Page 32 - EVRY Annual Report 2012

Corporate Social Responsibility 32
Work on strategy and awareness of social responsibility
As was widely expected, the Norwegian Ministry of Finance
put forward proposals in December 2012 for an amendment
to the Accounting Act to make it mandatory for all large com-
panies to include a report on corporate social responsibility
in their annual reports. EVRY’s work on social responsibility
is consistent with the new requirement, and we welcome
the action taken by the authorities to ensure greater focus on
social responsibility.
EVRY’s commitment to corporate social responsibility is not
the result of rules and regulations, but we believe that the
steps taken by the authorities to ensure greater transparency
and an even playing field will have obvious benefits, and will
also make it easier to compare the approach and commitment
to social responsibility by different companies and the results
they achieve over time.
In order to ensure greater understanding and a wider sense of
ownership of our work on social responsibility, we established
a working group in 2012 with representation that reflects the
group’s organisational structure and business areas. We believe
that this will help to anchor social responsibility throughout the
group, and that this will play an important role in encouraging
involvement in the company’s commitment to social respon-
sibility and ensuring good results from the initiatives we
implement.
The objectives for the working group in 2013 include devel-
oping a CSR strategy, paving the way for the group to report
in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and
improving information about social responsibility throughout
the group, as well as encouraging dialogue with important
stakeholders.
Main measures implemented in 2012
Much of the routine work on social responsibility is carried
out as independent initiatives across the group. Sustainable
initiatives on a local scale are approved and implemented as
part of normal activities, and these initiatives deliver important
benefits particularly in the areas of the working environment,
health and safety at work, environment and climate, and also
in the products we develop for our customers. We are keen to
encourage this way of working, reflecting our belief that the
operational units are often best placed to see how social respon-
sibility considerations can be taken into account in practical
terms as part of their work.
Our People & Health, Safety and the Working Environment
Our day-to-day focus on our employees and on health, safety
and the working environment plays a central role in EVRY’s
commitment to social responsibility, and EVRY is committed
to being a good employer with a professional and long-term
approach to all aspects of health, safety and the working envi-
ronment. Over the course of 2012, we took steps to reinforce
our preventative work by making greater and better-targeted
use of the company health service. This involved assessments
of the working environment, direct advice, and implement-
ing measures designed for individual employees and groups of
employees, as well as providing better support for managers.
Some of the results of this work are as follows:
• 28% of EVRY’s employees in Norway took no sick leave
at all in 2012.
• The level of sick leave reported by EVRY for its Nordic
operations was 3.2%.
• The average salary of female employees in 2012 was 93%
of average salary of male employees, up by 1 percentage
point from 2011.
Corporate
Social Responsibility
EVRY’s work on social responsibility in 2012 involved both strategic issues as
well as specific practical measures. At the group level, it was important to assess
the scope and direction of work on social responsibility, and to evaluate how we
might use our expertise and resources for the mutual benefit of EVRY and society
as a whole. In relation to our day-to-day activities, we have focused in particular
on competence development for our employees, greater focus on environment
and climate issues, and seeking to identify opportunities in our interaction with
customers to deliver efficient and sustainable solutions.