This is the third edition of Veritas Social Responsibility Report and covers the fiscal year 2022. This report will be published annually. This report was compiled pursuant to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards: Core. Staff from all divisions of our group of companies took part in this report's compilation. All data included in this report originates from Veritas IT systems, and reflects the facts known to us at the time this report was compiled. The Environment Committee has compiled data on environmental issues and calculated our group of companies' carbon footprint. Part of the data originates from interviews taken with key employees for whom sustainability is an extensive part of their work. 

The Executive Committee is responsible for decisions regarding economic, environmental and social factors. The Environment Committee has compiled data on environmental issues and calculated our group of companies' carbon footprint and human resource manager is responsible for social facors. The Ceo and the board are responsible for corporate governance and the financial manager is responsible for economic factors.  

Contact persons for any information regarding this report and its contents are Hrund Rudolfsdóttir, Pétur Veigar Pétursson, Kjartan Steinsson, and Dagmar Ýr Sigurjónsdóttir. Podium ehf. provided guidance and conducted a quality review of this report. 

Veritas ehf. is privately owned and operates in six locations in the Reykjavík Metropolitan Area, as well as small-scale operations in two locations in the Copenhagen Metropolitan Area. Our group of companies' headquarters are located at Hörgatún 2 in Garðabær. The total turnover of our group of companies was ISK 29.5 billion, and the number of full-time equivalent staff was 252 by end of 2022. 

Veritas‘ strategic goal is to specialise in the operation of companies in the health sector. Veritas is the parent company of the subsidiaries Vistor hf., Distica hf., Artasan ehf., MEDOR ehf., and Stoð ehf. Veritas is the bedrock of our group of companies, and services our subsidiaries to enable them to focus on their core businesses. This is how we support the Icelandic health care system to increase the quality of life of our fellow citizens. 

Many of Veritas‘ policies were coordinated among other things to form some sort of an umbrella policy. Accordingly, the policies were formalized and implemented into Veritas‘ quality system.  Among other policies all remuneration polices from all the companies in the complex were coordinated. They are about working conditions of boardmembers, management and employees and the goal is to attract and hold onto qualified employees and make the Veritas complex to a desirable working place. For that to happen it is necessary to offer competitive salaries and other competitive payments.  

Our group of companies set themselves the goal of growing and diversifying, and has been systematically working on it since 2015, both by means of organic growth and expansion of operations, always within the defined framework of the health and pharmaceutical sectors. 

Our set of goals are comprised of: 

• Growth in earnings and return on capital 
• Shares in the current marketplaces, as well as acquiring new income sources 
• Customer satisfaction 
• Organization and increased production through digital solutions 
• Quality of our internal processes and business practices 
• Corporate governance and staff satisfaction 

Veritas gives extra weight to transparency, integrity, and ethical practices when doing business. We also uphold the values adopted for our group of companies as a whole: reliability, candour, and progress. Veritas adheres to the Corporate Governance Guidelines published, inter alia, by The Icelandic Chamber of Commerce. Those guidelines include recommendations to adopt standards which exceed legal requirements aiming at strengthen our infrastructure and dependability. 

The Company conforms to Guidelines on Corporate Governance published by the Iceland Chamber of Commerce et al. This includes guidelines on the adoption of rules that go a step further than required by law and are intended to strengthen the Company’s infrastructure and the community’s trust towards it. 

Please click on the link below to review the Code of Conduct, Human Resources Policy, board by-laws, Corporate Governance Policy, and Data Safety Policy adopted by Veritas and subsidiaries. 

• Corporate Governance Statement 
• Code of Conduct
• Rules on Working Procedures of the Board of Veritas
• Information Security Policy 

A new item was added last year to the rules for the board which addresses the fact that the codes of ethics and communications apply to the board members of both Veritas and all its subsidiaries. The chairman is responsible for introducing the rules to the board members and they must confirm their understanding in writing. If a board member believes that he or she has failed to act in compliance with the rules or goals based on them, the board member should immediately report said infraction to the CEO and the board. Board members are bound to divulge all such occurances that can be construed as a breach of proper conduct or adherance to the rules or related goals. Board members are obliged to resign subsequent to serious infractions. If an accusation of criminal behavior is brought up against a board member, or, if a board member is found quilty of unethical or reprehensible conduct, said board member shall resign. 
 

