including harassment.
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As of December 31, 2024, 6.66% of the workforce was on temporary contracts, with no employees on non-guaranteed hours contracts.
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Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing
-40
Sartorius implements a risk-based approach for supplier re-assessments, with high and critical risk suppliers requiring re-assessment within 12 months, medium risk within 24 months, and low risk within 24-36 months.
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This indicates an average audit frequency for tier-1 suppliers of approximately 22 months.
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The company has not been convicted of violating labor or human rights.
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and has not been involved in any cases handled by an OECD national contact point or surveyed by the Business and Human Rights Resource Center.
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For high-risk suppliers, Sartorius requires business priorities to be aligned with procurement contracts within three months (90 days).
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Honest & Fair Business
-30
Sartorius AG operates a comprehensive compliance management system, featuring a Code of Conduct and an Anti-Corruption Code, complemented by preventive measures such as training and awareness programs.
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As a UN Global Compact signatory, the company commits to anti-corruption principles
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and extends ethical expectations to business partners through a dedicated Code of Conduct.
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For reporting violations, Sartorius offers multiple channels, including a 24/7 compliance hotline
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and an anonymous whistleblower portal,
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emphasizing protection against retaliation and confidentiality to ensure prompt issue resolution.
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However, the available information does not detail independent investigation processes for these reports.
Kind to Animals
40
Sartorius has a strict animal-derived component-free (ADCF) policy, ensuring no animal or human-derived components are part of any of their cytokine products
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. The large majority of their cytokines are produced in a dedicated animal-free facility (ADCF Level 2)
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, with very few requiring animal-derived components (ADCF Level 1)
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. The company also partnered with TheWell Bioscience in 2024 to develop animal-free hydrogels and bio-inks to replace traditional animal-based extracellular matrices
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. For alternative testing, Sartorius integrates validated microtissue models from MatTek Corp and offers synthetic matrices like NexaGel for growing 3D structures as alternatives to animal models in drug development and toxicology
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. These methods make time-consuming and expensive viral safety studies obsolete
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. Sartorius also hosted a panel on 'Overcoming Animal Testing with Advanced Cell Models' in 2024
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and provides products and services to support advanced cell models that align with the FDA Modernization Act 2.0
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.
No War, No Weapons
10
Sartorius AG is not involved in arms production, military contracts, or conflict facilitation, and has no military associations, indicating zero revenue from such contracts
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and no defense assets to divest. Its entire business and R&D focus is on healthcare-related innovations
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and nonviolent advancements in life sciences, aligning with peaceful and humanitarian objectives
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. The company observes and adheres to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
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, the UN Global Compact
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, the International Bill of Human Rights
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, OECD Guidelines
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, and ILO Declaration
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. It condemns aggression
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, opposes human rights violations in its supply chain
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, and expects suppliers to comply with sustainability standards
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, taking German due diligence obligations seriously
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.
Planet-Friendly Business
-40
Sartorius reported total gross Scope 1, 2, and 3 GHG emissions of 694,079 tCO2eq in 2024, representing a 22.62% decline from 2023.
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The company aims for net-zero CO2 emissions by 2045
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and has committed to the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi)
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, with targets due for validation by October 2025.
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In 2024, 58% of the company's global electricity purchases were from renewable sources.
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The waste diversion rate was 54% in 2024
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, and 25% of total materials used were reused or recycled secondary materials.
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Taxonomy-aligned capital expenditures accounted for 13% in fiscal 2024.
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Sartorius reported no carbon offsets were purchased in 2024
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and stated that it does not have any sites in high water stress areas in 2024.
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Respect for Cultures & Communities
20
Sartorius has a robust, company-wide grievance mechanism, including a 24/7 whistleblower portal and hotline available in various languages to internal and external stakeholders, effectively covering all operations.
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The company reports no cultural appropriation incidents.
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Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) processes are not applicable to its operations. Sartorius engages in active protection measures for natural environments, such as collaborating with the city of Göttingen and the Heinz Sielmann Foundation to build a natural habitat, and planting 1,800 endemic trees in Yauco, Puerto Rico.
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The company has 3 formal partnerships with local community groups, including the city of Göttingen, the Heinz Sielmann Foundation, and local sports teams in Göttingen.
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Its whistleblower system and Code of Conduct for Business Partners are available in multiple languages, including English, Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish.
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Safe & Smart Tech
10
Sartorius demonstrates industry-leading regulatory compliance, adhering to a wide array of international data privacy regulations including GDPR, LGPD, PIPL, POPIA, UK GDPR, and US state laws
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, as well as industry-specific regulations like FDA, EMA, 21 CFR 11, GAMP, and cGMP
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. The company's experts are actively involved in standards organizations such as ASTM, ASME BPE, and USP, working towards developing future standards
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. Sartorius undertakes to identify and remedy any defects immediately
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, and regularly tests the security of systems and equipment
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. The company conducts comprehensive hardware, wetware and software testing
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, with each release thoroughly tested
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. All Group employees worldwide are required to complete annual online, role-specific mandatory training, earning a certificate
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. Users are granted comprehensive data control rights under GDPR, including the right to erasure and data portability
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. Sartorius is certified to ISO 27001
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. However, while adhering to data minimization principles
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, its data retention periods for documentation range from 2 to 10 years
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, and up to 30 years for evidence under statute of limitations
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.
Zero Waste & Sustainable Products
-30
In 2024, Sartorius achieved a total waste diversion rate of 54%.
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Its packaging had an 18% recyclable content rate, and products in the instruments category had 16% recyclable content.
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In the same year, 25% of total materials used were reused or recycled secondary materials.
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The company has implemented over 10 waste reduction initiatives, including recycling programs at Göttingen and Aubagne, which recover 100 tons of plastic annually
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and reduced production rejects by 60% with a 90% recycling rate.
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Distillation plants at Göttingen and Yauco enable almost full recycling of solvents from production processes
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, with non-recyclable residues professionally disposed of.
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Sartorius aims for zero operational waste to landfill by 2030
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and to generate 75% of sales revenue from products designed according to circularity principles by the same year.
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Circular design principles are applied to several product categories, focusing on durability and repairability, with instruments having an average lifespan of 9 years and larger devices up to 15 years
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, and designed for easy repair with long-term spare parts.
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Single-use plastic has been reduced by 30.5% in Vivaflow® SU Filtration Cassettes
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and up to 70% in pipette tip refill packaging.
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The company complies with the WEEE Directive in the EU for old appliance take-back
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and requires suppliers to have appropriate environmental protection management systems.
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No waste disposal violations were reported.
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