Merck Sustainability Report 2021

Community

TAG overview

Spending on community engagement

Spending on community engagement

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

€ million

 

2018

 

2019

 

2020

 

2021

Total spending

 

35.7

 

46.2

 

53.6

 

43.3

We calculate the value of pharmaceutical product donations according to the WHO Guidelines for Medicine Donations; for other product donations, we apply their fair value.

The main reasons for the decline in total spending in 2021 were lower Covid-19-related donations as well as a drop in demand for praziquantel tablets in the affected countries due to Covid-19.

Community engagement spending by region

Community engagement spending by region1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Europe

 

North America

 

Asia-Pacific (APAC)

 

Latin America

 

Middle East and Africa (MEA)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2020

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

€ million

 

15.1

 

5.8

 

4.2

 

2.6

 

25.9

%

 

28

 

11

 

8

 

5

 

48

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2021

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

€ million

 

10.8

 

5.0

 

7.2

 

0.6

 

19.7

%

 

25

 

12

 

17

 

1

 

45

1

This table presents the regions across the globe in which we support initiatives. For projects that benefit multiple regions, we have calculated the amount per region by dividing the project spending evenly per country.

Focus of our local community engagement

Focus of our local community engagement1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

%

 

2018

 

2019

 

2020

 

2021

Global Health

 

34

 

33

 

36

 

33

Broad Minds: Education and culture

 

42

 

38

 

43

 

45

Sustainable Solutions: Environment

 

2

 

3

 

1

 

2

Disaster relief

 

2

 

2

 

1

 

2

Other

 

20

 

24

 

19

 

18

1

Based on number of projects

Motivations for our community engagement

Motivations for our community engagement1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

%

 

2018

 

2019

 

2020

 

2021

Charitable activities

 

7

 

6

 

23

 

21

Community investment

 

88

 

91

 

72

 

76

Commercial initiatives in the community

 

5

 

3

 

5

 

3

1

Based on total spending on all projects

We categorize the motivations for our activities based on the London Benchmarking Group model as well as the guidelines of the Bertelsmann Foundation for corporate social responsibility. Projects that primarily aim to make improvements within the community are classified as community investment.

Initiatives that are predominantly aimed at company-relevant factors such as image or personnel recruitment are classified as commercial initiatives in the community. Charitable activities cover any other projects that benefit a charitable organization, but cannot be listed under either of the other two motivation categories due to missing data or their narrow scope.

Share this page: