Sustainability Dimensions and Strategies of Roche

Sustainability Dimensions and Strategies of Roche

Introduction

On September 19, 2005, Roche (Centre, 2020), a multinational pharmaceutical company, made a breakthrough. For a fact, the Dow Jones Sustainability and FTSE4Good indices remained part of the Roche Company. Franz B. Humer, Chairman, and Chief executive officer of Roche, shared his satisfaction with Roche’s performance in achieving the high standards set by Dow Jones and FTSE4Good Sustainability Indexes (Centre, 2020).

In 2004, Roche Company also got listed, in light of the company’s cultural, environmental, and social achievements (Centre, 2020), for the first time in Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World) and the Dow Jones STOXX Sustainability Index (DJSI STOXX). Roche Company has also got ranked second in the pharmaceutics industry for both indices as one of the top sustainability-focused companies in the world. In the FTSE4Good Index sequence, Roche has retained its place.

Company Background

Fritz Hoffmann-La Roche set up F. The pharmacy corporation, Hoffmann-La Roche & Company, was subsequently branded in 1896 by Roche (Centre, 2020). The original inventory in Roche’s product range consists of injury disinfectants (Airol) and cough medicines (Sirloin). Roche developed its expertise in the production of vitamins in the late 1930s, which, however, became the company’s main products. Roche Company got re-known in 1950 as the world’s largest producer of vitamins.

Between 1920 and 1950, Roche also saw a continued increase in its international business. Roche Company later got established in 1920 in Germany (Centre, 2020), Italy, France, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Russia. Roche’s 32-year history in Asia, North and South America, and the Far East have got consolidated. Besides, Roche Company extended the product portfolio of medicines in large medical fields such as antifungal medication, antimicrobial medications, cancer chemotherapy, anti-inflammation disorders, and cardiovascular diseases during the 1950s and 1960s.

In 1956, Roche Company diversified into a new firm. From 1958 (Centre, 2020), Givaudan and Roure Bertrand Dupont (flavors and perfume manufacturers) got purchased by Sauter Laboratories (branded phars, sticking plasters, and adhesive bandaging). During the 1970s, Roche Company further extended its operations into the entire health care continuum, including electronic medical devices, diagnostic testing, and computational programs.

Roche Company has got engaged involved in the agrochemical industry. Also, Roche Company has got involved in the analytical devices and automatic analyzers market. Roche Company has also developed service labs to analyze clinical for hospitals and office physicians. Roche Company concentrated on corporate transformation in the 1970s, which was part of significant health markets, which it felt would last until the 2000s. In the 1970s, the Roche Company took part in considerable healthcare sectors.

Roche Company established separate departments for pharmaceuticals (Centre, 2020), supplements, fine chemicals, and diagnostics, which remained the main thrust for the business. Roche’s organization launched some of its key business divisions such as Maag in 1990 and Givaudan in 2000 as an unavoidable consequence. To consolidate its role within the multinational health care sector during the reign of the 1990s and early 2000s, Roche pursued an ambitious acquisition policy.

Roche Company considered improving its scientific recommendations and research capabilities in genetic engineering by acquisitions such as Syntex Corporation and Genentech in 1994 and 1995 (Centre, 2020). With the purchase of Boehringler Mannheim in 1997, Roche became the world market leader in diagnostics in terms of a wide variety of innovative ideas, size, application scope and breadth as well as regional reach. Roche introduced diagnostic chip-based technology in January 2005. However, the company Roche proposed a US$ 10 billion (bn) to US$ 12 billion annually by using it (Centre, 2020).

Social Sustainability Dimension

The definition of sustainability involved three aspects, namely: economic viability, social sustainability, and environmental sustainability. The objective of social sustainability to achieve distribution equity, an adequate supply of social services, including education and health, fairness between women and men, political transparency, and involvement. Increased poverty and lack of livelihoods also contributed to unsustainable social growth, thereby improving environmental destruction.

