SUSTAINABILITY AT TECAN

Tecan is a pioneer and global leader in laboratory automation. Founded in Switzerland in 1980, the Company has more than 3,300 employees; a full overview of Tecan’s employee profile is included in the Social Impact and Data sections of this report. Tecan has manufacturing, research and development sites in Europe, North America and Asia, and maintains a sales and service network in over 70 countries. Tecan Group Ltd. is the parent company, and is a limited corporation incorporated in Switzerland, whose shares are publicly traded. Tecan Group Ltd.’s registered office is at Seestrasse 103, 8708 Männedorf, Switzerland. The entities included in Tecan’s Sustainability Report are indicated here. 

Tecan’s main business activities are the research, design and development of our products, the final assembly of these at our production sites, and the related sales and service activities. Tecan markets products directly to end-users and is also an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), offering customers a full suite of services. The products manufactured by Tecan are used in laboratories for life science research, in applied markets and in clinical diagnostics as well as in the medical devices area. The largest product group comprises laboratory automation platforms, analytical benchtop instruments, as well as OEM instrument components and sub-modules.

Tecan does not conduct animal testing, or participate in, or knowingly fund, any external studies that use embryonic stem cells, fetal tissue or fetal cell lines. Clients include pharmaceutical, biotechnology, in-vitro diagnostic and medical devices companies, university research departments, and diagnostic and other laboratories. As an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and CDMO, Tecan also develops and manufactures instruments and components that are then distributed by partner companies into research, in-vitro diagnostic and medical device markets. Tecan’s value chain also includes the distributor network and supply chain, which are described in this report. 

In 2021 Tecan created a Sustainability Committee, chaired by the CEO and made up of Management Board members responsible for specific ESG (environment, social and governance) areas, as well as Tecan’s CFO, Sustainability Committee lead, and two subject matter experts who joined Tecan in Q3, 2021. The Sustainability Committee meets quarterly and sets Tecan’s sustainability strategy and priorities, which are taken to the full Management Board for approval. 

Tecan’s Audit Committee of the Board of Directors has responsibility for the oversight of sustainability topics, and delegates management of these to Tecan’s Management Board. Tecan’s CFO or Global Head, Sustainability update the Audit Committee members on key topics at least twice per year, and Tecan’s Global Head, Sustainability briefs the full Board of Directors during the annual strategy deep dive. Board members may also be briefed on sustainability developments by the CEO and respective Management Board members during their regular meetings, as described in the more detailed overview of our Board in the Corporate Governance section of Tecan’s Annual Report. Board of Directors members have relevant sustainability expertise, gained in their previous roles as CEOs or senior executives of companies with sustainability programs. A well-rounded understanding of business impacts is one of many criteria looked for in potential Board members; the opportunity to increase the visible diversity of Tecan’s Board of Directors is also one of the many factors considered, as is maintaining the gender balance of the Board. Further detail about how Tecan’s Board of Directors functions is set out in the Corporate Governance Report chapter of the Annual Report, as well as in Tecan’s Organizational Regulations.

Throughout Tecan, management of social and environmental impacts is integrated into daily work. Sustainability topics are included in Tecan’s annual risk management process and in assessment of potential acquisition opportunities. In addition, specific initiatives with a strong sustainability focus are tracked by Tecan’s Sustainability Committee, as reflected in the “Sustainability Governance Structure” diagram. Sustainability Committee members are responsible for updating the Sustainability Committee on the progress of workstreams within their area, and the Sustainability Committee lead or Global Head, Sustainability present a summary to the Management Board when key decisions are taken, along with any committee proposals that need Management Board approval. Tecan’s Global Head, Sustainability is the Sustainability Committee secretary, responsible for preparing the committee meetings and driving the sustainability agenda. 

Tecan’s CEO, Sustainability Committee members and additional Management Board members contribute to and review the annual Sustainability Report. The Audit Committee and the Chair of the Board of Directors review the Sustainability Report and provide input. 

Sustainability targets that advance progress in managing Tecan’s material topics are included in the short-term variable pay compensation criteria of all Management Board members and all Tecan colleagues who have a variable pay component to their compensation. In 2025, these targets related to the material topics Being Employer of Choice; FAIR (Fairness, Access, Inclusion and Representation) and Climate Impact. Additional detail about these targets is included in the the Compensation Report chapter of Tecan’s Annual Report.

Tecan has been able to offer internship opportunities to a sustainability trainee since Q3, 2022, with each trainee who has graduated from the program going on to pursue further work or studies in sustainability, within Tecan and externally. In 2025, Tecan’s sustainability trainee accepted a permanent contract to join the Company as Sustainability Manager, strengthening Tecan’s ability to communicate transparently, respond to customer and ratings agency requests for program detail, and to advance work on Tecan’s material topics globally. 

