EN 
PT Relationships
A Better life for people
Employee Journey
GRI 2-29 | 3-3 | 401 | 403 | 404
Our employee journey includes our commitment to simple and direct communication, closeness, equal treatment, comprehensive health and recognition programs, succession and development plans, the creation of opportunities and an open journey cycle so the motivation to remain in the Company is shared with transparency and respect.
In 2022 we improved our technologies, systems and contact channels, making it simpler and faster to communicate with those who want to be part of the Aché Generation. The priority is to ensure that anyone who comes into contact with our company is welcomed, respected and valued, and they find a plural, diverse and safe environment in which to become the protagonist of their own career.
In the recruitment and selection process, the attributes of our culture and our ESG drivers, such as diversity and inclusion, are already a reality and continue to guide our leaders as they manage their teams.
The Aché Generation
GRI 2-7 | 401-1
In December 2022 there were more than 5,500 professionals in the Aché Generation, an increase of 5% compared to 2021. We also have 1,488 third-party employees in our operations.
Aché has one of the largest and most widely recognized commercial and demand sales forces in the Brazilian pharmaceutical sector. For yet another year our professionals have demonstrated the competence and commitment of a team formed by specialists who are capable of adapting to the market. Formed by commercial reps, consultants and salespeople, the commercial sales force and demand team takes the Aché brand to the whole of Brazil and, using digital tools, contacts customers, mainly by way of our WhatsApp Visit tool, and presents them with the Company’s portfolio and provides them with quality information.
Attraction, Talent Management and Performance Evaluation
GRI 2-29 | 3-3 | 404-3
We work to attract and retain the best talents. The recruitment and selection process is designed to offer the best candidate experience. Job postings and recruitment are supported by artificial intelligence, ensuring integrity, transparency and trust in the process.
Digital platforms have been an important means of interaction, approximation and agile communication, and for engaging the Aché Generation. Yammer is used for institutional communication and works as a corporate social network, an environment that enables comments, likes, discussions in theme rooms, and real-time participation in endomarketings, live streams and other actions that strengthen Aché culture, creativity and plurality of ideas.
The Aché Competency Model is designed to develop, maintain and value our employees. It also supports the SGDI – Individual Performance Management System (Sistema de Gestão de Desempenho Individual) and is applied at all levels in the people structure.
This evaluation system is an important ally in the personal development of the employee, offering clarity of criteria, equity, and feedback on the result.
To bring employees closer to executive management and broaden their business vision, Aché has its Coffee & Company (Café & Companhia) program for periodic meetings with the CEO or directors and their teams.
People development
GRI 2-29 | 404-1 | 404-2
We continuously invest in education programs and projects for our employees, whether through educational partnerships, consultancies, development programs, sales force training or courses in digital format on the Desenvolve Aché platform.
The platform provides learning paths for training and developing the skills of employees. Its content can be accessed at any time, via computer, tablet, or mobile phone, enabling professionals to play a leading role in their own development.
We have provided 318,735 hours of training for employees.
With our Succession program we map out the key leadership positions (directors, managers, and coordinators) and identify their possible successors. The process takes place by way of interviews and an assessment of potential. Based on the outcome of this process, an Individual Development Plan is produced and monitored in order to ensure the candidates’ readiness at the time of their succession.
Health & Safety
GRI 3-3 | 403-1
We apply our Occupational Health and Safety Management (OHS) process in an integrated manner in order to ensure compliance with the requirements of ISO 45001, the regulatory standards of Ordinance 3214/78, and the technical instructions of the Fire Department of the state of São Paulo.
The Integrated Management System (IMS) Policy, which covers the areas of health, safety, and environment, guides the management of OHS and establishes the necessary processes to reduce the exposure of employees to the risks and hazards that are inherent in the work environment.
CONSULTATION AND EMPLOYEE PARTICIPATION
GRI 403-1 | 403-2 | 403-3 | 403-4 | 403-5 | 403-6
Participatory and consultation processes with our employees and service providers occur through meetings and other communication channels:
• Meetings of the Internal Accident Prevention Committee:monthly meetings with the participation of employees to identify risks in the work process and generate plans that make it possible to adopt preventive measures and actions for dealing with the risks.
• Internal Week for the Prevention of Accidents at Work): an annual event with activities aimed at preventing accidents and occupational diseases.
• Safety Dialogues: meetings held at least twice a week to provide guidance and collect reports of OHS occurrences.
