Sustainability­Report 2023

Delivering Growth – in Asia and Beyond.

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About

Strategy and Governance

Our People

Our Business

Our Outcome

Appendix

Welcome from the Chairman and the CEO“We adopt sustainable
practices today tostay ­relevant and­competitive tomorrow.”“ Sustainability isfundamental toachieve long-termbusiness success.”

Dear stakeholders,
At DKSH, we believe that sustainability is an essential aspectof being a responsible business partner and contributing
positively to sustainable development in the markets andcommunities where we operate. We aim for financial success in a socially and environmentally responsible manner.
Since 2017, we have voluntarily disclosed information on oursustainable business practices. This 2023 edition is our firstmandatory report under Swiss non-financial disclosure obligations and the second time that we are integrating a TCFD
report. Moreover, we opted to also include disclosures ondue diligence obligations pertaining to conflict minerals andchild labor instead of issuing a separate report.
Central to our sustainability reporting is the role of DKSH’s
Board of Directors, which has approved this Sustainability­Report. Furthermore, the Board provides continuous oversight and guidance to ensure that our approach to sustainability satisfies legal requirements, is strategic and alignedwith our values, and also helps to fulfill our purpose of enriching people’s lives.
In 2023, we were able to both grow our business financially and make progress on our four strategic sustainability ­objectives: enable our people to flourish, make ourvalue chains more sustainable, become climate-neutral
by 2030, and make a positive local impact.

We are pleased to report on the progress made, including:‣ An increase of women in senior leadership

positions to 34 %, which is a good achievement in our
region and industry‣ The publication and implementation of our Human
Rights Policy‣ A reduction of CO2 emissions (Scope 1+2) by 50%
against the 2020 baseline and by 14% compared to2022‣ The launch of our Social Impact Strategy
and 94 local community projects
While celebrating these achievements, we are aware thatthe path to sustainability is a continuous journey. Going forward, we will continue to strengthen diversity across theorganization, focus on further reducing our own CO2 emissions (Scope 1+2), and creating more transparency regarding emissions outside our own operations (Scope 3) while
continuing to strengthen our environmental and humanrights management systems.
We are immensely grateful to our dedicated employees,
partners, and stakeholders, who contribute to our sustainability endeavors. This support and collaboration enables us
to create significant positive impact. We look forward to an
ongoing collaboration to ensure that DKSH continues to advance towards a more sustainable future.
Sincerely,

Marco Gadola and Stefan P. Butz
Chairman and CEO‣ GRI 2-22

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Our Business

Contents
2

About

2
4
5
6
7
8
10
11

Welcome from the Chairman and the CEO
About This Report
About UsDKSH Identity
Our Purpose and Business Model
Sustainability Highlights in 2023
Progress Highlight – Empowering and Supporting Women
Progress Highlight – Reducing Electricity Consumption in Malaysia

12

Strategy and Governance

13
15
20
22

Stakeholder Engagement and Materiality Assessment
Sustainability Strategy
Sustainability GovernanceRisk Management

25

Our People

26
31
36

Health, Safety, and Well-Being
Employee Attraction, Satisfaction, and Retention
Labor Practices and Human Rights

39

Our Business

40
47
55
61

Environmental Responsibility
TCFD Report
Responsible Procurement and Human Rights in the Supply Chain
Ethics and Integrity70

Our Outcome

71
75

Local Community Development
Product Quality and Safety

77

Appendix

78
86

GRI Content Index
Assurance Statement

Our Outcome

Appendix

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Our People

About This Report
This Sustainability Report describes how we strategicallyembed sustainability in our business. It also sets out thesustainability-related risks, opportunities, and impacts relevant to our value creation.
This report covers the five topics and formal requirements
stated in Art. 964 – Transparency on non-financial mattersin the Swiss Code of Obligations. Furthermore, this report
includes a section addressing the relevant requirements
under the Swiss Ordinance on Due Diligence and Transparency in relation to Minerals and Metals from Conflict-­
Affected Areas and Child Labour. It also includes a TCFD
­report. The Sustainability Report spans the fiscal year fromJanuary 1 to December 31, 2023. The majority of the ­figures
we publish reflect the status as of December 31, 2023, e­ xcept
for greenhouse gas emissions as well as health and safety
data, which was not yet available in full at the time of publication. Therefore, this report includes greenhouse gas
emissions and health and safety data for the period fromthe fourth quarter of 2022 to the third quarter of 2023. Past
data shows that our greenhouse gas emissions do not fluctuate strongly from one year to the next. And our operations did not change significantly in the fourth quarter of2023. All data externally audited with limited assurance aremarked in this report with the symbol . For further information on external assurance, please turn to the AssuranceStatement.
We took due care when preparing this report by applying
the Global Reporting Initiative’s sustainability reporting
standards (GRI 2021). This report is based on GRI’s reporting principles of accuracy, balance, clarity, comparability,
completeness, sustainability context, timeliness, and verifiability to ensure that we provide our stakeholders with themost valuable information possible.
The cover picture shows Gardens by the Bay in Singapore.
For us this picture stands for combining economic successwith sustainable practices and technology to enrich people’s lives.

Our Business

Our Outcome

Appendix

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About

Strategy and Governance

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Our Business

Our Outcome

About UsCHF 11.1 billion

53

net sales (2023)

innovation centers229
distribution centers

Operations in

35markets

29,040employees

Appendix

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Our People

Our Business

Our Outcome

DKSH Identity
As an international company with about 29,000 employees, our Identity brings us together
as one strong DKSH team working towards a shared goal.

Our Purpose

Our Values

Enriching people’s lives.

Integrity
Empowerment
Collaboration
Entrepreneurship
Sustainability

Our Vision

Being the trusted partner.
Our Strategy

Growing our four Business
Units, strengthening
our ­service ­offering, and­increasing ­operational­efficiency.

Our Promise

Delivering Growth –in Asia and Beyond.

Appendix

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Appendix

Our Purpose and Business Model
Our Purpose

Our Business Model

DKSH Holding Ltd. (“DKSH”/“the Group”) provides reliable
access to high-quality and responsible products and services, creating sustainable value for our partners and contributing to raising the quality of life in the communities we
operate in by providing jobs, perspectives, and opportunities for people’s development and growth.

We offer a complete range of specialized services along
the value chain – from sourcing, market insights, sales
and marketing to distribution and logistics, as well as after-sales services across four Business Units: Healthcare, Consumer Goods, Performance Materials, and Technology. Learn more about our Business Units in the
DKSH at a Glance chapter in the Annual Report 2023.
Learn more about the services we offer on our website.

Delivering life-saving drugs to hospitals, bringing high-quality products to remote villages, installing technology thatraises living standards, and providing new formulations forpharma or food products that make life easier: These arejust a few examples of how DKSH touches and enriches people’s lives around the clock.
We do so by providing companies with access and expertiseto grow in Asia Pacific, Europe, and North America. We callthis Market Expansion Services.

At DKSH, our business partners are clients or customers,
depending on their position in the value chain and the services we provide. Our business model is centered on DKSH’s
role as the key link between clients and customers. We help
our clients grow by distributing, promoting, and servicing
their products and our customers by providing access tohigh-quality products, services, and insights.

‣ GRI 2-6

 See more:
Learn more about our purpose in this video:

Sourcing

Clients

Marketinsights

Marketing
and
sales

Distribution
andlogistics

Omni-channel service portfolio
Backflow of information from customers to clients

After-sales
services

Customers

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Appendix

Sustainability Highlights in 2023
Our Rating: EcoVadis Gold
DKSH was awarded an EcoVadis Gold Medal for the second year running,­placing us among the top 4 % of companies assessed by EcoVadis.

A Great Place to WorkDKSH is a Great Place To Work®, receiving this accreditation in eight markets
and at the DKSH Corporate Shared Services Center in Malaysia as well as the
DKSH Management Pte Ltd. in Singapore in 2023.

Automated Healthcare Distribution Center LaunchedWith a capacity of 35,000 m2, this highly automated new ­distribution center­significantly enhances operational efficiency.

New Distribution Center Powered by the Sun
Our Business Units Healthcare and Technology opened a 2,240 m² distribution
center in Laos featuring solar panels and LED lighting.

Treating Water for an Improved Environmental Impact
DKSH’s pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Thailand
for Healthcare Own Brands has upgraded its water treatment facility
to improve effluent quality.

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Appendix

Shredding Carton Boxes for Re-Use
In Vietnam, we have deployed five carton-shredding machines.
Old carton boxes now get a second life as filling material, so we no longer
have to use new plastic pouches.­

Replacing Shrink Wrapping
By reusing cardboard angle brackets from inbound s­ hipments,
we have eliminated the need for shrink w­ rapping on palletized delivery boxes
in Vietnam – ­cutting costs and streamlining operations.

Committed to Local Communities
DKSH organized 94 local community projects. All our significant markets­engaged in charitable activities, such as book and food donations.

Sustainability-Linked Loans Launched
DKSH converted one existing loan and one existing revolving credit
facility to be sustainability-linked, confirming our commitment to sustainability
as a centerpiece of our corporate strategy.

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Our Outcome

Appendix

Progress Highlight

Empowering and Supporting Women

Celebrating International Women’s Day provided a platform to showcase the contribution of women at DKSH.

In a Nutshell‣ DKSH marked International

Women’s Day with an online
panel discussion showcasing
the important role thatwomen play at our company.

‣ More than 290 people tuned

in to learn more about how
the panelists balance theirpersonal and professional lives.

In 2023,
women made up

34 %of our seniorleadership.
 See more:

To learn about how we are supporting and empowering women,
please turn to the Labor Practices and Human Rights chapter andthe Sustainability Strategy chapter.

At DKSH, our people are at the heart of our business because what sets us apart is our deep local knowledge coupled with our global perspective. We can only achieve thatby embracing the diverse perspectives and ideas that ourpeople bring. That’s why more than half of our employees
are women and why we have set strategic goals to increase
the proportion of women in senior leadership. In 2023,
women made up 34 % of our senior leadership.
“DKSH’s culture of advocacy and support
for women in leadership really encouraged me
to take on a key management role.”
Carole Lin,
General Manager, Business Unit Performance Materials,
Greater China & Head, Country Management, DKSH China
One way that our company demonstrates its commitment
to women is by providing a platform for female leaders toshare their insights and experiences. On International Women’s Day on March 8, 2023, we honored the diverse contributions that women from all corners of the world have made to
DKSH’s success by holding an online panel discussion. Morethan 290 participants from around the globe logged on to thisevent, which was open to employees in all markets, to learn
more about how the speakers achieve a work-life balance. Via
platforms like these, we aim to empower and support womenin the workplace, with equal pay as our fundamental value.
By ensuring equal pay for women, our purpose is to create afair and inclusive work environment for all, embrace diversity,and further enable our talent to grow.

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Appendix

Progress Highlight

Reducing Electricity Consumptionin Malaysia

From left:
Araven Kumaran
Ramasamy,
Narayana Rao, andSivakumar Battumalaifrom the Facility
Management team
all helped withthe project to maximize efficiency at
our healthcare
distribution center
in Malaysia.

In a Nutshell‣ An automated control system

has helped improve energy
efficiency at a healthcare
distribution center in Malaysia.

‣ Installed in September 2022,

the air-handling unit with an­inverter reduced total electricity
consumption by about 7 % in
the first year after installation.

This step will decrease
the distribution center’s
electricity consumption,
resulting in annual
savings equivalent to350

metric tonsof CO2 emissions.

Our cold chain facilities play a key role in ensuring the safetyof pharmaceutical products, especially in warmer markets.
But it takes electricity to keep them cold. Our 230,000-squarefoot Shah Alam Distribution Center in Malaysia, for instance,
had an air-conditioning system that was running 24/7 at fixed
speeds, regardless of the weather. To optimize operations
and lower costs, we recently installed an automated control
system using an air-handling unit with an inverter to minimize voltage fluctuation and allow it to run at variable speeds.
“Our team displays passion, commitment,
and innovation as it integrates sustainability
into our activities.”
Narayana Rao,
Senior Manager Facility Management, Health,
Safety and Environment, DKSH Malaysia
The new system reduced the distribution center’s total electricity consumption by about 7 % in the first year after installation, equivalent to saving 350 metric tons of CO2 emissions per year. The project also has the potential to bescaled across other healthcare cold chain facilities, creating cost savings and lowering emissions across our global
operations.
 See more:
Please read the Climate Change Mitigation and Sustainability ­Strategy
chapters to learn more about how we are working to protect our­climate and environment.

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Appendix

Strategy and Governance

We want to continuously make our business more s­ ustainable
in order to help connect companies and communities and­enrich people’s lives for years to come. In addition to e
­ ngagingwith stakeholders and conducting a materiality assessment,
we have also developed a Sustainability Strategy and createdrobust governance and risk management processes.

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Our Business

Our Outcome

Appendix

Stakeholder Engagement
and Materiality Assessment
We engage in constant dialogue with our stakeholders tostay abreast of material developments and impacts and tochart a strategic course in the right direction. DKSH’s senior
management team has identified the stakeholder groups
we regularly engage with:‣ Clients‣ Suppliers/vendors‣ Employees‣ Customers‣ Shareholders/investors‣ Local communities‣ Authorities‣ Consumers
As part of our stakeholder engagement DKSH companies
are members of several associations in the markets in which
we operate. Some examples include the Pharmaceutical
Association of Malaysia and the Malaysian Animal Healthand Nutrition Industries in Malaysia; the Federation of the
Swiss Watch Industry FH, the Association Patronale de l’Horlogerie et de Microtechnique and the Association of Pharmaceutical Companies in Switzerland; the Taipei Machinery
Traders’ Association in Taiwan; the Australian Food & Grocery Council in Australia; the French Cosmetics Associationfor SMEs in France; the Chemical Business Association in theUK; and the Food and Grocery Council in New Zealand.
Membership is generally considered from a strategic perspective. In some instances, DKSH managers hold positions
in governance bodies and participate in projects or committees. In Australia, DKSH is a member of the Australian Sales& Marketing Companies Association, and a member of oursenior management serves on its Board. In Singapore, DKSH
has Board representation in the Singapore Association of
Pharmaceutical Industries and the Machine Tool Club. In
Thailand, DKSH is represented on a committee of the Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers Association as wellas the Thai Medical Device Technology Industry Association.

DKSH companies also hold memberships in chambers ofcommerce in many markets, including Australia, Cambodia,
Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Guided by our Code of Conduct, DKSH does not engage inpolitical processes and does not provide funding to associations beyond routine membership dues, apart from ourmembership of the Swiss Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Japan, for historical reasons (this is where DKSH was
originally founded in the 19th century, and we are the Swisscompany with the longest uninterrupted presence in Japan).

‣ GRI 2-28
We take a variety of approaches to engaging in meaningful
dialogue with our stakeholders. Our most intense dialogue
is maintained with our clients, including but not limited todue diligence processes, business negotiations, and audits.
We also regularly conduct client satisfaction surveys. Business negotiations with suppliers are another source of valuable regular feedback on important issues and concerns. Asa reputable world-class service provider, our employees areat the heart of our business. Structured periodic employee
engagement surveys and an open feedback culture allow
for insights into employee concerns, which in turn help us
improve our employment proposition. We also consider previously identified material impacts when determining which
topics to discuss with our various stakeholders.

‣ GRI 2-29
A materiality analysis helps us regularly examine which topics are particularly important to our internal and external
stakeholders by considering both the impacts that DKSH
has on the world around us and the impacts that our surroundings have on our operations. The outcome of this assessment process shapes our Sustainability Strategy anddrives our reporting practices in line with evolving stakeholder expectations, disclosure frameworks, and regulatory
requirements.

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Our People

Our process to determine impacts and identify material­topics included:‣ Step 1: Analyzing megatrends and sector-specific topics
relevant to DKSH‣ Step 2: Performing desk research to determine which topics have a substantial impact on key stakeholders and inwhich areas we are impacted by our stakeholders and theenvironment. Drawing on publicly available sources, thisanalysis has a global scope but a specific focus on markets in Southeast Asia, as most of DKSH’s business activities are conducted in this region.
‣ Step 3: Validating the findings in interviews with senior
DKSH managers representing a cross-section of key DKSH
Business Units, Functions, and regions and who regularlyinteract with stakeholders. These interviews provided additional insights into different stakeholder expectations.
‣ Step 4: Review and endorsement of the result of the assessment process by the Executive Committee and theBoard of Directors. Going forward, we plan to enhance
this process by conducting interviews with a cross-section of stakeholders across multiple regions.

‣ GRI 3-1
Our last materiality assessment process resulted in theidentification of 47 impacts, which we regrouped into thefollowing material topics:‣ Health, Safety, and Well-Being‣ Employee Attraction, Satisfaction, and Retention‣ Labor Practices and Human Rights‣ Climate Change Mitigation‣ Pollution Prevention‣ Resource Efficiency‣ Climate Change Adaptation (TCFD Report)‣ Responsible Supply Chain‣ Ethical Business‣ Local Community Development‣ Access to Food, Medicines, and Healthcare‣ Product Quality and Safety

Our Business

Our Outcome

Appendix

Accountability to our stakeholders is important to us, which
is why we address each of the above topics in a dedicatedsection of this report, organized into three main chapters.
The Our People chapter features topics relating to our employees which are the foundation for our value creation. The
Our Business chapter sets out how we create value throughour business model in the context of making our supply
chain more sustainable. The Our Outcome chapter focuseson accountability towards fulfilling our company’s purposeof enriching people’s lives. Please follow the above links to
get to the corresponding chapters.
Our materiality analysis, which was conducted in 2022,
yielded fresh insights into the most important topics for
DKSH while taking account of changing stakeholder interests
and the regulatory and political framework. For instance,
two new material topics on climate change adaptation andmitigation were added to reflect the growing importanceof climate change. The topics of fair labor practices, humanrights, and responsible supply chain underscore the increasing importance of human rights in our business and supply
chain. The updated material topics also highlight the positive impact that we have on local communities by reflecting
how we improve access to food, medicines, and healthcare.
In 2023, we did not identify any changes in our material topics compared to the 2022 analysis. In 2024, we will conduct acomprehensive materiality analysis, taking into account therequirements of the respective European Union regulations.

‣ GRI 3-2
We took due care when preparing this report by applying
the Global Reporting Initiative’s sustainability reporting
standards (GRI Standards). To ensure that we provide our
stakeholders with the most valuable information possible,
this report is based on GRI’s reporting principles of accuracy, balance, clarity, comparability, completeness, sustainability context, timeliness, and verifiability.

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Appendix

Sustainability Strategy
Sustainability Is an Integral Part of Our Business
Sustainability is one of DKSH’s five values. We take responsibility for the environmental, social, and economic impactof our business activities as determined by our materiality
assessment. Our commitment to creating a sustainable future means that we want to achieve long-term, profitable
growth in a responsible manner. We believe that sustainablevalue creation goes hand-in-hand with responsible governance and managing the impacts that our activities have onsociety and the environment. Providing access to markets
and products is our core activity. Creating employment opportunities is also vital. After all, our activities are guided byour purpose to enrich people’s lives through our contribution to sustainable development in the markets and communities in which we operate.

En

rich

in g p e o p l e ’ s li v

esFlourishing
PeopleSustainable
Value Chains

ClimateNeutrality

Positive
Local Impact

Sustainability Strategy
Our Corporate Strategy, which is confirmed by our highest
governance body, the Board of Directors, has three strands:a strategy for the Group and the Business Units, a strategy
for the Functions, and thematic focus areas. The Business
Units have set a specific goal related to sustainability. Additionally, sustainability itself is one of the thematic focus
areas within the Corporate Strategy.
The Sustainability Strategy thus helps to flesh out the sustainability component of our Corporate Strategy. As statedin our Sustainability Strategy, our ambition is for each Business Unit to take a proactive and competitive approach tosustainability. We want to become a more sustainable company by emphasizing a decentralized approach at the Business Units and Functions level. By doing so, we can increaseaccountability and make strategy execution more effective
and communication more efficient. This approach is especially beneficial, because it allows us to take local needs
into account and pinpoint the best solutions for Business
Units and Functions, which in turn enables us to deploy tailor-made solutions for the Business Units’ specific products
and business models.
The Sustainability Strategy was developed in 2022. Please
read our Sustainability Report 2022, page 14, to learn more
about the development process.

The DKSH Sustainability Strategy comprises the following
four objectives:
Enable Our People to Flourish
We aim to support our employees so that they can maximize
their talents and engagement. To this end, we create various opportunities for our employees’ personal and professional advancement, such as training and an open feedback
culture. We also respect human rights and promote diversity and inclusion to create an enabling working environment for all our employees.
Make Our Value Chains More Sustainable
We cooperate with our partners in the value chain to drive
sustainability. This means procuring products and services
responsibly, i.e. in a way that respects human rights andminimizes our impact on the environment. We are committed to reducing waste.
Become Climate-Neutral by 2030
We are focusing on making our operations (Scope 1+2) climate-neutral by 2030, creating transparency regarding ouremissions, and investing in solar panels. We continue to improve the efficiency of our operations – thereby decreasing
the energy and CO2 intensity of our business, for instance,by optimizing transport routes and truck loads. In addition,
we focus on energy-saving equipment, such as LED lighting,in our distribution centers.

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Appendix

Make a Positive Local Impact
We aim to further promote our projects that benefit local
communities. At the core of what we do – providing access to markets, people, and products – we are guided byour common purpose of enriching people’s lives. Our local
community projects are focused on positively impacting thecommunities where we operate, from alleviating hunger toimproving life skills. In 2023, we concentrated on developing our Social Impact Strategy, which will guide us in translating the Sustainability Strategy’s objective to make a positive local impact into concrete action. This strategy defines
activities that are considered to have a social impact andaddresses initiatives at the Group, Business Unit and market levels.

Our ambition is for each Business Unit to take a proactive and competitive approach to sustainability.

Enable Our People to Flourish
HumanrightsDeveloping
our talent

Embracingdiversity

Employeeengagement

Become Climate-Neutral by 2030
(Scope 1+2)

Climate-­neutraloperations

Emissiontransparency

Progress in Achieving the Sustainability
Strategy’s Objectives
We have introduced a Sustainability Scorecard for each of
the four objectives to measure our progress on achieving
the goals of our Sustainability Strategy. This Scorecard includes the most important KPIs at a Group level and supports us in continuously tracking the effectiveness of ourmeasures. In addition, we have set specific targets for 2024
and 2027 for some of the figures. The Scorecards are used,
for example by the Board of Directors, to track our progressand derive measures where necessary.

Make Our Value Chains More Sustainable
HumanrightsResponsible
procurement

Waste
management

Make a Positive Local Impact
Local
community

Social impact
strategySolarpanels17

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Appendix

Enable our People to Flourish
Results

Targets

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

2027

–

–

0

0

0

0

–

–

11.6

13.4

16.0

20.0

18

18

35

31

25

25

–

–

54

58

55

55

27

29

31

34

36

39

–

74

75

77

78

81

Voluntary attrition rate (%)

15.0

17.0

22.0

17.9

20.0

20.0

New hire retention rate (%)

–

59.4

60.7

65.4

66

72

Human rights
Incidents relating to discrimination
Developing our talent
Training hours/employee (h)1Managerial bench strength (%)

2

Internal hire rate (%)3
Embracing diversity
Women in senior leadership positions (%) 4
Employee engagement
Employee engagement score (0–100)5

Key achievements in 2023:‣ Continued our Belonging@DKSH initiative‣ Provided training through our Fantree Academy‣ Launched two talent development programs‣ Launched Recruitment Excellence for hiring managers‣ Launched Mental Health Awareness Week

Outlook:‣ Designing an Emerging Leader Program‣ Increasing employee wellness initiatives‣ Strengthening diversity training across the organization‣ Conducting further human rights audits

For more information on our activities, please turn to the Labor Practices and Human Rights and Employee Attraction, Satisfaction,
and Retention chapters.

1 O nly training that focuses on employee development. This excludes Health and
Safety and Governance, Risk and Compliance training.
2 Refers to the percentage of employees identified as Talent in DKSH who are­anticipated to be able to take on future leadership roles with increasing levelsof complexity. We categorize these employees as ‘Talent’.
3 Refers to management vacancies.
4 S enior refers to managers in corporate, regional, or local management roles. In
2023, we shifted to a new architecture for job level hierarchy to more accurately­reflect a job’s relative contribution and value within DKSH. All employees used to be
categorized into five job levels. Now, the architecture consists of 15 job grades. We
will individually review all job roles and assign the new job grade based on the scale,relative contribution, and value of the respective role. This process was alreadystarted in 2023 and will be finalized in 2024. Please note that changes in the job level­hierarchy and the new assignment of job roles limit the comparability of figures­related to women in senior leadership between 2022 and the years before and 2023.
5 T he engagement score is calculated by aggregating the average score of the twoquestions “How happy are you working for DKSH?” and “I would recommend DKSH
as a great place to work” from the YourVoice@DKSH engagement survey.

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Appendix

Make Our Value Chains More Sustainable
Results

Targets

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

2027

1

0

0

0

0

0

2

4

7

10

13

Human rights
Fatalities from work-related injuries6
Solar panels
Number of DKSH locations with solar panels

Key achievements in 2023:
Outlook:Establisheda
Human
RightsWorkingGroup‣‣ Conduct Human Rights Impact AssessmentsI
mplemented
learnings
from
Human
RightsRisk
Assessment‣‣ Complete the roll out of supplier assessmentsPublished
policies–
Human
Rights,Responsible‣‣ Expand the installation of solar panels
Procurement, Supplier Business Conduct, Suppliers ­Sustainable Procurement Annex (NTP)‣ Rolled out supplier assessments‣ Implemented more sustainable transport packaging solutions
Please read our Responsible Procurement and Human Rights in the Supply Chain and Pollution Prevention chaptersto learn more about our activities.

Become Climate-Neutral by 2030 (Scope 1+2)
Results

Targets

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

2027

–

–40

–42

–50

–55

–70

Scope 1+2 emissions (CO2e in kt)7

58

35

34

29

26

12

Scope 1+2 emission intensity (CO2e in metric tons/net sales
in CHF m) 8

5.4

3.1

3.0

2.6

Energy consumption intensity (MWh/net sales in CHF m) 8

9.8

10.0

10.7

11.8

Emissions transparency
Emissions reduced (market-based; % vs 2020)
Climate-neutral operations

Key achievements in 2023:‣ Purchased green electricity‣ Procured electric vehicles

Outlook:‣ Expand purchasing of green electricity‣ Take further reduction measures (e.g. fueland LED lighting)‣ Improve Scope 3 calculations

For more information on our activities, please refer to the Climate Change Mitigation chapter.