At Tecan we improve people’s lives and health by empowering our customers to scale healthcare innovation globally from research to the clinic. We collaborate with our customers in healthcare and the life sciences, from early-stage innovation through delivery of clinical solutions. We deliver the products, services and solutions that make lab processes and medical procedures precise, reproducible and compliant. This leads to scalable outcomes that are further reaching and ever more valuable to humankind. Tecan’s sustainability strategy supports the Company’s purpose, is integrated into Tecan’s annual strategy development and review process and was approved by the Board of Directors in 2023. This strategy enables Tecan to say, “Our products add value to society, our business practices do, too.” Both a description of how Tecan operates today and an aspiration indicating the areas in which Tecan will strengthen processes on an ongoing basis, the strategy states: From design through production to end-of-life, we maximize the positive impact of our products and business practices. Tecan’s products enable innovative healthcare, consider ecodesign, and are produced with responsibly sourced materials. Our sites are carefully managed to minimize negative environmental impacts and to implement practices which have a positive environmental impact. We consistently demonstrate excellence in product quality and safety, governance, and risk management, and have a measurable positive impact as an employer and in our communities. Implementation of this strategy is further described in the Environment, Social Impact, and Governance sections of this Sustainability Report. 

Tecan joined the UN Global Compact (UNGC) in 2018, and in doing so committed to a precautionary approach to environmental challenges, along with key social impact and good governance principles derived from UN instruments such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Labour Organization’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, and the United Nations Convention Against Corruption. Adherence to these principles is tracked by Tecan’s Sustainability lead and reported on annually via the UNGC reporting platform. 

Additional SDGs are supported through the work of Tecan’s customers, and through research projects supported by Tecan. The majority of Tecan’s customers focus on activities intended to ultimately benefit human health. A selection of customer stories is presented on the sustainability page of tecan.com.

Tecan supports the blueprint for a better future set out in the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and aligns in particular with goals 3, 5, 8 and 12.

Tecan’s stakeholders include customers, investors and employees, as well as our business partners and the communities in which we live and work. Customer satisfaction is a priority for Tecan, as described in more detail in the Customer Satisfaction section of this report. Customer surveys enable a structured engagement process and complement the ongoing dialogue that can form between Tecan and customers based on the long life of Tecan products and associated service of products. 

Tecan has regular dialogue with investors as described in the Information Policy section of this report. Tecan regularly responds to requests for information from customers and ratings agencies, and through these and the other interactions is able to assess what topics are of most importance to these stakeholders. 

In 2025, Tecan was able to offer a Partnering Business customer the opportunity to achieve ACT® Ecolabel certification as part of the production of the new Dako Omnis family of instruments. 

Tecan’s engagement with employees is described in the Social Impact section of this report. Engagement with stakeholders including Tecan’s peers is facilitated by participation in industry associations. In 2025, Tecan’s Global Head, Sustainability was elected vice president of Swiss MedTech’s Sustainability Expert Group, and through this Group works to facilitate knowledge sharing and the implementation of best practices throughout the Swiss MedTech sector. Tecan’s stakeholder engagement enables Tecan to calibrate business decisions to ensure an optimum outcome.

Tecan is a member of associations including:

• Advance, a Swiss-based organization working for gender equality in business
• ALDA (Analytical, Life Science & Diagnostics Association), “non-profit industry trade association for global companies that develop and market products and services used in life science research, drug discovery, QA/QC and food testing, and clinical diagnostics”
• MedTech Europe, an industry association with the mission to “make innovative medical technology available to more people, while helping healthcare systems move towards a sustainable path”
• The Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society (RAPS), which is based in the US and is “the largest global organization of and for those involved with the regulation of healthcare and related products,” including medical devices, pharmaceuticals, biologics and nutritional products
• The Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening (SLAS), an international professional society of academic, industry and government researchers as well as developers and providers of laboratory automation technology and tools
• SwissHoldings, an association of industrial and service companies based in Switzerland working for favorable business conditions for such multi-national enterprises
• Swiss MedTech, “the association of Swiss medical technology”, which represents approximately 700 companies, and is a member of the umbrella group MedTech Europe
• The United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), an initiative based on CEO commitments to sustainability principles, and to supporting United Nations’ goals

In 2025, Tecan for the first time offered a Partnering Business customer the opportunity to achieve ACT® Ecolabel certification as part of the production of the new Dako Omnis family of instruments. These instruments automate key processes in cancer research and diagnostics, like IHC (immunohistochemistry), i.e. detecting specific proteins in tissue, and ISH (in situ hybridization), detecting specific nucleic acid sequences (RNA or DNA) in tissue.

The Dako Omnis’ are the first instruments of their kind to be audited under My Green Lab’s new ACT Ecolabel 2.0 standard, which enables the identification of products that have an improved environmental impact throughout their lifecycle. ACT stands for Accountability, Consistency, and Transparency. The ACT Ecolabel uses a 100-point system to provide a clear metric of performance of a product’s energy use, materials, manufacturing practices and end-of-life options. The end result is akin to a nutrition label for laboratory equipment, transparently indicating the product’s impact and the steps that have been taken to improve this. 

