Sanofi believes in carrying out lobbying and political engagement in a responsible manner. Sanofi’s lobbying activities follow a global procedure on lobbying, updated in 2024, which reflects international codes and standards, and the evolving external transparency requirements. Sanofi's Code of Conduct outlines the foundational principles of “Interacting with stakeholders”, including all trade associations, public authorities, governments, universities and research, as one of the supporting pillars of Sanofi’s culture of integrity, respect, legitimate intent, transparency, and accountability in stakeholder interactions.
Our Global Operating Procedure on Responsible Lobbying and Interaction with Public Officials requires that lobbying activities uphold ethical standards and are conducted with due consideration of Sanofi’s mission and in compliance with Sanofi’s Code of Conduct, and the applicable lobbying and advocacy laws, regulations and codes. The key principles of the Global Operating Procedure include (but are not limited to :
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only Sanofi-authorized employees and consultants may engage in lobbying activities and political interactions on Sanofi’s behalf, and must comply with applicable laws, regulations and codes, including for registration obligations and expenses disclosure;
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lobbying activities are done with the purpose of advancing Sanofi’s mission and are performed transparent and with integrity;
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anti-bribery and due diligence are performed with respect to organizations and third parties conducting lobbying activities on behalf of Sanofi;
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in-house or consultant lobbyists that have previously held a public official post must respect cooling-off periods or transition rules imposed by their former organizations;
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direct or indirect lobbying activities are aligned with Sanofi’s social and environmental commitments and objectives, any misalignment between trade associations and our own commitments is publicly stated or otherwise addressed;
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lobbying and advocacy activities (including key topics we advocate and the corresponding resources) are reported on an annual basis.
Our lobbying activities are coordinated and driven by our employees working in public affairs in the countries where we operate, with clear accountabilities to the executive committee (CEO and Executive Vice Presidents), and are primarily overseen by the Executive Vice President of Corporate Affairs. Our lobbying activities are mainly focused on innovation, healthcare, access to healthcare and environment. Sanofi is involved in several trade and industry groups that represent the pharmaceutical sector and our business interests. Sanofi closely monitors our engagement with trade associations through our representatives.
Our Actions
Ongoing actions carried out throughout the year include:
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maintaining a list of authorized employees and activities related to lobbying, and trade association memberships, and providing guidance on contracting consultants for lobbying activities;
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ensuring lobbying activities align with Sanofi’s social and environmental goals;
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Providing training/learning programs: Sanofi Authorized Employees receive mandatory training on the Lobbying Global Operating Procedure and relevant global and local policies, with additional training, support platforms and enforcement mechanisms determined on a case-by-case basis;
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Disclosure: Sanofi provides timely and complete information to government transparency registries or voluntary databases for lobbying and corporate political contributions. To enhance transparency and integrity in our lobbying and advocacy activities, we conduct internal audits of public affairs activities twice yearly though a risk-based internal control system.
To enhance transparency and integrity, a risk-based internal control system supports the implementation and monitoring of lobbying activities, including biannual internal audits of public affairs activities.