6 Refers to fatalities recorded in our own business operations.
7 Reduction primarily from I-RECs (International Renewable Energy Certificates).
8 T he strong appreciation of the Swiss franc impacts the intensity figures.
For 2023 alone, there has been a negative currency effect of 7.5 % on 2023 net sales
compared to 2022.

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Our Business

Our Outcome

Appendix

Make a Positive Local Impact
Results

Targets

2020

2021

2022

2023

Number of markets with local community projects

13

11

21

24

Significant operations engaging in local community
activities (%)9

80

90

100

100

2024

2027

100

100

Community engagement and social impact

Key achievements in 2023:‣ Developed Social Impact Strategy‣ Held our first global Patient Purpose Day

Outlook:‣ Implement our Social Impact Strategy

Please visit the Local Community Development chapter for more details of the Social Impact Strategy and our activities.

United Nations Global Compact and Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs)
When revising our Sustainability Strategy, we evaluate thetargets shown on the Sustainability Scorecards along witha large number of initiatives at the Group and Business Unitlevel. In 2023, we set a specific target for each of the initiatives undertaken to reach our Sustainability Strategy’s four
objectives and identified a KPI to measure progress. This
helps us evaluate whether we are still on track to reachingthese targets and, hence, the Sustainability Strategy’s overall objectives.
The targets of the initiatives are validated by the Sustainability Committee together with delegates from the Business Units and Functions. The results of this validation areapproved by the heads of the Business Units, the CEO, andthe Executive Committee.
The close links between the Sustainability Strategy and Corporate Strategy mean that the results of the Sustainability
Strategy’s validation are included in the annual process ofrevising the Corporate Strategy, which is approved by the
Board of Directors.

In 2022, DKSH signed the United Nations (UN) Global Compact to further underline our commitment to sustainability.
Our company is thus committed to engaging in responsible
business conduct in accordance with the Ten Principles of the
UN Global Compact. These principles cover human rights,
labor standards, environmental protection, and anti-corruption and are based on core United Nations conventions. The
DKSH Sustainability Report outlines how we conduct business activities in line with the Global Compact’s principles.
DKSH also submits an annual Communication on Progress to
the UN Global Compact.
We also aim to make a positive contribution to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Manyof the 17 SDGs are reflected in our material topics. In particular, we focus on promoting SDGs 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, and 13.

GRI 2-24

9 DKSH defines significant operations as all markets with more than 500 e­ mployees.
This includes the 11 markets of Australia, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia,­Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.

20

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Strategy and Governance

Our People

Our Business

Our Outcome

Appendix

Sustainability Governance
The Board of Directors of DKSH governs sustainability by
charting the strategic direction for the Group and overseeing strategy implementation. In doing so, it is guided by theGroup’s values and our Sustainability Strategy. In 2021, theChairman of the Board appointed a Board member to haveoversight over sustainability matters. This role includes
overseeing DKSH’s processes to manage risks and our impacts on the economy, environment, and people by reviewing plans for areas including climate change action. This
Board member also keeps the entire Board informed of sustainability and climate-related issues. In addition, the Boardof Directors exercises administration, supervision, and control over the business of the company and the Group, including sustainability. The Board of Directors is responsible
for preparing the Sustainability Report in accordance withlegal requirements. The Sustainability Report is ultimately
presented to shareholders at the Annual General Meeting(AGM) for approval.
The Executive Committee, DKSH’s highest executive management body, is tasked with implementing the Sustainability Strategy supported by a Sustainability Committee,
chaired by Group Sustainability and made up of representatives from the Business Units and Functions. The Sustainability Committee plans, coordinates, monitors, and reports onsustainability initiatives and actions. DKSH’s climate, environmental, social, and governance performance is one component of our Executive Committee’s annual variable bonus
to create an incentive to achieve our sustainability ­targets.
The Group Sustainability team facilitates, coordinates, anddrives sustainability-related planning, actions, and initiatives. It is also responsible for the Group’s sustainability reporting activities. The team prepares for and conducts theannual schedule of dedicated quarterly meetings with Executive Committee members and the Sustainability Committee, and two meetings with the aforementioned Board
member, with the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in attendance. These scheduled meetings ensure that the Board is
up to date on sustainability-related matters and critical concerns and, in turn, can provide guidance.
The Board was informed of key sustainability-related developments at DKSH at the aforementioned meetings in 2023.
It received an update on the Sustainability Scorecard as wellas the 2022 and 2023 TCFD results. In addition, the Board
was updated on the approach taken for external assuranceof the Sustainability Report. The Board authorized the decision to continuously broaden the scope of externally assured information in the Sustainability Report. The CEO also

approved the service provider chosen for the external assurance. Lastly, the new sustainability data collection tool
was demonstrated to members of the Audit Committee ina live presentation. This meeting also addressed the auditability of the tool and sought feedback from the Audit Committee. Please turn to the ­Climate Change Mitigation chapter in this report to learn more about the IT tool.

‣ GRI 2-5, GRI 2-14
We further incorporate sustainability at the highest level ofour company by engaging in regular communication withstakeholders, such as analysts and investors, and consider
the recommendations of proxy advisors and external sustainability ratings on Board remuneration. In addition, we
use external benchmarking services to determine the remuneration of the Executive Committee and management. The
results of shareholder votes on remuneration policies andproposals can be found in the minutes of the Annual General Meeting on the DKSH website.

‣ GRI 2-19, GRI 2-20
As in previous years, the quarterly Sustainability Committee
meetings in 2023 provided an opportunity for delivering updates, engaging in discussions, and reaching alignment on
regulatory developments, objectives, key initiatives, projects, and actions. We monitor progress and share knowledge and success stories at these meetings. After each Sustainability Committee meeting, the Committee Chair andGroup Sustainability team meet with the CEO and othermembers of the Executive Committee to report on the Committee’s work and obtain guidance.
Working on behalf of their organizational units, the Sustainability Committee members take responsibility for achieving their sustainability-related targets and managing theirimpacts on the economy, environment, and people. For example, the Chief Human Resources Officer oversees meeting sustainability targets related to our employees.
Our Business Units and Functions continued to formalize sustainability management at their respective levels, for instanceby assigning dedicated resources to create transparency,
drive actions and initiatives, and facilitate reporting. Sustainability managers and Sustainability Champions support theimplementation of sustainability measures at the local leveland provide meaningful feedback to the Sustainability Committee via their Business Unit or Function representatives.

Strategy and Governance

About

Our People

Our Business

Our Outcome

Appendix

Board of Directors
Oversight role for sustainability matters

Executive Committee

Reporting

Implementation

21

Sustainability Committee
Chair: Group Sustainability
Human
Resources

Supply Chain
Management

Governance, Risk
and Compliance

Investor &Media Relations

Business Unit
Healthcare

Business Unit
Consumer Goods

Business Unit
Performance Materials

Business Unit
Technology

Sustainability organization of Business Units and Functions

For more information on DKSH’s governance structures,
please see the Corporate Governance chapter in the Annual
Report 2023.

‣ GRI 2-9, GRI 2-12, GRI 2-13, GRI 2-16, GRI 2-24
Championing Sustainability in our Supply Chain­Management Function
In 2023, we launched a Sustainability Champion program.
All nominated Sustainability Champions from the Supply
Chain Management (SCM) Function had their knowledge ofsustainability and understanding of the market assessed to
identify training needs. In March 2023, we launched our first
SCM Sustainability Champions Onboarding process. As partof this process, Sustainability Champions learned about our
three sustainability priorities related to supply chain management: conducting local roadmap initiatives, promoting
sustainable procurement, and reducing our carbon footprint. The Sustainability Champions then met every twomonths to share progress.
We also supported our Sustainability Champions by creating and launching the Group SCM Sustainability 101 Training program to further their understanding of ‘Sustainability’s Impact on Business and Lives’, the ‘Leading by Example’
ethos. To date, we have successfully completed the programin six markets, including our top five markets, with morethan 150 participants at the supervisor level and higher
completing training.
As we work to support larger workforces in markets suchas Thailand, we have expanded training to include a trainthe-trainer approach. Both Vietnam and Hong Kong have received recognition with two and three external local awards,
respectively. In Hong Kong, we were honored with three UN

SDG Hong Kong Achievement Awards 2023: the Sustainable
Organization Gold Award, the Recognized Project Award for
DKSH’s Paperless Revolution in Warehouse Operation, andthe DKSH Fantree Academy recognition, making us an Employer of Choice.
Furthermore, we have established a bi-monthly reporting
mechanism that updates the management team for the
Supply Chain Management Function on the dedicated efforts made by our champions, who have taken on extra
roles and responsibilities in driving these initiatives.

“Our Sustainability Champions play a vitalrole in embedding sustainability within
the Supply Chain Management Function.
We ensure their success by equipping themwith the necessary information and training
to truly make a difference. The tangible
outcomes are evident as our teams garnerrecognition for their sustainability initiatives
across diverse markets.”
Roszy James,
Director, Group Supply Chain Management Sustainability

22

About

Strategy and Governance

Our People

Our Business

Our Outcome

Appendix

Risk Management
At DKSH, we are dedicated to doing business in a responsible manner. This commitment is outlined in our Code of
Conduct and further specified in our Responsible Procurement Policy, our Supplier Business Conduct Policy, and our
Human Rights Policy as follows:‣ Optimizing the effectiveness of our distribution system

by continuously improving our supply chain processes
while reducing energy consumption, emissions, waste,
and other environmental impacts‣ Procuring products and services in a responsible manner‣ Ensuring the health, safety, and development of our­people‣ Ensuring the safety and integrity of the products we­distribute through proper product stewardship‣ Observing the highest standards of ethics and integrity inour business conduct, including respect for human rights
Risk management is an integral part of our management
processes as we strive to ensure that we live up to our commitments and meet our objectives. As a multinational company operating in many markets and industries, we face avariety of risks that may adversely affect our business. Our
approach to managing risks combines a traditional Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) system having a strong focus
on shareholder value with consideration of risks in a sustainability context, i.e. the identification of and response topotential adverse impacts from a stakeholder perspective
in non-financial matters.
Risk GovernanceRisk management is an unalienable duty assigned by Swisslaw to our Board of Directors, as further specified in the organizational rules of DKSH Holding Ltd. The Board adopted
a Risk Management Policy which installs risk management
processes and procedures and related roles and responsibilities, specifying an annual cycle operated by a Group Risk
Management function under supervision by the Executive
Committee.
As a general principle, endogenous risks are assessed andmanaged in a decentralized manner, by risk owners at thesource where risks originate, directly in the business or in
the various functional streams, such as Finance, Supply
Chain, IT, Human Resources (HR), or Legal and Compliance.
Group Risk is collecting corresponding risk information forconsolidation and evaluation of materiality at enterpriselevel, including the identification of cluster, distributed, orinterface risks. All reported risk information is logged in risk
registers. Risks are identified and assessed at gross risk (before mitigation) and net risk level (after mitigation).

Furthermore, the risk management process includes periodic risk dialogues between senior executive management
and Group Risk, for discussion of risk developments (new or
emerging risks and risk mitigation measures) as well as themonitoring of the global landscape for the identification of
relevant exogenous risks.
In the fourth quarter of the financial year, Group Risk­collates all risk information obtained as part of the ERM
cycle for a­ ttention of the Executive Committee, including
recommendations for changes to the Group’s previously
determined risk map as well as risks to be prioritized fortreatment. Ensuing deliberations and decisions are thereafter documented in an annual risk report, which depicts
the Group’s material strategic, financial, non-financial,­operational, and event-driven risks, for consideration by
the Board of ­Directors. The Board of Directors ultimately
reviews and e­ ndorses the annual risk report if in agreement
or else ­provides guidance for consideration of further risks
or risk mitigation measures.
In a sustainability context, risk identification and risk management address non-financial elements pertaining to potential adverse impacts of our business on ­s takeholders
and the environment, determined through a materiality­assessment.
Managing climate change-related risks is an essential partof our enterprise risk management process, representinga specific set of risks with higher complexity given its longer-term perspectives in combination with the need to identify and assess climate change-related risks on the principle of double materiality. In other words, we examine both
how our business activities may have adverse effects on climate change and how climate change may affect our business (risks and opportunities).
Material topics and their actual or potential adverse impacts have shaped our Sustainability Policy and commitments. They also influence our sustainability objectives andstrategies assigned for execution or risk mitigation according to ownership at the business, functional, and/or market
level. A Sustainability Committee chaired by Group Sustainability coordinates all plans and actions with guidance fromthe Executive Committee and the Board of Directors. As amember of the Sustainability Committee, Group Risk also
ensures that ERM and sustainability risks are aligned. The
Sustainability Governance chapter contains more information about our sustainability governance structure.
Further information about our risk management governance can be found in DKSH’s Annual Report 2023 (pp. 23,
108, 117).

‣ GRI 2-12

23

About

Strategy and Governance

Our People

Our Business

Our Outcome

Appendix

Risks Pertaining to Non-Financial Matters
As disclosed in the risk governance section above, we identify non-financial or sustainability-related risks as part ofthe process of identifying and validating material topics.
We review material topics annually and verify associated objectives and action plans for ongoing adequacy. The Stakeholder Engagement and Materiality Assessment chapter includes more information about this process.
Pertaining to Art. 964b of the Swiss Code of Obligations, wehave identified the following risks in the context of our business operations, our products, services, and business relationships:

Climate change‣ Physical risks to infrastructure, people and assets due to severe weather events‣ Risks pertaining to transition to lower-carbon industries

Environmental risks‣ Improper disposal of operational waste and industrial effluents‣ Leakage of refrigerants containing ozone-depleting substances (ODS)‣ Handling/transportation of dangerous goods and hazardous chemicals‣ Supply chain risks: procurement of goods and materials from suppliers that do
not apply environmentally sound manufacturing practices

Social risks‣ Supply chain disruptions (non-availability of essential food supplies or health-

Employee-related risks‣ Insufficient or outdated skills and capabilities

Human rights risks‣ Procurement of goods or services that do not meet ethical or social standards,

Corruption risks‣ Bribery in business transactions‣ Supply chain-related: bribery committed by intermediaries acting on behalf

care products, incl. life-saving drugs) ‣ Compromised product quality and safety‣ Anti-competitive practices (detrimental to consumer interests)‣ Road safety concerns (relating to our sales and delivery operations)‣ Compromised data privacy, data theft or leaks‣ Improper, unethical advertising or promotional practices

including poor labor conditions and human rights abuses (incl. child labor,
forced labor)of DKSH F‣ raud, embezzlement, conflicts of interest (incl. collusion with external parties)
Risks pertaining to climate change are discussed in greater
detail in the TCFD Report.

24

About

Strategy and Governance

Our People

Our Business

Our Outcome

Appendix

Risk Mitigation and Control
Our general approach to managing the above risks entails
a risk governance process that includes releasing policies,
procedures, and/or guidelines, defining roles and responsibilities for their implementation and monitoring, and assigning risk ownership for implementation and day-to-day
management. Policymaking may be driven by the need tocomply with regulations, standards of business behavior expressed by our Code of Conduct, client requirements, or result from the Group’s Enterprise Risk Management process,identifying significant risk topics that require management
attention. Individual policies may stipulate a management
system and provide guidance on risk identification, mitigation, and monitoring, including due diligence procedures,
where significant.
These items are integrated in specific sustainability-related
and senior executive management-approved policies to address specific risk and compliance topics highlighted in thetable above. This includes:‣ Our Responsible Procurement policy with respect to“procuring products and services in a responsible manner”, which outlines due diligence procedures addressing
risks in our supply chain (in reference to OECD standards,
UNGC, and ILO conventions)‣ Our framework of Anti-Bribery and Anti-Corruption policies and associated compliance program covering ourown operations, our business partners, and our intermediaries‣ Our Health, Safety, and Environment policy and associated procedures and guidelines stipulating that we identify, assess and mitigate occupational health and safety
risks, including contractor safety, road safety, and environmental risks relating to waste and the handling of dangerous goods and hazardous chemicals‣ Our Customs and Trade Compliance policy addressing
risks relating to trading partners (trade restrictions, sanctions)‣ Our Data Protection and Information Security policies addressing risks relating to improper use or loss of personaland other data‣ Our Business Continuity and Crisis Management policy
addressing risks relating to business disruptions and providing guidance on business recovery to help minimize
downtimes and ensure the supply of essential products
for consumers and patients

Several chapters in this report provide a more detailed account of the above-mentioned standards and their associated processes and procedures towards mitigating
identified risks, including due diligence, as well as the effectiveness of measures.
Published in 2023, DKSH’s Human Rights policy sets out
our commitment to respecting human rights but does not
specify due diligence procedures. These are contained in internal policies, procedures, and guidelines released by our
Human Resources organization. The Responsible Procurement policy sets out due diligence procedures pertaining
to our supply chain.

‣ GRI 2-23

25

About

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Our Business

Our Outcome

Appendix

Our People

At DKSH, our employees are at the heart of our business.
Their health, safety, and well-being are essential to our­success. Along with offering our people a safe, fair, and­inclusive place to work, we want to help them reach their fullpotential by providing training and growth opportunities.

26

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Strategy and Governance

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Our Business

Our Outcome

Appendix

Health, Safety, and Well-Being
Our Impacts

Managing and Monitoring Health and Safety

Our positive impacts are closely
linked to our company’s purpose ofenriching people’s lives. In our healthcare business, for example, we havea positive impact by making safe
­products that are essential to people’s health and well-being available
and accessible, with a specific focus
on women health in our Own Brands
business. Our positive impacts on our
employees include providing healthcare services and regular training for
all employees.

Our corporate Health, Safety & Environment (HSE) policy
outlines how we identify, assess, and manage health andsafety risks. It covers all DKSH employees and all our operations and facilities around the globe. Local market managers
are responsible for operating an HSE management system(HSE-MS), including due diligence processes, that ensurescompliance with applicable regulations and adequately considers the nature and risk profile of local operations. Qualified
local HSE Managers support these local market managers. In
2021, we launched an enhanced corporate HSE management
system referencing the latest ISO 45001, OHSAS 18001, andISO 14001 standards. Our local HSE Managers must ensurethat local HSE-MSs are aligned with the corporate HSE-MS.

Our business exposes our employees
and, in some cases, other stakeholders to actual and potential impacts
in the form of mental health (e.g.
stress and fatigue) or physical healthchallenges (e.g. work- or non-work-­
related accidents) when engaging in
administrative, logistical, manufac­
turing, and travel-related activities.
Risks are more prevalent whenhandling goods (including dangerous
goods or hazardous chemicals) andoperating machinery, equipment, orvehicles. Potential impacts on stakeholders other than our employees
include traffic accidents involving the
public, and risks of physical harmto people or the environment from
accidents involving dangerous goods
or hazardous chemicals, fires, or
accidental spills.

All our distribution centers have HSE committees with representatives from various Functions and work areas. These committees convene quarterly or monthly in our mature markets
and at least annually in most other markets. HSE committees
are responsible for reviewing health and safety procedures,investigating incidents, and examining new technologies andchanges in personal protective equipment (PPE).
HSE committees also perform regular safety walks to inspect premises and detect any hygiene or safety issues. On
these and other occasions, we encourage our employees
to become involved and speak up if they notice unsafe conduct or conditions. Including non-management employees
in this process helps us reduce managerial hierarchies.
Our HSE-MS also addresses the health and safety of contractors we appoint to support our service delivery. In 2021,
we reinforced our commitment to safe practices for contractors by releasing a Contractor Safety Management Guideline. Contractors involved in higher-risk activities, such as
operating forklifts, are evaluated based on their health andsafety performances and processes, including their injury/
illness numbers, special skills and training, effective work
procedures, instructions, as well as whether they have an
equivalent HSE-MS and comply with applicable licensing,rules, and regulations. Safeguards for contractors operating at our sites include our Working Instructions on Visitor
Safety, Contractor Safety, and Permit to Work (which also
covers safe driving), and Contractor Guidelines.

27

About

Strategy and Governance

Our People

Internal and external parties, including our key clients, regularly audit our HSE-MS. Local HSE managers also conduct
market-level internal self-assessments, audits, and reviews
to support continuous improvement. Our Business Unit
Technology joined the Highwire platform in 2022. Using thisplatform, we can flag the most critical and relevant risks
to occupational health and safety (OHS) at our contractors
early and help them take prompt action to develop and implement risk mitigation plans.

‣ GRI 403-1, GRI 403-7, GRI 403-8
Hazard Management
Identifying hazards promptly and properly and proactively
managing health and safety risks are essential to a safe working environment. DKSH performs hazard identification andrisk assessments on a routine (e.g. scheduled assessments,
audits, and checks) and non-routine basis (e.g. new legal requirements, changes to systems, equipment or materials)
and in abnormal and/or emergency situations (e.g. incidents
and accidents, breakdown, maintenance, fire emergency,
and chemical spills). These assessments follow the Standard
Operating Procedure and Guidelines set out in our HSE Management System. This process is overseen by appropriately
qualified market HSE personnel in close collaboration withrisk owners and cross-functional stakeholders.
Our overall objective is to make sure that hazards and risks
are addressed in a timely manner and that we have control
and mitigation measures in place to minimize health andsafety risks to levels that are as low as reasonably practicable (ALARP). In keeping with our HSE policy and HSE-MS, allemployees and workers must quickly report any hazards orrisks to their line management. All accidents, incidents, andnear misses must also be promptly reported to line managers to ensure timely investigation and corrective action.
Employees and workers must stay alert to potential healthand safety incidents in the workplace and are empowered towork with line managers to help establish and apply the hierarchy of controls based upon E-SEAP (eliminating hazards,
substituting the hazardous with less hazardous, engineering controls, administrative controls, and PPE) principles.

Our Business

Our Outcome

Appendix

Employees and workers are also entitled to avoid and remove
themselves from potentially harmful situations, as necessary,and to inform their line managers. Moreover, our Code of
Conduct states that any employee or contractor who, acting
in good faith, reports an issue or removes themselves from asituation on HSE grounds must not be punished. In line withour commitment to continuously improve health and safety
management, any incidents must be reported and investigated, and remedial action must be taken to prevent reoccurrence. We investigate all accidents, incidents, and nearmisses. DKSH also performs root-cause analyses in the eventof injuries, significant process safety events, and incidents
with high potential impact.
In keeping with the Incident and Crisis Communication (ICC)
Policy, serious incidents are reported and escalated to the
management level, including to the Executive Committee inthe event of fatal incidents. Our Board of Directors has a general oversight role and is notified of significant risks and incidents, including health and safety features, via the annual
risk report. In addition, the Board is briefed about the actual risk identification and data collection process. Moreover,
we communicate lessons learned across the relevant parts of
our organization. DKSH encourages open communication between employees, workers, and line management to support
effective investigation.
Our HSE policy and HSE-MS require that we document findings and use them to develop health and safety targets,plans, and appropriate risk control measures. HSE Managers in each market are accountable for developing and documenting health and safety targets before seeking review andapproval from national HSE Steering Committees. We periodically review these targets based on hazard identification
and risk assessments and communicate the outcomes to employees, workers, and/or other stakeholders, as applicable.

‣ GRI 403-2, GRI 403-3

28

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Our Business

Our Outcome

Appendix

Employee Consultation and Training

Addressing Impacts in the Supply Chain

Our HSE measures include holding local workshops and engagement sessions to ensure we involve, consult, and communicate with our employees and workers. At these andother events, we encourage employees and workers to provide input and feedback on constructive improvements to
support health and safety standards in the workplace. We
may convene extra sessions to raise awareness shortly after
an incident or accident. Our employees and workers canalso approach their line managers and local HSE teams at
any time to report dangers and risks.

Our commitment to health, safety, and general well-being
also includes contractors in operations outside of our control, such as transport or warehouse logistics providers. We
often outsource hazardous chemical management to specialized providers with the standards and systems in place
to qualify for outsourcing. This equally applies to original
equipment manufacturers (OEMs). We expect all our service
providers to make clear commitments to proper businessconduct, including health and safety for their workers, as
embodied in our Supplier Business Conduct Policy.

DKSH is committed to providing the health and safety information, instructions, and training needed by everyone
working in our operations. Local HSE Managers are responsible for identifying HSE training needs and implementing
the company-wide HSE training program, along with content mandated by local regulations for the respective markets. A local HSE team may also develop its customized training materials in specific cases, such as following an incident
or when a new piece of equipment is introduced.

‣ GRI 403-7

In 2022, our local training focused on road safety, with various campaigns across markets. In Thailand and Malaysia,
for instance, we offered defensive driving training for employees and contractors alike (see Local Community Development chapter for more information). In 2023, Malaysia
focused on PPE awareness and chemical handling. These
training sessions are based on potential hazards identified
in connection with our activities, such as carrying out chemical and biological analyses of raw and finished products.
Building on the DKSH Learning Management System (LMS),
health and safety training includes traditional face-to-faceclasses and online courses and materials. New employees receive comprehensive health and safety induction training besides any job-specific training. All new recruits must complete
induction training before commencing duties. We hand out
safety awards in some markets to recognize and encourage
safe working practices and behavior by our employees.

‣ GRI 403-4, GRI 403-5

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Appendix2023 Performance
In 2023, our key clients, customers, standards boards, regulatory bodies, internal Supply Chain Management, and HSEteams performed workplace safety audits in all distribution centers. The main hazards identified by these audits included improper operation of forklifts and powered equipment, stacking loads and material storage, manual lifting
and/or handling, unsafe road driving, and the risk of exposure to potentially dangerous goods and hazardous substances. We continue to take action to manage these risks,
for instance through engineering and administrative controls, additional training, and the provision of PPE.
Work-Related Injuries
DKSH Employees9

We continue to emphasize training on safe working practices as a preemptive measure, run campaigns to address
key hazard areas such as manual handling, working atheight and defensive driving to drive awareness, and update Standard Operating Procedures to provide moreguidance to manage specific risks at market level. We arepleased to report zero work-related fatalities in 2023 . We
will ­continue to step up efforts to engage our workforce on
the importance of health and safety incident prevention and­mitigation.

