Novartis welcomes interest from investors and other stakeholders concerned with environmental, social and governance (ESG) topics and we aim to report comprehensively and transparently on our objectives and progress. This ESG Index shows where disclosures on key topics can be found across our publications and website.

Innovation

Novartis is working to reduce the burden of disease for patients and societies around the world. Our R&D teams are dedicated to discovering and developing new treatments for diseases including cancer, heart disease and neurological conditions – and delivering them at scale to reach as many patients as possible. We are also advancing our pipeline of investigational medicines for malaria and other neglected diseases. We are also committed to the highest standards of animal welfare in Novartis studies, while supporting efforts to address pandemic preparedness.

Access to medicines

Improving access to medicines remains one of the world’s greatest healthcare challenges. At Novartis, we know that building trust with society depends not only on finding new treatments but also on making them available to as many people as possible. Through the Novartis Access Principles and our robust access targets, we seek to expand access to our medicines to underserved patient populations in both developed and developing countries, while addressing major global health challenges. 

Unleash the power of our people

Our people bring our purpose to life: We are transforming our culture to help attract and retain talent by empowering every employee to be inspired by our purpose and drive innovation. We are creating an environment that supports diversity and the freedom to be our authentic selves, while providing fair working conditions and safeguarding the health and safety of our employees

Environmental sustainability

Our commitment to environmental sustainability is an important part of how we build trust with society and is aligned with our purpose. Unless we can operate sustainably, our efforts to improve and extend people’s lives may be compromised by our environmental impact. We have set near- and long-term targets to reduce our environmental footprint that received validation by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) in July 2024.

Maintain high ethical practices

Acting in an ethical manner is essential to building trust with society. Our stakeholders not only expect us to do what is legally required, but also to follow high standards of ethical behavior and safeguard human rights wherever we operate. 

Supply chain and sourcing

We are committed to working with third parties who operate in a manner that is consistent with our values and ethical principles. While interactions with third parties at Novartis are broadly defined by our Third-Party Code, we identify, assess, monitor and mitigate risk associated with suppliers through our External Partner Risk Management (EPRM) program. We also work with our suppliers to help them apply, where possible, the same high standards of environmental sustainability as we do. 

Product quality and patient safety

Product quality and patient safety are part of our core purpose and responsibility as a pharmaceutical company: We cannot improve and extend people’s lives if we do not deliver safe, high-quality medicines.  We prioritize quality and safety at each stage of a medicine’s lifecycle. We also work to identify and combat falsified medicines, which can pose a serious threat to human health.

Corporate governance

Strong corporate governance supports the effective management of our business and is the basis of trust in our company. Our corporate governance framework – along with our internal controls and policies – is intended to support sustainable financial performance and long-term value creation for shareholders, patients, employees and other stakeholders.

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