Sustainability & Compliance
Environment
Sustainability and Environmental Protection
Our values include environmental stewardship and thinking about the condition of the planet we will leave behind us. As a globally active, family-owned company, we have a deeply ingrained commitment to environmental responsibility and sustainable resource management. For decades, our management has prioritized resource conservation, ensuring that our activities don't compromise the well-being of future generations.Notable achievements include transitioning all German sites to green electricity, implementing resource-saving methods in construction, and promoting energy efficiency measures, exemplified by the continuous expansion of solar panels at our worldwide locations. In 2024, we increased our transparency with the voluntary publication of our first Sustainability Report. This built on our status as a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), a voluntary initiative to encourage businesses worldwide to promote sustainable development and socially responsible policies. We made this commitment in 2004 and use its entrepreneurial scope to promote sustainability and social responsibility in a globalized economy. It was particularly important for us to reaffirm our commitment to sustainability considering current global challenges. Therefore, as of 2023, we are a member of the newly registered association UNGC Network Germany. With this membership, we are particularly committed to the Ten Principles of the Global Compact, i.e., to respect human rights and to observe humane labor standards; to promote the sustainable and responsible use of environmental resources; and to combat corruption.
Read our first Sustainability Report 2023
UN Global Compact Communication on Progress 2022
Society
Social Responsibility Is in Our DNA
Our focus lies on human and animal health. With our products, we strive to contribute to the well-being of all living things. But individuals who do not come into direct contact with our products are important to us as well. We see ourselves as a part of the bigger picture – we respect the environment and make active contributions. Not only do we promote talents internally, we also aim to further the development of people outside of our company. To ensure the continued education of our teams as well as our partners, it is a company tradition to closely collaborate with schools and universities and to run more than 100 training and education centers of our own. Both in education and in the support of social projects: KARL STORZ takes social responsibility. To further develop and consolidate these charitable activities, structurally and organizationally, the family Storz has established the “KARL STORZ Stiftung”. As a foundation under civil law with its registered office in Tuttlingen, the foundation is a legal entity separate from KARL STORZ SE & Co. KG.
Kindness and Compassion Are Important to Us
Crises concern us. KARL STORZ is a family company, where we stand together as one, treat everyone with respect, and promote diversity of thought. Peace and togetherness are important to us. Therefore, we support others by donating both money and medical instruments. In the wake of catastrophic flooding in the German Ahr Valley, for instance, it was very important to us to support the German Red Cross. We are deeply concerned about the developments in Ukraine as well. As a responsible employer, we support our teams on site as well as those who are fleeing the local situation. Furthermore, we support the work of renowned aid organizations such as the Red Cross, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), SOS Children’s Villages, UNICEF, and "Aktion Deutschland Hilft", a German relief coalition. Within our workforce, we have initiated in-kind and monetary donation drives, and we continuously review how we can make a difference by making available products needed to provide medical care.
Getting Young People Excited About Science
Together with the City of Tuttlingen, KARL STORZ accepted the sponsorship of the Donau-Hegau regional competition of "Jugend forscht" (a German youth science competition) in 2014. Our company supports the competition to offer young researchers from the region a platform for their ideas and creativity. Every February, they are invited to prove their talents. The winners of the regional competition qualify to participate in the state competition. Research projects can be submitted in the areas of biology, chemistry, geo and space sciences, mathematics and computer science, physics, technology, and work environment. Some of the prior years’ winners are currently pursuing careers at our company.
A Healthy Mind in a Healthy Body
KARL STORZ promotes sports activities both internally and externally in cooperation with sports clubs such as the Wild Wings ice hockey team and through sports events such as the popular "Run & Fun" event in the Tuttlingen region. The "KARL STORZ Aktiv" company sports program also offers numerous activities. Team spirit and passion are alive and well in these activities, too. And despite KARL STORZ manufacturing medical technology, we definitely place an emphasis on prevention. Because movement is life, and that is exactly where our health management ties in with various activities.
Donations & Memberships
It is important to us to provide help that actually reaches those in need. That’s why KARL STORZ supports numerous charitable institutions with monetary donations and by making medical equipment, staff, and expertise available. The internationally active aid organization German Doctors, for instance, sends volunteer physicians to medically underserved areas. On the ground, they ensure basic medical care and train local healthcare workers. Since the establishment of the aid organization in 1983, some 3500 "German Doctors" have completed around 7600 missions in 12 countries. The doctors do volunteer work and even contribute to some of the mission costs. Projects are financed through donations, such as the one from KARL STORZ.
If people cannot go to the hospital, the hospital must come to them – based on this vision, Mercy Ships have been delivering high-quality, professional medical aid to developing countries for more than 40 years. Recently, parts of the newest and largest hospital ship, the MV Global Mercy, have been equipped with our products. The 174 m, 37,000-ton ship features 6 operating rooms, an eye clinic, a dental clinic, a pharmacy, and 200 hospital beds.
Find out about the organizations we support and the associations in which we are active
Compliance
Ethical Business Practices
We are committed to legal compliance, honesty, loyalty, transparency, sustainability, and fairness in everyday business operations. Rather than being abstract, empty words, these principles represent important guidelines for how we do business, and they have been set down in our Code of Conduct. Even our company founder, Dr. med. h. c. Karl Storz, already practiced these values and recognized them as being the key to long-term, sustainable success. Each and every employee, all supervisors, and top management continuously ensure that our business activities are always conducted in a manner respecting both the law and ethical principles. Throughout recent decades, our company has worked hard to gain an excellent reputation for quality and innovation, and we strive to maintain this reputation in an ethical manner. To this end, our employees as well as external parties are invited to report violations and concerns to our Compliance Hotline at any time from anywhere in the world – even anonymously, if they so choose. This system helps us detect potential violations in a timely manner, take countermeasures, and prevent future incidents.