Number

Rate

2022

2023

2022

2023

Fatalities from work-related injuries

0

0

0

0

High-consequence work-related injuries10

0

2

0

0.03

Recordable work-related injuries

49

48

0.74

0.69

Number of hours worked (in million)

66.2

69.8

Workers

2022

2023

2022

2023

Fatalities from work-related injuries

0

0

0

0

High-consequence work-related injuries

0

0

0

0

Recordable work-related injuries

9

13

0.73

1.17

12.3

11.1

11

Number of hours worked (in million)
Main Types of Work-Related Injuries

Employees

Workers

Types of injuries

2022

2023

2022

2023

No. of first-aid injuries

24

117

40

16

No. of medical treatments beyond first aid

5

5

1

2

No. of job restrictions or transfers

4

6

0

0

No. of lost time injuries

40

37

8

11

No. of fatalities

0

0

0

0

We compiled this data using an internal reporting system guided
by Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) report­
ing requirements. HSE Managers in our markets are responsible
for entering incidents in corresponding registers and notifying
these events for consolidation at the Group level. We report
data for the period from the fourth quarter of 2022 to thethird quarter of 2023.

‣ GRI 403-9
10 All individuals in an employment relationship with DKSH ­according to national law
or its application.
11 Injury that results in a fatality or an injury from which the worker cannot, does not,or is not expected to recover fully to pre-injury health status within six months.
12 All individuals performing work for DKSH, such as DKSH employees, agency­workers, contractors, self-employed persons, subcontractors, and volunteers.

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Promoting Employee Well-Being Inside and Outside
the Workplace
At DKSH, we prioritize employee well-being by providing
services and programs to address and mitigate health risks
unrelated to work. These offerings may differ from one
market to another, depending on local circumstances. In
some markets, our company clinics give employees accessto medical and healthcare services for non-occupational
purposes. In Thailand, we provide well-equipped medicalrooms staffed by a qualified physician where all employees can access DKSH’s free medical facilities. Elsewhere,
for example in M
­ alaysia and Thailand, employees can makeuse of our nap or nursing rooms. Our employee assistanceprograms, available in many markets, also feature accessto a 24-hour hotline and free therapy sessions with mental health professionals for employees and their immediate dependents.

‣ GRI 403-6

Our Business

Our Outcome

Appendix

31

About

Strategy and Governance

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Our Business

Our Outcome

Appendix

Employee Attraction, Satisfaction,
and Retention
Our Impacts

DKSH is a service business. As such,our people make the difference. As a
global company, our Code of Conduct
sets us apart in many ways: Our commitment to respect human rights sets
the bar high in developing markets.
Our commitment to diversity, equity,and inclusion means that employees
can find opportunities they might nototherwise have at local competitors‘
companies. And our commitment
to developing our employees not only
leads to outstanding performancefor our clients and customers, it
makes us an attractive choice forprospective employees. We ­empower
our employees by enabling themto learn, grow, and advance in the­organization. In the communities
where we do business, working at
DKSH is an attractive career move as
it gives employees the opportunity
to work in an international businessenvironment.

Belonging@DKSH
At DKSH, our emphasis on the importance of diversity andinclusion in our workforce is sponsored by our Executive
Committee. We know that a well-rounded workplace is one
with a mix of varied perspectives and characteristics. Belonging@DKSH is an initiative to drive diversity, equity, andinclusion at DKSH. It reflects our belief that we can achieve
more when our employees feel they can be fully themselvesat work. It is a natural extension of our culture, purpose,and values. This commitment is underlined by our Belonging Policy, which has been in place since 2022. The Policy determines how we define diversity, equity, and inclusion at
DKSH. Covering the four areas of talent acquisition, careerdevelopment, employee support, and external parties, thePolicy sets out how our understanding of diversity, equity,and inclusion is implemented in these areas.
Key Initiatives for Belonging@DKSH‣ Conduct regular engagement surveys to measure and in-crease progress to build our employees’ sense of belonging‣ Monitor and evaluate recruitment and talent develop-

ment practices designed to help increase gender representation, especially in senior management‣ Continue offering e-learning events and workshops to increase awareness about diversity, equity, and inclusion
habits and behaviors
In 2023, DKSH was recognized for creating outstanding employee experiences, including receiving the exclusive Great
Place to Work certification in eight markets (Australia, China,
Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Switzerland,
and Vietnam) and at our Corporate Shared Services Center. We
plan to achieve certification in additional markets in 2024. DKSH
also earned other recognitions, including a placing on The
Straits Times Singapore’s Best Employers list. DKSH Vietnam received HR Asia’s award as the Best Company to Work for in Asia.
Enabling Personal Growth and Recognition
To grow our business, we need to create the right conditions for our people to thrive. Our operations and the industries we serve are diverse, offering significant opportunities
for our employees to learn and grow. We provide hands-on
experience, empowerment, and stretch assignments to develop employees. These opportunities, combined with feedback and learning from others and formal training throughour Fantree Academy, provide a balanced approach. In this70/20/10 model, 70 % is on-the-job learning, 20 % is learning
through others and continuous feedback, and 10 % is learning in formal courses.

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About

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Our People

At DKSH, we encourage our people to own their professional
development. We promote internal talent whenever possible instead of hiring externally. Open positions are advertised in an internal job market, and we foster internal mobility, including international assignments. In 2023, about 24 %of management-level employees were promoted or rotatedinto new assignments, and 58 % of our management-levelvacancies were filled internally (up from 54 % in 2022). In the
future, we aim for an internal hire rate of 55 %.
Training hours(online and in-classroom training)

Our Business

Our Outcome

DKSH uses a People Scorecard so our team leaders can better monitor and manage relevant KPIs such as attrition, diversity, internal fill, and managerial bench strength. This allows us to make data-informed people decisions. This has
been especially important as we seek to increase our representation of women in senior leadership. Tracking the percentage of women in mid-level management roles who havecareer conversations and personal development plans is thefirst step to increasing the pipeline of internal promotions.

% receiving training

Average ­training hours

DKSH employees13

92.3

13.4

Managers

98.7

21.6

Staff15

91.0

11.7

14

Appendix

Fantree Academy:
Staying Relevant to Meet Future Needs
Fantree Academy, our in-house learning and development
center, supports employee growth with more than 2,200
learning and development programs offered in every market. The Academy’s curriculum is based on three pillars:
Leadership, Functional Skills, and Essential Skills. Its courses
also cover integrity and compliance, employee onboarding,and health and safety.
Employees can access learning sessions that are a good fit
for their roles, responsibilities, interests, and career ambitions. In 2023, about 92 % of employees received training.
They completed 254,862 learning events, resulting in 13.4
hours of learning per employee (compared to 11.6 hours in2022). Our goal is to reach a target of 20 hours of learning
per employee by 2027. In 2023, our staff employees received
an average of 11.7 hours of learning per person (compared
to about 9.8 hours in 2022).
Post-COVID, we have seen a resurgence of in-person learning activities, complemented by the broad e-learning librarythat we developed during the pandemic. While 90 % of training was conducted online in 2021, in-person activities accounted for up to 45 % of training in some months of 2023.

DKSH also conducts managerial and leadership development training programs. Our global annual Talent Review
and Succession Planning campaign identifies key talent
within the company for accelerated development opportunities so that they are able to take on larger leadership positions in DKSH as part of their career development. These
staff members are nominated for and sent to leadershiptraining programs appropriate to their professional developmental needs. Such training and development programs
for leaders exist at multiple levels.
In 2023, we also launched the People Manager Center – a
micro-learning hub where managers can understand the
expectations for people managers and strengthen coreleadership skills through e-learning and in-person learning events. The hub focuses on recruiting and onboarding, e­ ngaging and facilitating high performance, employee­development, giving and receiving feedback, and reinforcing the DKSH culture. The People Manager Center serves as
a portal that sets the high standard for line managers thateveryone at DKSH deserves.

‣ GRI 404-2

In addition to the online and in-classroom training coveredby these figures, our employees receive on-the-job and external training, depending on their responsibilities. This can
include education for our employees provided by our clients, e.g. on how to operate and repair machinery or on theproperties of various specialty chemicals.

‣ GRI 404-1
13 All individuals in an employment relationship with DKSH according to national law
or its application.
14 Members of the Executive Committee, corporate or local heads of Business Unitsor key Functions, and DKSH employees with P&L and/or budget responsibility,­direct reports, and function specialists/heads/managers.
15 All DKSH employees who are not m­ anagers.

33

About

Strategy and Governance

Our People

Recognition is a vital part of our approach to retaining talent. In addition to providing training, on-the-job opportunities for growth, and internal mobility, DKSH celebrates employees who embody our company purpose, values, andPeople DNA through the DKSH Fantree Awards. We encourage employees and teams to nominate colleagues at themarket level. At town hall meetings, we recognize and celebrate awards, which are presented by members of senior
management.
Along with these local awards, in 2023 we handed out six
corporate-level awards to honor extraordinary contributions. The winners presented their success stories duringa ceremony at a Board of Directors meeting. Our team in
Myanmar received a special recognition award. Despite
the immense challenges that our DKSH Myanmar team has
faced over the past two years, it has spared no effort to continue keeping products on the shelves, getting medicines topeople, supporting local communities, and enriching people’s lives every day. In 2023, we were able to honor the
Global Fantree Award winners in person again at our October Board of Directors’ meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Performance and Feedback Culture
Employee performance is measured against mutuallyagreed quantitative and qualitative objectives and is linked
to remuneration. All employees use SAP SuccessFactors as
a common tool for objective-setting and performance management. This allows alignment between our values, priorities, individual targets, and development plans.
Regular conversations between managers and employeeson their development objectives, including constructive
feedback, are also a part of their growth journey at DKSH.
We emphasize the importance of creating and following up
on meaningful personal development plans, especially for
managerial employees. In 2023, 73 % of managers createda development plan (72 % for female managers and 73 % formale managers).
DKSH also recognizes the importance of assessing our managerial bench strength. To this end, we hold an annual evaluation campaign to identify high-performing and high-potential employees who are anticipated to be able to take on
future leadership roles with increasing levels of complexity.
We categorize these employees as ‘Talent’. In 2023, the percentage of employees in this category was 31% (compared
to 35 % in 2022). We have set ourselves the target of keeping
this rate steady at 25 %, which we identified as being the optimal rate for DKSH. All decisions related to appraisals, development opportunities, and promotions uphold our commitment to equal opportunities, and we track gender completionof career conversations and personal development plans toensure focus on building our pipeline of women for seniorleadership roles.

‣ GRI 404-3

Our Business

Our Outcome

Appendix

We are both developing our in-house talent and bringing in
new talent. This dual approach allows our HR employees tobetter support our business leaders in building high-performing teams and setting meaningful performance objectives.
DKSH conducts surveys to gather employee feedback on
engagement, onboarding, and exit experiences. Our employee engagement survey, YourVoice@DKSH, is conductedannually. The survey includes 34 questions on topics fromgeneral satisfaction to feeling cared about as a person, andbelieving that DKSH is an equitable employer. In 2023, 92 %of more than 22,000 targeted online and offline employees
participated in the YourVoice@DKSH survey. Their feedback
provides valuable insights to measure our progress in building a high engagement and performance culture.
We evaluate the results of this survey against industry benchmarks. Our engagement score16 has continued to increasesince we started the survey in 2021 and rose to 77 points
out of 100 in 2023 (2022: 75 out of 100). We aim to reacha score of 78 points by 2024 and 81 points by 2027. More
importantly, scores for all people- and manager-­­
relatedmetrics increased over the last two years. To ensure further
progress, our managers work with their teams to understand the results and prioritize and implement activities thatwill a­ ddress any opportunities for increased ­engagement.
The survey found that our top organizational strengths arelearning from our mistakes, taking accountability, and having a sense of purpose.
In some markets, we also conduct onboarding and exit surveys. The onboarding surveys help us fine-tune the experience
for new employees, especially identifying where we could better set expectations about job requirements before people join
DKSH. The exit surveys focus on voluntary leavers and provide
us with useful, candid insights into their experience at DKSH.
Welcoming New Hires to DKSH
HR business partners forecast our hiring needs in partnership with Business Unit Managers locally by Business Unit
and Function. Where hiring needs are identified, they will be
reviewed by the Global Heads of the Business Units, who ultimately approve the creation of new roles.
At DKSH, we have an open, transparent, and merit-based
recruitment process that is guided by our Global Recruitment Policy and conducted via SuccessFactors. This Policy
sets out guidelines for the entire recruitment process. It applies across all markets and all levels of employees, and ensures the quality of the recruitment process.

16 The engagement score is calculated by aggregating the average score of the twoquestions “How happy are you working for DKSH?” and “I would recommend DKSH
as a great place to work” from the YourVoice@DKSH engagement survey.

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About

Strategy and Governance

Our People

When hiring externally, we perform a market mapping to secure a diverse talent pool that meets our business needs andstrategy. We actively develop new talent pools through formal yearly talent reviews and succession planning practices.
DKSH also offers graduate traineeship and apprenticeshipprograms. In addition, we offer a Junior Executive Training (JET) program in Malaysia as well as similar programsin other markets, which allows young graduates to work as
leaders in various Business Units and Functions.
As part of DKSH’s global learning and development program, we support employees’ educational achievement
through work-related external education. Local markets canchoose to implement educational assistance programs (paying in whole or in part for an employee’s education) and education/study leave programs (allowing employees time off tocomplete educational goals), according to the market norms.
It is important to us that our newly hired employees stay withthe company so we continuously measure our new hire retention rate. This rate stood at 65.4% in 2023 (up from 60.7%
in 2022). We have set ourselves the target of increasing the
new hire retention rate to 66 % by 2024 and 72 % by 2027.
Creating a Supportive Work Environment
At DKSH, we believe in having an entrepreneurial culturethat strongly emphasizes performance-based pay. Our
Pay-for-Performance Framework aligns DKSH’s financial
and business goals with individual performance. The Annual Variable Bonus Plan is integral to the total remuneration framework for eligible plan participants. It is designed
to apply throughout our global corporate framework andto retain and motivate high-caliber employees who strive
for excellence. The aim is to encourage participants to set
and achieve objectives and further build a high-performance culture by adopting the right behaviors and cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset. The Annual Variable Bonus
Plan allows participants to earn more than their fixed remuneration via additional performance-based pay based on
DKSH’s annual business performance. We also recognize theimportance of maintaining equitable pay practices to employee retention. At DKSH, we achieve this by using comprehensive benchmarking data alongside with other local
insights, to ensure that our compensation is competitive,
fair, and aligned to industry standards. By doing so, we further demonstrate our investment in our people and in retaining our workforce.
Providing a work environment that is conducive to people performing at their best includes offering benefits tothe workforce. We offer our employees a variety of benefits based on applicable policies in the markets where we
operate and continually review and enhance our benefit
practices. Standard benefits, with some variation by market, include life insurance, healthcare, disability and invalidity coverage, statutory retirement provision, and leave entitlement.

Our Business

Our Outcome

Appendix

DKSH has implemented a global Flexible Work Arrangement
policy, giving employees more ownership of how and where
they work. This allows managers and employees to jointly
evaluate the feasibility of such work arrangements and design an approach that balances business needs with the employees’ work/life balance needs.
In four out of 11 significant locations17, part-time and temporary employees receive the same benefits as permanent
full-time employees; in six other markets, some benefits are
only provided to full-time employees. In one market, parttime and temporary employees do not receive voluntary
benefits. Benefits related to stock ownership are limited toeligible key managers of the company.

‣ GRI 401-2
Sharing a Moment in LifeWe seek to offer a work environment that makes staying
with our company an attractive prospect. However, we understand that some employees may seek new opportunities outside DKSH.
In 2023, the overall attrition rate for the Group was almost
25 %; voluntary attrition stood at almost 18 %. This is a decrease compared with 2022, when the rates were 29 % and
22 %, respectively. Our goal is that the voluntary attrition
rate will not exceed 20 % in 2024 and beyond. The total attrition rate at management levels was almost 18 %, with voluntary attrition at 12 %. Although our attrition rate may seem
high, there are two factors to consider:Firstly, Southeast Asia is an economic region experiencing
fast-paced change with generally higher attrition rates than,for example, European markets. Secondly, the logistics sector, which makes up a large proportion of our workforce, isparticularly dynamic compared to other local industries, resulting in high attrition rates in this segment. We will continue our efforts to further reduce voluntary attrition.

‣ GRI 401-1
Please note that the decrease in the total number of employees in 2023 is connected to our separation from a joint venture entity during the reporting period.

17 DKSH defines significant operations as all markets with more than 500 employees.
This includes the 11 markets of Australia, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.

35

About

Strategy and Governance

Our People

Our Business

Our Outcome

Appendix

Further Details about Our Employees18
Total Number of Employees by Employment Contract(Permanent and Temporary) by Gender
Gender

Permanent% of total

Temporary% of total

Total

Female14,32749.47 %

1,626

5.61%

15,953Male

12,37442.73 %

625

2.16 %

12,999Other

1

0.00 %

90.03 %

10

Total

26,70292.20 %

2,260

7.80 %

28,962

Total Number of Employees by Employment Contract(Permanent and Temporary) by Region
RegionPermanent% of total

Temporary% of total

Total

7,682

26.52 %

108

0.37 %

7,790

Greater China

2,492

8.60 %

84

0.29 %

2,576

Malaysia and­Singapore

5,019

17.33 %

7

0.02 %

5,026

Rest ofAsia Pacific

10,90837.66 %

2,057

7.10 %

12,965601

2.08 %

4

0.01%

605

26,70292.20 %

2,260

7.80 %

28,962Thailand19

Rest of the world
Total

Total Number of Employees by Employment Type
(Permanent and Temporary) by Gender
GenderFull-Time% of total

Part-Time% of total

Total

Female14,10648.71%

1,847

6.38 %

15,953Male

12,25242.30 %

747

2.58 %

12,999Other

1

0.00 %

90.03 %

10

Total

26,35991.01 %

2,603

8.99 %

28,962All disclosures in this statement relating to employee numbers are based on headcount, rather than full-time equivalents, as we believe it is more appropriate for sustainability reporting purposes. All data was extracted from DKSH’s
SAP Human Resources Information System (HRIS) system.

‣ GRI 2-7, GRI 405-1

18 All individuals in an employment relationship with DKSH according to nationallaw or its application. The difference to the total of 29,040 employees results from
SAP integration of acquisitions.
19 Includes mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.

36

About

Strategy and Governance

Our People

Our Business

Our Outcome

Appendix

Labor Practices and Human Rights
Our Impacts

With about 29,000 employees anda very diverse workforce, DKSH ismaking continuous progress towards
greater equity and inclusion. We
strive to create a supportive working
environment and a diverse workplace,knowing that decent working conditions are essential in all facilities andin the field. At DKSH, we are awarethat we may potentially negatively impact local people and their rights by
operating in markets with enhanced
risk of human rights violations. We
also understand that fair, safe, anddecent work is a key element ofresponsible business practices andthe human rights principles set
out by the United Nations and theInternational Labour Organization.
As an employer, we therefore set
high standards for human rightscom­pliance within our organization.
We also have a positive impact on
local employees and communities
by promoting our culture of businessconduct.

Safeguarding Human Rights in Our Business Operations
At DKSH, we are committed to providing a work environment where people are treated with dignity and respect, arefree from discrimination or harassment, and work together
in a positive manner. We believe that this kind of culture isvital to helping people thrive and reach their full potential.
Upholding human rights is a key element in our employment offering, as laid out in our Code of Conduct and in our
Human Rights Policy. DKSH does not discriminate based onage, religion, gender, or any other relevant category. We
respect our workers’ rights to freedom of association andcollective bargaining. Moreover, we do not penalize anyone
who engages in good faith in workers’ groups. At the end of2023, 19 % of DKSH’s employees were covered by collective
bargaining agreements (2022: 18 %).

‣ GRI 2-30
Our commitment to respecting human rights and non-discrimination is made clear to employees through our Codeof Conduct, the Human Rights Policy, and related induction
training that underscores the importance of treating all people with respect. The training materials specifically state that
we do not tolerate any form of discrimination, harassment,or bullying. The courses also direct employees to report any
cases of misconduct to the site manager or the Human Resources (HR) team and emphasize that reports will be kept
confidential. Our 2023 License to Operate training, whichreached over 98 % of our employees, included a Code of Conduct refresher with a particular focus on key human rights
issues.
From an organizational standpoint, our business partnering
approach allows employees to easily access support from
representatives of the HR team stationed within operations.
The Integrity Line, our online reporting tool operated by athird party, which we introduced in late 2020, further enhances the avenues available to employees for confidential reporting of human rights or other labor condition concerns. In 2023, we recorded 140 incidents reported via theIntegrity Line, one of which related to discrimination. However, the allegations could not be substantiated, and thecase was closed without further action.

‣ GRI 406-1

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About

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Our People

Another way that we ensure that labor rights are upheld isby assigning responsibility for all hiring to HR. Our Supply
Chain Management teams are responsible for contracting
external transport providers in each of our key operating
markets. These teams must also ensure that employees andcontractors have the correct documentation. In accordancewith local laws and labor regulations, we operate management programs to prevent child or forced labor and illegal
work and to ensure decent and safe workplaces, fair andtimely pay, and adequate rest periods.

‣ GRI 2-23
Enhancing our Human Rights Management Approach
In 2023, we established a working group to develop a systematic human rights management approach and implement the lessons from the UN Global Compact Businessand Human Rights Accelerator program. Our working group
comprises department representatives at DKSH, namely
Group Sustainability, Group Human Resources, Group Supply Chain Management, and Business Unit Healthcare. We
started our work in 2023 by undertaking a self-assessmentand mapping our practices against the expectations of theUnited Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human
Rights. At the end of 2023, we also finalized our Human
Rights Policy. This Policy sets out DKSH’s commitment tohuman rights, explains our understanding of our responsibility to protect human rights, and provides guidance forpeople expected to adhere to the Policy, such as our own
workforce and suppliers. In 2024, we will continue our workby embedding the expectations of the Human Rights Policy
in our operational policies and procedures, for example, byengaging with internal stakeholders and providing training.
In addition, we will review the Integrity Line, our grievancemechanism, to ensure it meets all requirements and effectiveness criteria.

Our Business

Our Outcome

Appendix

In 2023, we also advanced efforts to integrate human rights
due diligence processes in our own business area (pleaserefer to the Responsible Procurement and Human Rights
in the Supply Chain chapter for information about due diligence processes in the supply chain). We conducted our firsthuman rights risk assessment in Malaysia in 2021. The risk
assessment generally identified the main risks in Malaysia
as forced or compulsory labor involving foreign workers, although no such practices were identified at our operations.
The assessment also examined child labor without identifying any relevant findings in this regard. However, we identified certain findings in our vendor management process.
The action items derived from the risk assessment and implemented in 2023 included corrective measures to ensure
better-regulated working conditions, such as establishing agrievance channel, and administrative measures for managing foreign workers’ employment contracts (e.g. updating
employment contracts and translating contracts and consent forms into workers’ first languages). In addition, we
have addressed the assessment’s findings by enacting aninternal audit cycle, which undertakes quarterly checks ofvendor management for foreign workers.
In addition to Malaysia, we identified Cambodia, Myanmar,
Thailand, and Vietnam as markets for further human rights
assessments. We consider the risks of human rights violations, such as child labor, forced or compulsory labor, or restrictions on the freedom of association, to be generally
higher in these markets. We will conduct evaluations there.
In 2023, our Business Unit Healthcare operations in Cambodia and Laos were evaluated in external audits to assessalignment with the standards of the Pharmaceutical Supply
Chain Initiative (PSCI). The audits looked at ethics and labor
standards as well as health, safety and environmental (HSE)standards. Auditors identified nine significant findings concerning ethics and labor standards in Cambodia, alongside
five major findings associated with Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE). Meanwhile, in Laos, auditors found two instances related to ethics and labor standards and one concerning HSE. We are now taking corrective action.

‣ GRI 2-24, GRI 407-1, GRI 408-1, GRI 409-1

38

About

Strategy and Governance

Our People

Our Business

Our Outcome

Appendix

Supporting Diversity in the Workplace
As a services company, our employees bring our values tolife. Their talent, commitment to our customers, and pridein DKSH are key to our business success. We strengthened
our approach to promoting diversity in our workforce byimplementing a Group-wide Belonging Policy in 2022, covering diversity, equity, and inclusion. This step underscores
our belief that we must create a space where our employees feel they belong and can do their best work to succeed
as a company. The Belonging Policy expands upon the diversity section in our Code of Conduct and sets out our understanding of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Additionally, 83 % of our managers completed a comprehensive e-learning program on Belonging. We also held workshops to increase awareness of the importance of diversity and to provide targeted insights into unconscious bias,
which may be an issue in talent acquisition and management, to address areas of particular opportunity. In 2023,
the representation of locals in market leadership teams increased to 80 % (2022: 78 %). Also, 55 % of our employees
and 52 % of our managers20 were female. Our senior21 leadership increased to 34 % women, up from 31% in 2022.
We have set ourselves the goal of increasing the percentage of women in senior leadership to 36 % by 2024 and 39 %by 2027. The representation of females in our market leadership teams22 has increased by three points from 2022, to39 %. There are currently no women on the Executive Committee, although women held 22 % of the positions on the
Board of Directors, DKSH’s highest governance body, in
2023. This is partially due to the current and historic underrepresentation of women in the science, technology, and logistics industries from which we hire. We are committed todiversity at all levels of the organization, including increasing the representation of women in our senior leadership.

Percentage ofmanagers,
by gender

Percentage of
employees,
by gender

45 %

55 %

Percentage ofsenior leaders,by gender

66 %

48 %

52 %

Percentage ofmarket leadership teams,
by gender

34 %Female

61%

39 %

Male

‣ GRI 405-1

20 Members of the Executive Committee, corporate or local heads of Business Unitsor key Functions, and DKSH employees as well as client staff with P&L and/or
budget responsibility, direct reports, and function specialists/heads/managers.
21 Senior refers to managers in corporate, regional, or local management roles. In
2023, we shifted to a new architecture for job hierarchy to more accurately reflect a
job’s relative contribution and value within DKSH. This process was already started
in 2023 and will be finalized in 2024. Please note that changes in the job hierarchy
limit the comparability of figures related to women in senior leadership between
2022 and the years before and 2023.
22 Market leadership teams refers to heads of each Business Unit and Function
within a market.

