SUSTAINABILITY AT TECAN

In 2021 Tecan created a Sustainability Committee, chaired by the CEO and made up of Management Board members responsible for specific ESG (environment, social and governance) areas, as well as Tecan’s CFO, Sustainability Committee lead, and two subject matter experts who joined Tecan in Q3, 2021. The Sustainability Committee meets quarterly and sets Tecan’s sustainability strategy and priorities, which are taken to the full Management Board for approval.

In 2023, Tecan’s Audit Committee of the Board of Directors took on responsibility for the oversight of sustainability topics, and delegates management of these to Tecan’s Management Board. Tecan’s CFO and Sustainability Committee lead brief the Audit Committee on key topics at least twice per year. The full Board of Directors is briefed on sustainability developments by the CEO and respective Management Board members during their regular meetings, as described in the more detailed overview of our Board in the Corporate Governance section of Tecan’s Annual Report. Board of Directors members have relevant sustainability expertise, gained in their previous roles as CEOs or senior executives of companies with sustainability programs. A well-rounded understanding of business impacts is one of many criteria looked for in potential Board members; the opportunity to increase the visible diversity of Tecan’s Board of Directors is also one of the many factors considered, as is maintaining the gender balance of the Board. Further detail about how Tecan's Board of Directors functions is set out in the Corporate Governance Report chapter of the Annual Report, as well as in Tecan's Organizational Regulations. 

Sustainability topics are included in Tecan’s regular annual strategy development and review process, annual risk management process, and in assessment of potential acquisition opportunities. In 2025, Tecan’s sustainability strategy and response to the climate scenarios risk analysis carried out in 2024 will be more explicitly integrated into business planning and the business review process. 

Throughout Tecan, management of social and environmental impacts is integrated into daily work. In addition, specific initiatives with a strong sustainability focus are tracked by Tecan’s Sustainability Committee, as reflected in the ‘Sustainability Governance Structure’ diagram. Sustainability Committee members are responsible for updating the Sustainability Committee on the progress of workstreams within their area, and the Sustainability Committee lead presents a summary to the Management Board when key decisions are taken, along with any committee proposals that need Management Board approval. Tecan’s Sustainability Director is the Sustainability Committee secretary, responsible for preparing the committee meetings and driving the sustainability agenda. In 2024, Tecan’s Sustainability Director briefed the Management Board twice and met with Tecan’s CEO and all Management Board members either ad hoc or monthly depending on the material topics falling within that Management Board member's area. 

Tecan’s CEO, Sustainability Committee members and additional Management Board members contribute to and review the annual Sustainability Report. The Audit Committee and the Chair of the Board of Directors review the Sustainability Report and provide input. 

Sustainability targets are included in the short-term variable pay compensation criteria of all Management Board members and all Tecan colleagues who have a variable pay component to their compensation (see also the Compensation Report chapter of Tecan’s Annual Report). In 2024, these targets related to the material topics Being Employer of Choice; Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; Customer Satisfaction and, Climate Impact. 

Tecan has been able to offer internship opportunities to a sustainability trainee since Q3, 2022, with each trainee who has graduated from the program so far going on to pursue further work or studies in sustainability, within Tecan and externally.

At Tecan we improve people’s lives and health by empowering our customers to scale healthcare innovation globally from life science to the clinic. We collaborate with our customers in healthcare and the life sciences, from early-stage innovation through delivery of clinical solutions. We deliver the products, services and solutions that make lab processes and medical procedures precise, reproducible and compliant. This leads to scalable outcomes that are further reaching and ever more valuable to humankind. Tecan’s sustainability strategy supports the Company’s purpose, is integrated into Tecan’s annual strategy development and review process and was approved by the Board of Directors in 2023. This strategy enables Tecan to say, “Our products add value to society, our business practices do, too”. Both a description of how Tecan operates today and an aspiration indicating the areas in which Tecan will strengthen processes on an ongoing basis, the strategy states: From design through production to end-of-life, we maximize the positive impact of our products and business practices. Tecan’s products enable innovative healthcare, consider eco-design, and are produced with responsibly sourced materials. Our sites are carefully managed to minimize negative environmental impacts and to implement practices which have a positive environmental impact. We consistently demonstrate excellence in product quality and safety, governance, and risk management, and have a measurable positive impact as an employer and in our communities. Implementation of this strategy is further described in the Environment, Social Impact, and Governance sections of this Sustainability Report. 

Tecan joined the UN Global Compact (UNGC) in 2018, and in doing so committed to a precautionary approach to environmental challenges, along with key social impact and good governance principles derived from UN instruments such as the the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Labour Organization’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, and the United Nations Convention Against Corruption. Adherence to these principles is tracked by Tecan’s Sustainability Director and reported on annually via the UNGC reporting platform.

Additional SDGs are supported through the work of Tecan’s customers, and through research projects supported by Tecan. The majority of Tecan’s customers focus on activities intended to ultimately benefit human health. A selection of customer stories is presented on the sustainability page of tecan.com.