Our customer, Agilent, recognizes the importance of having a positive environmental impact and has already demonstrated this with actions such as commitment to the Science Based Targets initiative and the achievement of ACT Ecolabels for other products. The Dako family of instruments is the first set of products developed by Tecan to receive an ACT Ecolabel, and brought our customer one of their highest-scoring labels to date. Majken Neilsen, Associate Vice President and Head of Product Management for Agilent’s Clinical Diagnostics Division, captured the benefits of collaborating with Tecan to achieve this certification, noting “We know that our customers care about their environmental impact, and it’s important to us to be able to demonstrate that we do, too. Working with business partners such as Tecan supports our efforts to have a positive impact throughout our value chain. Transparency is the first step in accountability, and the Ecolabel shows what we’ve achieved as we continue on our sustainability journey.”

Tecan’s material topics were first identified in 2021 with input from stakeholders gained via employee engagement, customer surveys and queries, ratings agencies’ questionnaires, participation in industry and other associations, and conversations with investors. In 2023 this materiality analysis was revised via a detailed double materiality assessment, carried out with the support of external consultants. “Double Materiality” assesses both the financial impact of external sustainability factors on Tecan’s business performance (“financial materiality”) and the social and environmental impacts of Tecan’s business on society (“impact materiality”).

DOUBLE MATERIALITY APPROACH

Following the best-practice methodology reflected in the diagram “Double Materiality Approach,” Tecan engaged with stakeholders via customer, supplier and employee surveys and interviews as well as detailed research. Stakeholders were identified by assessing impacts throughout the value chain and pinpointing stakeholders relevant to the different parts of the value chain. The double materiality analysis was conducted on behalf of all Tecan entities. As well as identifying actual and potential impacts, both negative and positive, the likelihood and severity of each impact identified was assessed, looking into Tecan’s full value chain and adopting a forward-looking perspective. In the case of potential negative human rights impacts, severity was given precedence over likelihood. The scale, scope, and irremediable character of the impacts identified was then assessed to determine if each met the threshold of being “material”. 

This detailed analysis confirmed the results of Tecan’s 2021 materiality analysis. Certain topics that had previously been grouped under the broad topic “Governance and Ethics” were identified as material topics in their own right. Community Engagement did not meet the threshold of materiality at the Group level but could be expected to if a country-level perspective were taken and is included in this report as an important aspect of Tecan’s social impact. Carrying out the double materiality assessment provided Tecan with a welcomed additional opportunity for dialogue with stakeholders about their views on sustainability and Tecan’s approach to managing impact. 

Tecan continuously monitors developments externally and internally to assess if the current material topics remain “material” and if new topics should be included in this scope. In 2025, Tecan carefully re-evaluated Diversity, Equity and Inclusion program goals and communications, as the changing external context raised the risk that these could be misinterpreted. The program goals of a psychologically safe and inclusive workplace offering equal opportunities for all were found to be of continuing importance to Tecan’s business success and intended social impact. To eliminate potential confusion, reaffirm the scope of the program as bringing benefits to all employees, and reflect the evolution of our approach to workplace culture the program has been renamed FAIR (Fairness, Access, Representation and Inclusion) as described in more detail in the Social Impact section of this report. 

Management of each material topic is described in the Environment, Social Impact, and Governance sections of this report.

Tecan values transparency and invests a significant amount of time in completing voluntary reporting requests and responding to customer sustainability questionnaires. Below are the ratings Tecan received in 2024 and 2025 from the most well-known sustainability ratings organizations. In general, Tecan’s ratings improved in 2025, including achieving a higher EcoVadis score of 75/100 and improving to a B in CDP’s Climate Change assessment.

*Disclaimers:
EcoVadis: See here.
MSCI: The use by Tecan of any MSCI Solutions LLC or its affiliates (“MSCI”) data, and the use of MSCI logos, trademarks, service marks or index names herein, do not constitute a sponsorship, endorsement, recommendation, or promotion of Tecan by MSCI. MSCI services and data are the property of MSCI or its information providers, and are provided ‘as-is’ and without warranty. MSCI names and logos are trademarks or service marks of MSCI.

This annual Sustainability Report has the same scope as the rest of Tecan’s Annual Report, covering the period January 1, 2025 – December 31, 2025 and unless otherwise stated covers all Tecan entities. A list of Tecan entities is included here. There is one restatement of a 2024 Health & Safety data point in the Data section. This report has been prepared with the provisions of Article 964 j-k of the Swiss Code of Obligations, Ordinance on Due Diligence and Transparency in relation to Minerals and Metals from Conflict-Affected Areas and Child Labour in focus, as well as those of Article 964 a-c of the Swiss Code of Obligations, Ordinance on Climate Disclosures. This report is also in alignment with GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) standards. Selected data points in Tecan’s Sustainability Report have received limited external assurance, which can be found here. The report is reviewed as described. For further information contact sustainability(at)tecan.com or sarah.vowles(at)tecan.com.

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