Paper Cover: 250 g Arctic Silk Sheets: 150 g Arctic Silk Contains short-fibered birch/aspen, long-fibered pine/fir, and CTMP mechanical pulp.

Transcription

1 Social Report 2000

2 Contents Introduction Our goals What we do What we are achieving Accounting policies Auditors statement Environmental declaration Repro & Tryk A/S, Skive Swan Label, Reg. No Paper Cover: 250 g Arctic Silk Sheets: 150 g Arctic Silk Contains short-fibered birch/aspen, long-fibered pine/fir, and CTMP mechanical pulp. Material consumed for 1000 reports 85 kg paper, 2 kg inks (based on 98% vegetable and 2% mineral oils). Grundfos is committed to protecting the environment, and this report is therefore naturally approved under the Scandinavian Swan Label. The Swan Label is proof that paper, inks and the entire printing process meet tough environmental standards. This Report can be recycled.

3 Introduction Social commitment has been an integral part of Grundfos corporate culture and business concept ever since the days of our founder Poul Due Jensen. Social commitment is therefore also a natural part of our values today, as described, among other things, under the value responsibility : We are convinced that as a company we have a social responsibility towards both our employees and the local communities. Or social responsibility is manifested through concrete initiatives in the Group s individual companies A very relevant and often asked question is Why is Grundfos so wrapped up in its social commitment? The simple answer is: because it concerns all of us! Social commitment is a part of our human resources policy that offers opportunities both for healthy employees and for employees who, for some reason or other, cannot hold down an ordinary job. We are convinced that social commitment within a company helps to create the framework of security that forms the basis for active involvement by all employees in the company s development. And active employee participation is, after all, what secures us our competitiveness at the end of the day. In order to provide everyone with an insight into Grundfos social commitment and to demonstrate that we do translate our words into action, we have decided to publish this Social Report as an important aspect of the published Holistic Report. The Social Report describes our social objectives, initiatives and performance. Another of our values is openness and credibility, which we also want to be a feature of our social commitment. Accordingly, we applied to the Danish Ministry of Social Affairs for social commitment certification to obtain the right to use the new S label. We have been inspected by social verifiers, and are very pleased to announce that we passed the test and that we are the first company in Denmark to be entitled to use the S label in recognition of our high level of social commitment. I hope that the readers of this Report agree that Grundfos lives up to BE responsible in our new branding slogan. Poul Vesterbæk Managing Director Grundfos A/S

4 Our goals Our mission is to succeed in anchoring and developing Grundfos social commitment. This is the mission (the raison d être) of the organisation behind the coordination and development of Grundfos social commitment. See the organisation chart on page 7. Grundfos is a socially committed company and will continue to be so in the future. This comes over clearly from the objectives, specific targets and action areas shown in the box on the right. The four intentions listed below illustrate the breadth of Grundfos social commitment and also show the definition of our social commitment, which is based on: preventing employees from being excluded from the company retaining and developing employees so that they are not excluded from the labour market integrating people who are outside the labour market by creating a flexible and accommodating workplace involving and engaging the local community Objectives Grundfos social commitment: To be at the leading edge of knowledge on developments within Grundfos social commitment. To translate our knowledge into concrete initiatives, activities and employee benefits that will ensure that Grundfos social commitment is world-class and a model for other companies. To spread knowledge of Grundfos social commitment throughout the organisation. To provide the organisation with knowledge and to work actively to ensure maximum retention of employees at Grundfos. To ensure to the greatest extent possible a wide range of jobs throughout the organisation for employees employed on special terms. To assign employees engaged on special terms to departments where the job requirements are adapted to the employee s ability to work, and where the conditions are very similar to normal production.

5 To develop and use methods to integrate exposed groups from the surrounding community wherever we judge that our contribution will speed up integration in normal employment. To seek to influence conditions in society in general and to disseminate our experience broadly with a view to inspiring other companies and institutions to assume a social commitment.

