Message from the CEO

In 2023, Tecan’s sustainability program strengthened through a structured integration into our day-to-day business activities and increased engagement with our employees and business partners. As Tecan’s CEO and Chair of our Sustainability Committee, I’m pleased to provide this overview of our management of environmental, social and governance topics, our achievements in 2023 and our outlook for 2024 and beyond.  

Tecan’s corporate purpose is to improve people’s lives and health, and we do this by empowering our customers to scale healthcare innovation globally from life science to the clinic. Underpinning Tecan’s purpose and embedded into our group strategy is our sustainability promise: Our products add value to society, our business practices do, too. Including sustainability considerations in our business decisions is essential to Tecan’s long-term success. In line with our core values of Trust, Highest Standards and Ambition we are determined to continue to play our part in creating a better future. Our Sustainability Committee guides our efforts, and in 2023 facilitated two milestones: the definition and validation of our Science Based Targets (SBTs) for greenhouse gas emissions reduction, and the completion of a new double materiality assessment. Our validated SBTs provide strong direction for future activities and are appreciated by customers, investors, and employees. Our double materiality assessment reaffirmed Tecan’s sustainability focus areas and separated out topics that had been grouped together in our 2021 materiality assessment. This key governance step provided an additional opportunity for engagement with our stakeholders as we sought their views on a range of sustainability topics.

The materiality assessment is one example of the well-known trend of sustainability topics evolving over time from being voluntary to mandatory. This trend has accelerated with legislation both recently in force and soon to be in force, changing the legal environment in which we operate and having a ripple effect on businesses that might not be directly in scope of the new laws but must find ways to comply if their customers are. Where possible we support suppliers and other stakeholders in implementing forward-looking sustainability practices, sharing knowledge and best practices through initiatives such as our Responsible Sourcing program, and participation in the UN Global Compact and industry associations such as Swiss MedTech. Many aspects of sustainability benefit from a collaborative approach, and Tecan has been pleased throughout the year to discuss with customers and peers the various ways we can have a positive impact. We look forward to more of these interactions in 2024. 

Tecan’s sustainability governance framework, strategy and program activities are complemented by strong grassroots initiatives throughout the organization. Employee Resource Groups in the US and a strong culture of team building and community engagement around the world bring about a wide range of positive social impacts, described in this report. Company-wide initiatives such as our recent “Dream Big” innovation drive brought forward a number of sustainability related ideas, showing how top of mind such topics are for so many of our colleagues. Together, Tecan’s colleagues have brought about a number of sustainability related achievements, from the environment-related My Green Lab “silver” certification of our laboratory near our Männedorf headquarters, to the employee-driven Great Place to Work™ certification in Switzerland, Germany and the US, and EcoVadis “Silver” certification globally, which reflects assessment of Tecan’s entire sustainability program.

For sustainability at Tecan, 2024 will be a year to build on the solid foundation we have in place, continuing the activities that support management of our material topics and as always, communicating transparently. I hope you enjoy reading about our focus areas, goals and achievements, and thank you for past feedback and our ongoing dialogue.