Tecan’s stakeholders include customers, investors and employees, as well as our business partners and the communities in which we live and work. Customer satisfaction is a priority for Tecan, as described in more detail in the Customer Satisfaction section of this report. Customer surveys enable a structured engagement process and complement the ongoing dialogue that can form between Tecan and customers based on the long life of Tecan products and associated service of products. In 2024 Tecan’s Sustainability Director participated in a notably increased number of meetings with customers, as customer interest in Tecan’s impact management activities grew significantly. 

Tecan has regular dialogue with investors as described in the Information Policy section section of this report. In October 2024 Tecan invited investors to an onsite and virtual Capital Markets Day, which included an overview of the Company’s sustainability program. Tecan regularly responds to requests for information from customers and ratings agencies, and through these and the other interactions is able to assess what topics are of most importance to these stakeholders. 

Tecan’s engagement with employees is described in the "Social impact section" of this report. Engagement with stakeholders including Tecan’s peers is facilitated by participation in industry associations. Tecan’s stakeholder engagement enables Tecan to calibrate its business decisions to ensure an optimum outcome. 

Tecan is a member of associations including:

• Advance, a “Swiss-based organization working for gender equality in business”
• ALDA (Analytical, Life Science & Diagnostics Association), a “non-profit industry trade association for global companies that develop and market products and services used in life science research, drug discovery, QA/QC and food testing, and clinical diagnostics” 
• MedTech Europe, an industry association with the mission to “make innovative medical technology available to more people, while helping healthcare systems move towards a sustainable path”
• The Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society (RAPS), which is based in the US and is “the largest global organization of and for those involved with the regulation of healthcare and related products,” including medical devices, pharmaceuticals, biologics and nutritional products.
• SwissHoldings, an association of industrial and service companies based in Switzerland working for favorable business conditions for such multi-national enterprises 
• Swiss MedTech, “the association of Swiss medical technology”, which represents approximately 700 companies, and is a member of the umbrella group MedTech Europe
• The United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), an initiative based on CEO commitments to sustainability principles, and to supporting United Nations’ goals

Tecan’s material topics were first identified in 2021 with input from stakeholders gained via employee engagement, customer surveys and queries, ratings agencies’ questionnaires, participation in industry and other associations, and conversations with investors. In 2023 this materiality analysis was revised via a detailed double materiality assessment, carried out with the support of external consultants. “Double Materiality” assesses both the financial impact of external sustainability factors on Tecan’s business performance (“financial materiality”) and the social and environmental impacts of Tecan’s business on society (“impact materiality”). 

Following the best-practice methodology reflected in the diagram “Double Materiality Approach,” Tecan engaged with stakeholders via customer, supplier and employee surveys and interviews as well as detailed research. Stakeholders were identified by assessing impacts throughout the value chain and pinpointing stakeholders relevant to the different parts of the value chain. The double materiality analysis was conducted on behalf of all Tecan entities. 

As well as identifying actual and potential impacts, both negative and positive, the likelihood and severity of each impact identified was assessed, looking into Tecan’s full value chain and adopting a forward-looking perspective. In the case of potential negative human rights impacts, severity was given precedence over likelihood. The scale, scope, and irremediable character of the impacts identified was then assessed to determine if each met the threshold of being “material”. 

This detailed analysis confirmed the results of Tecan’s 2021 materiality analysis. Certain topics that had previously been grouped under the broad topic Governance and Ethics were identified as material topics in their own right, and are reported on in the Customer Satisfaction, Innovation and Cybersecurity sections of this report. Health and Safety was also identified as a material topic, having been previously included in the focus area Being Employer of Choice. Community Engagement did not meet the threshold of materiality at the Group level but could be expected to if a country-level perspective were taken and is included in this report as an important aspect of Tecan’s social impact. 

Carrying out the double materiality assessment provided Tecan with a welcomed additional opportunity for dialogue with stakeholders about their views on sustainability and Tecan’s approach to managing impact. Tecan will continuously monitor developments externally and internally to assess if the current material topics remain “material” and if new topics should be included in this scope. 

Management of each material topic is described in the Environment, Social Impact, and Governance sections of this report.

Tecan values transparency and invests a significant amount of time in completing voluntary reporting requests and responding to customer sustainability questionnaires. Below are the ratings Tecan received in 2023 and 2024 from the most well-known sustainability ratings organizations. In general, Tecan’s ratings improved in 2024, including achieving a score in the 90th percentile in our sector and the 76th percentile of all companies assessed via the S&P Corporate Sustainability Assessment.

This annual Sustainability Report has the same scope as the rest of Tecan’s Annual Report, covering the period January 1, 2024 – December 31, 2024 and unless otherwise stated, covers all Tecan entities. A list of Tecan entities is included here. There are no restatements of data. This report has been prepared with the provisions of Article 964 j- k of the Swiss Code of Obligations, Ordinance on Due Diligence and Transparency in relation to Minerals and Metals from Conflict-Affected Areas and Child Labour in focus, as well as those of Article 964 a- c of the Swiss Code of Obligations, Ordinance on Climate Disclosures. This Report is also in alignment with GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) standards. Selected data points in Tecan’s Sustainability Report have received limited external assurance, which can be found here. The report is reviewed as described. For further information contact sustainability(at)tecan.com or sarah.vowles(at)tecan.com.