Sustainability

BICO’s sustainability agenda connects bioconvergence with three different perspectives that define our operations with UN Sustainability Development Goals. As of December 2021, BICO is an official signatory of the UN Global Compact Sustainability Development Goals and the Ten Principles of the United Nations Global Compact.

The BICO Way

Three Dimensions
of Sustainability

The sustainability platform is gathered in The BICO Way, explains how BICO views sustainability and focuses on how we, as a company, can make a difference. The three perspectives form the pillars of our platform. 

Initiatives in 2022

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Increased focus on circularity
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Increased number of employee benefits
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Refined measurements of BICO’s carbon dioxide emissions
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Begin roadmap for climate targets​
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Implementation of Code of Conduct

UN Sustainable Development Goals

The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim to end poverty and inequality, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy health, justice and prosperity. For the sustainability development goals, BICO focuses on goals 3, 9 and 12 since these are the goals that we can influence the most, and which in turn impact us the most.

BICO Group Sustainability Policies

we are committed to promoting sustainable practices in every aspect of our operations. Our dedication to environmental stewardship, corporate responsibility, and social impact is reflected in our comprehensive sustainability policies. We believe that by integrating sustainability into our core values and business practices, we can contribute to a more sustainable and equitable future.

Code of Conduct

We are committed to a culture of openness, integrity, and accountability, and committed to conducting safe, fair, environmentally responsible, and ethical operations. Our Code of Conduct is based on human rights and labor rights, information protection, environment, health and safety, governance and management systems, product safety & business ethics. The Code of Conduct has been harmonized with the UN principles for the Global Compact and the ILO Convention on Human Rights. The Code of Conduct and the Code of Conduct for suppliers and partners describe BICO’s business ethics position and principles for these. 

Human & Labor Rights
Efforts toward sustainability enter the next phase in 2022 with focus on implementing initiatives at the subsidiaries. The Group will also define and communicate the Group’s non-financial targets. Furthermore, the work will focus on the development of a Climate action plan for the entire Group. In 2022, BICO will examine the possibility of signing different market standards for sustainability.
Business Ethics
Together with our suppliers and partners, we at BICO Group are striving towards a fair and free competition market by complying with all anti-corruption laws, and distancing ourselves from illegal payments, insider trading and accepting excessive gifts, which are also defined in our Code of Conduct for suppliers and partners.
Environment, Health & Safety
We are committed to creating a good, safe, and healthy environment – for everyone and in every situation. Therefore we have a number of policies in place ensuring the protection of our employees, contractors, and visitors. We further ensure that chemical substances are handled with care.
Governance & Management System

As an employee or a third party, you are encouraged to speak up and raise any and all ethical or legal concerns through our Whistleblower function.

Product Safety
BICO Group companies are shaping the future of health and for that reason we ensure that our products and services follow the highest quality and safety standards.
Information Protection
We ensure protection of sensitive, confidential, and proprietary information. The BICO Group complies wit all applicable data privacy laws and regulations. We further protect the intellectual property of BICO, our partners and our customers.

Customer Cases

3d Bioprinted Human Skin

The Future of Cosmetic Testing

CTIBiotech, an innovative R&D firm based in Lyon, France, is using CELLINK’s BIO X 3D bioprinter to produce in vitro full skin models from human cells. These bioprinted human skin models, which include sebaceous glands, immune cells or melanocytes, are more physiologically relevant. These improved models enable researchers to investigate sebum production, acne, or atopic dermatitis.

Additionally, with CTIBIOTECH able to produce over one hundred artificial skin constructs (1 cm2 in size), it is possible for them to have a high-throughput approach for screening of active ingredients in topical products, aesthetic or medical devices for skincare.

Tissue-engineering breakthroughs like this are propelling the industry forward, reducing its dependence on animal experimentation, while driving down development costs and paving the way for safer and more efficacious beauty and dermatological products.

The $40 billion cosmetic industry is increasingly innovating using in vitro technologies as alternatives to animal experimentation for efficacy and safety testing skincare and beauty products. Thankfully, advances in tissue engineering, such as the ability to bioprint human tissue models in the lab, have unlocked promising long-term-solutions.

Sustainability News