• Awareness and prevention campaigns: carried out periodically for addressing health and safety situations in our plants and administrative areas, thus helping consolidate our culture of prevention.
• Incident reports: these are reported on Eyes Open behavioral safety program forms
RISK MANAGEMENT IN OHS
GRI 403-1 | 403-2 | 403-3 | 403-6 | 403-7
The Company has been working to identify risks related to the health and safety of its employees and priority critical points, based on a Hazard and Damage Survey (LPD, Levantamento de Perigos e Danos). Probabilities and severity are defined on the basis of this survey in order to introduce action plans for reducing, mitigating and eliminating risks.
Routine monitoring and rigorous actions have been introduced to control and mitigate occupational risks, thus keeping our operations safe with the NR-01 standard. Those employees who are elected to our CIPA (Internal Commission for Accident Prevention) are trained to carry out surveys of the physical (unhealthy/dangerous), chemical and biological agents and those that might cause accidents, and prepare a Risk Map. The Risk Management Program is prepared from this document, in accordance with he NR-01 standard.
While always respecting privacy and information security criteria, the occupational health data of our employees are analyzed, stratified and used exclusively by Aché’s medical team.
HEALTH AND SAFETY TRAINING
GRI 403-5
Training, guidance and recycling programs in Occupational Health and Safety are designed and developed for employees and service providers alike. The General Training Matrix (MGT, Matriz Geral de Treinamentos) and compliance with its activities are monitored during unit performance meetings. Employees with functions in which there is a high exposure to risk receive specific qualification and technical skills training. The other employees receive training in behavioral safety and compliance with regulatory standards. Those managing H & S are monitored by senior management, and internal and external audits are carried out to validate the process.
All employees are trained in how to complete a Hazard and Damage Survey, in line with the requirements of ISO 45001, which includes the right to refuse if the employee does not feel safe in performing a certain task.
Our own employees and outsourced workers strictly follow the regulatory standards and legal requirements that are relevant in the Company’s operations.
ACCIDENTS AND INCIDENTS
GRI 403-9 | 403-10
Diversity and Inclusion
GRI 3-3 | 405-1 | 405-2 | 406-1
Inspiring through talent and diversity is part of Aché’s Way of Being. In order to advance in building an even more diverse environment, in 2022 Aché conducted its first Diversity Census, in partnership with a specialized consulting firm, a key stage for updating strategies, initiatives, and programs that will guide the Company’s equality, equity, and inclusion premises.
The model preserved the anonymity of the respondents and was adhered to by 75% of the Aché Generation, a rate the market considered to be positive. The result of the Census made it possible for us to identify positive points, such as: more than half of our workforce is female; 87% of the Aché Generation believe that the Company’s New Way of Being and Doing includes the demands of diversity, equity and inclusion; 81% believe that the organization is committed to these topics; and 92% believe that the leader to whom they report gives everyone in the team the same opportunities to grow and develop professionally, and that they treat everyone with respect, regardless of their personal characteristics.
We understand that diversity, respect, equity, and innovation enrich the corporate ecosystem. They are the pillars that provide a sense of belonging and support the construction of the culture we practice every day, because we believe in an even more plural, diverse, and inclusive Magenta environment.
The diagnosis also pointed to the need to continue advancing on important fronts, such as the inclusion of black and disabled people and the
greater presence of women in senior management roles, for example. We currently track our diversity indicators to monitor people with disabilities and
black employees.
No cases of discrimination were identified in Aché last year.
Note: Numerical data are in portuguese.
Commitment to the Value Chain
GRI 3-3 | 2-29 | 408-1 | 409-1 | 413-1 | 414
CLIENTS AND CONSUMERS
GRI 2-29 | 3-3
Aché seeks to strengthen its relationships with customers and consumers on a continuous basis, and it prioritizes their needs and expectations.
To ensure that our products are available to all Brazilians, we have a wide distribution network, which ensures that Aché brands are readily found in hospitals, clinics, pharmacy chains and points of sale throughout the country.
Since 1993, we have had a Customer Service Center (CAC), offering agility and security in handling complaints, questions, suggestions and compliments. The center is integrated with other systems, such as the website, phones, WhatsApp and social networks, and constantly seeks to serve consumers in a personalized way. In the last year our efforts for continuous quality in customer service resulted in a 31% reduction in complaint and query calls via the CAC.
