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Sustainability

To access Bactiguard’s Annual and Sustainability Report 2024 here.

The challenges with healthcare-associated infections and antimicrobial resistance are at the top of the global health and sustainability agenda. The costs of healthcare associated infections, many of which are linked to medical devices, are increasing drastically, and antimicrobial resistance is the cause of death for millions of people around the world. Bactiguard’s infection prevention coating technology, which is both safe and biocompatible, is a crucial link in the healthcare value chain in the struggle against antimicrobial resistance and has the potential to address one of the medical needs in global health care that has not yet been met. Our vision is to become the global standard of care for preventing medical device related infections. Bactiguard’s coating technology is licensed to leading global MedTech companies. License partners apply our technology to their medical devices and sell them either under their own brands or in partnership with Bactiguard. Through license partnerships, we gain access to a large global market for medical devices, and our technology becomes available to as many patients as possible while we achieve profitability. Profitability goes hand in hand with Bactiguard’s purpose to champion a healthier world by preventing infections. Our main stakeholders are global MedTech companies, key opinion leaders in research, health and medical care, employees, and our shareholders. Taking these into account, we focus on the sustainability issues that are most material for Bactiguard, where we can make the greatest difference

Promoting UN SDG 3

Bactiguard’s infection prevention technology promotes UN Sustainable Development Goal 3: Good health and well-being. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), antimicrobial resistance is one of the most serious threats to global health and modern medicine. Bactiguard’s coating technology is a crucial link in the healthcare value chain in the struggle
against both healthcare-associated infections and antimicrobial resistance. For example, clinical studies show that the risk for catheter-related urinary tract infections decreased 69 percent when the medical devices were coated with Bactiguard’s coating.

Sustainability at Bactiguard

Our sustainability agenda consists of three focus areas: Environmental sustainability, Social sustainability and Governance & business ethics. The foundation for Bactiguard’s sustainability process is our Environmental Policy together with our Code of Conduct and other related polices within Sustainability. As stated in the Environmental policy the Environmental work shall be a natural part within the organization and it’s processes. Bactiguard shall continuously improve the organizations processes and activities and make sure to prevent any environmental pollutions and enhance the organizations environmental performance. How Environmental work is to be conducted at Bactiguard is stated in our Environmental Handbook. The CEO is responsible for Environmental work at Bactiguard. The COO has been delegated the responsibility for the systematic environmental work. COO in turn benefits work environment tasks for participants from the Environment committee. Every year an annual follow-up and audit of the Environmental work is performed. Bactiguard’s Code of Conduct outlines the basis for our Social and Governance sustainability as a set of rules, outlining the norms, responsibilities and proper practices which is expected from Bactiguard and our employees.

Preparing for the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)

On February 26th 2025 European Comission published a package of proposed changes to key EU laws on sustainability reporting. Our view is that Bactiguard would not be covered by the CSRD according to the “Omnibus” proposal that European Comission now have put forward. This is still a proposal and will have to go through EU’s legislative process (European Parliament and Council), the final outcome might look different. Bactiguard will follow the discussions in European Comission and make sure that we comply with the future regulations. We prepare by reviewing the sustainability reporting standards for voluntary use by SMEs that EFRAG (European Financial Reporting Advisory Group) have released on request from the European Comission and a gap analysis will be done in 2025 to compare the VSME reporting requirements with the Group’s current reporting. This analysis will be used to identify the gaps in our current reporting practices that need to be filled in order to ensure compliance.

EcoVadis

Bactiguard’s sustainability work is evaluated via Eco- Vadis, a leading system for evaluating suppliers’ environmental aspects, working conditions, business responsibilities and subcontractors. The EcoVadis evaluation is an important achievement that illustrates Bactiguard’s commitment to sustainability and commitment to continued improvement in this area. With support from the insights we get from EcoVadis’ evaluation we work to continuously improve our sustainability strategy.

Environmental sustainability

With the ambition of achieving sustainable use of energy and resources, the possibilities for reducing the company’s climate impact and resource consumption are continually assessed. The areas below have been identified as material from an environmental standpoint.

Production

Our production process have an impact on the environment. In order to minimize this, we re-use waste, collect and sort environmentally hazardous chemicals to the greatest extent possible, maintain a low level of scrappage, and continuously work to reduce our water and energy consumption. The Group engages in operations that have a reporting obligation under the Swedish Environmental Code (environmentally hazardous operations and protection of health) and the Swedish Work Environment Authority (use of contagious substances, Risk Class 2). The operations with reporting obligations pertain to parts of the production process and the research and development that the company pursues.

