Sustainability at Xbrane
Xbrane’s work on sustainability goes hand in hand with Xbrane’s vision and business concept to develop and manufacture cost-effective biosimilars of hard-to-manufacture pharmaceuticals and make these treatments available to more patients with medical needs at a lower cost. This is the heart of our business and Xbrane’s most important contribution to a sustainable future.
Xbrane’s efforts to create added value for patients and other stakeholders as well as improving access to effective and high-quality pharmaceuticals make a positive contribution to society. Without building trust and acting responsibly in a number of areas, Xbrane would not be able to make such a contribution. The pharmaceutical industry, in which Xbrane operates, is one of the world’s most regulated industries, where very high demands are placed on operators both locally and globally based on ethical regulations and how research, development, production, marketing and distribution can be carried out. In addition, as a listed company on Nasdaq Stockholm, Xbrane follows its regulations regarding financial reporting, corporate governance, communications, etc. Xbrane is therefore in a strictly regulated environment, where stakeholder expectations are high. In recent years, transparency requirements have increased for companies in terms of managing a sustainable business. We have seen that an increasing number of investors believe that clearly addressing and working on sustainability issues can reduce risk and increase the value of a company.
Sustainability strategy
Xbrane’s vision and business concept is to create added value for patients and other stakeholders and improve access to effective and high-quality pharmaceuticals. This vision is the company’s main contribution to a more sustainable world, and a direct contribution to the UN’s global sustainability goals. It is also important for Xbrane that this does not happen at the expense of mankind or the planet. Xbrane wants to be a positive force in society and contribute to a sustainable future. Xbrane is in the construction phase of robust sustainability efforts and in 2020 worked on laying the foundations and producing a target. Through a materiality analysis and further risk analysis around the identified focus areas, a target has been developed to drive work in 2021. It is important for Xbrane that sustainability is fully integrated with the business and the organization, and that activities and goals are followed up as part of business management.
Xbrane’s four focus areas for sustainability issues
Activities in 2020
The focus during the year was on setting the underlying system and developing the sustainability goals that will guide work in 2021 and over the next few years.
Some activities carried out were:
• A review of the company’s code of conduct began and the code has been developed with a policy of conflict of interests and exclusion (Code of conflict policy).
• Work on the working environment continued by implementing an incident reporting system.
• A dialogue with employees that improves the monitoring of working hours was started.
• A whistleblower function was implemented.
• Work on the design of a new office and laboratory continued focusing on the working environment and sustainability.
• The materiality analysis continued, with a risk analysis for Xbrane’s four focus areas and activities and goals for each focus area being developed.
• Performance management and the remuneration structure have been reviewed and a new format for performance management has been launched. An updated remuneration structure has been implemented to meet Xbrane’s employees’ expectations.
• Employees’ experience of the company and working conditions was monitored on a monthly basis through an established satisfaction survey. The survey identifies positive and negative factors that employees experience and the results are reported on an ongoing basis to management, the board and employees.
• To continue focusing on sustainability at the company, full employee training has begun, and will continue in 2021.
Sustainability plan
Through a materiality analysis, Xbrane has developed four focus areas that are central to the company and where Xbrane can clearly contribute to global sustainable development. The focus areas are clearly linked to the UN’s global sustainability goals and Agenda 2030 such as:
• Goal 3 Good health and well-being,
• Goal 8 Decent work and economic growth,
• Goal 9 Industry, innovation and infrastructure,
• Goal 12 Responsible consumption and production and
• Goal 16 Peace, justice and strong institutions.
By working towards these goals, Xbrane contributes to the global effort of a more sustainable future. The focus areas are also clearly linked to the underlying factors of environment, social conditions, personnel, human rights and anti-corruption. Through a risk analysis, a target has been developed for each focus area with goals and activities that show how Xbrane wants to work to live up to its ambitions, and this constitutes Xbrane’s sustainability plan. The work is managed and monitored by the management group and reported to the board. A head of sustainability has been appointed to run the work.
Planned activities in 2021
Management of Xbrane’s sustainability work will be based on the goals and activities set out in the sustainability plan. Work will be regularly monitored. As sustainability is being built up at the company, work will also be done on making goals concrete and clarifying the follow-up. Goals and activities will also be continually evaluated relating to relevance and prioritization, so that efforts focus on what makes the best contribution to society. Emphasis will be placed on integrating sustainability goals with business operations and becoming a natural part of operations.
Other activities planned for 2021:
• Contribute to “Health equality”
– Developing of affordable products based on our patented technological platform.
– Work purposefully towards the XlucaneTM application for market approval
• Be seen as a credible player
– Implement annual review of the Xbrane “Code of conduct” and analysis of potential improvement measures.
– Implement an extended quality management system (EQMS) to continuously ensure compliance with requirements/standards relevant to Xbrane.
• Be a responsible player in society
– Continuously evaluate suppliers and other partners based on sustainability criteria
– Measure our greenhouse gas emissions and work towards becoming climate neutral
– Work towards reducing waste and water use at the new office.
– In-depth collaboration with the academic sector to enable the development of new biosimilar candidates.
• Be an attractive employer
– Work on responding to the ENPS evaluations and improvement measures
– Receive “Great Place to Work” certification including the promotion of gender equality and ethnicity
– Promote skills development among employees.