39

About

Strategy and Governance

Our People

Our Business

Our Outcome

Appendix

Our Business

Our operations create value for people all over the globe.
As a responsible company that complies with standards,
we are working to reduce our environmental footprint by­mitigating climate change, preventing pollution, and using
resources more efficiently. We are also constantly taking steps
to make sure our supply chain complies with environmental
and social standards.

40

About

Strategy and Governance

Our People

Our Business

Our Outcome

Appendix

Environmental Responsibility
Our Impacts‣ Climate Change Mitigation

We believe that some of our­business activities contribute to­adverse impacts on climate change.
Most of our greenhouse gas­emissions result from logistics,­comprising warehousing andtransport. We want to reduce or
eliminate emissions at the source.

‣ Pollution Prevention

Our activities have potential­impacts on the environment,­people, and their human rights, e.g.
by consuming water, d­ isposing of
effluents from our ­manufacturing
operations, and p­ roducing air
emissions when m­ aking deliveries and engaging in business travel.
As a ­­responsible company, we have
­implemented comprehensive measures to a
­ ddress these impacts.

‣ Resource Efficiency

The importance of conserving­natural resources makes waste
management and prevention­efforts a top priority for DKSH.
We are making great e­ fforts to­reduce our impact on n
­ atural­resources, for instance, when it
comes to ­damaged products
and packaging waste.

Climate Change Mitigation
It is widely acknowledged that the adverse impacts of climatechange represent a significant risk for our societies. Therefore, this issue is now on the political agenda in many countries across the globe, with calls for strong mitigation actions.
At DKSH, we are aware that emissions from our operations
may have an adverse effect on the climate and are committed to playing our part to avert global warming by d
­ ecreasingor eliminating carbon emissions at their source. Most of ourgreenhouse gas emissions are generated at our significant
locations in Southeast Asia and Greater China, primarily fromwarehousing, transport, and business travel activities. As
we transition to renewable energy sources, for instance by­installing solar panels at our facilities and distribution centers (DCs), we increasingly feed green energy into local grids.
Governance and Management Approach
Our Group Sustainability team is responsible for steering and implementing our approach to how DKSH helps tomitigate adverse impacts on climate change, e.g. througha dedicated budget for implementing our GHG emissions
management practices. On an annual basis, the Group Sustainability team receives approval for human and financial­resources i­nvested, for instance, in green electricity, databases to manage GHG emissions data, or external assurance
processes. The Sustainability Governance chapter c­ ontains
more information about our governance structure.
Our stakeholder engagement activities determine our actions
to mitigate climate change. As a business partner in global
and local supply chains, we recognize that climate change mitigation is a relevant topic for our stakeholders and that wemust act responsibly and adequately. In this regard, we interact with our clients by sharing our CDP data or report on
Scope 3 emissions and make efforts to improve in these areas.
Our Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) Policy defines ourapproach to climate change mitigation. This policy underlines our commitment to conducting business in an environmentally responsible manner. In keeping with the precautionary principle, our HSE Policy stipulates that we take early
action to identify, prevent, and mitigate potential negative
impacts if there is sufficient reason to expect severe or irreversible environmental damage. Local HSE Managers aretasked with maintaining a register of applicable national environmental laws and regulations and ensuring complianceacross all our operations. At the same time, we are taking aproactive approach to environmental responsibility by significantly reducing our reliance on fossil fuels and investingin renewable electricity and green buildings.

‣ GRI 2-23

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About

Strategy and Governance

Our People

Our enhanced HSE Management System is drawn up withreference to the ISO 14001 standard. The local country HSE
Steering Committees are responsible for ensuring its effective deployment across all markets. In turn, local HSE Managers support the practical implementation of management systems and processes.
Targets and Progress
We have been reporting greenhouse gas emissions related
to our operations since 2018 and have launched several initiatives to reduce our carbon footprint. In addition to cutting fuel consumption, DKSH initiated a program in 2019 touse more energy from renewable sources. Our goal: to become climate-neutral in our own operations by 2030.
We achieved our greenhouse gas emissions target – to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from our own operations
by 35 % by 2025 compared with a 2020 baseline – four years
early. That is why we are constantly setting ourselves newinterim targets. We want to reduce our total emissions by
55 % by 2024 and by 70 % by 2027 compared to a base year of2020. We calculate the change in greenhouse gas emissions
using the market-based approach for Scope 2. In 2023, we
cut greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 1 and 2) from our own
operations by 50 % compared with our base year 2020 and

Our Business

Our Outcome

Appendixby 14 % compared with 2022, proving the effectiveness of
our emissions reduction measures. In addition to CO2 emissions, we include CH4 and N2O emissions in the calculation of
our greenhouse gas emissions. In addition to CO2 emissions,
we include CH4, N2O, and CFC emissions in the calculation of
our greenhouse gas emissions. In 2023, our Scope 1 and 2(location-based) emissions amounted to 64,023 metric tonsof CO2, 95 metric tons of CO2e of CH4, 277 metric tonsof CO2e of N2O, and 2,693 metric tons CO2e of CFC, resulting in CO2e of 67,089 metric tons . Please turn to the Sustainability Strategy chapter for further information on our
progress and goals in reducing emissions.
The following initiatives contribute to the reduction ofgreenhouse gas emissions:‣ Purchasing International Renewable Energy Certificates(I-RECs) as a credible claim for renewable energy use, incompliance with the GHG Protocol Scope 2 Guidance‣ Purchasing renewable electricity directly from energy
providers‣ Generating renewable electricity by installing solar panels at our distribution centers and other premises‣ Reducing emissions at the source by optimizing transportroutes and ensuring more efficient use of electricity at
our sites

Greenhouse Gas Emissions (Location-Based Accounting) in Metric Tons CO2 Equivalent
The graph at right shows our grossemissions. Scope 2 figures are­calculated using location-based
factors for each market relating
to the carbon intensity of the­national grid.

4,015
Air travel(Scope 3) 24

14,447

12,351

79,89964,262

52,90656,944

4,970

5,742

71,817

Outsourced transport(Scope 3)
Electricity(Scope 2)
Fuel and refrigerants(Scope 1)

2020(base year)

57,977
9,112
2023

2022

Greenhouse Gas Emissions (Market-Based Accounting) in Metric Tons CO2 Equivalent
The graph at right shows our net
emissions. Our Scope 2 figures23
are calculated using market-based
factors relating to the carbon intensity of the electricity we buy
from our energy providers, plus
our additional purchases of I-RECs.
To learn more about I-RECs, pleaseturn to the section on Reporting
Approach.

‣ GRI 305-1, GRI 305-2, GRI 305-3

4,015
Air travel(Scope 3) 24

79,899Outsourced transport(Scope 3)
Electricity(Scope 2)
Fuel and refrigerants(Scope 1)

52,906
4,970

2020(base year)

12,351

14,44764,262

71,817

27,877
5,742

19,789
9,112
2022

2023

23 Before 2021, market-based = location-based. With the purchasing of Renewable
Energy Certificates (I-RECs) starting in 2021, we began to apply market-based
methodology to Scope 2.
24 New calculation approach for Scope 3 business flights emissions since 2023.

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Our Business

Our Outcome

Appendix

Energy Usage in Our Operations, by Activity, in MWh

8,733
5,066
Fuel usage
by our fleet

91,137

Fuel usage
in our facilities 25

12,798
5,738

17,102
8,453

102,039

104,758

Electricity
in our facilities 26

2020(base year)

2022

2023

2021

2022

2023

Scope 1 and 2 emission intensity (market-based)
per million CHF sales

3.14

2.97

2.61

Scope 1 and 2 emission intensity (location-based)
per million CHF sales

5.36

5.51

6.06

Energy consumption intensity per million CHF sales

10.07

10.65

11.78

‣ GRI 302-1
Emission Intensity and Energy Consumption Intensity‣ Emissions intensity (market-based): Scope 1 and 2 CO e2emissions market-based in tons per CHF million net sales‣ Emissions intensity (location-based): Scope 1 and 2 CO2eemissions location-based in tons per CHF million net sales‣ Energy consumption intensity: Energy consumption27 in
MWh per CHF million net sales‣ GRI 302-3, GRI 305-4
Energy Consumption and Fossil Fuel Use
in Logistics Operations
DKSH operates more than 200 DCs to distribute the products made by our clients and our company. Our DCs andwarehouses are typically leased, with a few of them built tosuit. They account for a significant part of our carbon footprint. We consume energy for lighting, cooling, heating, andoperating forklifts and other handling equipment. Most of
our handling equipment is battery powered. We may needto store and transport temperature-sensitive products in
air-conditioned vehicles or special transportation boxes.
Therefore, the use of refrigerants and the resulting fugitive
emissions form part of our carbon footprint.

Our capillary distribution network serves thousands of customers daily. We have a comparatively small fleet of our own
vehicles. Transport tenders are a particular focus for ourcompany in line with the commitments made in our Sustainability Strategy and as part of our Non-Trade Sustainable
Procurement Strategy. We welcome working with service
providers who can offer electric vehicles, particularly those
who can provide such services in emerging markets. For developed markets, we require that transport service providers supply electric vehicles for at least 5 % of the tendered
fleet. In general, our goal is to replace as many diesel vehicles as possible with electric vehicles for all routes. In ourlargest market, Thailand, the fleet operated by DKSH and its
subcontractors comprises 12 electric vehicles. We are planning to order a further eight vehicles for this market in 2024.
Most of our outbound deliveries are handled by transport
service providers that we select based on quality, reliability, and, increasingly, fuel efficiency criteria. One of our mostsignificant impacts relates to vehicle fuel consumption. Morethan 97 % of our outsourced fleet is diesel-powered, althoughsome vehicles run on compressed natural gas or gasoline.
Optimizing routes is vital here to improving our operating efficiency. Our outsourced fleet comprises transport services
that we pay for on a per-trip/case basis, while our charteredfleet is made up of vehicles that we rent monthly. We continuously strive to optimize the mix of trucks in our fleet to improve fuel efficiency and decrease fuel consumption.

25 Fuel used in equipment such as back-up electricity generators, boilers, and­material handling equipment (e.g. forklift trucks).
26 More than 62 % of electricity used is either purchased under a green tariff from our
supplier or is covered by centralized purchases of unbundled renewable energy
certificates (I-RECs).
27 Energy consumption for our own operations only. For energy types, see the bar
chart ‘Energy usage in our operations, by activity, in MWh’.

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Our Business

Our Outcome

Appendix

Emissions from Business Travel

Reporting Approach

Travel is a key part of our people-driven business. We have
put in place internal approval systems to prevent any unnecessary travel. Most journeys are carried out by businessflights, by sales and service teams in their own cars, and by
taking public transportation.

We calculate our emissions in accordance with the GHG
Protocol standards, using 2020 as a base year. All relevant
greenhouse gases are included in these calculations, i.e.
CO2, CH4, and N2O, along with the impacts of radiative forcing for business flights. We use operational control as ourconsolidation approach of choice for emissions.

We experienced a significant drop in business travel in 2020
and 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. While deliveries of goods were able to proceed, meetings with customers
were restricted. Our digital and hybrid engagements withclients, which were widely adopted during the pandemic,
are the new norm. We will continue to use online communication, whenever feasible, to minimize our emissions. Thatbeing said, some travel to connect with colleagues and business partners in person is inevitable. Applying the new calculation approach for the years 2022 and 2023 results ina 31% increase in emissions from business flights in 2023
compared to 2022.
Renewable Energy
In 2023, we increased our renewable electricity purchases.
Our food-blending plant in the Philippines switched to 100 %renewable electricity in early 2021. We also purchase renewable electricity from our energy providers for our operations in Myanmar (partially), Japan (partially), Laos, New
Zealand (partially), Italy, Germany (partially), Portugal (partially), Spain (partially), and Switzerland (partially). For othermarkets, we purchase International Renewable Energy Certificates (I-RECs) to reach our target of being climate-neutral
from our own operations by 2030.
A total of 63,903 MWh of electricity use across the following markets was backed by I-RECs for the period 1 October
2022 to 30 September 2023 in compliance with the GHG Protocol’s Scope 2 Guidelines: Cambodia, China, Hong Kong,
India, Macau, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, andVietnam.
In addition, we constantly explore potential ways to increase the number of solar panels at our DCs. To this end,
in 2022, we conducted an analysis across all DCs to identify
those suitable for solar panels. In 2023, we continued our efforts by equipping more DCs with solar panels. As of 2023,
we can report a total of ten solar panel systems across multiple DCs within our Southeast Asia markets. These installations span key regions, including Thailand, the Philippines,
Singapore, Laos, and Taiwan. The installed solar panel capacity varies from 11 kWh to 1,000,000 kWh. Both DKSH and,to a significant degree, the landlords of the building premises contributed the investments needed for these projects.
The potential for solar panels now forms part of the regular
evaluation process when deciding on new DCs.
As announced in the 2022 Sustainability Report’s Progress highlights, we have installed solar panels at Business
Unit Performance Material’s brand-new DCs in Bang Plee,
Thailand.

All figures showing the consumption of energy and refrigerants in our buildings relate to DCs and offices. We also
have a small retail footprint in some markets, such as Thailand. These shops are mainly leased units within larger complexes, where we have limited or no access to energy data.
All retail data is excluded as it is not considered material for
the Group’s footprint.
Since 2023, we have used an external IT solution to collect
the raw data needed to calculate our company’s carbon
footprint. This IT solution collects data on our own fleet, ourexternal fleet (natural gas, diesel, and gasoline consumption), generators, boilers, MHE (LPG, diesel, and gasoline
consumption), and refrigerants, as well as energy consumption data. Emissions factors are built into this IT solution, allowing us to perform direct calculations in the tool. We collect data by site. Users who perform data entry work arerequired to upload supporting evidence (e.g. invoices orpurchase orders) to ensure data accuracy. Data is first entered by a contributor and then verified by a validator who
compares the data entered with the supporting evidence.
The new IT solution has a range of advantages. Its centralized data management approach allows multiple users fromall our markets to access and analyze data at various levels,from location and market to business unit. Other features,such as plausibility checks and automated carbon footprint
calculation, help to assure data accuracy. This easy-to-use
tool also features automated reporting against major standards and is highly auditable.
We calculate our Scope 1 emissions by mapping data on
refrigerants, our own fleet (natural gas, diesel, and gasoline consumption), and generators, boilers, and material
handling equipment (liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), diesel, and gasoline consumption). This process is followed
for markets with the highest use of refrigerated storage
and the largest distribution networks, including Cambodia, Hong Kong,­ ­Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan, ­Thailand, and Vietnam. Fuel usage includes
compressed natural gas (CNG), LPG, diesel, and gasoline forour internal fleet of delivery vehicles and backup electricity generators. When gathering information on outsourced­logistics ­services, major suppliers have specified their diesel consumption data in liters based on billing data. For consistency purposes, all fuel properties and emission factors
were sourced from the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (2017). The
Global Warming Potentials are from the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report(AR4) over a 100-year period.

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When calculating our Scope 2 emissions, we collect electricity consumption data from utility invoices for almost
all of our markets. We do not report data for our small UK
and Netherlands offices, since electricity consumption ischarged there through a building services fee.
For location-based emission factors, we have applied themost recent figures available from the International Energy
Agency (IEA) since 2021. The data shows the carbon intensity of the national electricity mix in all necessary markets.
We apply the following hierarchy for market-based emission
factors:‣ 1) Emission factors from the specific energy provider‣ 2) If 1) is not available: emission factors published on government websites‣ 3) If 1) and 2) are not available: same as location-based
factors
When purchasing I-RECs, we match their sourcing to themarket of consumption and the production year to the consumption year, wherever possible. Our provider recommends the most appropriate substitute in cases where thisis not possible. Furthermore, we focus on I-RECs associatedwith solar, wind, geothermal, or biomass sources, thereby
excluding hydropower from tropical regions.
We further strengthen quality and credibility by using ourprovider’s quality seal to demonstrate third-party verification of our compliance with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol
Scope 2 Guidance on purchasing, handling, and cancelingRECs (e.g. 100% renewable origin, annual matching of production and consumption, adherence to established market boundaries, no double claiming of RECs). The use of thequality seal is reviewed and certified on an annual basis by
the German independent certification body TÜV Rheinland.
Biogenic emissions only relate to the biofuel content oftransport fuels and are considered negligible.
We consider emissions from air travel and our external
fleet when calculating our Scope 3 emissions. Our air travelemissions are based on expenses for flights. Since 2023,
the spend-based emissions factor ‘Scheduled Passenger Air
Transportation’ from the EPA (2021) (including considerationof the Radiative Forcing Index) has been applied to convert
expenses into CO2e. Our external fleet uses fuels including
compressed natural gas (CNG), diesel, and gasoline for delivery vehicles from our transport suppliers. When gathering information on outsourced logistics services, our major
suppliers have specified their diesel and gasoline consumption data in liters based on billing data. For consistency purposes, all fuel properties and emission factors were sourced
from the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (2017).

‣ GRI 302-1, GRI 305-1, GRI 305-2, GRI 305-3, GRI 305-4

Our Business

Our Outcome

Appendix

We also prepare a carbon disclosure in line with the CDP
climate change disclosure system. CDP is an international
non-profit organization that aims to establish businessstandards for environmental reporting and risk management. DKSH has published CDP disclosures since 2016, bearing in mind the organization’s importance to both business
partners and investors. For information on our latest carbon disclosure, please visit the CDP website.

Pollution Prevention
Management Approach
Our Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) Policy encompasses all environmental and climate issues and underlines
our commitment to conducting business in an environmentally responsible manner. In keeping with this policy, local
HSE Managers are responsible for maintaining a register ofnational environmental laws and regulations and for ensuring compliance across all our operations.
Our enhanced HSE Management System operates as anextension of DKSH’s HSE Policy, representing an umbrellaframework under which other HSE-related guidelines andstandard operating procedures interact and help govern individual HSE risks, such as dangerous goods and hazardous substances, contractor safety management, and waste
management. It applies to all DKSH entities, and references
ISO 14001. Local HSE Steering Committees are responsible
for ensuring its effective deployment within their respective markets, while local HSE Managers support the practical implementation of management systems and processes.
In DKSH, we continuously strive to strengthen our environment management system. In 2022, we received the ISO
14001 certification for Business Unit Performance Materials’ distribution center in Indonesia.
In 2022, we also worked with an external consulting firm
to perform an environmental risk and impact assessment(ERIA) as part of our due diligence procedure. Its primary objective was to identify and assess risks arising from the operation of our facilities and, when necessary, to implement suitable mitigation measures to reduce risks to acceptable levels.
The ERIA focused on selected sites in six of our markets,
namely Australia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand. The sample size was relatively small, especially compared to the number of distribution centers inoperation. However, we considered the sites selected to be
representative and adequate to gain a comprehensive risk
profile of our operating sites across our four Business Units
engaged in various business activities in manufacturing,
distribution, or other. The overwhelming majority of oursites, however, are distribution centers and warehouses.

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The assessment included a review of site sensitivity to soil orgroundwater contamination, waste management, risks relating to air emissions, water quality, ozone-depleting substances, and the storage of liquids on site in tanks or othercontainers. The main risks identified by the ERIA included
potential improper handling of hazardous waste, minor oil
spills from machinery operations or spills of fuels stored onsite, and the usage of refrigerants in air-conditioning systems scheduled to be phased out under the Montreal Protocol. Direct air emissions are insignificant, and our effluents are generally limited to sanitary waste. In summary,the ERIA found that our environmental/climate-related risks
and impacts are low or minimal and that measures implemented at our sites were already sufficient to mitigate identified risks. However, it did recommend several small measures to further strengthen our management approach. Inline with our striving for continuous improvement set by
our HSE policy, several of the recommendations have since
been implemented or are targeted for implementation in
the foreseeable future.

‣ GRI 413-1, GRI 413-2
Water Conservation and Effluent Management
We minimize our impact on the environment by using waterin a responsible manner and treating our wastewater properly. Our approach to water and wastewater management
is decentralized, allowing our facilities to tailor measures totheir specific locations and products.
For example, our United Drug (1996) facility in Thailand,
which manufactures pharmaceutical and medical products,
takes stringent measures to protect people and the environment from wastewater-related risks while meeting regulatory requirements. The existing wastewater treatment
plant was upgraded and made more efficient. This new plant
entered regular operation in the second quarter of 2023.
The new technology has greatly improved effluent quality,
chemical and biochemical oxygen demand, and total suspended solids.
Reducing Pollution in Our Supply Chain
The DKSH Supply Chain Management Sustainability teamspearheaded a variety of initiatives in 2023. In Vietnam, werolled out three projects that we plan to extend to othermarkets in the future. Firstly, we deployed five carton-shredding machines, which yielded a remarkable year-to-date return on investment of 73.2 %. These machines shred usedcarton boxes, which replace plastic fillers in our packaging
and help us conserve resources.
Secondly, we transitioned to reusing cardboard angle brackets received from inbound shipments, eliminating the needfor shrink-wrapping palletized delivery boxes. This shift
leads to significant cost savings in terms of shrink-wrap­expenses per pallet and streamlines operational processes

Our Business

Our Outcome

Appendix

associated with pallet wrapping but also champions recycling. On average, utilizing traditional shrink wrap for a­pallet measuring 50" x 45" x 45" high and weighing 508 kilograms would result in approximately 240 kilograms of CO2eemissions.

Resource Efficiency
Waste Management
With a comparatively small manufacturing footprint fromour Own Brands, we generate limited plastic packaging
waste from our products. While we have no influence on
the packaging used for our clients’ products, we aim to keep
packaging waste in logistics to a minimum.
Preparing goods for delivery mostly requires cardboard
boxes and plastic film for pallet wrapping. We also generate packaging waste from incoming shipments. Healthcare
cold-chain goods need extensive packaging to protect temperature-sensitive items. We already use the recyclable Brillant Box (“B-Box”) in Thailand and the Orca Box in Malaysia.
Unlike Styrofoam boxes, these temperature-controlled coldchain boxes can be reused several times and are made of recyclable materials – making them an environmentally friendly
solution for transporting temperature-sensitive products.
In 2023, we advanced our efforts to explore sustainable
packaging materials. Our Business Unit Healthcare has collected data to better understand the impacts of shifting towards reusable cold-chain boxes. The introduction of morethan 6,800 B-Boxes in Thailand since 2019 cut our use of single-use Styrofoam by 21% in 2022 (compared to 2021 levels).
In Malaysia, we have introduced more than 900 Orca boxes
since 2021, thereby reducing our use of single-use Styrofoam by 11% in 2022 (compared to 2021). Bolstered by thesepromising figures, our Taiwan and Vietnam markets are currently examining whether they can expand their usage of
the B-Box in 2024. In December 2023, the Vietnam market
piloted and launched four reusable Olivo Boxes, also madeof expanded polypropylene.
In addition, our Business Unit Healthcare is exploring waysof transitioning towards FSC-certified packaging for our
Own Brands to increase the number of products packed
with FSC-certified packaging. This Business Unit is currently evaluating three products in the Thailand, Vietnam,
and Myanmar markets to see whether they can be packed
in FSC-certified packaging in a pilot project slated for 2024.
Please read our Pollution Prevention chapter to learn more
about our activities to reduce pollution in our supply chain.
We also generate waste from unsold goods, administrative
activities (office waste), and IT. After launching the DKSH
Guidelines on Waste Management in 2020, our major dis-

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Our Outcome

Appendix

Safe Storage, Handling, and Transportationof Dangerous Goods and Hazardous Chemicals
tribution centers in the markets of Cambodia, Hong Kong,
Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, thePhilippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam reported waste data in 2023. In total, these markets generated
10,917 metric tons of waste in 2023, including 296 metric tonsof hazardous waste. The data is the foundation for setting targets to improve our waste management practices. Going forward, we will further enhance waste reporting and our waste
management approach by providing more granular data regarding different waste categories and recovery statuses. Inturn, this will serve our goal of generating less waste, diverting more waste away from disposal and towards recovery.

We ensure that the dangerous goods and hazardous chemicals we distribute are stored, handled, and transported
safely. We have standardized our approach across ourglobal business by releasing our Dangerous Goods and Hazardous Chemicals Guidelines in early 2021 as part of ourenvironmental management system. This system is established in line with the precautionary principle. It sets clear
standards and due diligence procedures and guides staff
with assigned roles and responsibilities. Where appropriate,
we rely on the services of carefully selected specialized outsourcing service providers while retaining oversight of our
suppliers’ performance.

Our waste reporting approach is based on a pilot project
conducted in Thailand in 2021. During this pilot, Thai distribution centers completed monthly reports quantifying
waste generation, disposal, and recovery. The data was categorized by material type and whether the waste was hazardous. During 2022, we successfully fine-tuned and stabilized data collection, leading to the initiative being rolled out
in the markets mentioned above.

‣ GRI 2-23

In recent years, we have also made strides in our digitalization journey by automating certain customer transactions.
Using digital technologies, we have created paperless systems to enhance efficiency and accuracy while reducing ourenvironmental footprint by eliminating paper usage andprinting. One example is mPay, a digital payment systemused in Vietnam.
mPay was the subject of a successful customer pilot in selectlocations from mid-2021. The system was then extensively
rolled out to cover all cash-on-delivery (COD) payments for
our Consumer Goods and Healthcare businesses in all Vietnam locations from 2022 onwards. Continuous enhancements
have always been part of the roadmap. One key new featureprovided flexible split payments to overcome transaction limits and increase tool adoption. mPay has seen steady growthin cash-to-digital payment conversion in recent months andyears. Besides offering environmental benefits, this systemprovides added convenience and security while reducing thepossibility of fraud with reduced cash handling. As tracking
is made easier, this increases transparency and improves theefficiency of the collection reconciliation process.
Building on this success, we are now extending the digital
functionality to our current mobile credit collection tool, mCollector, which focuses on credit collection. We have enhanced
mCollector to include a digital payment option using a QR-pay
method. mCollector has been piloted in Thailand and Singapore, and we are considering rolling it out to other markets.

