Social

Social aspects are the most important ESG factor for Evotec. Knowledge is our Company's engine on our mission to discover and develop medicines that matter. Our success hinges upon our peoples’ skills and dedication. This is why we especially lay our focus on training and education of our staff. Evotec strives to offer fair, respectful and attractive working conditions that allow growth for and with our people. Furthermore, the working place we offer our people needs to be safe and health-promoting.

Our claim #researchneverstops will hold until effective treatments and cures have been found for every last one of more than 3,300 diseases that are untreatable today. It is therefore only natural for Evotec to pursue a strategy of very long-term, sustainable growth.

Thus, addressing causes of a disease rather than only its symptoms is the driver of our daily actions. At Evotec we do research on innovative approaches to drug discovery and development for and with leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies as well as academic institutions. We are convinced that by uniting the different strengths of everyone we can create the best results for better medicine and for our business. That’s why we aim for long-term and strong partnerships and co-owned pipeline programs. By connecting passionate top-class scientists, state-of-the-art technologies as well as substantial experience and expertise in key therapeutic areas we have established a unique leading position in our field.

Evotec makes a very important contribution to the well-being of humanity. For a large number of serious diseases there is still no cure available today and demographic change with its aging population is further increasing the need for therapies. Evotec’s stated purpose is to find new, efficacious drugs and cures that will improve the lives of millions of patients, thereby contributing to the quality of life of society as whole.

Since innovation has to be driven by the need to solve medical problems, EVT Innovate brings forward the most promising scientific ideas to make a difference in key medical research fields. Thus, Evotec is investing in first-in-class development in certain areas of high and most pressing unmet medical need, focusing mainly on mechanisms that are potentially disease modifying and not only address symptoms.

The ultimate goal of EVT Innovate is to build a broad strategic pipeline, resulting in a portfolio of partnerships to ensure sustainability of these innovations. Our social responsibility efforts aim to provide access to affordable, cutting-edge drug solutions to people worldwide, regardless of their economic or social status, including settings where limited medical resources are available.

Our people matters are managed by two departments in particular. First, the Global Human Resources (HR) is an enabling function at Evotec that since 2018 reports directly to the CEO. Global HR is responsible for the company-wide people strategy, approaches, policies, processes and regulations for all people matters. Aside from the global HR team, local HR teams are established in all countries.

Second, our EHS department implements measures to safeguard the health, safety and well-being of all staff and visitors, or those affected by the company’s work, so far as is reasonably practicable. As such, it is the policy of the company to provide and maintain safe and healthy working conditions, equipment and systems of work for all its staff. To this end, information, training and supervision is provided where necessary. We recognize that full compliance with all aspects of national and regional legislation relating to health and safety is essential.

Even though we are ONE Company, we are only as strong as we are because of the multifaceted people who drive us forward. This is the reason, why we are in regular dialogue with our people on the topic of diversity. Especially the following actions are key to tackle issues like discrimination, exclusion or racism.

We celebrate German Diversity Day since 2021 where we focus on raising our peoples’ awareness on diversity topics. Past activities have included a virtual Evotec-specific Diversity quiz, sharing of educational resources, virtual employees’ dynamics, and an on-demand training on basic aspects of diversity.

Related to the second action, Evotec is committed to be an inclusive employer, and we strive to reflect the diversity of the population. We believe that by embracing diversity in all its aspects, we can best nourish diversity of thought irrespective of gender, gender identity, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, religion, disability or other characteristics. This creates the best mix of skills, talent, ideas, creativity and dedication, which makes us strong as ONE for further growth. To underline this, Evotec publicly committed itself to be an attractive and diverse employer by signing the German Diversity Charter in 2020.

Related to the second action, Evotec is committed to be an inclusive employer, and we strive to reflect the diversity of the population. We believe that by embracing diversity in all its aspects, we can best nourish diversity of thought irrespective of gender, gender identity, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, religion, disability, social and cultural background or other characteristics. This creates the best mix of skills, talent, ideas, creativity and dedication, which makes us strong as ONE for further growth. To underline this, Evotec publicly committed itself to be an attractive and diverse employer by signing the German Diversity Charter in 2020.

Our working environment is defined by respect, cooperation, openness and flexibility in the way we think and act. Whether in recruiting, staff development, promotion or pay – Evotec practices equity.

At the end of 2022, Evotec’s workforce represented 91 different nationalities (2021: 81 nationalities). With regard to gender diversity, 54% of our global workforce are women. The average age of Evotec’s people at the end of 2021 was 38.2 years. 1.7% of our people have a recognised disability. These figures are the beginning to measure our development.