Merck establishes external expert committee for sustainability

Merck, a leading science and technology company, has established an external expert committee for sustainability. The Merck Sustainability Advisory Panel (MSAP) consists of six independent international experts on sustainability-related topics. They will advise the company on selected issues and critically assess its sustainability performance as well as the company’s planned activities. Moreover, they apply their knowledge to help address societal and political challenges and developments that could impact the businesses of Merck.

"As a science and technology company, we want to find answers to the most pressing challenges of our time. That’s why we have embedded sustainability as a key element of our corporate strategy and set ourselves ambitious goals. The internationally renowned experts of the Merck Sustainability Advisory Panel will support us in achieving these goals,” said Herwig Buchholz, Head of Group Corporate Sustainability, who chairs the MSAP for Merck.

The Merck Sustainability Advisory Panel consists of the following members:

• Glynda Bathan-Baterina (Philippines): Deputy Executive Director of Clean Air Asia
• Michael Braungart (Germany): Founder and CEO of Braungart EPEA Internationale Umweltforschung, Professor at Leuphana University Lüneburg
• Todd Cort (United States): Faculty Co-Director of both the Center for Business and Environment (CBEY) and the Initiative on Sustainable Finance (YISF) of the Yale School of Management
• Maja Göpel (Germany): Expert for sustainability policies and transformation research, Honorary Professor at Leuphana University Lüneburg
• Ioannis Ioannou (United Kingdom): Associate Professor for strategy and entrepreneurship at the London Business School
• Huiyao (Henry) Wang (China): Founder and President of Center for China and Globalization (CCG)

The specialist knowledge of these experts covers a broad range of topics: From shaping and implementing ideas for environmental and climate protection to entrepreneurial sustainability principles, future-oriented business and international trade, sustainable leadership, and sustainability transformation as well as ESG key figures and sustainable finance.

Merck presented its sustainability strategy in November 2020. With this strategy, the company is pursuing specific goals in the areas of science and technology and value chains as well as climate change and the environment:

• Goal 1: In 2030, Merck will achieve human progress for more than one billion people through sustainable science and technology.
• Goal 2: By 2030, the company will integrate sustainability into all its value chains.
• Goal 3: By 2040, Merck will achieve climate neutrality and reduce its resource consumption.

Merck also wants to make a clearly recognisable contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. Over the past several months, the company has made clear progress in the implementation. For example, the most recent Annual General Meeting agreed to a resolution to integrate sustainability aspects into the compensation system of the Executive Board. The company is working to systematically incorporate sustainability into all company processes.

Independent advisory panels have been supporting Merck in answering ethical questions for more than 10 years: The Merck Ethics Advisory Panel (MEAP) which was established in 2011, and the Merck Digital Ethics Advisory Panel (DEAP), which was founded in early 2021. The Merck Ethics Advisory Panel provides orientation regarding (bio-)ethical questions arising from the business and from the company’s research. Thanks to the work of the MEAP, over the past decade, Merck has positioned itself as an industry leader in applying bioethical principles to the evaluation of products and services of its business sectors. In view of the ever-increasing emergence of digital business models and applications in the healthcare industry and other industrial sectors, the Merck Digital Ethics Advisory Panel advises the company especially on the rapidly developing field of digital ethics.

You can find more on the topic of sustainability at Merck at: www.merckgroup.com/en/sustainability