Sourcing

Purchases must be made with consideration of the environment, quality and cost. Bactiguard strives to optimize its environmental performance in the supply chain. Our Carbon footprint show that purchased goods and services is a main emission driver. To reduce emissions focus areas include packaging reduction, renewable energy, and logistics optimization. Chemicals that are used must be processed and discarded in an environmentally friendly manner. Noble metals are purchased from certified suppliers.

Waste

Our operations generate solid & liquid waste which is both hazardous and non-hazardous. Hazardous waste is stored in enclosed containers to prevent leakage. Waste is collected by approved waste management companies, which in turn report actual waste data. The company strives to reduce the amount of its waste and to recycle as much as possible. Waste is a key element of the circular economy. Reusable waste offers the possibility of creating new products without needing to use virgin raw materials. This approach facilitates efficient use of resources and makes continual circulation of materials possible.

Energy

We strive to continuously reduce energy consumption and increase energy efficiency in our operations. We also strive to use energy from renewable sources to the greatest extent possible. Since Bactiguard have sites both in Sweden and Malaysia the pathways for the energy transition to renewable energy sources will differ.

Water consumption

Water is a key component in the company’s wound care products, and thus the company is highly dependent on clean water and purifies its own water. Water consumption is routinely measured and assessed, and production is planned in order to minimize consumption.

Transport and travel

Travel must always be considered on the basis of benefit against environmental impact, and more environmentally friendly alternatives must be evaluated. Bactiguard transports products and input goods using various means of transportation, and always strives to optimize logistics to reduce negative environmental impact.

Carbon Footprint

Bactiguard emits carbon dioxide and other gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect, this through our own corporate activities and facilities as well as those tied to our value chain. To improve the accuracy of the measurement of our carbon footprint, we have during 2024 used a climate calculator from a different service provider than in previous years. Emissions from 2023 have therefore been adjusted.

Under the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHGP), a company’s GHG emissions are divided into three dimensions:

Scope 1: Emissions that occur directly in own operations.

Scope 2: Indirect emissions from generation of purchased electricity, steam, heating and cooling consumed by the company.

Scope 3: Covers all other indirect emissions that occur in a company’s value chain but that the company does not own or control.

Scope 1: At the beginning of 2024, Bactiguard had a few passenger cars in its operations. The need for cars and the possibility of electric cars or plug-in hybrids are regularly evaluated and the leased vehicles were terminated during the year. This means that no vehicles remain in Bactiguard’s operations outside Malaysia. No emissions within scope 1 come from stationary sources within Bactiguard’s operations (such as from for example boilers and generators).

Scope 2: Energy in the operations is consumed in the form of electricity, heating, and so on, with the ambition of entering agreements on guarantees of origin, renewable electricity/sources of energy and fossil-free energy. Heating is supplied through district heating.

Scope 3: An analysis of Bactiguard’s carbon emissions shows that external emissions account for 81 percent of Bactiguard’s total carbon footprint. For that reason, this is the dimension where efforts can have the greatest impact. Purchase of goods and services is the largest cause of emissions in Bactiguard’s value chain, with the greatest possibility for reducing environmental impact. Logistics chains are being examined to reduce transportation. Input goods and travel also have an impact here.

Social sustainability

Workplace satisfaction and engagement are key elements in the company’s culture. An important factor is that our operations promote sustainable social development in accordance with our vision. Bactiguard makes use of the individual know-how of our employees. All employees are to receive correct and fair remuneration in accordance with their individual performance and contribution to the company’s success. Employees are to be offered opportunities for suitable training in order to develop relevant competence.

Occupational health and safety

Bactiguard conducts systematic occupational health and safety activities so that the work environment is both safe and stimulating for each individual employee. Our objective is to reduce the number of health and safety risks in the workplace and to proactively promote a healthy working environment. To achieve these goals, we conduct employee satisfaction surveys, safety inspections, and provide training. Health and safety activities are an integral part of decision-making and the planning of workplace activities, and are described in our occupational health and safety handbook.

Respect for human rights

Bactiguard does not tolerate child labor or forced labor. All employees have the right to choose whether or not they wish to be represented by a trade union and negotiate collectively. No employee may be discriminated against on the grounds of trade union affiliation. Bactiguard takes a serious view of all forms of violations of human rights, and if serious violations of human rights are discovered the company will act without delay and in a suitable manner.

Equality

Bactiguard is committed to ensuring that all individuals are treated equal and have the same opportunities in the workplace and working life regardless of gender, ethnicity, religion or other belief, sexual orientation, transgender identity, disability or age. Bactiguard does not tolerate any form of victimization, discrimination, harassment or bullying at work, whether directed toward, or carried out by, managers, employees, job applicants, customers, suppliers or visitors.

