Ethical Conduct

Advances in science—particularly those in the areas of biology and medicine—can sometimes lead to ethical controversy. As a result, Life Technologies places a high priority on scientific integrity and ethical conduct.

The Protocol is our guide to integrity. This document, updated biannually, governs our business practices and compliance efforts and provides specific examples of what constitutes acceptable and unacceptable behavior, consistent with our legal obligations, global values and core business principles.

Life Technologies requires annual training for all its employees regardless of job level, responsibilities or geographical location. Training is comprehensive and includes key laws and practices related to competition, insider trading, conflicts of interest, data integrity, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, environmental health and safety, intellectual property, human resources, appropriate business standards and international business.

Responding to Ethical Considerations

For most U.S. companies with a global footprint, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) is a key focus of governance. In general, the FCPA prohibits corrupt payments to foreign officials for the purpose of obtaining or keeping business. Lack of compliance is an ongoing problem in many areas of the world, and Life Technologies is not immune.

The results of a 2009 internal audit recommended that Life Technologies develop a new policy around the use of dealers. As a result, our legal, finance and compliance teams worked together to complete a full analysis of all dealers and distributors with whom our company does business. With this information, the commercial operations team was able to analyze dealer/distribution and corporate decisions. Life Technologies now stands confident that our dealer/distribution networks are functioning in an appropriate manner.

Life Technologies believes that respect for the dignity, rights and ambitions of all people is a cornerstone of business excellence in the 21st century. When it comes to human rights, our policies describing labor conditions, fair compensation, working conditions, employee safety and against child labor and forced or compulsory labor are clear and apply not only to our employees but also to the suppliers and contractors with whom we do business. We also have internal controls in place to prevent the release of customer information. To the best of our knowledge, there are no customer privacy complaints.

Read about our Performance in Ethics.