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Sanofi Australia

OVERALL

Owned
FRA
Rating
Praises, some criticism

Vaccines and pharmaceuticals wholesaler

Vitamins are manufactured at their Brisbane facility. Other products are imported.

Company Ownership

Sanofi-aventis Australia Pty Ltd   AUS     website   email      
  Sanofi SA   
   owns 100% of Sanofi-aventis Australia Pty Ltd  
FRA     website   email      twitter

Vaccines and pharmaceuticals

World's largest vaccine company, they also make pharmaceuticals and consumer healthcare products. Previously known as Sanofi-Aventis.

> About the Ratings

Company Assessment

PRAISE CRITICISM INFORMATION
Sanofi-aventis Australia Pty Ltd
Social Breaching advertising codes
In 2013, 2012, 2011 and 2010 the Therapeutic Goods Administration's Complaints Resolution Panel upheld complaints about six ads by this company on the grounds that they breached advertising codes. The Panel requested this company withdraw the ads and not to use representations in the ads again.
Source: TGA Complaints Register (2013)
Business Ethics Political donations
According to the democracyforsale.net website, this company donated $475,870 to Australia's major political parties between 2012 and 2018, as disclosed to the Australian Electoral Commision (AEC).
Source: Democracy For Sale (2018)
Environment APCO member
Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) is a not-for-profit organisation leading the development of a circular economy for packaging in Australia. Each year, APCO Members are required to submit an APCO Annual Report and Action Plan, which includes an overall performance level from 1 (Getting Started) to 5 (Beyond Best Practice). This company received a packaging performance level of 2 (Good Progress) in its 2021 APCO Annual Report.
Source: APCO (2021)
Social Employer of Choice for Gender Equality
This company is listed by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) as a Employer of Choice for Gender Equality citation holder. The citation is designed to encourage, recognise and promote active commitment to achieving gender equality in Australian workplaces.
Source: WGEA (2022)
Business Ethics Social responsibility claims
This company has a number of social responsibility claims on its website.
Source: company website (2014)
Sanofi SA
Environment CDP Climate Change Score of A
In 2021, the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) asked companies to provide data about their efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change risk. Responding companies are scored across four key areas: disclosure; awareness; management; and leadership. This company received a CDP Climate Change Score of A.
Source: CDP (2021)
Social CDP Water Security Score of A
In 2021, the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) asked companies to provide data about their efforts to manage and govern freshwater resources. Responding companies are scored on six key metrics: transparency; governance & strategy; measuring & monitoring; risk assessment; targets & goals; and value chain engagement. This company received a CDP Water Security Score of A.
Source: CDP (2021)
Business Ethics 84/100 S&P Global ESG Score
This company received an S&P Global ESG Score of 84/100 in the Pharmaceuticals category of the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment, an annual evaluation of companies' sustainability practices (last updated 7 Feb 2021). The rankings are based on an analysis of corporate economic, environmental and social performance, assessing issues such as corporate governance, risk management, environmental reporting, climate strategy, human rights and labour practices.
Source: S&P Global (2021)
Social 100% on Corporate Equality Index
This company is listed as having best practice on a report card on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality in corporate America.
Source: Human Rights Campaign (2021)
Business Ethics Global 100
The 2021 Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World list is an extensive data-driven corporate sustainability assessment. The ranked companies are leaders in the field of a sustainable business approach. The efficiency of a company's energy, water, CO2 and waste management is measured in relation to its total sales volume. The disclosure of that information is a pre-condition for the assessment. Of the 417 companies in its peer group, this company ranked #4.
Source: Corporate Knights (2021)
Environment Supply chain practices in China
This company received a score of 7.8/100 (retrieved 10-Oct-2020) in the Corporate Information Transparency Index (CITI), a system for evaluating supply chain practices in China, particularly in regards to environmental management and water pollution. Scores are calculated using government compliance data, online monitoring data, and third-party environmental audits, as well as trends in the environmental performance of factories in the company's supply chains.
Source: IPE (2020)
Social 3.9% in conflict minerals rankings
As You Sow's 2019 report, Mining the Disclosures, is a deep analysis of 215 companies' human rights performance in relation to sourcing conflict minerals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This company's score was 3.9% (Weak).
Source: As You Sow (2019)
Business Ethics Fined for fraud in USA
In 2019 several pharmaceutical companies finally settled a 2005 lawsuit which claimed the companies fudged wholesale drug prices to increase Medicaid reimbursements. In all, the state of Illinois received a combined $648 million over the course of that litigation. A subsidiary of this company was involved in the 2019 settlement.
Source: news article (2019)
Business Ethics Fined US$12m for paying kickbacks
In 2020 an American subsidiary of this company agreed to pay US$11.85 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by paying kickbacks to Medicare patients through a purportedly independent charitable foundation, The Assistance Fund.
Source: US Dept of Justice (2020)
Business Ethics Fined US$20m for drug overcharging
In 2017 an American subsidiary of this company agreed to pay US$19.87 million to resolve claims that it incorrectly calculated drug prices and thereby overcharged the US Department of Veterans Affairs for drugs under two contracts between 2002 and 2011.
Source: US Dept of Justice (2017)
Business Ethics Fined US$25m for corruption
On 4 Sept 2018 the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission announced that Sanofi agreed to pay more than $25 million to resolve charges that its Kazakhstan and the Middle East subsidiaries made corrupt payments to win business. According to the SEC's order, the schemes spanned multiple countries and involved bribe payments to government procurement officials and healthcare providers in order to be awarded tenders and to increase prescriptions of its products.
