Our approach to reporting

The Novartis in Society Integrated Report is published annually. Its purpose is to provide an overview of our business, strategy and performance. Our full annual reporting suite, including our Annual Report and Form 20-F regulatory disclosures, can be found on our corporate website.

Reporting principles

The Novartis in Society Integrated Report is intended for all Novartis stakeholders, but is primarily aimed at shareholders, investors and ESG analysts.

The report has been prepared in alignment with the Integrated Reporting Framework, the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and the latest standards issued by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). It also contains our main disclosures against the Recommendations from the Task Force for Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. In compiling this report, we also considered “Section Six: Transparency on Non-Financial Matters” under the Swiss Code of Obligations.

Scope

This report covers all business and consolidated entities (in line with the Novartis Annual Report and 20-F). Annual performance data relates to the Group’s financial year (from January to December). Environmental data is based on January to September data, plus estimates for October to December. This data will be restated using twelve-month figures on our corporate website during 2023. All information in this report reflects the continuing operations of Novartis Group, including various changes to the Group’s portfolio of activities in prior years.

Content

• Selection of content was based primarily on our corporate strategy and results from our materiality assessment.
• All content was subject to approval by the Novartis Board of Directors prior to publication.
• An overview of definitions and methodologies for ESG performance indicators in the Novartis in Society Integrated Report 2022 is available here.
• Novartis financial data has been taken from our Annual Report, prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). Novartis financial data is presented in US dollars (USD).
• Some figures have been rounded. Some percentages have also been calculated using rounded numbers.
• Any material corrections or restatements are included in the text of this report.
• A list of abbreviations can be found here.

External assurance

KPMG provided limited assurance in accordance with ISAE 3000 on the performance indicators on pages 81-84 of the PDF version of the Novartis in Society Integrated Report. See the Independent Assurance Report on pages 93-94 of the PDF version of the Novartis in Society Report for more details.