Our overriding objective is to ensure our resourcing adequately supports the business’ medium-term growth ambitions – and that our strong collaborative and inclusive culture, and the people who comprise it, continue to thrive. Detail on our people and culture, and metrics on headcount, gender diversity and employee engagement can be found in our 2023 Annual Report. Additional metrics around the make-up of our employee base and retention rates can be found at here.

Progress in 2023

• High employee engagement (as measured by GPTW Trust Index rating) – 74%
• 73% of our employees say Alliance is a Great Place to Work
• We continue to be a Great Place to Work certified in the UK, China, Singapore and the US
• 8 new roles created to support strategy
• Strong focus on diversity and inclusion with 59% of our workforce being female
• Career development opportunities for 5 graduates on Alliance’s graduate development programme
• Implemented a new global HR Information System
• Launched our Employee Code of Conduct
• Implemented a comprehensive programme of Lunch and Learn events for colleagues on a diverse range of topics

Focus for 2024

• Continue to increase and improve communication throughout the business
• Continue to embed a culture of wellbeing
• Further the development and implementation of our reward and recognition proposition
• Develop a comprehensive three-year People strategy to support Alliance Pharmaceuticals’ growth ambitions and business strategy

In 2023, we provided support for International Health Partners, a global health NGO, supporting people in disaster-hit and vulnerable communities to get vital medicines.. We donated 17,000 products to support 47,000  patients in 14 countries around the world, helping to give people access to the medicines they need.

Health conditions in Honduras are stark. With a population of over 10 million people, it is estimated that 18% do not have access to any healthcare services. For citizens living in rural areas, both geographical and financial barriers to healthcare access are keenly felt and needs frequently go unmet. With essential medicines in short supply, and to help strengthen their health systems, we were able to donate 1,000 units of Nu-Seals and Naseptin Nasal Cream worth £1,126 reaching 2,600 patients.

Our US team prepared and packed meals for Rise Against Hunger, an international hunger relief not-for-profit organisation. In just two hours, the team packed 2,600 meals for distribution to those in need in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

In 2024, we will continue to plan and develop our social impact strategy to see how we can best support those in need – both in our local communities and across the wider world. We will be looking to increase awareness and take-up of the annual paid volunteering day we offer and considering possible larger scale charitable fundraising events.

We continue to ensure that we have appropriate mechanisms in place to train all employees on policies regarding modern slavery, bribery and corruption, gifts and hospitality, trust and competition, GDPR, and other ethical business practices and to escalate any cases of non-compliance.

Progress in 2023

• Appointed a new e-learning provider to deliver engaging compliance training.¹ 1,935 online course completions (2022: 1,381)
• Total amount of monetary losses incurred as a result of legal proceedings associated with bribery, corruption and other ethical business practices in 2023 was £nil (2022: £nil)
• Launched our Employee Code of Conduct, setting the benchmark for the ethical behaviours we continue to expect from colleagues
• Continued to work with all our Contract Manufacturing Organisations (“CMOs”) and distributors to ensure that they agree to comply with our Partner Code of Conduct launched in 2022
• Promoted the Alliance Volunteering Day, which is one day of paid leave that can be utilised to support their nominated charity or local community.
• Carried out modern slavery gap analysis with the support of Slave Free Alliance (SFA) and reviewed processes for improvements
• Encouraged colleagues to donate clothes and toiletries to the local homeless shelter in the UK.
• Helped to pack meals for the Rise Against Hunger food bank in the US.

Focus for 2024

• Develop a social impact strategy
• Develop a comprehensive People plan, incorporating an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion strategy.
• Carry out an audit of workplace inclusion in conjunction with Inclusive Employers
• Develop a wider and more comprehensive Human Rights strategy
• Continue to look for charitable causes and make product donations
• Carry out Modern Slavery risk assessments following SFA gap analysis and provided training to quality and sourcing teams
• Review our alignment with the principles of UN Global Compact.

1. Suite of modules covering anti-bribery, anti-money laundering, competition law and awareness, GDPR, market abuse, modern slavery, unconscious bias, sanctions and the prevention of tax evasion.

We have a responsibility to work with our partners to understand product-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and other environmental impacts associated with our supply chain and logistics activities (product manufacture, storage and distribution), including onward transportation of products by our distributors. Whilst we have limited control over these emissions, we are engaging with partners on the steps they're taking to quantify and reduce their GHG emissions, to help us refine the calculation of our Scope 3 emissions.
 
