Social
Our commitment to social responsibility goes well beyond our focus on improving lives by expanding access to affordable biologic medicines. At Alvotech, social responsibility means that we care about the wellbeing of our community and patients as well as partners and employees. For our employees, we have built a diverse, multi-cultural workplace, based on principles of gender equality and fairness.
Diversity and inclusion are the foundation of Alvotech’s culture. Our team includes individuals from over 60 different nationalities, all working towards a common goal based on shared values and motivation. With our main operations hub located in Iceland, we leverage the country’s social commitment to equality and aim to create an equal, respectful, fair, and equitable workplace, while also extending these principles to every location where we operate.
In Iceland, gender equality and fairness are considered a bedrock of society. As we build a multi-cultural and diverse workplace, extending to many parts of the globe, we strive to export these core values and apply them across the whole organization. Equality, diversity, and inclusion are foundational to the positive environment we are trying to foster, so that not only are we better for it, but our business is also stronger and more resilient.
Employees represent a key stakeholder group for our enterprise. Having healthy, happy, and engaged employees is essential for a well-functioning business. Starting in 2020, the company has performed periodic employee engagement surveys. This allows Alvotech to better understand key risks and opportunities and improve engagement with our employees.
Health and safety are critical components of Alvotech’s corporate responsibility framework. We employ more than 800 people worldwide, which have a fundamental right to a healthy and safe working environment.
We emphasize health and safety by monitoring risks and incidents and communicating these findings to employees. Monthly Environment, Health, and Safety (EHS) reports are available to all employees. This approach allows Alvotech to concentrate on accident prevention while promoting a continuous improvement mindset in the workplace. The internal EHS committee discusses findings at regular meetings as well as potential risk mitigation steps that can help improve the health and safety of all employees.
As with most companies, the global COVID-19 pandemic has challenged Alvotech. Despite these challenges, the company has been able to ensure the safety of its employees while maintaining uninterrupted operations throughout the pandemic. Starting in March 2020, several operational measures were implemented by the EHS and Human Resource teams, which included social distancing restrictions, work from home support for employees that were able to complete their work off-site, and changes in certain services provided by the company to our employees. During this period, we have also continued to monitor well-being through our periodic employee satisfaction surveys, and based on findings we have implemented initiatives related to increased work-life balance and access to mental health support. This reflects how Alvotech prioritizes the health and safety of employees, while ensuring that essential operations can be carried out.
We are committed to equality and fairness in every facet of Alvotech. Iceland, where Alvotech’s main manufacturing hub and headquarters is located, ranks #1 in gender equality1. Alvotech is proud to be a contributor to Iceland’s status as the world leader in that effort. We are also committed to achieving wage equality throughout our organization, globally.
The company has been granted an Equal Pay Certification under the Icelandic Equal Pay Standard (IST 85:2012)2. To comply with the standard, women and men shall be paid equal wages and enjoy equal terms of employment for the same jobs or jobs of equal value. It also requires having clearly defined equal pay, compensation, and equality policies. The Certification is confirmed by a third-party accredited auditor. We have voluntarily extended the same policies to all employees across our organization, regardless of whether they are based in Iceland or elsewhere.
To maintain the Equal Pay Certification Alvotech is committed to:
- Implementing a certified equal pay system based on the IST 85:2012 standard and being subject to recertification every three years
- Establishing and maintaining a policy to ensure equal opportunities for all employees and compensation practices that are based on transparent and objective consideration.
- Preventing direct or indirect discrimination nor work-place harassment, based on gender, age, religion, nationality, race, disability, sexual orientation, or political views.
- Publishing an annual equality report that is made available publicly and to our employees.
1. According to the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Index for 2021
2. Government of Iceland, Equal Pay Certification