6 Targets 3% of Grundfos total workforce are employed on special terms. Conducting 45 work tests/function tests per year. Absence beyond 35 calendar days per year (long-term absence) must not exceed 1%. 20 persons per year from exposed groups in the local community must be integrated through job training and apprenticeships points in the Social Index at the next verification in Action areas Disseminating and anchoring Grundfos social commitment internally. Regular follow-up in the case of long-term sickness. More salaried employees in jobs on special terms. Focus on integration of exposed groups from the local community. Focus on employee benefits. You must believe in yourself. No matter who you are, there is something that you are good at, and together we can make use of that something Poul Due Jensen

7 What we do The term we use for our efforts, Grundfos social commitment, is intended to convey that we do things wholeheartedly and that words are translated into action for the benefit of the people around us. Grundfos has a longstanding tradition for social commitment. Being a large company in a small local community requires an ability to strike a balance between the local and the global, and knowing how to create growth with proper consideration for the situation of the local community. We do our best to prevent employees from being excluded by creating a good working environment. For example, we have a personnel policy that takes into account the employees needs. And we use appraisal interviews as a basis for training and developing our employees and upgrading their qualifications to equip them to meet the demands of the future. We make a conscious effort to keep our employees on the labour market. If an employee is sick or injured, we take action to help him or her get back to work as quickly as possible. The action includes discussions with a coordinator, network meetings with other employees on sick leave, courses for employees on long-term sick leave, moving the employee to a different job or arranging a gradual return to work. If an employee is unable to resume work, a work test/function test is carried out to determine whether his or her ability to work is reduced to such an extent that he or she must be employed on special terms. Grundfos is a socially inclusive workplace that integrates exposed groups where we judge that our effort will help them gain ordinary employment more quickly. The integration covers recipients of cash assistance, the long-term unemployed and other exposed groups from the surrounding community that have difficulty, for one reason or another, in finding a foothold on the labour market. The project Young people in job training, in which we integrate young people with serious social problems, is an example of action targeted at a specific group. The young people in question are former drug addicts or have been involved in criminal activities or have simply been unable to get a job because of language difficulties. Our aim for all the people we integrate is a job on normal terms. We therefore integrate them into normal work through work experience or job training, where they learn labour market norms, Danish, etc. so that they can function on the labour market. As a socially committed company, we involve ourselves in the surrounding community. We have cooperation agreements with the regional and local authorities on our preventive labour market work. We support humanitarian, cultural and sports activities in the local community. We participate in committees and networks, both regionally and nationally, in order to gain new inspiration and share experiences with others. We are open to the surrounding community, welcome guests and give talks on social commitment, both internally and externally. The organisation shown opposite coordinates the above-mentioned activities in order to ensure that Grundfos social commitment is developed broadly throughout the company.

8 Information Internally and externally Grundfos social commitment Secretariat Social activities Prevention and retention Integration Production/Operation Development of social commitment Employee benefits Network Exchange of experience Knowledge-sharing Involvement in the local community Work testing/testing of work capacity in relation to special work functions Follow-up on long-term absence Follow-up on short-term absence Job training/work experience Flexible working arrangements department Sub-policies Alcohol policy Pregnancy Elderly employees (senior policy) Smoking policy Employees of foreign origin

9 Long-term sickness Reduced capacity for work AIDS

10 What we are achieving With the activities we have initiated to develop Grundfos social commitment, we are achieving two objectives: first, committed and satisfied employees, and in the longer term a better reputation among our customers and suppliers and in society. Employee satisfaction, as expressed in annual employee satisfaction surveys, has been rising over the years and now, in 2001, stands at 4.1 points out of 5. Interest in participating in the survey has also risen, to a response rate of 90% in See the graph on the opposite page. Other relevant questions from the survey that also indicate a high satisfaction level are: Enjoyment in going to work scored 4.3 points out of 5. Satisfaction with supplementary training and courses offered scored 4.3 points out of 5. In 2001, our efforts to create a good physical and mental working environment led to Grundfos gaining Occupational Health and Safety Management System Certification in accordance with OHSAS We are the first pump manufacturer in the world to achieve that. Well-being and a good working environment affect the level of absence due to sickness. Total absence due to sickness at Grundfos is low compared with other companies. The low level of absence due to sickness is also a result of our efforts to prevent occupational injuries and attrition on our employees. As a result, absence caused by accidents has fallen dramatically in the last two years and is now 2.6 hours (per 1000 working hours). This indicates that only minor injuries occur. Our work with employees on long-term sick leave has also had a beneficial effect on absence through sickness. As a result of our structured and active work with employees on long-term sick leave, 96% of such employees were kept in the labour market in both 1999 and See the graph on the opposite page. Grundfos has employed people on special terms for several years, and the number of these employees has been rising over the years, as can be seen from the graph. In 2000, Grundfos became the first company to receive the Confederation of Danish Industries Training Prize. The reasons given for the award included the fact that Grundfos provides training opportunities for all its employees. Many of the results achieved give Grundfos a good reputation in the community. This can be seen, for example, from a survey carried out by Universum among engineering students in 2000 in which Grundfos was ranked eighth best workplace in Denmark. Besides this, Grundfos came fifth in the Danish financial newspaper Børsen s image survey.