In 2023, we worked to improve our Scope 3 data collection processes, following the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Accounting and Reporting Standards. We worked with our largest suppliers, CMOs and LSPs, to understand their emission sources (scopes 1 and 2) and reduction plans, to help improve the methodology used in our Scope 3 calculations.

Progress in 2023

• Identified hot spots and opportunities to reduce the Scope 3 emissions in our supply chain, as part of our overall carbon reduction plan.
• Set emissions reduction targets for our product-related Scope 3 emissions, together with associated delivery plans
• Followed-up engagement with our CMOs and logistics partners around climate change to help improve the accuracy of our emissions calculations with better-quality data and to increase our understanding of their emissions reduction strategies
• Progressed the optimisation of our EU / US logistics network, building on analysis carried out in 2022

Focus for 2024

• Continuing to develop the understanding of our distributor logistics management activities and identify where there may exist opportunities to support our distributors to reduce the emissions associated with the downstream transportation of our products
• Write to all our CMOs and logistics partners to clarify our Scope 3 targets and encourage them to align with our sustainability strategies and targets
• Continuing to work towards setting emissions reduction targets for our product-related Scope 3 emissions, together with associated delivery plans

This covers both our direct (Scope 1 & 2) GHG emissions, and operational emissions which lie outside our supply chain (i.e., non-product related emissions) – such as those associated with non-stock purchases, business travel, waste from our offices, and employee commuting. Collectively, these accounted for 0.12% of our total emissions in 2023 (2022: 10%).

Progress in 2023

• Achieved a 48% reduction in Scope 1 & 2 (location based) emissions in 2023 vs 2018 baseline
• On track to meet our interim target of a 65% reduction in absolute Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2025 (versus 2018 baseline).
• Identified and implemented several initiatives aimed at raising awareness of emissions to improve the basis of calculation – e.g. employee travel survey, business travel guidance, more accurate data collection / reduction initiatives around waste
• Natural Gas emissions have decreased by 100% compared to the previous reporting year
• Electricity emissions have increased by 2.51% and transport emissions have increased by 22.23% compared to the previous reporting year as colleagues spend more time in the office as COVID restrictions have lapsed
• Switched to REGO-backed 100% renewable electricity contracts for our UK and German sites, allowing our Scope 2 (market-based) emissions to drop significantly compared to FY2022 despite increasing electricity consumption.
• LED lighting throughout Head Office site with full motion-sensor system to help minimise energy wastage
• Completed the installation of solar PV panels on the roof of our Head Office to help us generate 25% of our electricity needs when operational.

Focus for 2024

• Begin the installation of a new substation and EV charging points to help us become more energy efficient and encourage employees to purchase electric vehicles reducing their dependence on petrol and diesel-fuelled cars
• Developing a travel policy that encourages virtual meetings over in-person or face-to-face meeting and prioritise rail travel over car and air travel.
• Continue to look for opportunities to change behaviours as well as raise awareness of and identify/implement reduction strategies and/or improved calculation methodologies for our other operational emissions
• Work towards setting emissions reduction targets for our non-product-related Scope 3 emissions, together with associated delivery plans
• Seeking ways to reduce emissions attributable to the other categories under Scope 3 such as, non-stock purchases, business travel and employees commuting.

Our Scope 1 & 2 emissions target

Our Scope 1 & 2 emissions target, including the rationale behind the numbers and how we plan to achieve it, is discussed more fully in our 2023 Annual Report.

Reducing the environmental impact of our product packaging, through reducing packaging volume / weight, increasing the use of recycled materials, and ensuring that as much of our packaging as possible is made from materials that can be recycled, reused and/or composted.

Progress in 2023

• Developed the understanding of our packaging estate (primary and secondary), enabling focus areas to be identified
• Commenced full data analysis with support of Valpak to ensure we can meet regulatory obligations under the Extended Producer Responsibility

Focus for 2024

• Continuing to develop our packaging strategy, confirming and publishing sustainability improvement targets for both primary and secondary packaging, underpinned by baseline metrics and delivery plans
• Begin to measure recyclability of packaging
• Determine appropriate packaging KPIs to include recyclability, virginplastic reduction, increased PCR and FSC paper.