Governance and business ethics

Economic stability and profitability are important contitions to create long-term sustainable development. The key sustainability topic for the company is its capacity to promote increased infection prevention. To be successful in this effort, our main stakeholders must have confidence in the company. To safeguard our ethics and our reputation, our business relationships must always be characterized by honesty, integrity and compliance with laws and regulations. We engage in dialogue with a large number of stakeholders on a daily basis. Our stakeholder relationships and dialogues must be honest, factbased and transparent without risking our commercial confidentiality. The basis for governance of Bactiguard is Swedish legislation, generally accepted accounting principles, the UN Declaration on Human Rights, the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct. Together with the Code of Conduct, policies and internal instructions, the company’s purpose, values, mission and vision form the foundation of Bactiguard’s sustainability efforts. The sustainability-related policies and internal instructions listed below regulate how the company and its employees are to act, with the objective of building a business that is sustainable over the long term. All policies are reviewed annually.

Code of Conduct

Bactiguard’s Code of conduct describes the expectations on Bactiguard and our employees. Together with our common values, this guides our behaviour towards each others and towards others. It is incumbent upon every employee to comply with the Code of Conduct as well as the regulations and procedures that the company has established for its sustainability activities. The managers are responsible for monitoring compliance with the policies. Employees are encouraged to report deviations and highlight best practices. Executive Management and the Board of Directors continually follow up on the policies.

Counteracting corruption

Bactiguard has a zero-tolerance approach to bribery and does not allow anyone to be offered payments or other benefits in order to exercise an influence. We do not discuss or enter into agreements with competitors around pricing, market shares or other similar illegal activities.

Whistle-blower function

Bactiguard strives to ensure that all employees feel safe about reporting potential problems or wrongdoings to their line manager or to the Human Resources department. Therefore we have a standalone external whistle-blowing reporting system that allows employees, suppliers, partners and external parties to anonymously report suspected breaches of our Code of Conduct or business ethics guidelines. The procedure follows our Policy for reporting of misconduct/whistleblowing.

Information Security

As a knowledge-intensive organization Bactiguard handles Information in oral, written and digital form. Information assets are valuable to our organization and procedures on Bactiguard information management is stated in our Code of Conduct and IT Policy.

Risks and risk management

The company has identified the following sustainability risks as the most material:

Product safety

We must deliver safe products to patients, customers and healthcare. We comply with all legal and regulatory requirements as regards clinical trials, product development, production, declarations of goods, sales and marketing. Our MDR and CE labels, like other approvals from government authorities, are indications of quality that demonstrate our ability to maintain a high level of quality in our products and processes.

Environment

Our operations are subject to reporting obligations under the Environmental Code. Our environmental initiatives focus on safe handling of chemicals and waste in product development and production. Our infection prevention coating contains extremely small amounts of noble metals and do not require any special routines for discarding. The metals in the coating are not destroyed during waste incineration and are collected at the incineration facility. To ensure compliance with existing laws and requirements in the area of the environment and to ensure satisfactory self-checks, we have an environmental management system that is based on ISO 14001.

Corruption

We operate in a large number of countries via partners, resellers or direct presence. To counteract the risk of corruption, we have a zero-tolerance approach toward bribery and undue influence. Our employees are not allowed to offer or receive any gifts or benefits, direct or indirect from a third party, unless it is considered to be within the the limits of good business practices and applicable laws. In the event of the slightest uncertainty, our employees are expected to seek advice from immediate manager, executive management or the company’s General Counsel. Our employees are encouraged and expected to report suspected violations to their immediate superior, group management or the company’s General Counsel.

Human rights

Bactiguard has a zero-tolerance approach to violations of human rights. It is therefore important that all employees are familiar with the Code of Conduct and comply with it.

Adverse climate effects

Bactiguard could be adversely impacted by changed climate conditions in the locations where the company is engaged in production. Bactiguard has not identified any company-specific risks that are attributable to changed climate conditions at these locations.

Personnel/risk of competence shortage

Bactiguard operates in a knowledge-intensive industry, making the attraction and retention of talented employees critical to our success. To achieve this, we actively support the professional development of our employees by providing opportunities for further education and training, ensuring a highly skilled and competent workforce.

Data security risks

Security breaches could lead to disruptions in the operations as well as leaks of confidential information and personal data. This could adversely impact confidence in the company. By continually training and testing personnel and updating IT security services and procedures as needed, we ensure that our IT environment is up to date in order to prevent information and data security risks.