The material IROs that we identified in our materiality analysis are briefly listed below and are described in detail in the respective topic chapters. We describe the methodology of our double materiality analysis under “Description of the process to identify and assess material impacts, risks and opportunities (IRO-1).”
| IRO identifier | Type of IRO | Sustainability matter | Reference chapter | |||
|
E1-NI-01 |
Actual negative impact |
Climate change adaptation; Climate change mitigation |
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|
E1-NI-02 |
Actual negative impact |
Climate change mitigation; Climate change adaptation; Energy |
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|
E1-NI-03 |
Actual negative impact |
Climate change mitigation; Climate change adaptation; Energy |
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|
E1-NI-04 |
Actual negative impact |
Climate change mitigation; Climate change adaptation |
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|
E1-NI-05 |
Actual negative impact |
Climate change mitigation; Climate change adaptation; Energy |
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|
E1-NI-06 |
Actual negative impact |
Energy |
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|
E2-NI-01 |
Actual/potential negative impact |
Pollution of water |
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|
E2-NI-02 |
Potential negative impact |
Substances of concern; Substances of very high concern |
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|
E3-NI-01 |
Actual/potential negative impact |
Water withdrawals |
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|
E4-NI-01 |
Potential negative impact |
Direct impact drivers of biodiversity loss – Land-use change, fresh water-use change, and sea-use change |
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|
E5-NI-01 |
Actual negative impact |
Resource inflows, including resource use |
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|
E5-NI-02 |
Actual/potential negative impact |
Resource outflows related to products and services; Waste |
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|
E5-NI-03 |
Actual/potential negative impact |
Waste |
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|
S1-NI-01 |
Potential negative impact |
Working conditions: Secure employment; Working time; Adequate wages; Collective bargaining, including rate of workers covered by collective agreements |
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|
S1-NI-02 |
Potential negative impact |
Working conditions: Work-life balance |
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|
S1-NI-03 |
Potential negative impact |
Equal treatment and opportunities for all: Employment and inclusion of persons with disabilities |
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|
S1-NI-04 |
Potential negative impact |
Equal treatment and opportunities for all: Gender equality and equal pay for work of equal value |
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|
S2-NI-01 |
Actual negative impact |
Equal treatment and opportunities for all: Diversity; Employment and inclusion of persons with disabilities |
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|
S2-NI-02 |
Actual negative impact |
Equal treatment and opportunities for all: Measures against violence and harassment in the workplace |
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|
S2-NI-03 |
Potential negative impact |
Other work-related rights: Child labor; Forced labor |
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|
S2-NI-04 |
Potential negative impact |
Other work-related rights: Child labor; Forced labor |
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|
S2-NI-05 |
Actual negative impact |
Other work-related rights: Child labor; Forced labor; Adequate housing; Water and sanitation; Privacy |
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|
S2-NI-06 |
Actual negative impact |
Working conditions: Secure employment; Working time; Adequate housing; Health and safety; |
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|
S2-NI-07 |
Actual negative impact |
Working conditions: Health and safety |
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|
S4-NI-01 |
Potential negative impact |
Personal safety of consumers and/or end-users: Health and safety |
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|
G1-NI-01 |
Actual negative impact |
Animal welfare |
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|
E5-PI-01 |
Actual positive impact |
Resource outflows related to products and services |
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|
S1-PI-01 |
Actual positive impact |
Working conditions: Health and safety |
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|
S1-PI-02 |
Actual positive impact |
Equal treatment and opportunities for all: Diversity |
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|
S1-PI-03 |
Actual positive impact |
Equal treatment and opportunities for all: Training and skills development |
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|
S4-PI-01 |
Actual positive impact |
Personal safety of consumers and/or end-users: Health and safety |
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|
S4-PI-02 |
Actual positive impact |
Personal safety of consumers and/or end-users: Health and safety; Information-related impacts for consumers and/or end-users: Access to (quality) information |
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|
S4-PI-03 |
Potential positive impact |
Personal safety of consumers and/or end-users: Health and safety |
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|
S4-PI-04 |
Potential positive impact |
Personal safety of consumers and/or end-users: Health and safety |
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|
S4-PI-05 |
Potential positive impact |
Personal safety of consumers and/or end-users: Health and safety |
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|
S4-PI-06 |
Actual positive impact |
Social inclusion of consumers and/or end-users: Access to products and services |
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|
S4-PI-07 |
Actual positive impact |
Social inclusion of consumers and/or end-users: Access to products and services |
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|
S4-PI-08 |
Actual positive impact |
Information-related impacts for consumers and/or end-users: Access to (quality) information |
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|
G1-PI-01 |
Potential positive impact |
Corporate culture |
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|
E1-R-01 |
Risk |
Climate change adaptation |
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|
E1-R-02 |
Risk |
Climate change mitigation |
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|
E2-R-01 |
Risk |
Pollution of soil |
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|
E2-R-02 |
Risk |
Substances of concern and substances of very high concern |
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|
E5-R-01 |
Risk |
Resource inflows, including resource use |
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|
E5-R-02 |
Risk |
Resource inflows, including resource use |
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|
S1-R-01 |
Risk |
Working conditions: Health and safety |
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|
S2-R-01 |
Risk |
Working conditions: Health and safety |
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|
S4-R-01 |
Risk |
Personal safety of consumers and/or end-users: Health and safety |
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|
E1-O-01 |
Opportunity |
Climate change mitigation |
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|
S4-O-01 |
Opportunity |
Personal safety of consumers and/or end-users: Health and safety |
Beyond this, no company-specific IROs were identified that exceed the topics stipulated by the ESRS. The current and anticipated financial effects of our material IROs on our business model, value chain, strategy and decision-making are described in the topic-specific chapters.
With regard to the identified material risks and opportunities, there were no events in the reporting year that led to significant effects on our results of operations, financial positions, net assets and liquidity beyond the provisions to environmental protection reported under E2. We do not expect any significant change in the next reporting period.
Changes to the materiality analysis resulted from the change in reporting framework. In previous years, we applied the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standard for our materiality analysis. Our 2024 materiality analysis has been conducted in accordance with the ESRS. In contrast to the GRI, the ESRS requirements stipulate that the materiality analysis must also consider financial materiality (double materiality). Another difference is that the ESRS provide a more detailed list of sustainability matters in greater detail to be considered in the analysis. For example, we identified material IROs for substances of concern. Another change compared to the previous year is that no material IROs were identified for the topics of compliance management, responsible interactions with health systems, bioethics and digital ethics, as well as innovation and technology. Therefore, we do not provide any information on these topics in this report.
Thanks to our robust business model with three business sectors operating in different markets and our clear positioning as a science and technology company, we are well positioned even in economically difficult times. In 2024, we updated our resilience analysis, focusing on climate risks and opportunities to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and prospects ahead. For details see E1.