Raising levels of corporate responsibility in a changing world
Improvement of Outokumpu's performance and reporting on corporate responsibility issues continued in a more challenging world. Stated simply, our development concept involves listening to stakeholders, moving from words to actions and turning actions into results step-by-step. Our objective is to listen to our key stakeholders, achieve sustainable competitiveness, combat climate change and improve the well-being and safety of Outokumpu people.
Environmental and health and safety (EHS) issues are – and have always been – subjects of primary importance for the Group's profitability and competitiveness and for the well-being of our personnel. We make no compromises in Outokumpu regarding these issues, and there is always room for improvement. Developments in occupational safety are monitored via regular reports at corporate management meetings. All management committees and equivalent bodies throughout the Group begin each meeting with a safety review, and safety is a top priority at all times even when producing lower volumes. As in 2005, to ensure an exceptionally strong focus on safety issues, 2010 has been named a Safety theme year. We pay particular attention to the well-being of Group personnel, our suppliers and the wishes of our customers. As a listed company, Outokumpu is committed to generating profit for its shareholders.
During the current global downturn, acting responsibly and attempting to keep the three aspects of corporate responsibility in balance is more important than ever. The very sharp decline in demand for stainless steel products in 2008 and 2009 forced us to take heavy actions with impact on us and on our stakeholders.
Outokumpu in many indices and initiatives
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Main corporate responsibility goals
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Corporate responsibility becomes an integral aspect of all our activities and decision-making process, from procuring materials through to production and sales. Economic, environmental and social responsibility issues are in balance. Compliance with legislation constitutes the bedrock of our operations. Continually improving our corporate responsibility performance puts us on the path towards a higher level of achievement.
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Our business partners, subcontractors and suppliers become familiar with our principles and apply the same high standards in their own activities.
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To enhance transparency, we aim to establish continuous, systematic and open dialogue on corporate responsibility issues with our key stakeholders, such as shareholders, employees, customers, suppliers and non-governmental organisations. This co-operation contributes towards developing and dutifully reporting our corporate responsibility performance.
Observations by PricewaterhouseCoopers
Outokumpu is in the process of integrating corporate responsibility into business operations. The integration should be further continued to ensure the effectiveness of CR across all functions, e.g. Group Sales and Marketing, and along the whole value chain.