‣ GRI 306-1, GRI 306-2, GRI 306-3

Reducing Product Waste in Business Unit
Consumer Goods
Sustainability is an essential issue for our Business Unit Consumer Goods. In 2021, the team created a sustainability organization comprising Sustainability Champions from eachmarket to identify sustainability priorities and mobilize action through coordinated activities. Reducing product waste
was identified as the core topic to be addressed. We developed and deployed a Product Waste Reduction Toolkit inearly 2022. Since 2023, the toolkit has been successfully implemented in all our Business Unit Consumer Goods markets. It provides guidelines for reducing product write-offs
and maximizing donations, decreasing product waste, andincreasing food donations. In 2023, Business Unit Consumer
Goods raised its food and non-food donations to 166 metrictons (from 132 metric tons in 2022).
In March 2022, DKSH signed an agreement with the Global
FoodBanking Network (GFN), a non-profit organization thatdevelops and supports food banks in more than 40 markets.
This partnership aims to scale up efforts to recover and distribute surplus food and non-food products throughout the
Asia Pacific region. To kick off this partnership, we made donations to SOS Thailand and Feeding Hong Kong, the GFN’s
partners in Thailand and Hong Kong. These endeavors will
be continued and will be rolled out to other GFN local foodbanks in more markets.

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Our Business

Our Outcome

Appendix

TCFD Report
Our Impacts

Climate change is a critical topic
for DKSH. We are aware that
action to fight climate change
and the transition to a lowcarbon economy will present
considerable opportunities and risks.
Understanding and assessing these
implications is crucial, especiallyconsidering their growing importanceto investors and businesses.
Our approach is aligned with therecommendations of the Task
Force on Climate-Related Financial
Disclosures (TCFD) . This chapterof our Sustainability Report isdrawn up in accordance with therecommended TCFD disclosures.
It details how we are responding
to climate change through our risk
management system and strategy.

Climate Governance
We have assigned climate-related responsibilities to various positions and committees throughout our organization– mainly our Board of Directors, the Executive Committee,
including the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), and the Sustainability Committee.
Our sustainability governance structure specifies how wemanage our climate-related responsibilities. To learn more
about our sustainability governance structure, please turnto the Sustainability Governance chapter. More information
about our climate governance approach is contained in our
CDP Questionnaire 2023 (section C1), which can be foundon the CDP website.
Strategy and Assessment of Climate-Related Risks
and Opportunities
DKSH recognizes that climate-related risks and opportunities have the potential to affect our business and supply chain reliability. We fulfil our due diligence obligations
to identify and assess climate-related risks. This process isaligned with our broader risk management system set out
in the Risk Management Policy, which defines general principles and procedures for identifying, assessing, and prioritizing any type of risk for risk treatment. As part of thisprocess, climate-related risks are reported to the Board of
Directors within the parameters of the annual risk report.
The Board of Directors has also approved this year’s climate-related disclosures prepared in accordance with TCFD,
implementing the requirements set out in the Swiss regulation one year early.
Further information on our risk management can be foundin the Risk Management chapter and in our CDP Questionnaire 2023 (sections C2, C3.3, and C3.4), which is available
on the CDP website.
In 2023, we again assessed transition and physical risks inline with TCFD requirements, which go beyond the broader
DKSH risk management system described above, including
taking a longer-term perspective. By drawing on different
climate scenarios, we were able to identify climate-related
issues, assess possible risks and opportunities, and adapt todevelopments at an early stage.

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The transition risk assessment drew on the Net-Zero Emissions Scenario (NZE) set out by the International Energy
Agency (IEA). The NZE defines a pathway to achieving netzero CO2 emissions by 2050 in keeping with the Paris Agreement’s goal to limit the rise in global temperatures to 1.5°C
relative to pre-industrial levels. The scenario assumes key
parameters facilitating the transition to a low-carbon economy regarding energy, technological, political, and market
developments. It allows us to make scenario-based assumptions about the impacts and risks associated with the transition to net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050.

Our Business

Our Outcome

Appendix

used the IPCC World Atlas Regional Information Tool, whichfound that physical hazards, such as mean temperature increase, heavy precipitation, and drought, pose a high risk
in some regions where we source products and in some regions where we sell products. We also expect rising sea levels to become a hazard in the long term, because DKSH is
active in areas that will most likely be seeing increasing sea
levels and operates sites that are close to the coast. The assessment has some limitations; for example, it does notallow for site-specific ratings.

Our physical risk assessment was grounded in scenarios
contained in the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). We examined
scenarios looking at two-degree global warming (SSP1-2.6)
and four-degree global warming (SSP5-8.5) across three different horizons. As recommended by TCFD, our analysis focused on the four-degree scenario to map physical risks toour business associated with a changing climate.

In 2023, we conducted an in-depth analysis of physical hazards
for 50 selected own sites using the Climate Change Edition of
the Location Risk Intelligence platform from the reinsurer Munich Re. The analysis is based on Shared Socioeconomic Pathway (SSP) scenarios from the latest IPCC Assessment Report(IPCC AR6, 2023). The tool analyzes location-specific hazard
exposure for different acute and chronic hazards. We identified heat stress and precipitation stress as potentially significant challenges for our own sites across all time horizons.

As a first step, we performed an in-depth physical hazard
assessment for DKSH’s entire value chain in 2022 (our own
sites and our upstream and downstream value chains). We

We analyzed our own sites for the hazards of tropical cyclones, river flooding, sea level rise, wildfires, drought, heat,and precipitation. 28

Tropical Cyclones(four-degree global warming scenario, IPCC SSP5 – 8.5)

Hazardassessment

Tropical cyclones are among the most destructive weather
phenomena. Coastal regions and islands are particularly
vulnerable, as they are affected not only by the direct impact of storms but also by secondary hazards, such as storm
surges and pounding waves. The MunichRe hazard score isbased on probable maximum wind intensities with a return
period of 100 years.
Current (2023)

very low
lowmediumlarge
very large
extremeno hazard

Medium-term (2050)

2%

Long-term (2100)

10 %

10 %

Currently, only 2 % of the assessed own sites
face an extreme hazard of tropical cyclones. This jumps to 10 % of
the sites for the medium- and long-term scenarios.

28 The figures for our own sites reference the share of DKSH-owned sites, in keepingwith the variables contained in the Munich Re Climate Change Edition.

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Hazardassessment

River Flood (undefended)(four-degree global warming scenario, IPCC SSP5 – 8.5)

very low
low

Regions close to rivers and at low elevations are particularly
vulnerable to this hazard. This analysis shows areas at riskof extreme floods with a return period of 50, 100, and 500
years. Flood protection systems, such as dams or dikes, are
not taken into consideration.
Current (2023)

Appendix

mediumlarge
very large
extremeno hazard

Medium-term (2050)

Long-term (2100)

The proportion of the assessed own sites
with a low river flood risk stays constant both in the medium term
until 2050 and in the long term.

Fire Weather Stress Index(four-degree global warming scenario, IPCC SSP5 – 8.5)
Wildfires are a destructive hazard that can occur naturally
or be caused by humans. They burn down vegetation anddestroy infrastructure and economic resources. Fires often
have secondary impacts, including erosion, landslides, impaired water quality, and smoke damage. The Fire Weather
Stress Index describes meteorological fire conditions and isbased on the climate variables of temperature, wind, precipitation, and relative humidity.
Current (2023)

58 %Medium-term (2050)

58 %Across all time horizons,
58 % of the assessed own sites face a medium, large andvery large wildfire hazard level.

Long-term (2100)

58 %

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Appendix

Sea-Level Rise(four-degree global warming scenario, IPCC SSP5 – 8.5)
Sea-level rise is primarily caused by processes linked to
global warming, such as melting glaciers and ice sheets,
and the thermal expansion of water. Furthermore, the rising sea level has multiple negative effects, such as coastal
erosion, inundations, storm floods, tidal waters encroaching into estuaries and river systems, and the contaminationof freshwater reserves. Hazard areas are derived from sealevel rise and elevation data for the respective projection
year and scenario.

Hazardassessment
very low
lowmediumlarge
very large
extremeno hazard

Long-term (2100)29
8%

In the long term, 8 % of theassessed own sites have a very large toextreme hazard of sea-level rise.

Drought Stress Index(four-degree global warming scenario, IPCC SSP5 – 8.5)
Rising temperatures and changes in precipitation patterns
can cause drier weather conditions and thus more intense
and frequent drought events. In turn, these factors canhave severe economic, environmental, and social impacts.
The Drought Stress Index is based on the SPEI (Standardized Precipitation – Evapotranspiration Index), a multi-scalardrought index used to determine the onset, duration, andmagnitude of drought conditions.
Current (2023)

Medium-term (2050)

Long-term (2100)

44 %In a long-term scenario, 44 % of the assessed
own sites have a large to an
extreme hazard level for drought stress.

29 The Climate Change Edition of the Munich Re Location Risk Intelligence platform
does not provide data for 2023 and 2050.

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Appendix

Hazardassessment

Heat Stress Index(four-degree global warming scenario, IPCC SSP5 – 8.5)

very low
lowmediumGlobal warming is increasing the hazard of heat stress,
which affects humans, infrastructure, and ecosystems.
Temperatures are rising, and the intensity and frequency ofheat waves are increasing.
Current (2023)

largevery large
extremeno hazard

Medium-term (2050)

Long-term (2100)

52 %In a long-term scenario,
52 % of the assessed own sites are at risk of an extreme
hazard level associated with heat stress.

Precipitation Stress Index(four-degree global warming scenario, IPCC SSP5 – 8.5)
Climate change can affect precipitation intensity and frequency. The Precipitation Stress Index is rooted in para­
meters related to heavy precipitation, such as occurrence­frequency, duration, and intensity.
Current (2023)

Medium-term (2050)

58 %Long-term (2100)

94 %Currently, 58 % of the assessed own sites
have a large, very large or extreme hazard of heavy precipitation.
In the long term, this level increases to 94 %.

After finalizing the initial hazard assessment, we held aworkshop in 2022 to discuss the results of the scenario analyses and prioritize climate-related risks, impacts, and opportunities. At this event, we analyzed and weighted scenarios and considered the physical impacts and consequences
for our business activities and upstream and downstream
operations. Altogether, we identified five opportunities, fivephysical risks, and six transition risks and related impacts
which may impact our business operations and financial
planning (please see table below for details).

In 2023, we assessed and prioritized the opportunities,
physical risks, and transition risks identified in 2022 basedon their financial materiality for DKSH.

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Appendix

Opportunities
The following mitigation and adaptation measures create opportunities for DKSH:
MeasureOpportunity

Financial impact

More efficient distribution processes
and vehicles

Cost reduction by making distribution
processes more efficient

Moderate

Improvements to the Business Continuity Planning (BCP)

Timely and appropriate response to
climate-related challenges throughimproved BCP

Major

More efficient building infrastructure

Cost reduction by decreasing energy
and water consumption in buildings

Moderate

Sales of low-emission goods and­services

Attracting and retaining clients who
prefer low-emission products andgaining a competitive advantage bydeveloping tiered services to caterto demand for highly sustainable versus lower-environmental products
and services

Moderate

Opportunities(emerging in a two-degree global warming scenario)

Financial Impact

High financial impact
Low scenario probability

High financial impact
High scenario probability

More efficient
distribution processes
and vehicles

Low financial impact
Low scenario probability

Improvements to
the Business Continuity
Planning (BCP)

Sales oflow-emission goods
and services
More efficientbuilding infrastructure

Low financial impact
High scenario probability

Probability

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Physical Risks
We identified the following acute and chronic physical impacts of climate change:
Risk

ImpactFinancial impact

Damage to transportation infrastructure caused by rising sea levels andheavy precipitation

Delivery disruption and higher costs
as emergency alternative solutions
have to be found, difficulties for employees to travel to work leading tohigh absenteeism and operational
disruption

Moderate

Damage to energy infrastructurecaused by extreme weather events

Operational and supply chain disruptions, systems breakdown

Moderate

Reduced raw material availability to
DKSH clients due to drought stress

Disruption of raw material availability
to DKSH clients, impacting the availability of consumer goods

SevereLack of insurance due to extreme
weather events

Natural hazards might not be insurable in the future, leading to a highcost of risk transfer

Low

Health impact on the workforce

Negative impacts on the health andsafety of the workforce, leading to absenteeism and a lack of talent

SevereTransition Risks
The following risks are associated with the transition to a low-carbon economy:
Risk

ImpactFinancial impact

Greenwashing accusations

Reputational damage which impacts
demand; greater effort involved withperforming due diligence

Undetermined

Dependency on electricity supply

Increased dependency on electricity
supply requires consistent energy infrastructure

Moderate

High uncertainty regarding energy
supply and prices

Increased costs associated with fluctuating energy prices and unexpected
shifts in energy prices

Moderate

Reduced capital availability

Capital is increasingly tied to a company’s climate performance as sustainability policies become more common

Low

Increased pricing of greenhouse gas
emissions

Rising energy prices, energy or carbon taxes and regulation-driven
costs, regional inequality leading togeographic redistribution

Low

To learn more about climate-related risks and opportunities, please read our CDP Questionnaire 2023 (sections C2,
C3.3, and C3.4), which is available on the CDP website.

Appendix

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Appendix

Transitory risk
(emerging in a two-degree global warming scenario)
Physical risk
(emerging in a four-degree global warming scenario)

Physical and Transitory Risks
Financial Impact

Health impact
on the workforce

Reduced raw material
availability
to DKSH clients due todrought stressHigh financial impact
Low scenario probability

High uncertainty
about energy supply
and prices

Damage to ­transportation­infrastructure causedby rising sea l­evels andheavy ­precipitation

High financial impact
High scenario probability

Dependency
on electricity supply
Damage to energy
infrastructure causedby extreme weather
eventsLow financial impact
Low scenario probability

Reduced capital
availability

Climate-Related Metrics and Targets
DKSH is adapting its business model to reflect risks arisingfrom climate change and is making an active contribution
to mitigating climate change. In keeping with these efforts,
DKSH has defined a path towards its climate neutrality objective for 2030. This works towards the Swiss Government’s
climate targets of reducing emissions by 50 % by 2030 with a1990 baseline within the framework of the Paris Agreement.
We achieved our greenhouse gas emissions target – to reduce emissions from our own operations by 35 % by 2025
compared with a 2020 baseline – four years early. That is
why we are constantly setting ourselves new interim targets. We want to reduce our emissions by 55 % by 2024 andby 70 % by 2027 compared to a base year of 2020. In 2023,
we reduced our greenhouse gas emissions from our own
operations (Scope 1 and 2) by 50 % compared with our baseyear 2020 and by 14 % compared with 2022 through various initiatives. In addition to CO2 emissions, we include CH4
and N2O emissions in the calculation of our greenhouse gas
emissions. In addition to CO2 emissions, we include CH4,
N2O, and CFC emissions in the calculation of our greenhousegas emissions. In 2023, our Scope 1 and 2 (location-based)emissions amounted to 64,023 metric tons of CO2, 95 metric tons of CO2e of CH4, 277 metric tons of CO2e of N2O,
and 2,693 metric tons CO2e of CFC, resulting in CO2e of
67,089 metric tons . Please turn to the Sustainability Strat-

Low financial impact
High scenario probability

Increased pricing
of greenhouse gas
emissions

Lack of insurance
due to extreme
weather events

Probability

egy chapter for further information on our progress andgoals in reducing emissions.
To this end, we are reporting key core performance indicators, such as our own greenhouse gas emissions, in accordance with Scopes 1, 2, and 3 of the Greenhouse Gas
Protocol. We also collect data and regularly review our performance in the area of waste. Our emissions-related reporting and data can be found in the Climate Change Mitigation chapter, while information on waste is located in the
Resource Efficiency chapter.
In addition, all our Business Units and relevant Functions
must define measures contributing to DKSH’s overall ­t argetof becoming climate-neutral. More information on ­climaterelated metrics and targets can be found in our CDP Questionnaire 2023 (section C4), which is available on the CDP
website.

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Appendix

Responsible Procurement andHuman Rights in the Supply Chain
Our Impacts

Our Supply Chain
Trading and Manufacturing

At DKSH, we take specific actions tominimize the environmental and/or
social impacts that may be causedby activities within our supply chain,
which are covered in greater detailbelow. We acknowledge that challenges in upholding human rights
and ethical business conduct exist insome of our markets. DKSH also faces
risks associated with working conditions and human rights when using
employment agencies to hire foreign,
temporary, and casual workers andwhen subcontracting activities tothe local logistics industry. We arecommitted to addressing these risks
in our supply chains and to positively
impacting the communities where
we operate. In particular Business
Unit Performance Materials, which­operates closer to the origins of raw
materials and ingredients in DKSH’svalue chain, undertakes efforts topositively impact its suppliers interms of their sustainability ambitions
and to be a sustainable partner in the
supply chain.

Our main business is to provide contractually agreed marketing and distribution services for a global client base,spanning diverse product categories, such as consumer
goods, healthcare products, food ingredients, specialty
chemicals, machinery, and other technological equipment.
Goods for resale are supplied to us locally in the markets
we operate or internationally, as determined by our clients.

DKSH helps small and medium-sized
suppliers grow. As a market expansion services provider, we work witha large and diverse supplier base,enabling small and medium-sized
suppliers to access international markets and compete with blue-chip
suppliers. We also help ensure transparency and ethical sourcing within
the supply chain, thereby protecting
human rights and labor conditions.
DKSH maintains operations in somemarkets that rate relatively low on
Trans­parency International’s Corruption Perception Index. We believethat we are positively impacting the
local business community by pro­moting our culture of ethical business­conduct and by operating a cor­
responding compliance program.

Other businesses include:‣ Global sourcing and procurement services for specialty
chemicals and food ingredients for resale to our customers‣ Marketing our Own Brands under trademark ownershipor license, either procured locally or internationally as finished goods from licensors or contract manufacturers, ormanufactured by DKSH‣ Supply of food ingredients and premixes to finished consumer goods using our own recipes or made to customer
specifications, including contract manufacturing for local
customers.
All procurement associated with the trading and manufacturing activities outlined above accounts for more than 90 %of our total procurement. A split between international andlocal sourcing or procurement is currently not available.
Whilst we strive to maximize local sources of supply, they
are ultimately dependent on our clients’ manufacturing
sites and the availability of suitable materials and components in our sourcing and manufacturing businesses.

‣ GRI 2-6

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Appendix

Non-Trade Procurement
An important part of our business model of providing market access through highly specialized marketing and distribution services is local service delivery, for which we typically rely on the services of a variety of business partners.
Inbound and outbound transport logistics, including some
outsourced warehouse logistics, represent a significant portion of our local spending, along with marketing expenses
incurred through media agencies and promotional service
providers. Other supply chain-related procurement includes
working with importers, exporters, and customs agents incross-border business, with labor and other service providers to assist with logistics operations and adapting products
to regulatory or marketing requirements, and with packaging and other materials and equipment suppliers to support logistics operations. We selectively engage the services
of intermediaries, such as distributors or sub-distributors,
wholesalers, sales and tender agents, or consultants, to assist with revenue-generating activities.
We estimate that procurement from local suppliers30 insigni­ficant locations of operation31 supporting our local service delivery accounted for 100 % of our spending.

‣ GRI 2-6, GRI 204-1
Ensuring a Responsible Supply Chain
We are committed to the integrity of our supply chain by operating our business in keeping up with the highest ethicalstandards, as reflected in our Code of Conduct. Our Responsible Procurement Policy and the associated Supplier Business Conduct Policy further detail our principles, our commitments, and our expectations from our suppliers. These
Policies – approved by the Executive Committee and endorsed by the Board of Directors – reflect our commitment
to the principles of the United Nations Global Compact, national and international legislation and standards for responsible business conduct, such as the Organization for
Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and the International Labour Organization’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles
and Rights at Work.

In 2022, we adopted the Responsible Procurement Policy
and the Supplier Business Conduct Policy, in conformity
with new Swiss regulations setting disclosure requirements
on non-financial matters and due diligence obligations, effective January 2022. Implementation preparation and activation started in the same year and continued throughout
2023. These policies operate alongside our Third-Party Intermediary and the Non-Trade Procurement Policies. The diverse nature of our business and products requires that wetake variations in our management approach rather than a
one-size-fits-all model without, however, compromising on
our standards.
In line with the principles expressed by our policy framework, we do not want to maintain business relationships
with suppliers that do not share our commitment to integrity and responsible business conduct. All suppliers that are
deemed relevant and important in the overall context of our
supply chain (proportionality and criticality) representing a
potential risk exposure will be assessed against our standards and expectations, as further described in the pertinent sections in this chapter.
Risks associated with ethical business conduct and the integrity of our supply chain are high on the agenda of DKSH’s
Board of Directors. Its Audit Committee bears overall responsibility for overseeing the Group’s risk management
processes and procedures. It receives regular updates onrisks in our supply chain via the frameworks and processes
described in the Sustainability Governance and Risk Management chapters. Moreover, the Audit Committee is kept
informed of responsible procurement, due diligence procedures, and performance measurements via a Sustainability Scorecard issued by Group Sustainability, supporting theBoard’s assessment of the effectiveness of our risk management procedures.

‣ GRI 2-23, GRI 2-24

30 A supplier that is based in the same geographic market as the reporting operation.
31 DKSH defines significant operations as all markets with more than 500 employees.
This includes the 11 markets of Australia, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.

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Appendix

Managing Risks in Our Supply Chain
As part of our overall risk management processes, we regularly identify, assess, mitigate, and monitor risks in our supply
chain, as specifically mandated by our Responsible Procurement Policy. These risk management processes have been developed with the direct involvement of the Group’s Risk Management Function and are thus closely aligned with DKSH’s
broader risk management framework and procedures.

In addition, we counteract some of the specific risks mentioned above by performing audits, inspecting migrant
worker housing, examining employment procedures, andundertaking quality and safety audits for contracted­manufacturing.

In 2023, we identified the following risks considered relevant in the context of our current business relationships:

Child Labor

Social and human rights risks:‣ Procuring of goods from manufacturers that do not respect social standards (for trading goods or materials for
manufacturing)‣ Collaboration with business partners from the logistics
industry and intermediaries in the distributive trade withpoor working conditions and the risk of human rights vio­
lations‣ Health and safety risks in outsourced logistics‣ Violation of human rights standards with hiring and housing foreign/migrant workers (through external parties)‣ Extensive use of intermediaries with an inherent corruption risk
Environmental risks:‣ Procuring of goods from manufacturers that do not respect environmental standards (for trading goods or materials for manufacturing)‣ Emissions generation/air quality deterioration and environmental risks from hazardous chemicals spilling in outsourced transport logistics
Our Responsible Procurement Policy is complemented byoperating procedures that guide the organization on policy
execution based on assigned roles, responsibilities, and accountabilities. It mandates the identification of relevant supplier categories with exposures to pertinent supply chain
risks based on the nature of the business conducted with
DKSH. It sets out risk management processes, including
risk-based due diligence procedures, to ensure that suppliers adhere to our standards by assessing new suppliers andmonitoring active suppliers for risks or concerns pertaining
to ethical business conduct, environmental practices, labor
conditions, and human rights. Human rights risks include
not only child, forced, and compulsory labor (as explainedin further detail below), but also the risk of violations of theright to freedom of association and collective bargaining.
While we assign risk levels to our suppliers in keeping withgeneral country- and industry-specific indexes and indicators (including UNICEF’s Children’s Rights in the Workplace
Index), risk screening brings to light past or current concerns and issues, including exposure to child labor or forcedlabor, for further due diligence actions. We prioritize highrisk suppliers for extended due diligence procedures.

‣ GRI 409-1
Under Swiss law, DKSH is required to assess whether there
are reasonable grounds to suspect child labor in its supply chain. If there are reasonable grounds to suspect childlabor, it must comply with certain supply chain due diligenceobligations and report on its compliance. There is no reporting obligation for products or services for which its suppliers have already published a report.
While the prohibition of child labor has been DKSH’s policy for many years, we strengthened our commitment in
2022 by adoption of a Responsible Procurement Policy andan associated Supplier Business Conduct Policy, including,inter alia, requirements under ILO Conventions 138 and
182. These two policies constitute our supply chain policy on child labor. They contain our commitment to comply
with applicable laws. Our supply chain policy on child laborstipulates that we immediately escalate indications of childlabor reported by business partners or resulting from regular risk screenings to Group Compliance (GRC) for further
evaluation and action and that we diligently assess all indications of child labor and explore the potential need to devise appropriate action plans to resolve or mitigate the issues upon detecting any actual or potential issues. It further
describes our complaint mechanism, our Integrity Line. Finally, our supply chain policy on child labor specifies the instruments we use to identify, assess, eliminate, or mitigate
the risks of child labor.
For our own operations, our Human Resources function acts
as gatekeeper to ensure that all our employment relationships operate within the legal boundaries set by applicablelabor laws and our universal standards of respect for humanrights, including the prohibition of child labor. This assurance also extends to service providers and contractors operating on our sites.
In our role as a market expansion services provider, we recognize that we may be linked to child labor issues throughthe distribution of our clients’ products. To minimize thisrisk, we regularly assess the risks associated with clientsand suppliers in our trading and manufacturing activities
as part of our specific supplier risk management system,
based on the origin of the products (country risk) and thetype of products or services sourced (industry risk). We consult publicly available resources, including UNICEF’s Chil-

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dren’s Rights in the Workplace Index or the United States
Department of Labor’s (USDOL) list of products using childlabor. The International Labor Organization (ILO) in 2020
estimated that child labor was most prevalent in the agricultural sector (70 %), whereas USDOL in 2022 published a
global list of goods produced by child labor, which is broadly
consistent with the ILO’s findings. The management of identified risks follows methods as described in this and otherchapters of this report, by determining risk levels based on
likelihood and severity, including consideration of whether
DKSH caused, contributed to, or was linked to adverse impacts, and applying adequate mitigation strategies.
DKSH maintains an extensive client and supplier base fromdiverse industry sectors, with products or their ingredients
having agricultural origins. Narrowing down the industry
sectors in our supply chain by matching them against USDOL’s critical product categories and their origins, we identified a specific nominal risk exposure to cocoa and cotton.
DKSH’s Business Unit Consumer Goods represents various
clients from the confectionary industry as well as operates
a retail chain selling in-store baked chocolate chip cookies,
whereas Business Unit Performance Materials markets cocoa-based food ingredients and manufactures products
containing cocoa. Our exposure to cotton relates to our garment manufacturing activity in Thailand.
To prevent child labor issues in our supply chain, we screen
our suppliers with a specialized risk management software
to classify existing and potential suppliers as suppliers withlow, medium, or high risk (considering country and industry risks, adverse media reports, and past compliance incidents) and assess the corresponding risks in our risk management plan according to the likelihood of occurrence andseverity of adverse impacts. If a supplier is identified as ahigh-risk supplier, we undertake further due diligence measures, including asking the supplier to complete a questionnaire, and to provide supporting documentation, such aspolicies or certificates. These checks are carried out as partof the supplier onboarding process, but also as part of ourongoing monitoring. For suppliers in the cocoa or cotton
supply chain, we additionally consider publicly available information through web searches or sustainability reports
pertaining to their supply chain policies, including industry
actions or certifications. Additional transparency may also
be established though direct interaction with the supplier. If
the risks identified are deemed too high, we may decide not
to do business with a particular supplier, require a suppliercommitment not to supply products made using child labor,
agree with a supplier on remediation action, place a supplieron temporary hold, or terminate a supplier.

