Merck understands that it must rise to the challenge of greater stakeholder expectations.
We also recognize that we can't solve major health, environmental and economic challenges alone but must collaborate with others who share our commitment and who bring their own unique expertise to the table. This understanding forms the core of Merck's approach and commitment to stakeholder engagement.
Merck conducts stakeholder engagement at both the corporate and local level depending on the issue. We engage with industry, health bodies, nongovernmental organizations, opinion leaders, patient groups, governments, policy makers and our employees to inform our policies, products and practices. Our intention is to build lasting relationships by engaging our stakeholders early in the process to understand their objectives, expectations of Merck and the potential areas for collaboration. Throughout our operations, from discovery and development to sales and distribution, our engagement with stakeholders informs our business strategy and decisions. We believe it also enhances our stakeholders' understanding of—and trust in—us.
We engage with our stakeholders to exchange information, views and recommendations, share activities and progress against key goals, and partner toward common objectives. Engagement may take the form of one-on-one meetings, expert input forums or roundtable discussions, industry coalitions or formal partnerships. Merck is committed to providing information proactively to stakeholders about Merck's business, how we operate and decisions we make that will help them make informed decisions about their interactions with us and our products.
Below are some of our major stakeholders and how we engage with them.
Patients and their families
Everything we do is ultimately for the patient and we are primarily accountable to this stakeholder group. We work hard to ensure that our innovative products meet the health needs of patients. For more information on our work with patient groups, please click here.
Doctors, healthcare professionals and scientists
We know that doctors and patients look to us to provide accurate and balanced information about our products. We are committed to providing appropriate and balanced information to physicians and other healthcare providers about our medicines and vaccines, and about our ongoing research efforts. During the course of our business, we interact continually with physicians, healthcare professionals and researchers to conduct research and clinical trials, to share information and to gain new perspectives on needs and opportunities. For more information on our interactions with these stakeholders, please click here.
Payers
We are aware of payers' concerns over rising healthcare costs and limited budgets, and of the debates on how to make medicines and vaccines more affordable and accessible. We work with payers worldwide to make sure they understand that the prices of our products reflect the value of those products. We also develop programs with payers to make sure our products can reach the people who need them most. For more information on our access initiatives, please click Access to Health.
Governments, multilateral organizations and regulators
We are committed to conducting our business according to the letter and spirit of the law and regulations, as well as the various standards of business practice that we endorse. When laws or regulations do not exist or are inadequate, we have created our own standards and use these to guide our practices. We work with policy makers, legislators, multilateral organizations and governments worldwide to ensure that policy and regulatory environments globally, nationally and locally foster patient access to medicines and vaccines, and that they are conducive to ethical business practices, science and innovation. For more information on our public policy and advocacy positions, please click here.
Our Ethical Business Practices
As outlined in Our Values and Standards, when making donations, contributions or sponsorships, Merck managers are required to consider questions such as:
- Is the donation permitted under applicable law or regulations?
- Who is the ultimate beneficiary of the donation?
- We expect donations to benefit society more broadly in terms of increased awareness of ways of improving health and well being, and in terms of research into diseases.
- We seek to preserve the independence of those individuals and groups with which we work. Donations are not made with the intent of obtaining inappropriate business influence.
- The company does not make payments or provide benefits to government officials or employees to obtain or retain business. Merck has a robust evaluation and approval process in place for any payment or benefit to a government official to make sure there is no conflict or potential perceived conflict.
Is the recipient in a position to influence the company's business and therefore would the donation affect or be perceived to affect the decision-making process?
Is the recipient a government institution or individual employed by the government?
Shareholders
We aim to create shareholder value by identifying opportunities to meet customer needs, and by managing our business responsibly to achieve superior financial results over the long term. To this end, we measure and report our performance—on financial and other parameters—honestly and accurately, and we work hard to protect and retain our assets, including our intellectual property rights, our resources, our top employees, and our reputation. Merck also reports on environmental, social and governance indicators relevant to our business and long-term performance, and supports efforts to standardize non-financial reporting. For information related to investing in Merck, please click here.
Issue Experts
We work hard to identify the best organizations and individuals to work with, both to address societal challenges and to inform debates on pressing issues. Merck has decades of experience in developing partnerships, especially those focused on improving global health. Such partnerships are driving the evolution of private sector involvement in meeting societal challenges.
Our partnerships include a variety of ventures, with diverse arrangements and participants, various legal statuses and modes of governance and management, assorted priorities and contributions by participants, and many different impacts. They range from small collaborations focused on distributing one medicine to larger entities fighting a disease. Our objectives for a health partnership might include developing a medicine or vaccine, distributing a donated or subsidized product, or strengthening health services. For more information on our public/private partnerships, please click here.
Communities where Merck operates
We strive to make a positive contribution to local communities through responsible and safe operations and through our philanthropy and employee volunteer efforts. Merck strives to develop culturally appropriate mechanisms to engage and build relationships with local community stakeholders. Some sites have created community review boards, which meet on a regular basis; others host neighbor or town hall meetings to seek input from community members. In the case of a new facility, site expansion or a major capital project, Merck uses these meetings to consider the potential impact on community stakeholders—whether it is direct or indirect—and to factor stakeholder opinions and concerns into the planning process starting at an early stage. For more information on our contributions to communities, please click here.
Environmental Stakeholders
We work to reduce the environmental impacts of our operations and products, and to promote sustainable environmental practices both within the company, by our partners and throughout our supply chain. For more information on our environmental performance, please click here.
Employees
Because the talent, diversity and integrity of our people drive our success, Merck is committed to discovering more ways to create a workplace where our employees—and our business—can thrive. We recognize the challenge of balancing professional achievement and personal well-being, and we understand that the more that's asked of us as a business, the more we rely on our employees to advance our vision. To this end, we work hard every day to foster a positive working environment by providing resources to improve employees' health and that of their families, and by providing more opportunities to get involved in the communities where they live. For more information on Merck's employee relations, please click here.
Suppliers and business partners
We seek out the best suppliers and partners with whom to research, develop, produce and distribute our medicines and vaccines and perform commercial services. We strive to engage a diverse supply base and foster responsible approaches on the part of our suppliers with respect to labor, employment, health and safety, ethics, diversity and protection of the environment throughout our supply chain. For more information on Merck's approach to supply chain management, please click here.
Industry Associations
Merck engages with stakeholders through numerous organizations in which we are members. Within these groups, we aim to inform related debates in ways that are constructive and that ultimately foster improved access to medicines and vaccines globally. For a list of memberships, please click here.
