Community and Environmental Responsibility
For more than a
century, Roche has been a leader in
discovering, developing and marketing important drugs. For many years, Roche has
understood that enduring business success is intimately tied to social and environmental
responsibility. That deeply held belief became part of the foundation when Roche opened
its U.S. headquarters in Nutley in 1929. Today, the site is a modern 127-acre campus
for administration, sales, marketing and manufacturing as well as
research laboratories
where hundreds of the brightest and most talented scientists unlock the mysteries of
arthritis, AIDS, various cancers, diabetes, nervous system disorders and other
diseases in the search for new medications that alleviate disease and reduce human
suffering.
Along with our priority of developing products and services that help people around
the world lead healthier lives, we remain deeply committed to being a good neighbor
and an exemplary corporate citizen.
Leader in Sustainability
All three are hardwired into our
corporate principles. We realize that economic,
social and environmental interests are not separate, but dynamically
interdependent, and we try to balance these interests in everything we do.
We are committed to this "triple bottom line." Roche has been recognized for its
efforts around sustainability: named in 2007 as one
of
The Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World
and we are included in several leading indexes for our economic, environmental
and social performance, including the Dow Jones Sustainability World Indexes,
(DJSI World), the Dow Jones STOXX Sustainability Indexes (DJSI STOXX) and the
Financial Times Stock Exchange Group (FTSE) FTSE4Good Index series. In
September 2007, Roche was awarded the first Financial Times/Citi Private
Bank Environmental Award as the company with "
The Greatest Improvement in Carbon Efficiency Achieved by a Large Enterprise both on a European and a Global level."
Additionally, Roche received a Gold Class rating in the
Sustainable-Asset-Management PriceWaterhouseCoopers Sustainability Yearbook in 2008.
As one of the first companies in the U.S. to start a corporate giving program,
Roche was a pioneer in proving that business can be a force for positive change
in society. Today, that pledge to social responsibility remains woven into the
corporate fabric in Nutley, where the company is working to maximize the impact
of its philanthropy. From hundreds of hours volunteered by employees in community
outreach each year to collaborations with health, education and human services
organizations, Roche is committed to being a valued partner, supplier, employer
and neighbor. We strive to enhance people's health and quality of life in the
extended communities where we live and work through support of activities that
reflect a spirit of innovation and a dedication to those we serve.
We are dedicated to protecting our employees and our neighbors through
comprehensive environmental, health and safety programs. We, of course,
comply with national and international laws, as well as guidelines set by
non-governmental organizations. But, in many instances, the standards we set
for ourselves go beyond legal and regulatory requirements. For example,
our Nutley cogeneration plant, one of the first in the state, began reducing
emissions long before "
greenhouse gases*" and
"global warming" became household phrases. We're proud of the recognition
that many of our innovative energy-saving and pollution-reduction programs
receive, but even more important is our ultimate aim—to leave the
world a better place for future generations.