Source: US SEC (2018)
Business Ethics 49.9% in Newsweek Green Ranking 2017
This company received a score of 49.9/100 in the Newsweek Green Ranking 2017, which ranks the world's largest publicly traded companies on eight indicators covering energy, greenhouse gases, water, waste, fines and penalties, linking executive pay to sustainability targets, board-level committee oversight of environmental issues and third-party audits. Ranking methodology by Corporate Knights and HIP Investor.
Source: Newsweek (2017)
Environment Pollution in India
Changing Markets' 2016 report, 'Superbugs in the Supply Chain' investigates how pollution from antibiotics factories in India and China is fuelling the global rise of drug-resistant infections. "Sanofi has links to dirty production via its Czech subsidiary Zentiva, which sources the antibiotic Ciprofloxacin from Neuland Pharmaceuticals - an Indian pharma company that has been implicated in unlawful manufacturing discharges."
Source: Changing Markets (2016)
Business Ethics Cartel fine in India
In June 2015, Sanofi's Indian subsidiary was fined US$9.4m by the Indian Competition Commission for colluding and forming a cartel (with GlaxoSmithKline) in their bidding practices to get government contracts for the supply of a meningitis vaccine. The vaccine was for use among 200,000 pilgrims visiting Mecca.
Source: Fierce Pharma (2015)
Business Ethics Antitrust fine upheld
The Court of Appeals of Paris upheld a 40.6m euro antitrust fine against this company for campaigning to discourage doctors and pharmacists from prescribing or substituting a generic version of its blood thinner Plavix. The Court rejected this company's appeal of a May 2013 decision by the French Competition Authority and fining it for abusing its dominance and using a 'strategy of denigration' against generic Plavix competitors in 2009 and 2010. [Listed under Information due to age of court finding]
Source: Law 360 (2014)
Business Ethics Fined for bribery
This company was fined 28m euros because two of its former employees were convicted of bribery by a German court in December 2013. The former employees had made illicit payments to a consultancy advising one of this company's clients between 2007 and 2010 to win new orders for the client. This led to Sanofi being unfairly given preference. [Listed under Information due to age of court finding]
Source: news article (2014)
Business Ethics 'Health camps' in India
This company is one of the pharmaceutical companies using free 'health camps' in India to test poor patients for diseases and then prescribe them drugs. In violation of the regulations of the Medical Council of India, the camps often do not have licensed doctors but use drug sales representatives to undertake health checks.
Source: British Medical Journal (2015)
Business Ethics Fined for pricing dispute
Azmacort, Nasacort and Nasacort AQ are all steroid-based anti-inflammatory nasal sprays used to treat nasal congestion during the onset of a sinus infection, the common cold or hay fever. Their manufacturer, Aventis Pharmaceutical, which is a subsidiary of Sanofi-Aventis, agreed to $95.5 million in fines in 2009 after the company was found to have misreported the drugs' best prices, thereby avoiding paying millions of dollars in rebates to Medicaid between 1995 and 2000. [Listed under Information due to age of court finding]
Source: Drug Watch (2009)
Business Ethics False claims settlement
In 2012, the US Department of Justice announced that this company agreed to pay US$109m to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by giving doctors free samples of knee injection product Hylagan to encourage them to buy and prescribe the treatment. The settlement also resolved allegations that the company submitted false sales reports for Hylagan that did not account for the free samples distributed contingent on purchases of the product. [Listed under Information due to age of court finding]
Source: First Word Pharma (2012)
Business Ethics Governance
Sanofi-Aventis has been investigated by USA's Food and Drug Administration for supplying the agency with fraudulent clinical trial data. Sanofi has run into legal trouble in the form of anti-trust lawsuits and investigations for its suppression of generic drugs and fiercely protecting its patents.
Source: Green America (2009)
Business Ethics Fines for misconduct
This company is listed on the Federal Contractor Misconduct Database as having 8 instances of misconduct since 1995 amounting to US$290 million in penalties.
Source: Project on Government Oversight (POGO) (2014)
Environment Climate action commitments
As listed on the We Mean Business website, this company has committed to the following climate action initiatives: adopt a science-based emissions reduction target.
Source: We Mean Business (2021)
Social Mum-friendly employer
This company was named in the Working Mother 100 Best Companies 2020 for being a mum-friendly employer. Listed companies demonstrate progress in offering paid parental leave and opportunities to return to work gradually, as well as family-friendly benefits and opportunities for women to advance.
Source: Working Mother (2020)
Business Ethics Corporate responsibility claims
This company has a number of corporate responsibility claims and documents on its website.
Source: company website (2020)
Business Ethics AMR Industry Alliance member
This company is a member of the AMR Industry Alliance, a coalition of biotech, diagnostics, generics and research-based pharmaceutical companies set up to provide sustainable solutions to curb antimicrobial resistance (AMR). AMR is an increasingly significant threat to global public health which puts at risk the effective prevention and treatment of a wide range of infections.
Source: AMR Industry Alliance (2021)
Social Access to Medicine ranking
This company received the seventh highest score in the Access to Medicine Index 2018, a ranking of the world's 20 largest pharmaceutical companies on their efforts to increase access to medicine in developing countries.
Source: Access to Medicine Index (2018)

> About the Icons

Company Details

Type Wholly-owned subsidiary
Employees 1,000 (2015)
Aus Manufacturing Yes

Contact Details

Address Talavera Corporate Centre, Building D, 12-24 Talavera Road, Macquarie Park, NSW, 2113, Australia
Phone 02 8666 2000
Website www.sanofi.com.au

Products / Brands

Sanofi Australia
Betadine Antiseptic
Betadine Cold & Flu
Cenovis Vitamins
Ford Senna Laxatives
Gastrolyte Digestive Care
I Quit Sugar Health Foods
MICROgenics Vitamins
Nature's Own Vitamins
Nature's Own Health Foods
Ostelin Vitamins
Selsun Shampoo
Shave Mens Grooming
Telfast Cold & Flu


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