Modern slavery is a crime against the most basic of human rights and is a growing global problem. Grünenthal has no tolerance for modern slavery, and this statement details our approaches to ensuring how Grünenthal prevents modern slavery in our business and supply chains in accordance with section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.
Grünenthal is a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact, having signed the accord in 2021 (https://unglobalcompact.org/what-is-gc/participants/147867). We are committed to acting in accordance with the United Nations Guiding Principals on Business and Human Rights. We fully endorse and the support the principles enshrined in the International Bill of Human Rights and the International Labour Organisation’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.
Our Organisational Structure and Supply Chains
Grünenthal Limited (“Grünenthal UK”) is a distributor of pharmaceutical products within the United Kingdom, registered at TOR Building, Saint Cloud Way, Maidenhead, Berks SL6 8BN. We are a part of the Grünenthal group of companies (“Group”), and our parent company is based in Aachen, Germany.
We are a science-based, privately-owned pharmaceutical company, with a long track record of bringing innovative treatments and state-of-the-art technologies to people living with pain, worldwide. Grunenthal Group is a fully integrated pharmaceutical company that offers support along the entire journey, from drug development to commercialisation.
We execute our strategy and work continuously to improve all areas of our business, including our culture. Our teams around the world incorporate a shared set of values that entails how we should work together to achieve successful outcomes for our patients and our company. Our values and our patient-focused ethos guide our decision making and provide a clear indication of how we behave individually and organisationally. We aim to integrate our values and supporting actions to life in everything we do.
Our Code of Conduct for Business Partners (third-parties we do business with) embodies our purpose and values and establishes our commitment to ethical business practices. In order to protect Grünenthal against liability risks and reputational damage, we assess the integrity of our Business Partners worldwide. We considerably reduce our risks of failing to meet our policies and exposure to risk by having well-documented and clearly structured processes in place that provide for a risk classification (low, medium and high), risk-based handling controls and mitigations, and a monitoring process.
Our Human Rights and Environmental Standards statement elaborates on Grünenthal’s commitment to operating an ethical organization. As part of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), we are committed to aligning our strategies and operations with ten universal principles related to human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption, and take actions that advance societal goals and the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We are committed to complying with international standards, which includes but is not limited to the following:
- The Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact
- OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises
- International Convent on Civil and Political Rights as of 1966
- United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) as of 1948
- United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights as of 2011
- Labour Standards of the International Labour Organization (ILO) including amongst others Convention 182 as of 17 June 1999 concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour.
Furthermore, we are a member of the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Initiative (PSCI), which has established Principles for Responsible Supply Chain Management in the pharmaceutical industry with regard to ethics, human rights, health & safety, environment, and governance & management systems.
Due Diligence, Risk Assessment and Management
As part of our compliance programme, we regularly assess our Business Partners (third parties we do business with, including but not limited to suppliers, vendors, contractors, agencies, distributors, wholesalers, investors, customers from contract manufacturing businesses, licensed partners, healthcare professionals and organisations, and patient organisations.) to evaluate whether they act ethically, compliantly and within the laws of the jurisdiction in which they operate. This process includes screening for high risk and/or potentially sanctioned business partners.
We have a number policies and procedures including but not limited to our Compliance, Ethics and Transparency statement. Anti-money laundering and corruption, and Third-Party Due Diligence policies which further incorporate Grünenthal’s position on ending modern slavery and human trafficking and seeking a healthy and honest business culture.
Due diligence is conducted on Business Partners. We conduct risk assessments of our existing and potential partners using a number of factors (e.g. abstract risk level, expected spend, time since last due diligence exercise).
We analyse the risks within our own business and our supply network based upon the industry in which we operate and the geographical locations in which we conduct business. Due to the nature of our business, we currently consider ourselves to be at low risk of exposure to slavery, human trafficking or child exploitation. We are not aware of any areas in our operations likely to lead to a breach of human rights and modern slavery laws, as our industry is largely not considered one of the leading industries of concern.
Reporting Concerns
Concerns may be raised in confidence without fear of retaliation, by approaching Management, HR or Compliance teams. Alternatively, colleagues may report their concern via our 24-hour Ethics Helpline. All concerns raised will be fully investigated and acted upon as appropriate.
This Statement was approved by the Leadership Team of Grunenthal UK Limited on February 2025.
M-N/A-UK-02-25-0001 February 2025