HIV/AIDS ‘ horrifying effects on Africa demonstrated how environmental degradation has a disastrous impact on wasteful social development. In turn, the severely impacted African population got forced to enter the forest for survivability. Also, talking of the rainforest monkeys, HIV/AIDS was expected to have spread to humans by human interference with the woods.

Social Sustainability Initiatives of Roche

Roche Company had a high standard in corporate ethics practice. Also, since its establishment in 1896, Roche Company had shown its social responsibility by its ethical business practices and philanthropic programs. In addition to improving Roche’s image as an environmentally responsible and sensitive organization, Roche Company got committed to innovative social projects. Roche Company also took potential measures as a global health company in humanitarian aid efforts to provide medicines for life-saving individuals in developing world Nations and Sub-Saharan Africa (Centre, 2020).

Roche Company also invested in community development activities in the fields in which it had active participation through its workers. Roche Company also focused on the advancement of skills by supporting education, science, arts, and culture in local communities. Roche Company also made donations for humanitarian projects, supported the local community and environmental science and research, art and culture. Throughout recent years, spending in such programs gradually got replaced by the product of these initiatives.

Strategies of Roche

Advancement of Healthcare Facilities

Roche, as a multinational healthcare company, played a crucial role in supporting healthcare facilities through the implementation of new drugs. However, millions of poor people living in LDCs and sub-Saharan Africa never benefited fully from such advances (Centre, 2020). However, Roche Company got committed to meeting these people’s health concerns, although the scale and nature of the issue demanded close cooperation between states, NGOs, and businesses.

Supply of HI/AIDS Diagnostic kits at discounted prices

For people in need, in LDCs and Sub-Saharan Africa (Centre, 2020), Roche Company supplied HIV / AIDS test kits at discounted prices. Besides, the project got introduced in 2001 and got known as AmpliCare. Treatment against HIV / AIDS was an expensive and long-term venture, and it may have been very restricted in access to people living in emerging countries. Roche Organization also took the relief effort to provide more access to HIV / AIDS drugs for poor people.

Increase in Accessibility of anti-malarial medicines

In LDCs and Sub-Saharan Africa, Roche Company made anti-malarial medicines more available (Centre, 2020). In these countries, Roche Company also had no patents on anti-malarial medication. Roche Company further gave generic pharmaceuticals free license to produce their anti-malarial medicinal drugs in these regions to improve their supply. To promote the research and development of the latest and inexpensive cure of malaria, Roche shared with the WHO technical details on their anti-malaria therapies.

Extension of Financial support to the Phelophepa Project

Since 1994, Roche Company has become the first company to provide financial assistance for the Phelophepa initiative (Centre, 2020). Since then, Roche Corporation has also managed to offer major sponsorship to Phelopheba Initiate. Roche Company also got in charge of setting up a health clinic with personnel support, equipment maintenance, and instruction and offering of training materials.

Offering Support to young Scientists

Roche Company created the first private research company in Switzerland in 1924 to support young scientists by carrying out fundamental biological and medical research. Roche Company had also spent more than 1 million SFR during the 1970s to create in Switzerland the Roche Institute for Molecular Biology and in the United States the Basel Institute of Immunology (Centre, 2020). Through their work, Roche Company also had funded universities.

Sponsorship of Contemporary Music

To promote contemporary music, the Roche Company founded the Roche Commission in 2003. The Lucerne Festival (Centre, 2020), the Carnegie Hall in New York, and The Cleveland Orchestra were Roche’s collaborators in this endeavor. Roche Company annually supported young artists and also funded the trophy for the world piano competition winner in France.

In summary, sustainability highlighted Roche Company’s commitment to social and ecological issues and the importance of its products and services that have got emphasized. Also, Roche’s sustainability coverage as part of their transparency process, through which it shared its efforts with all partners in crucial areas. The social sustainability programs of Roche also got improved due to their products, which enhanced the value of shareholders.

References

Centre, I. (2020). SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVE AT ROCHE: TARGETING TOMORROWS| Innovation and New Product Development Case Study. Retrieved February 13, 2020, from http://ibscdc.org/Case_Studies/Innovation%20and%20New%20Product%20Development/IPD0132IRC.htm.