In 2022, we launched our Programa de Excelência no Atendimento ao Shopper (PEAS) de Medicamentos, para auxiliar nossos clientes na implementação de estratégias que possam ampliar a satisfação do shopper e proporcionar a melhor experiência de compras no balcão.
The program is the result of extensive research with buyers, clerks, and pharmacists, which made it possible to map opportunities for the operation, support retailers in their development and increase customer loyalty. To do so we offered customers a consultancy role in helping us define strategies that are more resolute and that meet the needs and expectations of our customers in pharmacies, whether in the physical or digital environment.
Based on PEAS, we prepared a Service Guide that is a compilation of the main insights and recommendations so pharmacies can provide a strategic service, with the aim of identifying customer preferences and securing their loyalty by way of a good shopping experience. The Guide will be released in 2023 for all channels.
Care for Life
The Care for Life Relationship Program (CPV) The Care for Life Relationship Program (CPV) has reached the mark of 21 million registrations, an increase of more than 2.7 million patients in 2022 alone. Care For Life provides 24-hour care with nurses and pharmacists for proper guidance on medication use, and supplies quality information materials on health, well-being, and beauty. To boost adherence to the treatment prescribed by physicians, especially drugs that are used continuously, we offer discounts on medication and the Profuse line of dermocosmetics. In addition to the virtual portal, Aché’s CPV offers personalized support via a call center. call center.
LONGEVITY FOR ALL
In 2022, we implemented the Aché Longevity Project to create a new concept in health care in the pharmaceutical industry. We believe in prevention, an improvement in the quality of life and the treatment of chronic diseases to achieve a long life with health and autonomy from the beginning of adulthood. With our holistic view on aging in society, we aim to improve the quality of life of the population and encourage the adoption of preventive habits and adherence to chronic disease treatments that allow a healthy aging by making specific services and products available. At the same time, ww will provide healthcare professionals with medical-scientific updates, services and innovative products that will enable them to offer their patients solutions that are both preventive and therapeutic.
The project includes actions for health professionals to disseminate and promote our concept; participation in research projects related to longevity; an acceleration in the development of products for treating chronic diseases; and the creation and development of a line of products in the food supplement, herbal medicine and specific medicine categories. With the premise of innovating and taking a new look at health, the project is fully aligned with the Company’s purpose of bringing a better life to everyone.
Traceability
Traceability allows medicines to be monitored throughout the production chain, from manufacturing to their arrival at the final consumer. In 2022, we finalized the implementation of traceability for all of our products, in compliance with Law 14,338/2022.
Although the law has not yet come into force Aché follows its commitment to society by recognizing the importance of the tool for avoiding forgeries, losses, and tax evasion, thereby offering consumers greater certainty as to the origin of the product.
Accessibility
In 2022 the Company adapted 438 packages to include a QR Code,thus enabling access to digital package inserts. By including a QR Code, Aché is facilitating access to health and enabling consumers to consult information in the package inserts, thereby avoiding the incorrect use of medicines.
To facilitate accessibility, in addition to information in the package inserts by way of a QR Code, the Company’s website has tools that allow font size to be increased or reduced, with the option of contrast, translation of text into Brazilian sign language (Libras) and audio reproduction of all content.
PHYSICIANS
GRI 2-29 | 3-3
Respecting and recognizing the importance of the medical community for the health and quality of people’s lives, Aché has strengthened its partnership with these professionals and offered them new forms of interaction and medical-scientific updating.
In 2022 Aché launched a scientific channel on WhatsApp exclusively for health professionals. There, it is possible to obtain information about Aché products in an agile way, post notifications of adverse events and also send suggestions for new products for the Aché portfolio.
To disseminate medical-scientific knowledge, we also rely on the Medical Information Service (SIM, Serviço de Informações Médicas) and provide a podcast on Spotify, with content that focuses on the career, health, and quality of life of doctors.
Our website includes an exclusive area for registered physicians, Aché.doc, where scientific content, clinical cases, congress news and video classes are available.
Since 2021, another channel, called WhatsApp Visit, enables customized visits adapted to fit the professional’s schedule.
