Our Formula for the Future – For the Love of People and Nature
Nature provides us with all the raw materials from which our medicines are made. Responsible use of natural resources is a matter of course for us. For us, sustainability means thinking globally, economically and in terms of generations, and assuming social responsibility. We want to make the world a little healthier every day – for people and the environment. Guided by this deep sense of purpose, we continue to advance our company and pave the way for a sustainable future. We want to be a trustworthy and reliable partner to our customers, colleagues and society today and in the future.
Assuming responsibility
Ecological cultivation, short transport routes and the economical use of resources are essential concerns for us. A large share of the plants processed by Pascoe Naturmedizin are grown here in Central Hesse. As early as 2005, Pascoe Naturmedizin was the first pharmaceutical company worldwide to introduce paperless documentation in production. In the years that followed, we also gradually converted our administration to an almost paperless system. With our site in Giessen, production, quality control and warehousing are centrally located in the middle of Germany. Favourable connections are the basis for short transport routes.
Sustainable management
Sustainable and responsible business practices have characterised Pascoe Naturmedizin since its foundation more than 125 years ago. This approach was already pursued in the pioneering years of Friedrich F. Pascoe. Today, under the leadership of the managing couple Annette D. and Jürgen F. Pascoe, a social, sustainable and holistic corporate culture is lived. We are a “participatory company” in which everyone is encouraged to contribute their thoughts and ideas. The basis of our holistic corporate management is the transparent strategy process. It is based on the St. Gallen Management Model, which was originally developed for executives and invites them to see corporate processes in a new light. We have developed this approach further for own needs and expanded it to include the participation of our employees in the strategy process. This means that all our employees are involved in corporate processes.
Strengthening strengths – developing personalities
The strengths of our colleagues form the second very important pillar of this three-pillar model. Using the personality profile INSIGHTS MDI® as a tool, we ensure that all employees have jobs that correspond to their strengths. “Value your employees because they offer you the most valuable things they have: their work capacity, their know-how and part of their life time. As entrepreneurs, we are responsible for promoting the sustainable development of colleagues, giving meaning to their work and deploying them according to their strengths. In this way, you live social sustainability and at the same time give real quality of life,” says Annette D. Pascoe.
Holistic health – we live what we sell!
An important pillar of our holistic corporate management is occupational health management. The Pascoe health management system provides our employees with an ongoing overview of the numerous things they can do to stay healthy. For many years, we have placed great emphasis on living what we research on, produce and sell: health! The – physical and mental – health of our employees is the backbone of corporate responsibility. At the moment, this is more true than ever!
Our work culture
Pascoe Naturmedizin is a company that holds more than 125 years of tradition and is as young as a startup. We are a “participatory company” (unique in the industry), i.e. every employee is encouraged to contribute their ideas and thus help shaping our long-term corporate success.
Our value proposition to current and potential employees is an interesting job that offers various development opportunities, and the promise of working in a company where they help shape the overall strategy and sustainable corporate goals on a daily basis. Along with all that, we ensure full communication. Therefore, every single employee in the company knows at all times what he or she is working on and what the overall goal is.
Social commitment as an obligation
Social commitment is an important aspect for us. We have been practicing sustainable social commitment for decades. One highlight was the 100,000 euro donation for the nursing staff at the University Hospital of Giessen. Acting economically while taking social aspects into account is part of our corporate social responsibility. It is our obligation to future generations.
Pascoe and its stakeholders
As a manufacturer of natural medicines, we deal with a wide variety of stakeholders. The areas are different, but they have one thing in common: they are always people, they all interact with us, and they are all equally important to us. After all, what would we be without our employees, without our customers, suppliers, banks, authorities, and vendors? We practice transparent and positive communication and want to maintain and further strengthen the trust in our company and our products that has been built up over decades. Treating all people who deal with us with care and respect is essential for our existence and for our future. Finding and retaining reliable suppliers and employees is no longer a matter of course. In a globalized world with saturated markets, our customers want to know who and what is behind a product and are also interested in the actual purpose of a company. We want to answers these questions in order to prove and fulfil our vision for an ecologically livable and healthier world.
For all those who are connected with us, we are accessible and present every day – through digital as well as traditional communication channels. We live and work in an age where information spreads in real time and the accuracy of it is highly relevant, so we communicate transparently and authentically at all times. Our scientists and physicians are available every day for our professional customers from clinics, practices and pharmacies to answer all questions about products and therapy options.
In addition, we are of course also represented on social media channels such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn and Xing, where we provide timely information on product and corporate topics.
Nature provides us with raw materials
Nature provides us with all the raw materials from which our medicines are made. Responsible use of natural resources is therefore part of our sustainable quality promise. At our premises, environmental impacts arise from the use of energy and the associated CO2 emissions. This makes it all the more important to have an environmentally oriented management system in place across every single area. Our production processes are therefore continuously optimized in order to use natural resources responsibly.
Resource-conserving production
To facilitate environmentally friendly production, we analyse the resources used, such as energy, materials and packaging, as well as the resulting output, such as emissions, waste and wastewater, within the scope of our energy and environmental management system. The use of green and innovative technologies, for example new machines that work efficiently and in an ecological manner and consume fewer resources, as well as the use of environmentally friendly materials and reusable containers are essential aspects in this context.
Paper-free pioneer
Already in 2005, Pascoe Naturmedizin was the first pharmaceutical company worldwide to introduce paperless documentation and production. Our “Paper-free Pioneer” campaign has already been honoured twice with the “Top 100” seal, a business award for innovative medium-sized companies.
Paper from responsible forestry
Because it is not possible to go completely without paper, we have committed ourselves to using only FSC®-certified paper. This makes Pascoe Naturmedizin the first pharmaceutical company in the world to guarantee that the wood for all paper products used comes from responsibly managed forests.
Less is more
Constantly reviewing our environmental performance is an important pillar of our sustainable development. To initiate further savings and improvements, we launched a packaging pilot project in 2020. The result is impressive: we developed a reusable container for a packaging loop that saves around 14 tons of waste per year and reduces CO2 emissions by 28.5%. To save further CO2 emissions, we have started to gradually convert our vehicle fleet to electric mobility.
Digitizing the working world
Meetings, workshops and events take place digitally wherever this is possible. All business travel is kept to a minimum, even after the pandemic.
The first digital International Vitamin C Congress, with about 900 participants from 17 countries, recorded a saving of 2000 tons of Co2. This is equivalent to the CO2 emissions of 180 people in Germany within an entire year. Here, too, we have achieved a milestone goal of minimizing our ecological footprint.
Product development with a view towards eco-friendliness
Environmentally oriented marketing and controlling are each considered to play an overriding role. In marketing, we actively seek to incorporate the environmental needs of customers into product development and marketing. In the product development of our cosmetics, for example, we have specifically ensured that only natural and vegan active ingredients are used. This is why, for example, a large share of our natural cosmetics are offered in glass flacons.
Pharmaceuticals free from titanium dioxide
Wherever we can, we refrain from using critical additives. We have, for example, already started excluding titanium dioxide from our medicinal products in 2018. Knowing well that such a development, along with ensuring shelf life and stability and submission to regulatory authorities, can take several years and requires high investments. Sustainable products require sustainable actions. This is an important pillar of our sustainability strategy.
Pascoe is thus embarking on a journey towards climate neutrality, which is absolutely essential. Our goal is to further minimize our carbon footprint through ecological and economic sustainability. The first steps have already been taken, and many more will follow. Future generations will thank us for it!