The Combined Management Report of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, and the Group for fiscal 2024 includes a combined Sustainability Statement. The Combined Sustainability Statement was prepared in order to meet the requirements set forth in Directive (EU) 2022/2464 of the European Parliament and of the Council dated December 14, 2022 (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, CSRD), in Article 8 of Regulation (EU) 2020/852 and in sections 289b to 289e, 315b and 315c of the German Commercial Code (HGB) regarding a Combined Non-financial Statement. The Combined Sustainability Statement comprises the Group Sustainability Statement and the Non-financial Statement of the parent company. When preparing the Group Sustainability Statement, the first set of European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) was implemented in full. The use of the ESRS as a framework represents a break in consistency. This is done to reflect the importance of the ESRS as reporting standards adopted by the European Commission. No specific framework was used when preparing the Non-financial Statement of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany; instead, conclusions drawn from the Group were used for support.
The scope of consolidation of this Combined Sustainability Statement corresponds to that of the Annual Report for 2024. The concepts and results presented relate to both Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, and the Group. We explicitly state when, in individual cases, the information provided deviates from this.
Deloitte GmbH Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft conducted a limited assurance engagement of the combined Sustainability Statement. References to information not included in the Management Report are not part of the Sustainability Statement. The information based on the standards of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), the Task Force on Climate-related Financial disclosures (TCFD) and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) can be found in the Annual Report under “Other Information”. These as well as the additional content provided on both the company’s websites and external websites that are linked in this report were not part of the limited assurance engagement performed by Deloitte.
Pursuant to section 289c (3) and section 315c (2) HGB, we are obliged to review topics for their double materiality. In 2024, we carried out a materiality analysis in accordance with the ESRS and thus identified the topics that are material for us. Further information on the process and the detailed results of the materiality analysis can be found under ESRS 2 IRO-1.
Pursuant to section 315c (1) HGB in conjunction with section 289c (2) HGB, the report contents are classified as follows: We report environmental matters in accordance with section 315c in conjunction with section 289c (2) sentence 1 HGB under E1, E2, E3, E4, and E5. We report on employee matters in accordance with section 315c HGB in conjunction with section 289c (2) sentence 2 HGB under S1 and S2. We report on social matters in accordance with section 315c HGB in conjunction with section 289c (2) sentence 3 HGB under S1, S2 and S4. We report on respect for human rights in accordance with section 315c HGB in conjunction with section 289c (2) sentence 4 HGB under S1, S2 and S4. The topic of anti-corruption and anti-bribery was not assessed as material in our materiality analysis in accordance with the ESRS. Thus, we report on this topic in accordance with section 315c HGB in conjunction with section 289c (2) sentence 5 HGB in the separate section on Anti-Corruption and Anti-Bribery.
In order to adopt the terminology of the ESRS, we also use the term Sustainability Statement instead of Non-financial Statement in the following.
** The Combined Sustainability Statement was not subject to a content review as part of the audit of the financial statements but was subject to a separate limited assurance audit by Deloitte.