Sustainability commitments

Pick a pharmacy in Mali, a health centre in Zambia, or a hospital in Mozambique, and there is a good chance you will find pharmaceuticals, consumables, or hospital equipment from Missionpharma. Every year more than 100 million patients all over the world receive medicines from Missionpharma.

Our position as a leading supplier of healthcare products allows us to make an impact on many people’s lives, whether they are patients, partners, customers, or employees. Making a positive difference on people’s health is the core goal of our company. It’s why we do what we do.

Woman in Zambia receiving the antifungal medicine, Clotrimazole, from Missionpharma.

We are dedicated to fostering better health on a global scale, recognising the critical interaction of our operations with our Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) commitments and the relevant Sustainable Development Goals.

UN Global Compact and Sustainable Development Goals
Missionpharma has been a participant of the UN Global Compact since 2018. We have incorporated our sustainability commitments on corporate level in accordance with the principles of the UN Global Compact and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The backbone of our sustainability work is shaped by the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact within human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption and closely interlinked with the SDGs. Looking across the SDGs and underlying targets, Missionpharma touches, directly or indirectly, many of the goals.

Goal 3, Good Health and Well-being, is by far the goal, where Missionpharma has the ability to significantly contribute to large-scale positive transformations, as this target directly relates to our focused efforts to improve access to safe healthcare globally. In addition to Goal 3, we contribute particularly to Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth, Goal 13: Climate action and Goal 17: Partnership for the Goals.

Read more about how we incorporate the principles of the UN Global Compact into our activities in our latest sustainability report.

Environment

We are dedicated to minimising our environmental impact through continuous improvement initiatives, while carefully balancing business goals with the environmental effects of our value chain.

We optimise shipments and logistical routing with the clear purpose of reducing our carbon footprint. Shipping healthcare products directly from facilities in China and India to our customers in Africa, Asia and South America – and avoiding passage through Europe – helps reduce emissions and reinforce our commitment to environmental responsibility.

ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS
We continuously work towards reducing our environmental impact. We pay special attention to the consumption of electricity and fuel in all of our locations worldwide, we minimize waste, and we optimise benefits from intercompany synergies. We share and encourage best practices among our affiliates and towards our partners. To limit the negative environmental impacts of pharmaceutical manufacturing and ensure constant improvements, we keep manufacturers’ social and environmental responsibility top of mind at all times as an integrated part of our GMP inspections. 

OPTIMISED TRANSPORTATION
Transportation of goods constitute by far the biggest environmental impact within our part of the supply chain. That’s why we always plan for the most environmentally-effective mode of transportation, given the circumstances.

The strategic location of our Indian subsidiary, Missionpharma Logistics, located in the Kandla Special Economic Zone near the west coast of India, enhances our inbound logistics and lowers CO2 emissions by being closer to our manufacturers and customers. Its proximity to Dubai’s world-class trade and logistics hub offers additional advantages to our customers.

Our Indian warehouse in Kandla Special Economic Zone. Since 2018, we have systematically installed solar panels on the roofs, reaching a capacity of 400 kW in financial year 2023/24.

Our logistics partners’ ability to obtain ISO 14001 certification is an increasingly important Key Performance Indicator for us and is consistently evaluated prior to entering into any relationship.

ISO 14001 CERTIFIED
Supplementing our ISO 9001 and ISO 13485 certifications, Missionpharma is certified according to the international environmental management standard, ISO 14001 in both Denmark and India. The certification is fully aligned with our commitment to SDG 13, Climate action, through defined environmental obligations and established key performance indicators to systematically monitor and improve our environmental performance.

OUR ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
Missionpharma is committed to fulfilling all applicable compliance obligations, minimising our environmental impact, and continuously improving our environmental performance. We strive to minimise our environmental impact from a product life cycle perspective, considering the impact of our manufacturers, our carriers and freight forwarders, and our own premises and customers, balanced with our other business goals. We will establish, maintain and develop key performance indicators for significant environmental aspects to systematically monitor and improve our overall environmental impact.

