Value chain

We generate the bulk of our added value through our activities in Switzer­land. In the year under review, activities abroad contributed only 8% (previous year 8%) to the Group’s added value from op­er­a­tions.

The statement of added value and the allocation of added value are addressed in the Man­age­ment Commentary of the Annual Report, in the “Financial review” (see Annual Report, page 118).

Each year, suppliers deliver goods and services to us worth over CHF 4.4 bil­lion. The im­por­ta­tion has a positive and negative impact on the economy, society and the en­vi­ron­ment along the value and supply chains:

• Consumer and capital goods contribute to Switzer­land’s economic de­vel­op­ment, com­pet­i­tiveness and quality of life. But they have an impact on the climate and natural resources. We accept our responsibility and are implementing a number of mea­sures to make our supply chains ecologically sustainable (see the chapter “En­vi­ron­mentally friendly and climate-compatible supply chains”).
• We create and maintain jobs in Switzer­land as well as within the supply chain, thus creating added social and economic value. Together with our employees and partners, as well as in in­ter­na­tional industry initiatives, we are committed to making the social conditions in our supply chains sustainable (see the chapter “Fair supply chains”).
• In order to provide our cus­tomers with services and products, we depend on raw materials from numerous countries and regions, the extraction of which is often associated with en­vi­ron­mental and social risks. We are therefore particularly committed to better practices in the extraction of raw materials (see the chapter “Fair supply chains”).