A group-wide corporate social responsibility programme is to be launched by the Swiss cement multinational Holcim this year.
The group has told its 70 subsidiary companies that the CSR framework will set ‘clear targets and milestones’, but gives them latitude to develop CSR policies that reflect local conditions. Holcim operates in 70 countries, mainly in Europe and Latin America, but also has sites in Africa, Asia and North America.
During 2003 and 2004, all group companies will be required to conduct a ‘CSR assessment’ of their activities, to create their own strategy based on group policy, and then to ‘integrate CSR into their business plans’. The group will issue its 50,000 staff with a ‘CSR handbook’ explaining its stance and will encourage subsidiaries to carry out regular staff satisfaction surveys.
Holcim is also developing a group-wide code of business conduct on issues such as fair employment, health and safety, human rights and environmental standards.
Four of its companies – in Argentina, Canada, the Philippines and South Africa – have existing codes.
Holcim says the work will consolidate piecemeal CSR activities already taking place in various divisions.
‘Our intention is to share the experience that has been built up in individual companies,’ it said. ‘We want to professionalize our engagement with stakeholders and in general to focus on issues that relate to our business impacts and where we have most expertise. The idea is to have a more centralized approach that will enable us to make best use of our accumulated experience and know-how.’
The Zurich-based group recently found that while its companies are engaged in numerous CSR activities – particularly community projects – only three had a formal CSR policy, and there was ‘little emphasis on monitoring, evaluation or reporting’ what they were doing.
Aside from social issues, environment and health and safety targets will feature in the new programme. Although lost time injury rates have improved in recent years, there were six fatal accidents at Holcim plants in 2001 and the company admits that when compared with the best-performing companies in related industries such as mining and heavy manufacturing, ‘we do not perform as well on health and safety as they do’.
By the end of 2004, all companies will have to have put in place a health and safety action plan with specific targets. Carbon dioxide emissions will be cut by a fifth by 2010, using 1990 as the reference year.
Emissions in 2001 were 60 million tonnes, up from around 40m tonnes in 1990.
Holcim, which had net sales of SFr14billion ($9bn, £6.6bn) in 2001, recently produced its first sustainable development report and is a founding member of the Cement Sustainability Initiative, which has set environmental and social targets for the industry over the next five years.