Our Business

Our Outcome

Appendix

Once these reviews have been completed and a supplierhas been onboarded, we ask the supplier to comply with
our supply chain policy on child labor, which is set out in
our Responsible Procurement Policy and our Supplier Business Conduct Policy, by integrating these two policies into
the agreements with the suppliers. We regularly update our
suppliers with changes made to our supply chain policy.
Moreover, we encourage our business partners, suppliers,
employees, and other stakeholders to report incidents ofchild labor, but also forced or compulsory labor or otherforms of modern slavery, via our Integrity Line or directly
to their business contacts at DKSH. This reporting channel iscommunicated to our suppliers as part of supply chain policy on child labor.
Our non-trade procurement activities, based on the typeof products and services procured, are considered low orno risk. Nonetheless, also our non-trade suppliers are assessed on a broader scale including child labor exposure
by applying general risk assessment procedures applicable
to all supplier categories. This includes activities, such as
screening via specialized risk management software, as well
as direct interactions with business partners through questionnaires or otherwise.

‣ GRI 407-1, GRI 408-1
Supplier Admission, Onboarding, and Monitoring
We only admit suppliers that successfully and satisfactorily complete due diligence procedures as new suppliers to
DKSH. Our Supplier Business Conduct Policy complements
and incorporates the standards and expectations set out in
the Responsible Procurement Policy. We require that new
suppliers acknowledge their commitment to, understanding, and application of our standards and principles in accordance with the Supplier Business Conduct Policy. High-risk
suppliers receive additional training on the related expectations. In addition, our website informs workers, business
partners, and other relevant partners about the Responsible Procurement Policy and Supplier Business Conduct Policy. Where local language barriers exist, the documents are
made available in local languages as determined by the local
management.
Following admission, suppliers continue to be monitored
by specialized screening tools for specific risk alerts. DKSH
Compliance officers are responsible for reviewing such
alerts and for taking appropriate actions. We repeat due
diligence proceedings for some suppliers periodically andbased on supplier risk ratings. Contract renewals serve as
another trigger for repeating proceedings.

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Appendix

Conflict Minerals

Business Unit-Specific Procedures

In accordance with Swiss law (CO 964j et seq. and the Ordinance on Due Diligence and Transparency in relation toMinerals and Metals from Conflicted-Affected Areas andChild Labor [DDTrO]), DKSH has adopted a Responsible Procurement Policy in 2022, which includes a specific section
on minerals and metals from conflict areas, even thoughnone of our Swiss Group companies import into or process
the minerals and metals listed in Annex 1 of the DDTrO in
Switzerland.

Our Business Unit Performance Materials operates higher
upstream in the supply chain and closer to the origins of
raw materials and ingredients. As such, it has taken steps
to perform a more elaborate screening and assessment
process for suppliers of specialty chemicals and food ingredients. It does so by using the collaborative EcoVadis platform in line with its strategic priority of being a sustainable
partner in the value chain. This step assures that we workwith responsible suppliers with the same sustainability ambitions. Working in partnership with EcoVadis, the Business Unit has activated its Responsible Suppliers Programaround the globe. As part of these endeavors, we assess
suppliers for market-specific and industry-specific corruption, human rights, and environmental risks with an EcoVadis solution. High-risk and high-criticality suppliers areinvited to a more elaborate assessment by applying the EcoVadis Ratings methodology, scoring system, and corrective
action plans (CAP) procedures. At the same time, we share
our knowledge and coach them on advancing their sustainability-related efforts.

Our policy requires us to carry out, at least once a year, aconformity check of our annual imports against the customs tariff numbers listed in the DDTrO and of the processing of these minerals and metals in Switzerland. The resultof these checks is monitored by the Group’s Risk and Compliance department. The most recent check confirmed that
DKSH did not import or process any of these minerals or
metals in Switzerland in 2023.
However, even if the checks carried out did not reveal any
import or processing of the minerals and metals listed in the
DDTrO, and DKSH therefore falls out of scope of the DDTrO,
it cannot be ruled out that certain products handled by us
in our distribution businesses, or components in our manufacturing businesses, could contain elements of minerals
or metals originating from conflict areas. DKSH uses the following instruments to identify such potential risks:‣ Submitting our supplier base to risk screening using specialized risk management software, which has been implemented in the second half of 2023.
‣ Suppliers are required to comply with our Supplier Business Conduct Policy, which is integrated into our supplier
agreements. Our Supplier Business Conduct Policy includes an obligation for suppliers to disclose to us any
exposure to conflict minerals.
‣ Promoting our Integrity Line, our confidential reporting
tool, through which internal and external stakeholders
can share with us concerns about to conflict mineral exposures with us.
Indications of exposure to conflict minerals will trigger further due diligence checks and mitigation actions, as appropriate. The above risk screening process will be fully implemented in 2024. In the course of 2023, DKSH has not
become aware of any conflict minerals exposure triggering
the due diligence and reporting obligations under the CO
and the DDTrO.

In 2023, 4,383 suppliers have been screened, 1,217 of whichhave already been rated through the EcoVadis assessment.
Overall, 102 unique suppliers have been identified as toppriority with high-risk and high criticality. So far, we haveinvited 39 of these suppliers to continue with our coaching
program and to initiate their EcoVadis assessment.

‣ GRI 414-2
Creating a More Sustainable Product Portfolio
We are working diligently to identify and address humanrights and environmental risks in our supply chain. In response to customer demands, our Business Units Performance Materials and Technology have set the strategic target of continuously offering a more sustainable productportfolio. ‘Sustainable products’ means products that are,for example, produced in energy-efficient conditions, upcycled, biodegradable, or contain sustainable palm oil. We obtain feedback from our market teams, e.g. from the product management team and the business development andsales teams, or proof documentation from our suppliers to
identify these products and support the ‘sustainable product’ claims.
We actively track which of our products can be identified assustainable with the aim of steadily increasing the share ofsustainable products in our product portfolio. Customers ofBusiness Unit Performance Materials also have the opportunity to filter for the sustainable products in our portfolio
on our customer portal, DKSH Discover.

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Reducing the Impact of Palm Oil Cultivation
Beyond these general rules, we pay particular attention to
the issue of palm oil, a product which is used in our trading business and our manufacturing activities to a minor
extent. Although palm oil plays only a marginal role in ourbusiness activities, we actively strive to manage the environmental and social risks associated with this product.
DKSH is a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm
Oil (RSPO). We hold one RSPO certification (Indonesia) and
16 RSPO distributor licenses (European and Asian markets). In 2023, we added eight new distributor licenses for
our Business Unit Performance Materials in the Philippines,
Germany, China, Malaysia, Taiwan, Benelux, Italy and GreatBritain. We are currently developing additional DKSH markets as RSPO candidates, proving that we are committed toand comply with the organization’s sustainability requirements. Additionally, we will review and integrate the RSPO
membership of our 2023 acquisition, Georg Breuer GmbH
(GBFI), a German distributor of plant-based ingredients forthe food industry under the DKSH Holding RSPO umbrella.
Moreover, we submit the required Annual Communication
on Progress (ACOP) at the Group level for all DKSH entities
involved under the RSPO.

Our Business

Our Outcome

Appendix

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Appendix

Ethics and Integrity
Combatting Corruption
Our Impacts‣ Combatting Corruption

We mainly do business in Asia, aregion where several markets andindustries are generally viewed ashaving higher exposure to compliance risks. DKSH is committed to
examining our actions, engaging
with stakeholders, and adjusting
strategies to mitigate any negative
impacts on society or the economy.

‣ Responsible Marketing Practices

We engage in marketing andadvertising and relabeling activities
under our own brand, making
accurate and complete productinformation a highly relevant topic
for us.

‣ Responsible Tax Practices

We generate economic value that
stimulates economic growth.
In turn, this has positive impacts,
for instance through tax payments
to local governments, which we
manage in a responsible manner.

‣ Data Privacy and Protection

We generate and access large
amounts of data related to our
products and services. We alsocollect personal data. Therefore,
we take numerous measures toprevent data breaches and ensure
confidentiality.

Enhancing Compliance at DKSH
Our company does business in several industries and markets where the risk of non-compliance is high and where
negative impacts on society are possible. We know that instances of non-compliance can result in fines, affect ourability to cultivate and nurture business ties, and harm
our relationships with investors. While we prioritize ethical sourcing and fair practices, the vast scale of our supply
chain may lead to oversights, resulting in unintentional involvement with entities that do not uphold our compliancestandards. To this end, we are working to minimize any associated risks, undertaking regular audits, and highlighting
our belief in operating in an ethical and transparent manner. For instance, our active grievance mechanisms, such as
the Integrity Line, ensure that stakeholders’ concerns areheard and addressed.
Operating at the highest ethical standards is the foundation for our business, as reflected in our Code of Conduct.
In 2022, we underlined our dedication to ethical conduct bystrengthening our compliance organization through additional resources, including headcounts.
Our company performed training and education activities toensure that expectations are understood at all levels of theorganization and to encourage people to speak up if they
have concerns about improper behavior. At DKSH, we arecommitted to acting with integrity and conducting businessin an ethical manner. This includes not tolerating any form of
non-compliance as specified in our DKSH Code of Conductand our Anti-Bribery and Anti-Corruption (ABAC) policy.
Most of our business is conducted in Asia, where several
markets and industries we work in are generally viewed ashaving higher exposure to non-compliance risks. Bearing
this in mind, it is imperative that our employees and business partners understand our values and our expected
standards of business conduct and uphold these principles
in all their activities.
The Board of Directors of DKSH is responsible for adopting
the Group’s compliance standards and policies and supervising their application. Working in tandem with local governance bodies, our senior leadership plays a pivotal role incommunicating our values in word and deed. This includes
DKSH’s Executive Committee at the Group level, the Boardsof our publicly listed entities in Malaysia and Indonesia, andall our local Country Management Teams.

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About

Strategy and Governance

Our People

Our Business

Our Outcome

AppendixCompliance Program
As an organization operating in markets and industries
where inducements in the form of gifts, hospitality, or otherformats are not uncommon, actively managing bribery risks
features high on our corporate agenda. At DKSH, bribery
is understood to be a form of corruption that includes offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting an item of value to influence the actions or decisions of an individual or organization in a position of power or authority. The Group Risk
department manages bribery as part of the Governance,
Risk, and Compliance (GRC) Function. Our management
approach to mitigating these risks is addressed in several
Group policies, including our:‣ Compliance Policy‣ Donations Policy‣ Anti-Bribery Monitoring Policy‣ Anti-Corruption and Anti-Bribery (ABAC) Policy‣ Gifts, Hospitality & Entertainment (GHE) Policy‣ Third-Party Intermediary (TPI) Policy‣ Conflict of Interest (COI) Policy‣ Manuals for Interaction with Healthcare ­Professionals(IHCP) for our Pharmaceutical, Medical Devices, and­Diagnostics product categories‣ Non-Trade Procurement (NTP) Policy
A comprehensive compliance management system and program address compliance with our anti-bribery standards.
These efforts are guided by our ABAC and related policies,
which reflect recognized international regulations, such as
the U.K. Bribery Act 2010 and the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
Our Compliance Policy is the backbone of our complianceprogram. It defines the fundamental principles of compliance, sets out responsibilities, and specifies how this Function is organized within DKSH. The Policy designates integrity and reputation as key assets at DKSH. Under its
provisions, management is in charge of compliance at
DKSH, but all employees share responsibility for its implementation. The Policy outlines these core principles to increase ownership of compliance risks.
DKSH manages fraud under the Group’s Internal Audit Function (GIA) and within the framework of DKSH’s Anti-Fraud Policy. Fraud is considered to be an activity that relies on deception to achieve a gain. It becomes a crime when it is a “knowing
misrepresentation of the truth or concealment of a material
fact to induce another to act to his or her detriment” 32.
Risk Assessment
In 2018, we launched an enhanced bribery risk assessment
process33 to be rolled out across all our markets, with prioritization based on national scores in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI). By the end of 2023,
15 of our markets had adopted our bribery risk assessment
process, representing 100 % of our significant operations. We

identify risks using a detailed mapping process. The level ofrisk is determined using the Group’s Risk Management policy and procedures, and appropriate controls are assigned.
For example, working with intermediaries in business transactions potentially increases the risk of bribery; controls include due diligence requirements for standard or enhanced
procedures depending on the assigned risk levels.
Interaction with healthcare professionals, which is highly regulated at national and global levels, is another area where wehave identified and addressed a risk of non-compliance withthe law. We also carefully monitor and manage the handlingof gifts and hospitality. Furthermore, we are aware of andmitigate bribery-related risks during procurement, when obtaining product and/or marketing approvals, and in the bidding process for public tenders. All risks and their mitigating
controls are documented in detailed Bribery Risks & Controls (BRC) templates. Controls include documenting control
processes and procedures, how controls are communicatedwithin the organization, and how relevant personnel are instructed and trained to perform controls. BRC templates arereviewed and revised annually to ensure that they are up to
date. These templates also serve as the basis for review andenforcement activities by the corporate compliance team.
DKSH’s bribery risk assessment approach is closely alignedwith the company’s broader risk management policies. It
closely follows the ABAC risk assessment process, which is
conducted regularly at the Business Unit level.
The Board of Directors is involved in our risk management
processes. It receives quarterly updates on the results of thebribery risk assessment by the GRC Function and on the results of ABAC risk assessments. Furthermore, the Board of
Directors provides regular feedback on risk management
processes, also beyond formal processes, and in particularwhen critical risks occur.
We handle fraud-related risks using a separate process.
Under DKSH’s Anti-Fraud Policy, the Group’s Internal Audit
Function investigates fraud-related cases and regularly reviews monitoring procedures to mitigate fraud risks in audits. Using a formal reporting process, significant cases arereported to the Board’s Audit Committee five times per year.

‣ GRI 2-12, GRI 2-24, GRI 205-1
Conflicts of Interest
In addition to performing risk assessments, our complianceprogram includes training, education, reviews, and audits,
as well as investigations and corrective actions if incidents
occur. Managing conflicts of interest (COI) is critical in any
compliance program.
32 Source: Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.
33 Based on “Diagnosing Bribery Risk”, Guidance for the Conduct of Effective Bribery
Risk Assessment, Transparency International UK.

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Our People

We continued to train our employees on conflicts of interest in 2023. Altogether, 100 % of in-scope employees were­assigned this topic in our License to Operate refresher training, which was launched across 29 markets in June, July,­August, and September 2023.
Compliance Training

Our Outcome

Appendix

us enhance user engagement and learning outcomes. In addition, a leading law firm validated our compliance training
content to ensure that it meets regulatory requirements. We
also introduced dashboards and data analytics tools to provide insights and real-time data so that managers can oversee completion of compliance training within their teams.

Training and education are cornerstones of our complianceprogram and are instrumental in driving and maintaining
a culture of ethics and compliance. Within three monthsof joining our organization, all new employees undergo­mandatory compliance training, including on the Code of
Conduct and avoiding corruption, as part of our thoroughonboarding procedures.

In 2023, our training focused on deploying o­ rganizationwide compliance refresher training on all our compliancepolicies (on topics such as Cyber Security Awareness, License
to Operate, and Privacy and Data Protection Basics) by different Functions in the same rollout month for each market.
Our License to Operate training covers our Anti-Bribery andAnti-Corruption (ABAC), Code of Conduct, Conflicts of Interest and Gifts, Hospitality & Entertainment policies.

In 2022, we completely revamped our compliance training to
improve efficiency. Rolling out an interactive format helped

Our Fraud Awareness training was again provided only to
new staff members in the same markets in 2023.

‣ GRI 2-24
License to Operate Training Completion by Employee Category
Employee category

In scope

Employees34

CompletedRatio

14,961

14,60997.65 %

3,658

3,613

98.77 %

Others36465

449

96.56 %

Workers

2,300

2,286

99.39 %

21,384

20,95798.00 %

Management

35

37

Total

License to Operate Training Completion by Region
Employee category

In scope

Completed

Ratio

Greater China38

2,010

2,010

100.00 %Malaysia and Singapore

3,601

3,590

99.69 %

Rest of Asia Pacific

8,872

8,793

99.11%

Rest of the world

404

396

98.02 %

Thailand

6,497

6,168

94.94 %

Total

21,384

20,95798.00 %‣ GRI 205-2
34 DKSH employees as well as client staff performing office work or semi-professional
office, administrative, and sales coordination tasks and individuals with supervising tasks.
35 Members of the Executive Committee, corporate or local heads of Business Unitsor key Functions, and DKSH employees with P&L and/or budget responsibility,­direct reports, and function specialists/heads/managers.
36 Individuals expected to remain in an employment situation with DKSH or DKSH’s
clients only for a certain period of time such as temporary employees with a fixedterm contract, trainees, apprentices, or interns as well as contractors.
37 DKSH employees as well as client staff performing manual labor and being considered as skilled or unskilled workers.
38 Includes mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.

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Our Business

Our Outcome

Appendix

Ethics in the Medical Sector

Compliance Incidents Reporting and Investigations

As a distributor of pharmaceutical and medical devices,
DKSH’s Healthcare Business Unit regularly interacts withhealthcare professionals (HCPs). We support ethical business conduct by endorsing relevant industry codes of ethics(International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers
and Associations [IEPMA], Asia Pacific Medical Technology
Association [APACMed]) and through active membership in
the respective industry associations.

Our Compliance Incidents Reporting and Investigations(CIRI) policy provides guidance on the procedures to be followed when reporting and investigating incidents, including the roles, responsibilities, and authorities of the parties
involved. The policy applies to DKSH Holding Ltd. and allits subsidiaries and affiliates worldwide, including all DKSH
employees. Fraud cases are covered separately by our Anti-Fraud Policy and related findings are handled by theGroup’s Internal Audit Function.

Comprehensive Manuals for Interactions with HCPs in our
Pharmaceutical, Medical Devices, and Diagnostics productcategories convert these codes of ethics into internal processes and procedures. By doing so, we ensure compliancewith the relevant local codes when interacting with HCPs
and enhancing DKSH’s compliance program. In 2022, welaunched a new IT platform. This intuitive HCP engagement
solution is designed to simplify expense monitoring processes related to interactions with HCPs and includes business, compliance, and finance monitoring. Since the launchof our new IT platform in 2022, we have observed a marked
improvement in the efficiency and accuracy of our expense
monitoring processes related to HCP interactions. Feedback
from our business, compliance, and finance teams underscores the platform’s effectiveness in streamlining workflows and enhancing oversight.
Integrity Along Our Supply Chain
As an outsourcing partner for our clients, we are committed
to upholding integrity in the supply chain within our sphereof influence. This includes our business partners, such as
customs brokers, event organizers, and forwarding companies, whom we rely on for parts of our service delivery.
DKSH does not maintain relationships with business partners that do not share our values and meet our standards
for doing business. Business partners are engaged basedon written service contracts that include anti-corruption
and anti-fraud compliance clauses, with both our Supplier
Business Conduct Policy and the ABAC policy serving as contractual requirements. All service providers must undergorisk-based due diligence procedures before admission.
Screening processes are periodically refreshed upon contract renewal, within one year of admission, or on an ad hoc
basis when specific warning signs have been raised throughour monitoring processes. Our Supplier Business Conduct
Policy, which includes DKSH’s anti-fraud and anti-corruption
policies, is communicated to all business partners acting forand on behalf of DKSH. In 2023, we did not record any incidents of contracts with business partners being terminatedor not renewed due to corruption-related violations.

‣ GRI 205-2, GRI 205-3

We support and encourage people to report concerns using
the Integrity Line. This secure online reporting platform
gives employees and external parties a 24/7 channel to notify concerns in confidence and, at the reporter’s discretion,
anonymously.
Employees and business partners can use the Integrity Lineto report any misconduct, especially violations of applicablelaw and/or DKSH internal standards, rules, regulations, orprocedures. Such concerns might relate to unethical business practices, bribery or fraud, harassment, conflicts of interest, inappropriate workplace behavior, or any other activity suspected of violating the Code of Conduct, our company
policies, or the law.
All reports are properly reviewed and kept confidential. Our
strict non-retaliation policy protects reporters who raise
concerns in good faith.
We publicize the existence of our Integrity Line internallyand externally, with the aim of empowering employees andexternal parties to speak up and promptly report any incidents of corruption or other misconduct.
Under the guidance of the Group’s Compliance or Internal
Audit Functions, cases are investigated, and errant parties areadequately sanctioned. Our CIRI Policy sets out the procedure
to be followed for all reports received via the Integrity Line.
This procedure includes a preliminary assessment and triage
by a case coordinator and further actions based on the natureand substance of the report. A case owner will be assigned toinvestigate sufficiently substantiated reports. Such investigations can result in disciplinary actions or sanctions where evidence has been obtained to substantiate an allegation.
Cases reported using other channels, such as email or verbal means, are reported immediately to the case owner andare subject to the same procedure.
DKSH has zero tolerance for retaliation against anyone who reports incidents in good faith. Such assurances are provided to
employees via clear commitments contained in the ABAC andother policies and to those reporting using the Integrity Line.
All incidents reported under the CIRI Policy are recorded
using the Integrity Line tool. In 2023, we recorded 140 reports, mostly relating to complaints in employee matters.

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Our People

Our Outcome

Appendix

Incidents Reported via the DKSH Integrity Line by Type of Incident
Type of incident

Number of incidents reported

Anti-competition issues

1

Corruption

15

Data protection, IT security

3

Employee matters

63

Environment

0

Fair play, conflicts of interest

15

Fraud, embezzlement, misappropriation, theft

25

Health and Safety

4Interactions with Healthcare Professionals39

14

Total

140
Effectiveness of the Compliance Program

We thoroughly examine all reports recorded and, if warranted, initiate an investigation. In 2023, we recorded 140
reports via the Integrity Line or other channels. Overall, 48
reports (34 %) were sufficiently substantiated to be investigated, of which 5 reports related to corruption. Of these
5 corruption cases, 4 resulted in termination or voluntary
resignation, and the remaining case continues to be underinvestigation. For the 4 cases, the internal DKSH anti-corruption policy had been violated, though no corruption-related legislation had been breached. Updates on compliance concerns and our compliance program are reported
to the Audit Committee quarterly and to the Board of Directors annually.

‣ GRI 2-16, GRI 2-25, GRI 2-26, GRI 205-3

Ensuring the proper application of compliance standards
falls under the remit of management at all levels. The
Group’s Compliance Function supports management by
providing advice, methodologies, and tools. Moreover, it
performs reviews to assess the level of awareness, understanding, and application of standards and compliance controls through a structured review and tailored enforcement
program.
We regularly review how effectively our compliance program is rolled out across our markets and take immediate action to resolve any shortcomings flagged by these reviews. The results of such assignments are independently
reported to the Board of Directors. Externally, DKSH’s compliance program is assessed by prospective or active clients
and/or external audit firms appointed by them. We give ourfull assistance to these assessments, which include thorough due diligence procedures and pre- or post-contract
compliance audits and reviews. Our Group also makes useof any results of such assessments to strengthen our compliance program. No instances of non-compliance with laws
and regulations occurred in 2023. Moreover, we did not record any public legal cases regarding corruption or fraudbrought against DKSH or its employees in 2023.

‣ GRI 2-27, GRI 205-3

39 Interaction with Healthcare Professionals relates to the company’s engagement
and collaboration with medical experts and healthcare providers. These ­incidents
specifically relate to instances where breaches occurred, primarily related tolapses in following our own internal procedures.

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Our Business

Our Outcome

Appendix

Responsible
Marketing Practices
Committed to Responsible Advertising
Our main business involves marketing and distributing
products sourced from manufacturers. Many of these products are imported and require local customization before
they are fit for sale. We also engage in significant marketing, advertising, and sizable relabeling activities under ourbrand. As public awareness grows and new policy initiatives
addressing transparency increase the demand for accurate
and complete product information, this topic is highly relevant to DKSH’s business model and brand reputation.
The marketing of our products can pose inherent risks without proper management or relevant and necessary productinformation. There is always a risk that marketing promises,
incomplete product information, and labeling may prevent
consumers from making informed decisions. At DKSH, wewant to avoid this potential negative impact on consumers, so we have made responsible marketing a key practice. Adapting and customizing products to meet regulatory
requirements, including product labeling, is an important
DKSH service offering. Our regulatory affairs teams in thevarious Business Units are responsible for establishing standard operating procedures and for monitoring compliancewith assistance from our quality assurance teams. Our Business Unit Healthcare, which faces especially stringent regulations, performs customization work in accordance with
Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP). Our Business Unit Performance Materials implements and audits against the strict
requirements for classification, labeling, and packaging of
the Globally Harmonized System (GHS).
When marketing our Own Brand products, our Regulatory
Affairs teams ensure we adhere to applicable laws. We observe guidelines on responsible marketing published by therelevant industry bodies for all products distributed by ourBusiness Units Consumer Goods and Healthcare. Policies,
procedures, and controls are in place and are supported bytraining activities to ensure that the marketing of our products meets our standards and expectations. All our regulatory affairs specialists have the professional training andqualifications needed to perform their work in accordancewith applicable regulations and internal standards. DKSH
carefully monitors and validates relevant product data fromclients on an ongoing basis and takes corrective actions
where appropriate. The relevant Business Unit addresses
any complaints about marketing and labeling.

