Sustainable business

Sustainability themes - In 2021, Vitrolife defined four key sustainability themes that describe the strategic sustainability direction up until 2030 and beyond. These four cornerstones govern what is required for Vitrolife to ensure sustainable business development across its entire value chain. This is done by managing risks, capturing opportunities, ensuring transparency and increasing the company's positive impact while minimising its negative impact.

By taking long-term and responsible action in line with the UN's global sustainability goals, Vitrolife's sustainability approach can strengthen the company’s long-term competitiveness and profitability. In this way, the company takes responsibility for reducing its negative impact and enhancing the positive impact from a broader perspective.

Vitrolife's management and Board of Directors have resolved that sustainability must be integrated into everything the company does. Based on a thorough analysis of the value chain, four long-term sustainability themes have been identified on which the company will focus its efforts. These themes enable effective integration of sustainability into the core business through long-term strategic commitments and direct measures in line with the company's material sustainability issues.

For more information and the complete sustainability report, please see pages 19-31 in Vitrolife's Annual Report 2021. 

Vitrolife works continuously to ensure gender equality and workers' rights by striving for a corporate culture and structure whereby everyone has equal rights and opportunities, regardless of aspects such as gender, ethnicity, religion, age or other status. A fair distribution of influence and resources between women and men, as well as zero tolerance for discrimination, are important prerequisites for Vitrolife globally, while the company's operations can contribute to trends in the desired direction. These efforts strive to ensure that all employees in the company's value chain have their rights and health secured and that the company does not contribute to any form of forced or child labour.

Vitrolife shall be a driving force in creating sustainable production and consumption patterns throughout the value chain. The company aims to minimise its ecological footprint, respect biodiversity, conserve water resources, take measures to combat climate change and work purposefully to achieve the UN's goal of 1.5 degrees.

Vitrolife's operations shall act responsibly in all respects and ensure consciously ethical decision-making in order to minimise risks and maintain the trust of customers, partners and shareholders. By being a relevant driving force for positive change in areas where the company has an impact, Vitrolife can contribute to universal access to reproductive health. 

Vitrolife strives for a long term sustainable growth that contributes to the achievement of the SDGs. This means inclusive growth that strengthens Vitrolife's operations while simultaneously having a positive impact on society and the environment throughout the company's value chain. Two crucial factors in being able to achieve the required pace of change are innovation and knowledge-sharing through strategic partnerships and collaborations.

United Nations Sustainable development goals

Vitrolife is committed to making a real difference in creating a sustainable future. For this reason, the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is an integral part of the sustainability themes, in defining how Vitrolife's operations affect and will be affected by the global agenda. This creates a basis for the company to capture opportunities, handle the risks and adapt the business to the challanges that the SDGs entail. Vitrolife's in-depth materiality analysis has identified that 10 of the 17 SDGs are of high importance for the company's operations.

ESG focus

Vitrolife is a certified “Nasdaq ESG Transparency Partner”. A certification that is awarded to Nasdaq-listed companies that actively work on sustainability issues and related reporting. This is confirmation of Vitrolife’s desire to be transparent vis-à-vis the market in respect of the Group’s sustainability status with regard to current and future investors, employees, customers and other stakeholders. Read more about the certification here.

Vitrolife holds a rating of AA in the MSCI ESG Ratings assessment. MSCI ESG Research provides in-depth research, ratings and analysis of the environmental, social and governance-related business practices of thousands of companies worldwide. Their research is designed to provide critical insights that can help institutional investors identify risks and opportunities that traditional investment research may overlook. The MSCI ESG Ratings are also used in the construction of the MSCI ESG Indexes.

As part of our commitment to sustainable and responsible business practices, The Vitrolife Group has embedded the Ten Principles of the United Nations Global Compact into strategies and operations, and committed to respecting human and labour rights, safeguarding the environment, and working against corruption in all its forms.

Read our official announcement.