Social

At Missionpharma, we believe that global access to safe healthcare is not just a privilege but a universal right. We prioritise creating a safe, inclusive, and diverse workplace that inspires every employee to contribute towards realising our vision.

Through partnership with local and global stakeholders, we deliver solutions with a long-term impact and improve quality of life for millions of people worldwide. We are powered by passion to support the human right to universal healthcare.

OUR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Our most important positive impact on society lies in our contribution to facilitate access to safe and affordable healthcare. In many countries medical supplies from Missionpharma constitute the backbone of local healthcare solutions. Therefore, we work towards continuously refining our fundamental purpose: To ensure timely delivery of quality-assured medicine and medical devices to those who need it. 

Donation of an Abbott i-STAT Analyzer to Gandhidham Jain Seva Samiti Hospital in March 2024. This donation is just one of the donations we make in our local communities in India every year.

RESPECTING HUMAN RIGHTS
Our employees play a crucial role in achieving our mission. In acknowledgement of this, we offer a secure and inclusive work environment that promotes both physical and mental well-being.

We have a zero tolerance for the infringement of human rights, including the use of child labour. Working in global partnerships, we are guided by national laws and internationally proclaimed human rights. The International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), serve as guidelines for our approach to universal human rights and corporate social responsibility.

We do not accept any kind of forced or compulsory labour, we work actively to abolish child labour and we aim to assure that no breach of local and global regulations takes place in our operations or with our partners, to the extent possible. We value diversity high and we do not discriminate based on race, colour, gender, religion or sexual orientation.

CASE: WE EMPOWER WOMEN
Depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) is a contraceptive hormone which is injected every three months and provides 99% protection against pregnancy.

As the biggest supplier of generic DMPA to donor-funded programmes worldwide, Missionpharma actively contributes to providing women all over the world increased control of their reproductive health. We  continue our work to secure a steady and reliable supply of the WHO-prequalified DMPA to as many women as possible.

EMPOWERING WOMEN

Working as a midwife, DMPA contraceptive injection continues to be a practical and safe solution in the rural and remote areas that I serve. Distances are far and availability of health clinics are few. I have used DMPA in my clinic for over 10 years, and this contraceptive continues to show a consistent record of accomplishment in both quality and compliance.

Siti Amiyah, Midwife, Indonesia

Governance

Our high business standards reflect our dedication to being ethical in every interaction with customers and partners, fostering trust and long-lasting relationships.

Maintaining high ethical standards throughout our value chain is not just a commitment; it’s a fundamental principle that guides every aspect of our operations. We are guided by the legal framework of our parent company, CFAO, backed by our own policies and procedures.

OUR GOVERNANCE STRATEGY
Our governance strategy aims at encouraging proper conduct throughout our organisation. Key elements include:

  • Ensuring transparency by ensuring open communication with all stakeholders, offering clear and honest insights into our business activities and outcomes.
  • Promoting accountability by maintaining and following the highest ethical standards, with clear policies and guidelines to guide our behaviour.
  • Fostering an ethical culture through continuous development and training of our employees. Hereby we empower our team to make ethical decisions and incorporate this responsibility as a part of our company culture.
  • Engaging in fair practices by respecting relevant laws and regulations in full alignment with our Group’s legal framework.
  • Supporting community well-being by committing to social responsibility, striving to positively influence not only our direct stakeholders but also the communities where we operate.

To summarise, governance at Missionpharma is about creating trust, supported by a culture of integrity and responsibility. We are firmly committed to ethical behaviour, as we strive to make a significant impact on global healthcare.

SAFETY AT WORK (ANZEN)
In 2017, the CFAO Group adopted the principle of “ANZEN” (the Japanese word for safety) into its Code of Conduct and Ethics. All companies in the CFAO Group, including Missionpharma, are committed to upholding ANZEN to ensure a safe and healthy work environment for their employees through the “Safety First” principle.

To maintain a high focus on occupational safety throughout the year, we actively involve our employees in all locations in a number of safety events, such as first aid trainings, fire safety and emergency response sessions.

Our employees in Missionpharma Logistics India participate in a fire safety exercise in April 2024.