In 2023, DKSH recorded two incidents of non-compliancewith regulations on product and service information andlabeling. One incident resulted in a warning, the other ina penalty. DKSH recorded no incidents of non-compliancewith regulations concerning marketing communications.

‣ GRI 417-2, GRI 417-3
Industry-Specific Marketing in the Healthcare BusinessIn many jurisdictions, advertising and promoting healthcare
products are highly regulated, often limited, or even prohibited. Many products are prescribed or dispensed by healthcare professionals or require professional expertise for theirapplication. Various segments within the healthcare industry(specifically for prescription drugs and medical devices) andin the food sector (e.g. infant nutrition) have adopted codesof ethics advocating responsible marketing of their products.
DKSH adheres to these standards through membership ofthe ­respective industry associations (e.g. local associationsof the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations [IEPMA], or the Asia Pacific Medical
Technology Association [APACMed]) and by operating management programs to ensure compliance by employees andservice ­providers.
Preventing Anti-Competitive Behavior
Our Code of Conduct stipulates that DKSH does businessusing fair market practices and in full compliance with applicable competition/antitrust laws. All DKSH employees haveto attend annual training on the Code of Conduct.
In addition to the Code of Conduct, we have a Policy on Fair
Competition whose guidelines are based on European Competition law and explain the basic provisions of antitrust and competition laws. This Policy must be strictly complied with when­ever we interact with competitors. It is designed to improve
managers’ and employees’ awareness of the basic rules of competition law and their implications for business decisions.
Moreover, DKSH’s Contract Manual sets out guidelines thatneed to be followed to avoid anti-competitive risks. For instance, the Contract Manual states that if a contract with
suppliers and manufacturers where DKSH is purchasing andreselling the suppliers’ or manufacturers’ products is exclusive, it must be ensured that either party does not have an
actual market share of more than 30 % in the relevant market
to avoid a breach of applicable competition laws. The Contract Manual also strictly prohibits resale price maintenanceand contains directions to avoid non-compete clauses.

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Our People

Contracts with business partners are thoroughly and diligently vetted by the legal department, including a review
of potential issues related to antitrust and competition law.
The legal department is in regular contact with businessteams and, as needed, conducts training on antitrust andcompetition law-related aspects relevant to day-to-day business to ensure compliance with antitrust and competition
laws. Between 2019 and 2021, for example, we conducted a
total of four global online training courses and one regional
training course for three Business Units. The target group forthese sessions comprised managers of the three Business
Units, who are regularly involved in contract negotiations.
Further internal training sessions have been conducted in
Hong Kong, Australia, and Malaysia. The legal team also recently received training from an external legal counsel.
DKSH performs regular audits to verify compliance of its
contracts with the standards set forth in the Contract M­ anual(including those which relate to competition/antitrust law).
In 2023, no legal actions were filed against DKSH for breachof anti-competition law or violations of antitrust and monopoly legislation.

‣ GRI 2-27, GRI 206-1

Responsible Tax Practices
Taking a Responsible Approach to Taxes
As a multinational company, we drive sustainable economic
growth in markets around the world through the economic
value we create. In turn, this has a positive impact on our
stakeholders, such as providing returns and dividends forour shareholders, salaries for our employees, and tax payments to local governments.
Our company is committed to complying with tax laws in all
markets where we operate and to paying taxes in the markets where revenue is generated. Intra-Group transactions
are carried out under market conditions and are supported
by transfer pricing documentation. All inter-Group transactions are subject to the ‘arm’s length’ principle described in
the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) Transfer Pricing Guidelines. We are cooperative and transparent in our interactions with local tax authorities and strive to achieve a swift resolution to tax matters.
DKSH has a Group Tax Policy in place, which is reviewed annually by the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Head of Tax.
The policy is approved by the Board of Directors. Any proposed amendments are subject to the Board’s approval. The
Group Tax Policy is aligned with the Group’s Code of Conduct and applies to all tax and finance professionals whodeal with tax matters within the Group.

Our Business

Our Outcome

Appendix

The policy is aligned with our business strategy and commercial activities. It ensures that we pay the right amountof taxes that are legally due in the jurisdictions where we dobusiness. For example, when we consolidate acquired entities or reorganize the legal structure, our primary goal is tominimize compliance costs and optimize taxes where possible in accordance with local tax laws. Such restructuring
plans are properly articulated in internal memos and submitted to relevant internal stakeholders for approval in accordance with the Limit of Authority policy. We rely on internal expertise of our regulatory, tax, finance, secretarial,
and legal teams while also seeking external advice, where
needed, to ensure we fully comply with local regulations.
In particular, the Group Tax Policy sets out five core guidelines. It ensures compliance by stipulating our tax compliance process flow and the obligations of each entity within
the Group. Our tax policy is available internally on our finance portal to ensure all employees have access.
Tax Risks
We take tax risks very seriously, so we have established processes to manage and monitor these risks. The Group Tax
Policy is aligned with the Group’s broader risk and control
framework.
Apart from communicating regularly with Country FinanceManagers, the Group Tax team prepares a monthly tax report for the CFO and senior management. This report updates the recording and tracking of reported tax risks
and all forms of tax fluxes and losses, payments, etc. This
monthly report is a management tool to oversee and control the Group’s tax affairs. We have also created a tax dashboard, which highlights the most known material tax risks
for DKSH and tracks the corporate tax return submission
compliance rate and tax audit status. The dashboard also
shares transfer pricing benchmarking data within the Groupand is accessible 24/7.
The Board of Directors oversees DKSH’s tax risk management processes. The Board and the Audit Committee receive
annual updates on tax opportunities and major tax risks. Our
Group Tax Policy also sets out an appropriate escalation process. Tax matters requiring significant judgements or decisions are escalated to the Country Management Teams and/or the Senior Executive Team. Any major tax risk that materializes or reaches a significant level is communicated to the
Audit Committee and the Executive Committee.
Employees and external parties can report concerns about
unethical or unlawful tax-related behavior using the Integrity
Line, our online reporting platform. More information on thischannel can be found in the Combatting Corruption chapter.

‣ GRI 207-1, GRI 207-2, GRI 207-3

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Our Business

Our Outcome

Appendix

Data Privacy and Protection
Our Management and Governance Structure

How We Handle Personal Data

Data theft, leakage, and security have become genuine
concerns for all companies in today’s digital and interconnected world. Our business operations inevitably handle
large amounts of data related to products, services, customers, and business partners. Moreover, DKSH may needto collect personal data about employees, contractors, andothers. Since we serve clients who are also competitors, ensuring confidentiality is critical.

Our data privacy department trains our employees and conducts awareness campaigns globally to provide the best
possible security for the personal data we handle. We constantly review our internal procedures and update theseprocedures in accordance with new data protection laws
around the world. Our access control procedure also protects personal and sensitive personal data. At DKSH, accessis automatically provided when employees join the company
and is removed when they leave. Such access is typically limited based on the ‘least-privileged principle’, meaning that
employees are only granted access to the areas required
for their role.

Bearing all of this in mind, we have taken action to prevent
data loss in order to reduce the potential negative impactthat this might have on companies and individuals and their
human rights. For instance, data privacy and protection
form part of our corporate strategy.
As our Code of Conduct states, we are fully committed toprocessing and protecting personal data with due care. In
addition, our Data Protection Policy manages privacy anddata security issues and covers all personal data that DKSH
collects, transfers, or uses. The Policy applies to all DKSH entities and employees.
We pledge to comply with applicable data protection laws
and to adhere to our principle of protecting confidentiality. Our Information Security Program and Cyber Security
Strategy are endorsed and supported by the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors. The Group’s Chief Information Officer is responsible for implementing the Security Program and the Cyber Security Strategy. This Officer
reports directly to the CEO. Our cybersecurity team manages data security issues and reports to the Chief Information Officer. Our Legal Function is subordinated to the General Counsel, who is a member of the Executive Committee
and is responsible for data privacy initiatives. In addition,
DKSH has a Data Governance Committee. Staffed by representatives from each Business Unit, Function, Legal and IT,
this Committee is responsible for all data governance topics,
such as data quality, accessibility, and integrity.
Our strategy focuses on countermeasures to prevent cyberthreats, developing an organization-wide information security maturity model, and running Group-wide cybersecurity
awareness programs. Under this strategy, we continue tomature our cybersecurity capabilities.

We inform all data subjects before we collect their personal
data and only process personal data in keeping with the law.
As stipulated by our Data Protection Policy and in keepingwith the ‘data minimization’ principle, we process personal
data only for the purpose for which it is collected. We retain personal data for as long as local law requires. We delete personal data from systems and servers once this timeframe is reached.
DKSH does not sell or provide personal data to third parties
for purposes other than completing transactions/services.
We explicitly seek consent in cases where we do need to use
third-party data for other purposes.
It is essential to us that our suppliers and business partners,
in turn, protect personal data in accordance with our standards. Since 2022, as part of our due diligence processes,
we have required our vendors to comply with our cybersecurity and data protection standards and include such requirements in their own contracts. Before entering into abusiness relationship, we screen new vendors on their cybersecurity and data protection procedures.
As in previous years, DKSH received no complaints related
to data breaches from data subjects (customers, clients, orvendors) or data protection authorities in 2023. Similarly,
DKSH is not aware of any identified leaks, thefts, or lossesof customer data.

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Our People

Our Business

Our Outcome

Appendix

Our IT Incident Management Procedure

Certifications

A dedicated global Information Security team is available
via a 24/7 hotline to respond to urgent security matters or
IT incidents, such as breaches of confidential information.
We also work with a third-party vendor to perform aroundthe-clock security monitoring. This vendor will first review
security alerts raised as a result of this monitoring process.
Confirmed incidents are forwarded to DKSH’s Security Operation Center (SOC) team for further action. The SOC teamhas a set of defined incident response playbooks to deal
with various types of security incidents. Severe incidents
will be dealt with by our major incident response team until
they are sufficiently resolved.

Our Corporate Shared Services Center’s SAP information
system infrastructure has been ISO 27001:2013-certified
since 2018. Since gaining this certification, we have conducted several surveillance audits to ensure process adherence. We passed our latest ISO 27001:2013 surveillance audit
in September 2023. Our quality assurance team ensures thatthe required standards are met on an ongoing basis.

Training and Awareness-Raising
We train our staff on various topics relating to information
security. In 2023, about 17,400 employees out of about
18,000 for whom the training is intended completed the security awareness online program. This means 96 % of thetarget group completed the training (2022: 96 %). DKSH’s
main digital and IT hub is located in Malaysia. Each market
has its own local IT team responsible for in-country technology needs and support. We provide regular Group-wide
cybersecurity awareness training to all employees with access to computer devices via the DKSH learning platform. In
addition, digital and IT newsletters and ad hoc digital andIT newsflashes help maintain awareness of sensitive topics
across all markets.

Our digital and IT systems undergo regular independent audits by external stakeholders and the Group’s Internal Audit
team. Additionally, the Group IT Security team reviews IT
infrastructure on a regular basis. Our business continuity
and contingency plans and incident response procedures
are tested twice yearly.

‣ GRI 2-27, GRI 418-1

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Our Business

Our Outcome

Appendix

Our Outcome

We deliver a wide variety of products and services that enrichpeople’s lives. Our company empowers people by supplying
them with goods that are safe and are delivered with i­ntegrity.
Moreover, we strive to support local communities in themarkets we operate by providing employment opportunities
and engaging in charitable projects.

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Our People

Our Outcome

Our Business

Appendix

Local Community Development
Our Impacts

Our company has a positive impact
on local communities. We provide
employment and development opportunities and support the underprivileged through local charitableprojects. At DKSH, we also know thatour business activities may have anegative impact on local people, forinstance, in the form of impacts onhuman health and the environment
in local communities.

Local Hiring and Skills Development
One way that we help local communities is by employing andempowering people. We believe that sharing business practices across cultures contributes to local skills and economic
development. Our diverse teams represent various culturesand backgrounds and help DKSH serve as a bridge between
international clients and local customers. To this end, wehire a considerable number of local sales representatives,
merchandisers, and warehouse workers across the markets
where we operate.
In 2023, DKSH had around 29,000 employees, covering 97
nationalities, meaning that we speak the language and understand the culture of our business partners in the 35 markets where we operate. In 2023, 80 % of employees serving
on our market leadership teams 40 were hired locally41. Our
goal is to keep this figure stable in the years ahead. Within
our markets with significant operations 42, 77 % of all senior43
managers were hired from the host market (2022: 74 %).

Percentage ofsenior managers hiredfrom host market

23 %

77 %

LocalsPercentage ofmarket leadership teams
hired locally

20 %

80 %

Non-locals‣ GRI 202-2

40 Market leadership teams refers to heads of each Business Unit and Function withina market.
41 Local refers to employees either born in or who have the legal right to resideindefinitely (such as naturalized citizens or permanent visa holders) in the samegeographic market as the operation.
42 DKSH defines significant operations as all markets with more than 500 employees.
This includes the 11 markets of Australia, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia,
Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.
43 Senior refers to managers in corporate, regional, or local management roles.

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Our Business

Our Outcome

Appendix

Our Social Impact Strategy
In 2023 we developed our Social Impact Strategy, which is
closely aligned with our purpose of enriching people’s lives
and specifies how we are working to reach the Sustainability Strategy’s objective of making a positive local impact.
The Strategy provides guidance about how to make a positive local impact. For example, it states that social impact activities fall into three categories: (1) monetary or in-kind donations to non-political/non-religious groups whose primary
purpose is to support groups such as children, the elderly,
less privileged members of society or communities affectedby adverse events, (2) organizing local community activities,and (3) engaging in partnerships to support local impact activities. The Strategy does not cover the sponsorship of activities with a commercial background, employee activities,
or programs. In addition, as stated in our Code of Conduct,
DKSH does not engage in political processes or donate to political causes.
The Social Impact Strategy was developed based on the commitment set out in our existing policies, such as our Codeof Conduct. We also benchmarked our approach against selected competitors and peers, and collected input from ourBusiness Units and market teams.
The Strategy brings together initiatives at three different levels. Firstly, our globally driven social impact initiatives aim tocontribute to the development of our local communities. They
are proposed and coordinated by Group Sustainability.
Secondly, each Business Unit will drive social impact initiatives aligned with its business activities. The initiatives will beselected, funded, and implemented by the Business Unit. Our
Business Units will focus on the following impacts:‣ Consumer Goods: Working to provide access to food andnon-food products for people facing hunger and in needin our local communities, reducing waste in the process‣ Healthcare: Forging access to healthcare for all membersof our local communities‣ Performance Materials: Giving children access to healthynutrition and education without barriers‣ Technology: Supporting education in the community byproviding access to science and technology

Thirdly, we will implement initiatives driven by our markets.
The market teams will define, fund, execute, and track these
initiatives. Potential initiatives here include blood donationsand volunteering in patient outreach and soup kitchens.

In 2023 and the preceding years, we conducted a number of
initiatives and projects that now fall within the scope of theSocial Impact Strategy. We give back and create healthier andhappier communities, for example by engaging in charitableprojects and selected sponsorship programs. During 2023,
we supported 94 charitable projects in 24 markets as partof our commitment to the local communities where we operate. Charitable activities took place in 100 % of our significant markets. The following paragraphs provide an overview
of our activities in the Business Units and markets.
Business Unit Healthcare:
Promoting Access to Food, Medicines, and Healthcare
In keeping with our objective to Make a Positive Local Impact,
our Business Unit Healthcare undertakes a range of activities
to generate positive local impact. Our teams engage in projects to improve access to medicines and healthcare within
their local areas of reach. For example, we choose to donate
rather than destroy products and supply life-saving products
to the best of our ability.
In 2023, DKSH’s Business Unit Healthcare launched its inaugural Patient Purpose Day across 11 global markets. This annual initiative took place in the month of September in conjunction with World Patient Safety Day, with more than 5,000
employees participating from the Business Unit and eight client partners supporting the initiative. It reinforces the company’s commitment to enhancing patient outcomes and fostering a more meaningful impact on the healthcare landscape.
As part of the initiative, DKSH has partnered with the local Red
Cross and Red Crescent Societies in key Southeast Asian markets, including Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia.
This work seeks to support ongoing humanitarian causes thatstrongly align with DKSH’s commitment to improving the quality of life in the communities it serves. These causes include
health screenings for disadvantaged people in rural areas, theElderAid program for senior citizens, and investments in disaster preparedness and response. We collected corporate donations of more than CHF 25,000 as part of this initiative.
Moreover, our Business Unit Healthcare is carrying out onsite activities involving key client partners in Taiwan, thePhilippines, Cambodia, Myanmar, Switzerland, Australia, andKorea. In the Philippines, for instance, we partnered with thePhilippine Heart Center and Philippines General Hospital. We
also joined forces with Pink Ribbon in Switzerland and donated CHF 2,800 to the Taiwan Foundation for Rare Disorders in Taiwan.

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Our Business

Our Outcome

Appendix

Along with providing access to food, medicines, and healthcare, Business Unit Healthcare also offers patient support
programs with online and offline capabilities. Today, we aresolving issues surrounding access, adherence, and convenience while ensuring that the patient is at the center of care.
Our solutions have helped boost access to high-quality medicines, educate and guide patients through their care journey,
and increase reach in both urban and rural regions.

In Vietnam, the Business Unit Technology created a space
to nurture children’s scientific potential in the “Tomorrow
Space” project in 2023. In line with the project objective, we
leveraged our technical expertise to stage interesting scientific workshops for children and display advanced devices inthis space for them to experience.

In 2023, our impact spanned more than 44,000 patients ineight markets, collaborating with 7,400 healthcare providers. Our “Buy X Get Y Free” aids affordability for treatment
in Asia ­Pacific.

Business Unit Consumer Goods and Markets

Aligned with our mission of “Healthcare for All”, we educate
over 1,000 patients through a dedicated team of more than
100 nurse educators. We maintain a balance between in-person and video visits, with half the visits currently conducted
through video calls, contributing to emission reduction.
From an environmental perspective, our digitization efforts
saved over 20,000 sheets of paper in 2022.

‣ GRI 203-1, GRI 203-2
Business Unit Technology:
Focus on Education and Equal Opportunities
Our Business Unit Technology is carrying out several initiatives to increase local employee engagement. In 2023, we
introduced a new locally driven initiative that gives our employees the chance to engage in charitable and social impact
activities in all Business Unit Technology markets. In addition,
in Vietnam and Thailand, the Business Unit Technology financially supports social impact activities undertaken by our joint
venture partner Cummins. These activities focus on education and equal opportunities and on enhancing economic empowerment for indigenous women. Additional activities werecarried out by our Joint Venture Cummins DKSH Myanmar.
In Thailand, the Business Unit works closely with the local disability community as part of its activities. Thai law stipulates
that companies must either support a fund financially or employ people with disabilities to help such people obtain decent and productive work. Our Business Unit Technology has
opted to give disabled people a real opportunity to earn theirown living in Thailand by choosing the second option. As partof a project in 2023, we assisted four visually impaired people
in learning computer skills and working as content bloggers
as outsourced staff for DKSH. In this project, the four people
were trained by the founder of an IT company, who is visually impaired himself.

‣ GRI 203-1, GRI 203-2
Our Business Unit Consumer Goods offers employment opportunities for people living with disabilities who struggle toenter the workplace. For example, the Business Unit employs
11 hearing-impaired people from the local community at Famous Amos cookie outlets in Malaysia.
In March 2022, our Business Unit Consumer Goods signed
an agreement with the Global FoodBanking Network (GFN),
a non-profit organization that develops and supports foodbanks in more than 40 markets. This partnership aims toscale up efforts to recover and distribute surplus food andnon-food products throughout the Asia Pacific region. To
kick off this partnership, we made donations to SOS Thailand and Feeding Hong Kong, the GFN’s partners in Thailandand Hong Kong. These endeavors will continue and will berolled out to other GFN local food banks in more markets.
Overall, in 2023, Business Unit Consumer Goods raised its
food and non-food donations to 166 metric tons (from 132
metric tons in 2022).
In 2023, as an overarching collaboration across all Business
Units, we engaged in our final year of collaboration with Right
To Play in the Thai market. This non-profit organization exited
Thailand this year. Over the last 17 years, we have embarked
on many projects to educate and empower children facing
adversity with Right To Play, reaching more than 35,000 children and youths in Thailand. This partnership ­included athree-year collaboration with the Liverpool FC Foundationfrom 2020 to 2022, improving the life skills of children andyouths through sports- and play-based social engagements.

‣ GRI 203-1, GRI 203-2

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About

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Our People

Our Business

Our Outcome

Appendix

Mitigating Negative Community Impacts
Along with improving health and well-being, we want to reduce any negative social and environmental impacts that wehave on local communities. Environmental impacts can include pollution or emissions. As part of our due diligence, in
2022, we conducted an environmental risk and impact assessment (ERIA) in six markets and at 11 sites to investigate
their impacts on their immediate surroundings. For more information on the environmental risk assessment, please see
the Pollution Prevention chapter. Equally, we strive to manage social impacts on communities. One important area hereis safe driving, since we and our contractors travel a lot in
local traffic in the course of business, for instance when visiting customers or delivering orders. We continue our efforts
to promote road safety by rolling out campaigns across markets such as Thailand and Malaysia. In 2023, we raised awareness of road safety issues in Malaysia with the Health, Safety,
and Environment Day.
Poor infrastructure makes road safety especially challenging in Thailand. With this in mind, DKSH has taken a variety of measures to improve driver safety in Thailand. We already map the number of accidents occurring in the Thai
market and identify why incidents occurred in the firstplace. In 2023, we recorded 103 traffic accidents (up from 77
in 2022) involving DKSH employees (46) and contractors (57)in Thailand. We counted the number of traffic accidents occurring outside our premises (50) and on site (53). Our goal
is to have a 100 % accident and incident reporting rate. We
encourage all DKSH employees and contractors to report all
incidents and accidents, regardless of their severity level,
to make sure this goal is reached, for instance, at meetings
with supervisors and monthly contractor meetings.

We attribute the increase in the number of traffic accidents
to our successful efforts to encourage subcontractors to report all accidents and incidents they encounter while working for DKSH. Increased reporting signifies that we are successfully building trust with our subcontractors and fostering
a culture of reporting.
Nevertheless, we strive to reduce the number of accidents.
All reported cases are thoroughly investigated with relevant
parties to identify root causes and necessary corrective andpreventive actions. We have implemented suitable measures aligning with the hierarchy of control, starting fromhazard elimination to the use of personal protective equipment (PPE). Additionally, we prioritize employee and contractor education and awareness through over 4,000 hours
of defensive driving and road safety training. More than
1,000 employees driving company vehicles and 700 contractors participated in defensive driving training in 2023.
The courses were also offered to contractors, as they are responsible for more than half of all accidents.
In 2023, we reached our goal of offering training to all drivers both within the DKSH fleet and working for contractors.
In the coming years, we will continue to provide training for
new drivers and refresher training for existing drivers.

‣ GRI 413-1, GRI 413-2

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Our Business

Our Outcome

Appendix

Product Quality and Safety
Our Impacts

Our business is built on trust and integrity: Our clients entrust us withmarketing and distributing theirproducts and expect us to preserve
the quality and safety of their goods
while under our care and custody.
Business Unit Healthcare improves
people’s quality of life through providing access to healthcare, while
Business Unit Consumer Goods promotes access to high-quality consumer goods. Business Unit Performance Materials positively influences
the safety and quality of end products
by providing specialty chemicals andingredients. Business Unit Technology’s focus is on safe and high-quality
technology equipment.
We know that product integrity andsupply issues have different positive
and negative impacts on people, including their human rights, and on
society as a whole. We have positive
impacts by combatting the spread ofcounterfeit products; this protects
people and society against harmful
effects. However, potential negative
impacts may exist if we trade in products with health risks to consumers,such as medicines with dangerous
side effects.

Attaining the Highest Standards
We have quality management systems in place across all
product categories to ensure we meet the high standards
necessary to safeguard the health and safety of customers,
consumers, and patients. Furthermore, we ensure that all
our products originate from authentic manufacturing processes, thereby avoiding potential safety issues associatedwith counterfeit products.
Our management approach is tailored to the different Business Units and product categories we handle and the regulations governing them. Products in the healthcare sector
must prioritize patient safety, meet stringent quality standards specified by clients and regulators, and comply withinternational guidelines (e.g. from the World Health Organization, the International Council for Harmonization of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use,and the Pharmaceutical Inspection Co-operation Scheme).
We observe the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) andGood Distribution Practice (GDP) standards when distributing and manufacturing our products. All our healthcare distribution facilities are approved by respective local healthauthorities with the appropriate internationally recognized
quality management system certification (e.g. ISO 9001 andISO 13485). Our regulatory affairs specialists handle any issues related to product safety in keeping with stringent
pharmacovigilance procedures.
Food safety is another significant concern we address
through quality management procedures, whether for finished goods distributed by our Consumer Goods businessor food ingredients marketed by our Performance Materials business. Our quality assurance and regulatory affairs
teams make sure that our products and operations comply
with regulations set by the respective food and drug administrations in our markets. Handling chemicals poses a different set of challenges, which we manage through stringent
safety and due diligence procedures based on applicablestandards, including ISO 9000, the Classification, Labelingand Packaging (CLP) Regulation, and our own Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), as well as DKSH’s Health, Safety
and Environment (HSE) policy. These procedures are enhanced by a new HSE Management System and new guidelines for managing hazardous chemicals and dangerous
goods, developed in 2020 and enacted in 2021. In 2022, wereceived ISO 9001 certification for Business Unit Performance Materials’ distribution center in Indonesia.