Beneficiaries have been defined as individuals, groups or legal entities who are affected by the activities of the company. Beneficiaries are divided into internal and external beneficiaries or those who are not exactly connected to the operation but can been affected by the operation and could even affect the operation. Needs, demands and the influence of beneficiaries can have an effect on the operation and formulation of various policies and regulations. Among these are bylaws, investment policy, policy of responsible investment, risk policy, code of conduct, communication protocol, policy regarding information sharing, human resource policy, and remuneration policy.

The operations of our group of companies are contingent on a variety of circumstances. The most substantial influencing factors are fluctuations in the exchange rate of the Icelandic króna (ISK), which can significantly impact our gross earnings, as the medicinal products we import and distribute are priced in foreign currencies. Several contracts entered into by and between our group of companies and government organisations are also anchored to currency exchange rates in one way or another. Additionally, procurement by our group of companies almost entirely involves products quoted in foreign currencies. The same applies to several service agreements between our subsidiaries and international suppliers. Therefore, any significant fluctuation in króna's exchange rates may have a diverse impact on our businesses and operations. 

To a considerable degree, our group of companies’ operations qualify as part of the Icelandic health care system. For this reason, our operations are subject to the applicable laws, regulations, and vigilance by regulatory authorities in many ways. Hence, our group of companies is dependent on political and administrative decision-making which are often unforeseeable, with scarce opportunities to present any objections or counter opinions. It is not known how the coming sale of the compay will impact the activities in the future, there is hope for a result in mid year. 

The core business of our group of companies is the import and marketing of medicinal products, which demand a robust and thorough modus operandi. Veritas‘ Code of Conduct, which also applies to Veritas subsidiaries, was adopted in 2018, and includes specific standards for interactions with health care professionals. We also operate pursuant to an international code of conduct and relationships between pharmaceutical companies and health care professionals (The EFPIA Code). The objective of those standards is to ensure a professional modus operandi in the marketing of medicinal products, and that all decisions made by public officials are sound and beyond reproach. The EFPIA Code was adopted as required by Directive 2001/83/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, and its amendments. 

The Code of Ethics adopted by Veritas and its subsidiaries also regulate interactions with all parties other than health care professionals. 

The main goals of the Veritas Human Resources Policy are to always optimize employee satisfaction and to pay competitive wages and to uphold equality in words and deeds. It is also important that the staff endeavour to boost team unity and share their expertise and experience to the best benefit of their colleagues and themselves. Click here  to read the unabridged Veritas Human Resources Policy. 

Veritas operates in compliance with the provisions contained in current collective agreements signed by and between The Confederation of Icelandic Enterprises (SA) and respective labour unions. The majority of staff among Veritas' group of companies staff (about 70%) are members of The Store and Office Workers’ Union (VR), while other employees are members of professional labour unions such as The Icelandic Pharmaceutical Society (LfÍ), The Association of Chartered Engineers in Iceland (VFÍ), The Icelandic Nurses' Association (FÍH), The Union of Natural Scientists in Iceland (FÍN), and The Union of Icelandic Electrical Workers (Rafís), to mention but a few. Some employees have opted out of labour union membership. 

Veritas and its subsidiaries provide services to approximately 350 international suppliers, many of which are at times fierce competitors between themselves, and hence have their own very stringent requirements regarding confidentiality and data protection. As a parent company to its subsidiaries, Veritas is responsible for the management of IT systems for our entire group of companies. For this reason, Veritas adopted and works pursuant to its own Data Safety Policy which is based on and certified according to ISO/IEC 27001 standard. 

Veritas holds the certificate No. IS 607526 issued by BSI (The British Standards Institution) vouching for the fact that our company operates a data protection control system which meets the ISO/IEC 27001:2013 standards. Veritas and its subsidiaries adhere to data safety policy based on ISO/IEC 27002 Code of Practice for Information Security Controls.