I am increasingly asked about our approach to Environmental, Social and corporate Governance (ESG) at Galderma, and how it guides our roadmap for sustainable growth. What does it mean for a global dermatology leader like Galderma to be strongly committed to ESG? Let me outline the why, what and how of Galderma’s commitment to ESG.

ESG as an integral part of our business

We have the bold ambition to become the leading dermatology company in the world and we want to bring the best to consumers, patients, healthcare professionals and our employees.

We know that the health of our skin is a reflection of the world we live in, and we all know that our world has never been more distressed. Global warming is changing the climate, extreme weather events are on the rise, and air pollution affects over 90% of the world's population. In the 2021 context, we must add to this the effects of COVID-19 on our physical and mental health, our economy and our society.

For all these reasons, we are continuously strengthening our ESG roadmap to create shared value with the consumers, patients and healthcare professionals we serve, as well as with our employees, investors and society as a whole.

Galderma’s ESG approach

We have developed clear objectives and strategies for each of the three elements of ESG: Environment, Social and corporate Governance. We’re achieving real results, but the ESG road never ends – and neither does our roadmap. We adapt to new needs and will always strive to do even better.

Environmental sustainability – results ahead of our targets

Every day we at Galderma work towards being cleaner and more efficient – using less resources and creating less waste. We focus our environmental sustainability efforts on caring for water, acting on climate change and safeguarding the environment.

• Caring for water: We currently run programs to reduce consumption, recycle and reuse water in our factories and research facilities. Between 2010 and 2020, these efforts enabled us to reduce water consumption in our factories by 33% per ton of product, ahead of our initial plan.
• Acting on climate change: Between 2010 and 2020, we reduced direct greenhouse gas emissions from production by 61%, ahead of our initial plan. This is primarily based on our conversion to renewable energy, which now accounts for 95% of the electricity we use. We are now taking steps to be totally carbon neutral in our factories by 2030. Three of our four manufacturing sites already use 100% renewable electricity from a combination of solar, wind, hydropower, geothermal, biofuel and biomass. Our fourth factory is on track to also be using 100% renewable electricity by 2024. All our factories are certified ISO 14001 (International Environmental Management System).
• Safeguarding the environment: Our four factories all achieved zero waste to landfill at the beginning of 2019 – ahead of our initial plan. We are using the results of our life-cycle analysis to optimize the environmental impact of our products by prioritizing our initiatives in eco-design, manufacturing and transportation. Through our Responsible Sourcing program, we evaluate and select our suppliers and outsourced producers based on their environmental performance.

Giving back to communities – at the heart of our social responsibility action

In terms of social responsibility, we strive to give back to communities, provide educational programs to healthcare professionals (HCPs) and to foster a diverse, inclusive and safe environment for our employees.

• For consumers and patients: Every day we strive to innovate and develop better solutions to help people with their sufferings from skin conditions. We also support local organizations in the countries where we operate by raising funds and donating essential products to those in need.
• For healthcare professionals: We strive to participate in maintaining the highest, most current education and knowledge sharing within the dermatology community. Healthcare professionals achieve their best results when they have access to the latest innovations in the field, supported by solid research and science. They also need access to ongoing training on the latest trends in the field of injectables.
• For our employees: We are strongly committed to promoting a diverse, inclusive and safe work environment where diversity is celebrated, and personal dignity and privacy respected. We also foster an environment and culture of growth, innovation and agility, offering our employees opportunities to deepen expertise and broaden experience.

Good governance supports integrity and ethical business operations

In terms of corporate governance, we aim achieve and uphold the highest standards and irreproachable integrity when it comes to how we conduct business as a company. We have put in place a number of Codes and Principles. We require employees as well as healthcare professionals and suppliers to follow these when conducting business with us. These Codes and Principles reflect the values and behaviors that drive us as a responsible company. We are committed to continue to adhere to these.

Our ESG approach is integrated into our business in that it is a true driver of our roadmap for sustainable growth. This approach is not set in stone. We take the time every year to review our progress and to ask ourselves what areas we have not yet explored. Aside from this being the right thing to do, it is imperative to sustaining our business within a challenging and rapidly evolving business environment.

Cécile Dussart

Vice President Operations