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Our People

Our Business Unit Technology focuses on safety proceduresfor the operation of machinery and equipment by our customers. Where applicable, our products are tested before
delivery. Our service offering also includes installation, commissioning, and training to ensure proper and safe operation. Moreover, original equipment manufacturers train all
our service engineers. Our clients or their appointed auditors frequently audit our operations to ensure that products
are stored and handled in accordance with their expected
standards. Furthermore, our Business Technology offers
calibration services in selected markets and possesses ISO
17025 certification in Thailand.
Audits are especially crucial in the healthcare business dueto the sensitivity of these products. In 2023, our Business
Unit Healthcare’s clients carried out 123 audits through theBusiness Unit’s 13 affiliates (compared to 61 audits in 2022).
We recorded 290, mostly minor, incidents of non-compliance and zero critical incidents of non-compliance concerning the health and safety impacts of products and services.
Most of the documented incidents (161 cases) pertained to
documentation. In 2023, authorities (17), certifying bodies(18), clients (2), and customers (39) audited Business Unit
Performance Materials (total 76 audits). In turn, this Business Unit audited selected suppliers (44 audits) and performed routine internal audits and external quality audits
with third-party service providers (22 audits). Out of the
142 audits reported, two critical findings were identified in
one customer audit in the Philippines (related to workplaceaccountability). A total of 78 major and 265 minor findings
were reported in 2023. Tailored improvement plans wereagreed with the auditors, implemented, and monitored tomitigate all reported deviations in due time.
We promptly report and address any deviations from applicable standards flagged by reviews, audits, or complaints.
Our robust Corrective and Preventive Action (CAPA) process
mitigates any findings in accordance with applicable standards. This process addresses any audit findings and helps
us engage with our stakeholders in a meaningful way to resolve any issues. In addition, we have product recall procedures in place and constructively cooperate with all stakeholders should recalls occur.
Alongside meeting our clients’ and customers’ requirements, we also strive to comply with legal requirements
relating to the health and safety of our products. In 2023,
DKSH recorded one incident of non-compliance with regulations concerning the health and safety impacts of products
and services resulting in a penalty.

‣ GRI 2-27, GRI 416-2

Our Business

Our Outcome

Appendix

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Strategy and GovernanceAppendix

Our People

Our Business

Our Outcome

Appendix

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About

Strategy and Governance

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Our Business

Our Outcome

Appendix

GRI Content Index
DKSH has reported the information cited in this GRI content index for the period 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2023
with reference to the GRI Standards. The information in this report has been compiled using GRI 1: Foundation 2021. If you
have any feedback or need further information on our sustainability approach, please contact sustainability@dksh.com
All documents are available at:www.dksh.com/global-en/home/about-us/sustainability

GRI standard

Disclosure

Location

General ­Disclosures
GRI 2: General
Disclosures 2021

2-1  Organizational details

Annual Report 2023, pp. 8, 119

2-2  Entities included in the organization’s sustainability reporting

This Sustainability Report covers the entities (major shareholdings) included in DKSH’s financial reporting (Annual
Report 2023, pp. 119–121). For entities acquired in 2023,
the integration of management approaches and collection of non-financial data points may not have progressedto completion on all accounts, whereas gaps in the overall
context of reporting are considered insignificant.

2-3  Reporting period, frequency andcontact point

The Sustainability Report and the Annual Report refer tothe reporting period 1 January 2023 – 31 December 2023.
Our sustainability reporting is updated on a yearly basis.
Publication date of this Sustainability Report: Feb 16, 2024
Point of contact: sustainability@dksh.com

2-4  Restatements of information

No restatement

2-5  E xternal assurance

Sustainability Governance, pp. 20f.
Assurance Statement, pp. 86f.

2-6  Activities, value chain, and otherbusiness relationships

Corporate Brochure 2023, pp. 11–30, 38
Our Purpose and Business Model, p. 7
Responsible Procurement and Human Rights in
the Supply Chain, pp. 55ff.

2-7  Employees

Employee Attraction, Satisfaction, and Retention, p. 35

2-9  Governance structure and­composition

Annual Report 2023, pp. 11–30
Sustainability Governance, pp. 20f.

2-10 Nomination and selection of thehighest governance body

Annual Report 2023, p. 17

2-11 Chair of the highest
governance body

Annual Report 2023, p. 17

2-12 Role of the highest governance body in overseeing the­management of impacts

Annual Report 2023, p. 22
Ethics and Integrity: Combatting Corruption, pp. 61ff.
Risk Management, pp. 22ff.
Sustainability Governance, pp. 20f.

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Our People

Disclosure

Our Business

Our Outcome

Appendix

Location

General ­Disclosures
GRI 2: General
Disclosures 2021
(continued)

2-13 Delegation of responsibility for
managing impacts

Sustainability Governance, pp. 20f.

2-14 Role of the highest governancebody in sustainability reporting

Sustainability Governance, pp. 20f.

2-15 Conflicts of interest

Annual Report 2023, p. 17

2-16 Communication of criticalconcerns

Ethics and Integrity: Combatting Corruption, pp. 61ff.
Sustainability Governance, pp. 20f.

2-19 Remuneration policies

Annual Report 2023, pp. 34 ff.
Sustainability Governance, pp. 20f.

2-20 Process to determine
remuneration

Annual Report 2023, p. 18
Sustainability Governance, pp. 20f.

2-22 Statement on sustainable
development strategy

Welcome from the Chairman and the CEO, p. 2

2-23 Policy commitments

Environmental Responsibility: Climate Change Mitigation, pp. 40ff.
Environmental Responsibility: Resource Efficiency, pp. 45f.
Labor Practices and Human Rights, pp. 36ff.
Responsible Procurement and Human Rights in
the Supply Chain, pp. 55ff.
Risk Management, pp. 22ff.

2-24 Embedding policy commitments

Ethics and Integrity: Combatting Corruption, pp. 61ff.
Labor Practices and Human Rights, pp. 36ff.
Responsible Procurement and Human Rights
in the Supply Chain, pp. 55ff.
Sustainability Governance, pp. 20f.
Sustainability Strategy, pp. 15ff.

2-25 Processes to remediate
negative impacts

Ethics and Integrity: Combatting Corruption, pp. 61ff.
We describe our impacts and the processes to ­remediate our
impacts for all our material topics. Topic-specific ­information
can be found in the chapters Our People,
Our Business, and Our Outcome.

2-26 Mechanisms for seeking advice
and raising concerns

Ethics and Integrity: Combatting Corruption, pp. 61ff.

2-27 Compliance with laws andregulations

Ethics and Integrity: Combatting Corruption, pp. 61ff.
Ethics and Integrity: Data Privacy and Protection, pp. 68f.
Ethics and Integrity: Responsible Marketing Practices, pp. 67f.
Product Quality and Safety, pp. 75f.

2-28 Membership associations

Stakeholder Engagement and Materiality Assessment, pp. 13f.

2-29 Approach to stakeholder
engagement

Stakeholder Engagement and Materiality Assessment, pp. 13f.

2-30 Collective bargaining agreements

Labor Practices and Human Rights, pp. 36ff.

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Our Business

Our Outcome

Appendix

Disclosure

Location

3-1   Process to determine material
topicsStakeholder Engagement and Materiality Assessment, pp. 13f.

3-2   List of material topics

Stakeholder Engagement and Materiality Assessment, pp. 13f.

GRI 3: Material
Topics 2021

3-3   Management of material­topics

Local Community Development, pp. 71ff.

GRI 202: Market
Presence (2016)

202-2 Proportion of senior­management hired from thelocal community

Local Community Development, pp. 71ff.

Material Topics
GRI 3: Material
TopicsMarket ­Presence

Indirect Economic Impacts
GRI 3: Material
Topics 2021

3-3   Management of material
topicsLocal Community Development, pp. 71ff.

GRI 203: Indirect
Economic
Impacts (2016)

203-1 Infrastructure investments andservices supported

Local Community Development, pp. 71ff.

203-2 Significant indirect economic
impacts

Local Community Development, pp. 71ff.

Procurement Practices
GRI 3: Material
Topics 2021

3-3   Management of material­topics

Responsible Procurement and Human Rights in
the Supply Chain, pp. 55ff.
Sustainability Strategy, pp. 15ff.

GRI 204:­Procurement
Practices (2016)

204-1 Proportion of spending on
local suppliers

Responsible Procurement and Human Rights in
the Supply Chain, pp. 55ff.

GRI 3: Material
Topics 2021

3-3   Management of material­topics

Ethics and Integrity: Combatting Corruption, pp. 61ff.

GRI 205:
Anti-Corruption(2016)

205-1 Operations assessed for risks
related to corruption

Ethics and Integrity: Combatting Corruption, pp. 61ff.

205-2 Communication and training
about anti-corruption policies
and procedures

Ethics and Integrity: Combatting Corruption, pp. 61ff.

205-3 Confirmed incidents of­corruption and actions taken

Ethics and Integrity: Combatting Corruption, pp. 61ff.

Anti-Corruption

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Our Business

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Location

Anti-Competitive Behaviour
GRI 3: Material
Topics 2021

3-3   Management of material­topics

Ethics and Integrity: Responsible Marketing Practices, pp. 66f.

GRI 206: AntiCompetitive­Behaviour (2016)

206-1 Legal actions for anti-com­
petitive behavior, anti-trust,and monopoly practices

Ethics and Integrity: Responsible Marketing Practices, pp. 66f.

GRI 3: Material
Topics 2021

3-3   Management of material­topics

Ethics and Integrity: Responsible Tax Practices, p. 67

GRI 207:
Tax (2019)

207-1 Approach to tax

Ethics and Integrity: Responsible Tax Practices, p. 67

207-2 Tax governance, control,
and risk management

Ethics and Integrity: Responsible Tax Practices, p. 67

207-3 S takeholder engagement
and management of concerns
related to tax

Ethics and Integrity: Responsible Tax Practices, p. 67

GRI 3: Material
Topics 2021

3-3   Management of material­topics

Environmental Responsibility: Climate Change Mitigation,
pp. 40ff.

GRI 302:
Energy (2016)

302-1 Energy consumption within
the organization

Environmental Responsibility: Climate Change Mitigation,
pp. 40ff.

302-3 Energy intensity

Environmental Responsibility: Climate Change Mitigation,
pp. 40ff.

GRI 3: Material
Topics 2021

3-3   Management of material­topics

Environmental Responsibility: Climate Change Mitigation, pp. 40ff.
Sustainability Strategy, pp. 15ff.

GRI 305:­Emissions (2016)305-1 Direct (Scope 1)
GHG emissions

Environmental Responsibility: Climate Change Mitigation,
pp. 40ff.

305-2 Energy indirect (Scope 2)
GHG emissions

Environmental Responsibility: Climate Change Mitigation,
pp. 40ff.

305-3 Other indirect (Scope 3)
GHG emissions

Environmental Responsibility: Climate Change Mitigation,
pp. 40ff.

305-4 GHG emissions intensity

Environmental Responsibility: Climate Change Mitigation,
pp. 40ff.

Tax

EnergyEmissions

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Our Outcome

Appendix

Disclosure

Location

GRI 3: Material
Topics 2021

3-3   Management of material­topics

Environmental Responsibility: Resource Efficiency, pp. 45f.
Sustainability Strategy, pp. 15ff.

GRI 306:
Waste (2020)306-1 Waste generation and significant waste-related impacts

Environmental Responsibility: Resource Efficiency, p. 45f.

306-2 Management of significant
waste-related impacts

Environmental Responsibility: Resource Efficiency, p. 45f.

306-3 Waste generated

Environmental Responsibility: Resource Efficiency, p. 45f.

GRI 3: Material
Topics 2021

3-3   Management of material­topics

Employee Attraction, Satisfaction, and Retention, pp. 31ff.
Sustainability Strategy, pp. 15ff.

GRI 401:­Employment(2016)

401-1 New employee hires andemployee turnover

Employee Attraction, Satisfaction, and Retention, pp. 31ff.

401-2 Benefits provided to full-time
employees that are notprovided to temporary or
part-time employees

Employee Attraction, Satisfaction, and Retention, pp. 31ff.

Waste

Employment

Occupational Health and Safety
GRI 3: Material
Topics 2021

3-3   Management of material­topics

Health, Safety, and Well-Being, pp. 26ff.
Sustainability Strategy, pp. 15ff.

GRI 403:
Occupational
Health and
Safety (2018)403-1 Occupational health and safety
management system

Health, Safety, and Well-Being, pp. 26ff.

403-2 Hazard identification, risk assessment, and incident investigation

Health, Safety, and Well-Being, pp. 26ff.

403-3 Occupational health services

Health, Safety, and Well-Being, pp. 26ff.

403-4 Worker participation, consultation, and communication on
occupational health and safety

Health, Safety, and Well-Being, pp. 26ff.

403-5 Worker training on
occupational health and safety

Health, Safety, and Well-Being, pp. 26ff.

403-6 Promotion of worker health

Health, Safety, and Well-Being, pp. 26ff.

403-7 Prevention and mitigation ofoccupational health and safety
impacts directly linked
by business relationships

Health, Safety, and Well-Being, pp. 26ff.

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GRI standard

Disclosure

Location

GRI 403:
Occupational
Health and
Safety (2018)(continued)

403-8 Workers covered by an
occupational health and safety
management system

Health, Safety, and Well-Being, pp. 26ff.

403-9 Work-related injuries

Health, Safety, and Well-Being, pp. 26ff.

AppendixTraining and Education
GRI 3: Material
Topics 2021

3-3   Management of material­topics

Employee Attraction, Satisfaction, and Retention, pp. 31ff.
Sustainability Strategy, pp. 15ff.

GRI 404:
Training and­Education (2016)404-1 Average hours of training
per year per employee

Employee Attraction, Satisfaction, and Retention, pp. 31ff.

404-2 Programs for upgrading­employee skills and transition­assistance programs

Employee Attraction, Satisfaction, and Retention, pp. 31ff.

404-3 Percentage of employees­receiving regular performanceand career development­reviews

Employee Attraction, Satisfaction, and Retention, pp. 31ff.

Diversity and Equal Opportunity
GRI 3: Material
Topics 2021

3-3   Management of material­topics

Labor Practices and Human Rights, pp. 36ff.
Sustainability Strategy, pp. 15ff.

GRI 405:­Diversity andEqual Opportunity (2016)405-1 Diversity of governance bodies
and employees

Annual Report 2023, pp. 12–19, 24–29
Employee Attraction, Satisfaction, and Retention, pp. 31ff.
Labor Practices and Human Rights, pp. 36ff.

Non-Discrimination
GRI 3: Material
Topics 2021

3-3   Management of material­topics

Labor Practices and Human Rights, pp. 36ff.
Sustainability Strategy, pp. 15ff.

GRI 406: NonDiscrimi­nation(2016)

406-1 Incidents of discriminationand corrective actions taken

Labor Practices and Human Rights, pp. 36ff.

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Disclosure

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Our Outcome

Appendix

Location

Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining
GRI 3: Material
Topics 2021

3-3   Management of material­topics

Labor Practices and Human Rights, pp. 36ff.
Responsible Procurement and Human Rights in
the Supply Chain, pp. 55ff.

GRI 407:­Freedom of­A ssociation andCollective Bargaining (2016)407-1 Operations and suppliers inwhich the right to freedomof association and collective
bargaining may be at risk

Labor Practices and Human Rights, pp. 36ff.
Responsible Procurement and Human Rights in
the Supply Chain, pp. 55ff.

GRI 3: Material
Topics 2021

3-3   Management of material­topics

Labor Practices and Human Rights, pp. 36ff.
Responsible Procurement and Human Rights in
the Supply Chain, pp. 55ff.

GRI 408:
Child Labour(2016)

408-1 Operations and suppliers at
significant risk for incidents ofchild labor

Labor Practices and Human Rights, pp. 36ff.
Responsible Procurement and Human Rights in
the Supply Chain, pp. 55ff.

Child Labour

Forced or Compulsory Labour
GRI 3: Material
Topics 2021

3-3   Management of material­topics

Labor Practices and Human Rights, pp. 36ff.
Responsible Procurement and Human Rights in
the Supply Chain, pp. 55ff.

GRI 409: Forced
or Compulsory­L abour (2016)409-1 Operations and suppliers at
significant risk for incidents offorced or compulsory labor

Labor Practices and Human Rights, pp. 36ff.
Responsible Procurement and Human Rights in
the Supply Chain, pp. 55ff.

GRI 3: Material
Topics 2021

3-3   Management of material­topics

Local Community Development, pp. 71ff.
Sustainability Strategy, pp. 15ff.

GRI 413: Local
Communities(2016)

413-1 Operations with local
community engagement,
impact assessments,
and development programs

Environmental Responsibility: Pollution Prevention, pp.45f.
Local Community Development, pp. 71ff.

413-2 Operations with significant
actual and potential negative
impacts on local communities

Environmental Responsibility: Pollution Prevention, pp.45f.
Local Community Development, pp. 71ff.

Local Communities

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Appendix

Location

Supplier Social Assessment
GRI 3: Material
Topics 2021

3-3   Management of material­topics

Responsible Procurement and Human Rights in
the Supply Chain, pp. 55ff.
Sustainability Strategy, pp. 15ff.

GRI 414:
Supplier Social
Assessment 2016414-2 Negative social impacts
in the supply chain and actions
taken

Responsible Procurement and Human Rights in
the Supply Chain, pp. 55ff.

Customer Health and Safety
GRI 3: Material
Topics 2021

3-3   Management of material­topics

Product Quality and Safety, pp. 75f.

GRI 416:­Customer Healthand Safety (2016)416-2 Incidents of non-complianceconcerning the health andsafety impacts of products andservices

Product Quality and Safety, pp. 75f.

Marketing and Labeling
GRI 3: Material
Topics 2021

3-3   Management of material­topics

Ethics and Integrity: Responsible Marketing Practices, pp. 66f.

GRI 417:
Marketing andLabeling (2016)417-2 Incidents of non-complianceconcerning product and service
information and labeling

Ethics and Integrity: Responsible Marketing Practices, pp. 66f.

417-3 Incidents of non- ­complianceconcerning marketing­communications

Ethics and Integrity: Responsible Marketing Practices, pp. 66f.

GRI 3: Material
Topics 2021

3-3   Management of material­topics

Ethics and Integrity: Data Privacy and Protection, pp. 68f.

GRI 418:­Customer­Privacy (2016)418-1 Substantiated complaints­concerning breaches of­customer privacy and lossesof customer data

Ethics and Integrity: Data Privacy and Protection, pp. 68f.

Customer Privacy

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Appendix

ASSURANCE STATEMENT
Verification Opinion

The inventory of Greenhouse Gas emissions in the period 01/10/2022 – 30/09/2023 for

DKSH Holding Ltd.

Wiesenstrasse 8, CH-8008 Zurich
has been verified in accordance with ISAE3000 as meeting the requirements of

WRI/WBCSD GHG Protocol – A Corporate Accounting andReporting Standard
To represent a total amount of:

9,112 t CO2e (Scope 1 emissions)
57,977 t CO2e (Scope 2; location-based emissions for electricity)
19,789 t CO2e (Scope 2; market-based emissions for electricity)
67,089 t CO2e (Scope 1+2; Scope 2 location-based emissions for electricity)
28,901 t CO2e (Scope 1+2; Scope 2 market-based emissions for electricity)
86,664 t CO2e (Scope 3 emissions)

Furthermore, the data in appendix 1 has been verified.
FOR THE FOLLOWING ACTiVITIES
Logistic and office services of DKSH worldwide (Scope 1+2) and for some regions (Scope 3).
SCOPE
SGS has been contracted by DKSH Holding Ltd (hereinafter referred to as “DKSH”) for the verification of direct and indirect
carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent emissions as provided by DKSH as displayed in their GHG Assertion in the form of
Sustainability Report 2023. (https://www.dksh.com/global-en/home/about-us/sustainability).
CONTENTThe management of DKSH is responsible for the organization’s GHG information system, the development and maintenance ofrecords and reporting procedures in accordance with that system, including the calculation and determination of GHG emissions
information and the reported GHG emissions.
It is SGS’ responsibility to express an independent GHG verification opinion on the emissions as provided in the DKSH GHG
assertion for the period 01/10/2022 – 30/09/2023.
SGS conducted a third-party verification following the requirements of ISAE 3000 of the provided CO2 equivalent assertion in
October 2023 to January 2024. The assessment included a desk review at the headquarter and remote interviews with key
locations. The verification was based on the verification scope, objectives and criteria as agreed between DKSH and SGS on
31/08/2021.
LEVEL OF ASSURANCE
The level of assurance agreed is that of limited assurance for Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions and other indicators.
SCOPE
DKSH has commissioned an independent verification by SGS of reported CO2 equivalent emissions arising from their activities,
to establish conformance with the requirements of the “GHG Protocol Company Accounting and Reporting Standard” within thescope of the verification as outlined below. Data and information supporting the CO2 equivalent assertion were historical innature and proven by evidence.
STATEMENT OF INDEPENDENCE
The SGS Group of companies is the world leader in inspection, testing and verification, operating in more than 140 countries
and providing services including management systems and service certification; quality, environmental, social and ethicalauditing and training; environmental, social and sustainability report assurance. Société Générale de Surveillance SA affirm our
independence from DKSH being free from bias and conflicts of interest with the organisation, its subsidiaries and stakeholders.

GP5008 Issue 1

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Appendix

This engagement covers verification of emissions from anthropogenic sources of greenhouse gases included within theorganization’s boundary and meets the requirements of ISAE3000.
The assertion of DKSH emissions of greenhouse gases follows the methodological approach of the greenhouse gas protocol.
This approach includes the following:• Organizational boundary was established following the operational control approach.
• Activities: Infrastructure for logistic services• Location/boundary of the activities: worldwide• Physical infrastructure, activities, technologies and processes of the organization: warehouse, office andadministration, transportation• GHG sources, sinks and/or reservoirs included:•
Scope 1 – stationary combustion from emergency generators, mobile combustion of own fleet, fugitive
emissions of cooling agents;•
Scope 2 – purchased electricity;•
Scope 3 – emissions related to fuel consumption in connection with logistics activities by outsourced externaltransportation service providers, for nine major markets, accounting for more than 85% of DKSH’s total
net sales; Emissions from air travel for business purposes by all employees worldwide• Types of GHGs included: CO2, N2O, CH4 and HFCs.
• GHG information for the following period was verified: 01/10/2022 – 30/09/2023• Intended user of the verification statement: Stakeholders such as national and international NGO’s, customers, generalpublic, regulators and rating agencies.
OBJECTIVE
The purposes of this verification exercise are, by review of objective evidence, to independently review:• Whether the CO2 equivalent emissions are as declared by the organization’s CO2 equivalent assertion• That the data reported are accurate, complete, consistent, transparent and free of material error or omission.
CRITERIA
Criteria against which the verification assessment is undertaken are the requirements of WRI/WBCSD GHG Protocol – A
Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard.
MATERIALITY
The materiality required of the verification was considered by SGS to be below 10% for Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, basedon the needs of the intended user of the GHG Assertion.
CONCLUSIONThe GHG information of DKSH for the period 01/10/2022 – 30/09/2023 disclosing Scope 1 and 2 emissions of 67,089 metrictonnes CO2 equivalent (including gross location-based emissions for electricity) were verified by SGS to a limited level ofassurance, consistent with the agreed verification scope, objectives and criteria. A further 86’664 tonnes of CO2 equivalent fromScope 3 sources were verified by SGS to a limited level of assurance, consistent with the agreed verification scope, objectives
and criteria.
Included in the DKSH GHG assertion for the period 01/10/2022 – 30/09/2023, and in addition to scope 2 emissions of 57’977
metric tonnes CO2 equivalent, is a disclosure of emissions of 19’789 metric tonnes CO2 equivalent for scope 2 market-based
emissions. This figure includes purchase of renewable electricity certificates by DKSH. These emissions have been verified by
SGS based on WRI GHG Protocol Scope 2 Guidance.
SGS concludes with limited assurance that there is no evidence to suggest that the presented CO2 equivalent assertion is notmaterially correct and is not a fair representation of the CO2 equivalent data and information.
In addition to the GHG data provided by DKSH, additional sustainability key indicators, presented in Appendix, have beenverified by SGS. SGS concludes with limited assurance that there is no evidence to suggest that the presented data is notmaterially correct and is not a fair representation of the data and information.
Signed for and on behalf of Société Générale de Surveillance SA, Technoparkstrasse 1, 8005 Zurich, Switzerland

Daniel Aegerter
Lead Auditor

Ingrid Finken
Product Manager Climate Change Services

Zurich, January 31st, 2024

WWW.SGS.COM

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Appendix - additional KPIs with limited external assurance (marked

Our Outcomein the Sustainability Report 2023)

Women in senior leadership positions 31/12/2023: 34%
Greenhouse gas emissions and energy in the period 01/10/2022 – 30/09/2023
Greenhouse gas emissions breakdown – Scope 1 and 2 (location-based)
Emissions in CO2e (metric tons)
64,023
95

CO2
CH₄
N₂ O

277

HFC’s

2,693

Energy usage in our operations, by activity, in MWh
Fuel usage by our fleet
Fuel usage in our facilities
Electricity in our facilities

in MWh17’102
8’453
104’758

Health, Safety, and Well-being in the period 01/10/2022 – 30/09/2023
Work-Related Injuries
DKSH employees
Fatalities from work-related injuries
High-consequence work-related injuries
Recordable work-related injuries
Number of hours worked (in million)
Workers
Fatalities from work-related injuries
High-consequence work-related injuries
Recordable work-related injuries
Number of hours worked (in million)

Number

Rate

0
2
48
69.82

0
0.03
0.69
-

0
0
13
11.11

0
0
1.17
-

Main Types of Work-Related Injuries
Types of Injuries
No. of first aid injuries
No. of medical treatment beyond first aid
No. of job restrictions or transfers
No. of lost time injuries
No. of fatalities

DKSH Employees
117
5
6
37
0

DKSH workers
16
2
0
11
0

Ethics and Integrity
License to Operate Training Completion by Region in the period 01/01/2023 – 31/12/2023
RegionTotal

In scope
21,384Completed
20,957

Appendix

Ratio
98.00%

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Appendix

Incidents Reported via the DKSH Integrity Line by Type of Incident in the period 01/01/2023 – 31/12/2023
Type of incident
Anti-competition
Corruption
Data protection, IT security
Employee matters
Health & Safety
Environment
Fraud, embezzlement, misappropriation, theft
Fairplay, conflicts of interest
Interaction with Healthcare Professionals (IHCP)
Total# of incidents reported
1
15
3
63
4
0
25
15
14
140

Data Privacy and Protection in the period 01/01/2023 – 31/12/2023
Number of employees completing the security
awareness online program
Completion rate

17’35896.2%

Sustainability Report 2023
Publisher
DKSH Holding Ltd.
P.O. Box 888
Wiesenstrasse 88034 Zurich
Switzerland
Phone +41 44 386 7272
sustainability@dksh.com
Edition: February 2024