11 The local community expresses satisfaction with Grundfos contribution to its economy, employment and image/pr. In a survey in the surrounding communities, Grundfos scored 4.7 points out of a possible 5. In the past six months, Grundfos social commitment has been mapped and assessed in conformity with the Danish Ministry of Social Affairs Social Index. The findings have been confirmed by external verifiers. In April 2001, this led to Grundfos becoming the first company in Denmark to receive the S label from the Ministry of Social Affairs as proof of a high level of social commitment.

12 Employee satisfaction total Absence due to sickness compared with other companies per cent Grundfos Company A Company B Company C Employee satisfaction survey response rate Target Number of persons employed on special terms Target (3% of number of employees) Employees on long-term sick leave retained in the labour market Target Grundfos A/S scored points out of 100 at an external verification, entitling Grundfos to use the S label for the next two years. The target for 2003 is a score of points.

13 Basis for the Report This Social Report concerns the situation at Grundfos A/S only. The results presented in this Social Report are based on data compiled in connection with Grundfos internal TQ process, the self-assessment process behind Grundfos application for the Social Index, and various surveys referred to below. Employees Employee satisfaction is gauged each year as an average of the points given by the employees in response to 44 questions on the following issues: tasks, working environment, cooperation, management, recognition and development. The employees give points between 1 and 5 depending on how satisfied they are. As the employee satisfaction survey is carried out at the start of the year, the level of satisfaction reported for 2001 is the result of the increase in the level of satisfaction achieved in The term employees on special terms covers sheltered jobs, flexible working arrangements and contract-based flexible working arrangements. Job training, the Young people in job training project, work testing/function testing, so-called Section 28 agreements (chronic illness) and employees with reduced capacity for work who are employed on normal terms are not included. Absence due to sickness is shown for hourly paid employees. When an employee has been absent due to sickness for more than 35 calendar days, we define the employee s absence as long-term absence. Image The Universum survey (Graduate Survey 2000) referred to on page 8 was prepared in 2000 and is a survey among graduates at seven of Denmark s educational institutions. The purpose was to determine the companies competitive position in the recruitment market. The image survey from Børsen, the leading Danish business paper, referred to on page 8 is published annually. The 2000 survey comprised a questionnaire distributed to 5,200 persons in companies with 100 or more employees. With a response rate of 19%, the survey was based on 988 responses from the 200 largest companies in Denmark. The local community In 1998 and again in 2000 Grundfos conducted a questionnaire-based survey in the surrounding local authorities with the purpose of clarifying how satisfied the local community was with the company s impact on it. Questionnaires were distributed to and completed by Randers, Kjellerup, Aalestrup, Viborg, Hvorslev, Bjerringbro and Langaa local authorities. The Social Index The Social Index is prepared by the Danish Ministry of Social Affairs jointly with KPMG and the National Institute of Social Research, with backing from The National Network of Business Executives. The Social Index is a tool that can measure the extent to which a company lives up to its social responsibility.

14 In order to qualify for the S label, a company must score more than 60 out of 100 points in The Social Index. The score is determined by external verifiers. Grundfos A/S had its result verified and, in April 2001, obtained the right to use the S label for the next two years.

15 Auditors Statement We have reviewed the Grundfos A/S Social Report 2000 (the Report) presented by the management. The scope of the Report and the social aspects reported on have been decided by the company s management. The scope of our work and procedures performed, which were agreed with the company s management, were as stated below. Our work has been performed according to Professional Standards applied to State Authorised Public Accountants in Denmark. We visited the company s corporate headquarters in Bjerringbro, where we interviewed corporate social management and those employees who have been responsible for compiling data for the Report. In addition, we have tested samples of documentation presented to us. We have ascertained whether appropriate procedures have been used for collecting data for the Report. We have also assessed whether the data collected for 2000 are appropriately reflected in the Report. We have checked, on a test basis, that data collected for 2000 corresponded with the source documentation. Statement Based on the procedures performed, it is our opinion that the company has applied systematic data collection procedures for the purpose of collecting data for inclusion in the Report; and that the data reported through these data collection procedures are appropriately reflected in the Report. The compiled data selected by us for comparison with source documentation were all consistent with the source documentation presented to us. Århus, 27 April 2001 DELOITTE & TOUCHE Statsautoriseret Revisionsaktieselskab H.P. Møller Christiansen State Authorised Public Accountant (DK) Preben J. Sørensen State Authorised Public Accountant (DK)

16 Grundfos A/S DK-8850 Bjerringbro Denmark Tel.: Further information: