SYNLAB AG
Climate Impact & Sustainability Data (2021, 2022)
Reporting Period: 2021
Environmental Metrics
Total Carbon Emissions:38,690 tCO2e
Waste Generated:9,240 tons
Carbon Intensity:10.28 tonnes CO2e/€ million revenue
ESG Focus Areas
- Climate Change
- Access to high-quality healthcare
- Business ethics
Environmental Achievements
- Creation of a Greenhouse Gas (GHG) reporting framework
- Completion of a legal assessment for the Act on Corporate Due Diligence Obligations in Supply Chains
- Promotion of electric cars in selected markets
- Set-up of a Carbon Neutrality Task Force
- Achieved 15.39% of Group laboratories certified to ISO 14001 or equivalent by 2025
Social Achievements
- Launch of the Case-management 1 & Speak-up Policy (whistleblower)
- Development of the Supplier Code of Conduct
- Launch of the Risk Management Policy
- Development of a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policy and Human Rights framework (deployment in 2022)
- Establishment of the SYNLAB Foundation
Governance Achievements
- Establishment of the Group ESG Department and hiring of the Group Head of ESG
- Creation of the ESG Manager role and appointment of ESG Manager/Leader roles in 13 countries
Climate Goals & Targets
Long-term Goals:
- Become a carbon-neutral Company by 2025
Medium-term Goals:
- Certify over 80% of our laboratories to the appropriate local quality standard or ISO 15189 by 2025
- Reduce the lost-time accident frequency rate (LTAFR) year after year until 2025
- Increase the number of research citations from SYNLAB researchers year after year until 2025
- Improve SYNLAB Dialogue employee engagement scores year after year until 2025
- By 2025, achieve overall 30% female representation within the Key Strategic Successors Pipeline for CEO management positions for any country representing at least 5% of total Group revenue
Short-term Goals:
- Reduce scope 1 and 2 CO2e emissions intensity year after year and offset remaining unavoidable Group-wide emissions by 2025
- Reduce our waste intensity year after year until 2025
- Certify 10% of Group laboratories to ISO 14001 or equivalent by 2025
- Achieve female representation of 30% in top management team positions by 2023
- Increase female representation in senior management positions year after year until 2023
Environmental Challenges
- Data transparency across the ‘GREEN’ footprint of SYNLAB
- Infrastructural hurdles due to the complexity of business operations (operating in non-controllable premises)
- Increased hygiene requirements from the ongoing pandemic made it impossible to achieve reductions in normal waste
- Increased use of protective equipment and other specialized laboratory testing material due to increased diagnostic tests during COVID-19 outbreaks
Mitigation Strategies
- Creation of a Carbon Neutrality Task Force
- Improved transparency of data relating to carbon footprint
- More robust monitoring system for GHG emissions
- Careful assessment of recyclable waste versus untreatable hazardous waste
- Special training for lab employees to avoid unnecessary waste
- Improved technologies to treat hazardous waste in-house
Supply Chain Management
Responsible Procurement
- Responsible procurement process
- Tender documents for hospital contracts
- Supplier Code of Conduct
- ESG charter for suppliers representing >1% of procurement spend
Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities
Reporting Standards
Frameworks Used: GRI
Certifications: ISO 14001, ISO 15189, ISO 17025, ISO 9001, ISO 45001
UN Sustainable Development Goals
- SDG 3
- SDG 5.5
- SDG 8.5
- SDG 12.2
- SDG 13.3
SYNLAB supports the SDGs as an important framework and guideline for how we conduct our business. The report highlights the SDGs that SYNLAB can contribute the most to as a provider of healthcare services.
Sustainable Products & Innovation
- Lollipop PCR test
Reporting Period: 2022
Environmental Metrics
Total Carbon Emissions:31202 Tonnes CO2e
Scope 1 Emissions:20002 Tonnes CO2e
Scope 2 Emissions:11200 Tonnes CO2e
Waste Generated:7,704 tons
Carbon Intensity:9.6 Tonnes CO2e / mil revenue
ESG Focus Areas
- Provision of high-quality healthcare
- Low carbon transition
- Environmental management
- Talent attraction, development and retention
- Employee engagement, empowerment and well-being
- Diversity, equity and inclusion
- Addressing public health risks
- Data privacy and cybersecurity
- Responsible supply chain management
Environmental Achievements
- Launch of Carbon Neutrality Roadmap
- Large-scale renewal of testing equipment (Project Blue) to increase energy and space efficiency
- Majority of countries transitioning to renewable energy sources (e.g., Italy and Spain fully transitioned to renewable electricity)
Social Achievements
- Launch of Leadership Model Development Programme
- Review and development of key policies (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Background check, Employee disciplinary)
- SYNLAB Lorraine (France) became the first lab to be a ‘Great Place To Work’
Governance Achievements
- General Use of third-party SecurityScorecard to support cybersecurity
- Establishing Supplier Code of Conduct
- Development of ESG-risk specific due diligence assessment for suppliers
- Launch of Code of Conduct e-Learning
- Appointment of a Human Rights Officer
- First double materiality assessment completed
- Review of ESG goals and KPIs
- Launch of ESG data validation tools
- Launch of ESG process description
Climate Goals & Targets
Long-term Goals:
- Between 2022 and 2030, increase average hours of role-related training per full-time employee by 10% year-on-year
- Reduce Scope 1 and 2 CO2e emissions intensity year after year and offset remaining unavoidable Group-wide emissions by 2027
Medium-term Goals:
- By 2026, achieve overall 30% female representation within the Key Strategic Successors Pipeline for CEO positions
- Achieve female representation of 20% in first-line management by 2026
- Achieve female representation of 45% in second-line management by 2026
- Ensure participation of 100% of SYNLAB leaders in ACCE Leadership Model Development Programme by 2026
- Train 95% of global employees on data privacy by 2025
- Achieve an aggregated score of A on SecurityScorecard by 2025
Short-term Goals:
- Certify/accredit competence and quality management systems (QMS) of over 80% of laboratories by 2025
- Improve SYNLAB Dialogue employee engagement scores year after year until 2025
- Certify 20% of Group laboratories according to ISO 14001 or equivalent by 2025
Environmental Challenges
- Challenges in transitioning to e-mobility (accessing auxiliary power, delays with car manufacturers, limited charging stations, inflationary prices of kWh)
- Data privacy and cybersecurity risks
- Managing a global supply chain
- Maintaining and growing diagnostic services in line with evolving demand for testing to address public health priorities.
Mitigation Strategies
- Developed country-level roadmaps for carbon neutrality (France, Italy, UK & Ireland, Germany, and Iberia)
- Implementing energy and Scope 1 & 2 emissions saving measures (transitioning to green electricity, assessing suitability for solar photovoltaics, investing in e-mobility, eliminating oil and gas use where possible)
- Developed a Supplier Code of Conduct
- Developed an ESG risk specific due diligence assessment tool for suppliers
- Implementing a 12-month risk management cycle for suppliers
- Developed a Supplier Due Diligence questionnaire
- Data privacy training for employees
- Using SecurityScorecard for cybersecurity monitoring
- Expanding the scope of diagnostic services to address public health priorities.
Supply Chain Management
Responsible Procurement
- Supplier Code of Conduct
- ESG-risk-specific due diligence assessments
Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities
Reporting Standards
Frameworks Used: GRI Standards (2021)
Certifications: ISO 9001, ISO 15189, ISO 14001
Awards & Recognition
- Great Place To Work award (SYNLAB Lorraine, France)