As a global company, Novozymes has implemented and wants to continue to implement values such as responsibility, accountability, openness, and honesty in the way we do business. We share and provide sustainability information through a variety of platforms. Communication efforts such as these give credibility to our work and help reach a large audience. Furthermore, these efforts also gain recognition of the professionalism with which we approach our sustainability goals. In addition to recognition from various indexes, in 2011 we have also had our CoP reviewed by third parties who are experts within the field of sustainability, thus keeping in touch with best practices.
As a result of our vast number of efforts toward driving sustainability and communicating the same, we have been included in a host of indexes that benchmark our performance, and have received several recognitions, giving credibility to our work. We hope that this might also serve as inspiration to other companies and drive interest in sustainability. Some of these recognitions are presented below.
In 2011, Novozymes' CoP has been reviewed by external stakeholders. The review by Mr. Viraf Mehta, Advisor, Centre for Responsible Business at Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) is published below followed by a response from Novozymes:
Review of the Report
“I have read Novozymes' UN Global Compact Communication on Progress (COP) report including The Novozymes Report 2011. The report has been prepared in accordance with the requirements arising from Novozymes' participation in the UNGC's LEAD initiative, and from the recently launched Blueprint for Corporate Sustainability Leadership.
Overall, I believe that the COP is an excellent start on reporting on the UNGC Principles at this advanced level that adequately covers the defined dimensions. The COP deserves commendation for its excellent portrayal of a company that continues to provide a leadership model with sustainability at the core reflected in a benchmark of transparency and disclosure.
I find that Novozymes is in a stage of transition regarding the enhanced focus on non-workplace social impacts of its business, in comparison with its acknowledged leadership efforts regarding environmental impacts, governance and ethics. Novozymes has indeed stepped up its focus on labor and human rights, in particular through the inspiration gained from Professor John Ruggie's UN Guiding Principles.
However, there remains scope to further improve this through the adoption of additional performance indicators and a human rights due-diligence across its operations and by applying rights based approach, for example, with existing initiatives supporting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Areas of excellence include:
1) Accurate account of the material sustainability challenges and trends pertaining to Novozymes' core business and priorities, performance targets and action plans, also in the context of The Novozymes Report 2011
2) Evident extent to which the governance and leadership of the company provides ownership, guidance and oversight to sustainability issues
3) Informative and useful depiction of key performance indicators in comparison with previous years
4) Action taken to support other sustainability related initiatives within the UN, including involvement with local Global Compact Networks.
Suggested areas of improvement include:
1) Introduction of country specific information for important developing country markets;
2) Information on the extent to which sustainability issues are taken into consideration in decisions related to mergers, acquisitions and other business investments
3) Further information on the steps taken to enhance the sustainability performance of key suppliers
4) More detailed account of how gender issues are integrated into the company's sphere of influence, using additional indicators or guidelines, e.g. the GRI‟s gender supplement
5) An account of how Novozymes has encouraged the participation of, access to, and feedback on its sustainability report
6) An account of collaborative sustainability initiatives with other companies in the Bio/enzyme sector and Novozymes' position on responsible/ethical lobbying, particularly in the public policy space in developing countries, including in the regulatory space.”
About Viraf Mehta Advisor, Centre for Responsible Business at GIZ
Mr. Viraf Mehta is a social anthropologist, currently advisor to the Centre for Responsible Business at Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), and country coordinator of the Responsible and Accountable Garment Sector (RAGS). Mr. Mehta is a member of several initiatives in the field of corporate responsibility, with a special focus on the human rights and business interface, including the UN Global Compact. He has been involved in corporate social responsibility initiatives since the mid-80s at the Tata Group (1986-2000), CEO of the NGO called Partners for Change (2002-2010), regional advisor for South Asia to the Institute for Human Rights and Business (2008-2010) among others.
Novozymes’ response “Novozymes appreciates the feedback provided by Mr. Mehta and the conclusion that our COP meets the advanced reporting requirements of UNGC LEAD and the blueprint in Mr. Mehta's view. We are committed to further improving our understanding, handling and reporting of human rights impacts, which among others will be addressed in a project in 2012. The project will also look into integration of human rights considerations in our screening and acquisition process, and we will use all of Mr. Mehta's valuable inputs to scope and inspire this project. From 2012, we expect to report on basis of the GRI G4 guidelines and may use this as an opportunity to expand our reporting on gender diversity, stakeholder feedback process for reporting and industry collaboration and lobbying.”
Communication on Progress (CoP) archive
An archive of our previous Communication on Progress (CoP) reports can be found on the
UN Global Compact website, where our continuous development and progress in reporting is tracked.