Ensuring our products are made with environmentally friendly ingredients and that our processes for identifying and managing emerging materials and chemicals of concern remain robust and any REACH substances of very high concern are eliminated from our products on a timely basis.

We do not disclose specific metrics or detail around our processes for the management and elimination of emerging materials and chemicals of concern on the grounds of commercial sensitivity, however we believe that our processes continued to operate effectively in 2023, with any identified risks being managed as part of our company-wide risk management process.

REACH – Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals

Our focus here is on ensuring that we continue to have robust quality assurance systems in place to maintain the quality and safety of our products and to mitigate the supply of counterfeit product.

Progress in 2023

• 12 Supplier site audits carried out (2022: 19)
• Representing 100% coverage of our supplier base on a rolling 3-year average basis¹
• Number of external regulatory inspections Alliance operating companies have been subject to: 6 (2022: 8)
• No enforcement actions were taken by Competent Authorities in response to non-compliance with appropriate manufacturing and regulated standards in 2023 (2022: 0)

We continue to actively manage the risks arising from counterfeit product reaching the market, which may not have been subject to the same rigorous quality and safety testing as genuine product, through a dedicated internal team, supported by external expertise, as required.
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1. Calculated as the total number of supplier sites audited over the 3 years from 2020 – 2022, divided by the number of active supplier sites as at 31 December 2022. Audit activity in 2020 & 2021 was adversely impacted by COVID restrictions.

To support those aspects of our supply chain which we are directly involved with:
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• We hold Wholesale Dealers Authorisations, assessed, and approved by the MHRA to allow wholesale dealing of medicines in the UK.
• We hold Exploitant status and a Wholesale Dealers Authorisation, assessed and approved by ANSM, to allow the marketing and wholesale dealing of medicines in France.

Both our UK and Italian companies hold ISO 13485:2016 (similar to ISO 9001) assessed quality systems to support the marketing of medical devices, which are independently assessed by BSI (UK) and TUV (Italy). Both of these entities also have CE marked medical devices, Class II and above, independently assessed by Italian and UK Ministry of Health assigned Notified Bodies. In the UK, we are audited regularly by Trading Standards to support the placing on the market of products designated as food supplements.

In China, we hold the Production Approval Certificate issued by Shanghai FDA and our QMS for medicinal products has been duly audited to be GMP compliant, enabling us to appoint a contract manufacturer and to operate both as MAH and wholesaler of Triatop Lotion (Nizoral Shampoo) in China. In March 2022, NMPA approved the transfer of the Marketing Authorisations for Triatop Lotion from Xi'an Janssen to our Alliance affiliate in Shanghai.

Ensuring that the claims made by our products can be properly substantiated and that we maintain ethical business practices in the marketing, advertising, and selling of our products. We carry out internal audit assessments on a periodic basis to ensure the robustness of our promotional review procedures, aiming to cover 10% of total promotional pieces approved per annum.

Progress in 2023

• 64 routine internal audit assessments carried out (2022: 41) representing 10% coverage of promotional pieces approved in the year (2022: 10%)
• No upheld complaints were made to the ABPI, PAGB, FTC, NAD, or other Codes of Practice bodies regarding promotion of Alliance products, where Alliance is directly responsible for promotion in 2023 (2022: 0)
• As part of our corporate and social responsibilities, the business raises complaints against competitors where we have identified ABPI breaches.  

We recognise that we have a duty to ensure that our partners, be they CMOs, logistics service providers or distributors, adhere to the same ethical standards which we have set ourselves, and that they support our commitment to operate our business in a sustainable way.

Progress in 2023

• All CMOs signed up to adhere to our Code of Conduct.
• Training was provided by Slave Free Alliance to Sourcing and Quality to help identify any “Red Flags” in relation to Modern Slavery.
• Formalising a Modern Slavery “Audit Checklist” for use during CMO site visits during 2024.  
• 2023 CMO Emissions survey completed feeding into Alliance’s Scope 3 emissions calculations.
• Category 9 emissions data was analysed and provide to Inspired for calculation.

Focus for 2024

• Using our Modern Slavery audit checklist during audits and business review meetings on all the A Class CMOs (covering 70% of gross sales) by end of H1 2024.
• Working with our, audited, freight forwarders to gather information on our carbon footprint and how we may use this to build KPIs in the future.
• Supporting the implementation of the Valpak Packaging Database for all our A Class CMOs and LSPs to ensure we can track and report against EPR and various plastics taxes.