REGULATORY AGENCIES AND ASSOCIATIONS
GRI 2-28 | 2-29
Conscious of our responsibility and contribution to the evolution of the pharmaceutical and health industry in Brazil, we maintain an ethical and transparent relationship with the public sector and the regulatory agencies of our industry, such as Anvisa. In order to make our contribution to important pharmaceutical subjects, we participate in the following sectoral associations:
COMMUNITY
GRI 2-29 | 203-1 | 413-1
Decisions on social investment in Aché prioritize bringing a better life to people living in situations of social vulnerability, especially in communities where Aché has its operations.
Following the model structured in the previous year, in 2022 Aché published two public calls for proposals for social projects supported by means of tax incentive laws. The public calls for proposals were divided into two fronts: one to support cultural and sports programs, and the other to support health in partnership with the Fund for Childhood and Adolescence (FIA) and the Fund for the Elderly. Lending greater governance to the process, the selected projects were evaluated by a directive committee.
To increase the transparency of the process even more, since 2022 Aché has been reporting projects in the period in which they were carried out, that is, the year in which the projects were used and their impact was felt. In 2022, therefore, Aché’s social impact was BRL 8.6 million, which was the result of projects that were undertaken following selection by way of public bidding notices and those the Company supported with its own resources.
Main Projects
The Crescer Aprendendo Project - Center for Professionalizing Education in Social Assistance (CEAP): is a project aimed at providing teenagers from the Cidade Ademar region of the city of Sao Paulo with complementary qualifications. They are offered technical courses that are recognized by the Ministry of Education (MEC) in the after-school hours of public schools. The project has had a direct impact on 150 young people between 15 and 18 years old and an indirect impact on 600 family members living in the South Zone of São Paulo.
Sentimentos do Olhar Project: The ImageMagica Organization: artistic and humanitarian activities are carried out in hospitals, involving 500 people at IAMSPE - Institute of Medical Assistance to State Public Servants of São Paulo. 500 at the Epidemiological Vigilance Center and UBS Bairro de Lourdes in Anápolis-GO, and 500 at Maternidade Jesus, José e Maria in Guarulhos- SP.
Nucleus Network Project - Sport & Education Institute: this project offers a comprehensive system of regular educational activities and events that develop sports, cultural, health, leadership, citizenship, and community integration actions. The centers are located in the following municipal schools: Padre Antônio Melo Costa, in the Charneca neighborhood; and EMEI Pontezinha, in the Pontezinha neighborhood, both areas that suffer from high social vulnerability. Using resources provided by Aché, the two centers help 400 children during after-school hours.
Street Football for Education Project - Street Football Institute: the project uses an exclusive social and educational methodology, which combines playing sport and training children during the school day. The project had an impact on the lives of 156 children in Londrina-PR and Guarulhos-SP.
SUPPLY CHAIN
GRI 2-29 | 3-3 | 204-1 | 408-1 | 409-1 | 414-1 | 414-2
Aché’s supply chain is made up of 2,487 Brazilian and international suppliers. The volume we purchased in 2022 amounted to BRL 2.6 billion.
In order to overcome the challenge of seeking new therapeutic solutions our portfolio of suppliers is constantly expanding.
To keep the plants in continuous operation and without interruptions caused by logistics and supply chain challenges we hold strategic stocks with the aim of mitigating risks and guaranteeing our production.
Direct suppliers provide the necessary inputs for our products, while indirect suppliers offer services and materials for investments and business support.
We manage our almost 2,500 suppliers by developing relationships and partnerships that are structured by way of a careful contracting process, with technical and regulatory support, commitment to service and performance monitoring according to the needs of the business, thus ensuring the integrity and continuity of the portfolio.
Aché’s Procurement Policy establishes the criteria for the selection, evaluation and monitoring of both direct and indirect suppliers. To become a business partner, it is essential that the supplier complies with current legislation, environmental and safety standards and the Child and Adolescent Statute (ECA, Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente). They must also undertake not to make use of child or slave labor or become involved with practices that are prohibited at any level of current Brazilian or international legislation.
The pharmaceutical industry uses technology as a disruptive factor. Therefore, we have international partnerships for developing innovative and highly complex works.
New suppliers in 2022 underwent a regulatory standards evaluation process and a quality audit. To meet the needs of our stakeholders in an agile and disruptive way, and in line with our strategic plan and ESG initiatives, we mapped out our supply chain and we are now putting together a new selection, approval, and risk management process. Attentive to the management needs of our supply chain, we started a Procure to Pay (P2P) project in order to implement an innovative, transformative and easily adopted platform that will leverage our acquisition, expense and contract processes and our management; we expect to complete this in 2024.
