Health and safety

Ensuring workplace quality is not only a serious responsibility for any business, but also a key factor in attracting and retaining a highly qualified workforce. A growing body of research shows the effects of organisational structures and management practices and approaches on workplace productivity, stress and absenteeism. There is an emerging generational gap, with newer members of the workforce having higher expectations for work/life balance. This underscores the importance of creating workplaces that do not contribute to excessively high employee turnover and burnout.

An important factor that determines the quality of the workplace is health and safety at work. A healthy workplace takes account of the physical environment, such as physical attributes of the workplace and measures to prevent occupational injuries such as appropriate shift lengths, as well as psychological factors such as job stress, job security and employability, management practices, non-discrimination, empowerment and the opportunity to use skills.

While health and safety has always been a high priority at Novo Nordisk, the company's increasing internationalisation poses challenges to how this is organised and managed across the organisation.

The company's health and safety practices build on Danish standards, in which the ILO Guidelines for Occupational Health Management Systems are embedded.

In recent years Novo Nordisk has expanded its production sites outside Denmark and today it has a global sourcing structure with production in Brazil, China, Denmark, France and the US.

To reflect this development, the Health and Safety Policy at Novo Nordisk was strengthened in 2003 by requiring the entire organisation to set targets for improving the working environment and by focusing on prevention.

As of 2003, the company reports health and safety data for the entire organisation.

Novo Nordisk's Health and Safety Policy states that Novo Nordisk will 'set high standards and continuously improve health and safety performance as a natural part of our social responsibility'. Since 2003, target-setting has added more muscle to the policy. The overall long-term target is 'a continuous decrease in the frequency of occupational injuries'.

Depending on local conditions, additional health and safety-related policies are in place. Consequently, the company does not have global policies or programmes on HIV/AIDS, but at the regional office in South Africa, which is currently the only Novo Nordisk location where this issue is affecting the company's workforce, such policies and programmes do exist for employees and their families.

In Novo Nordisk's organisation, production facilities are anchored by Product Supply at corporate level, whereas affiliates in the markets report through Operations. The Novo Nordisk Way of Management and the policies apply throughout the organisation and serve as the framework for the management tools that drive and monitor performance. Compliance with local legulations and regulations is the responsibility of local management.

For the organisation as a whole, with the target of a continuous decrease in occupational injuries, efforts focus on prevention.

Efforts focus on prevention. This means that employees are encouraged to report incidents, such as improperly functioning machinery or unsafe conditions, so that problems can be resolved.

In 2006 Novo Nordisk in Denmark and Product Supply globally are adopting a health and safety management system certified according to OHSAS18001.

In terms of recording and reporting of occupational injuries and illnesses, Novo Nordisk follows the ILO Code of Practice as well as national legislation. Novo Nordisk has adopted the ILO Protocol of 2002 to the Occupational Safety and Health Convention 1981.

The company actively drives non-discrimination in the workplace through equal opportunities programmes and diversity management.

Performance data serve as a base for sharing better practices and for developing a common approach to health and safety work.

Novo Nordisk has the following formal joint health and safety committees comprising management and employee representatives which cover the organisation in Denmark and in Europe. This accounts for more than half of the entire organisation:

• The Working Environment Council, which is the supreme health and safety authority for Novo Nordisk in Denmark (covering 56% of the workforce), whose members are representatives of management and employees. It plans, manages and coordinates the occupational health and safety work.
• The European Works Council, whose members are representatives of employees in the affiliates in the EU countries (and Norway) and corporate management.

At affiliates and production sites outside Europe, the establishment of such committees is an option for local management.

The health and safety work at Novo Nordisk in Denmark is organised through an agreement between the parties within the Novo Nordisk A/S Working Environment Council on the basis of a framework agreement between the company and the professional organisations of the company.

• Managers are responsible for compliance with the agreement in all respects.
• Employees and elected health & safety representatives must work to fulfil the agreement.

The Occupational Health Service is established as an advisory function according to Danish law.

Novo Nordisk has formal agreements with trade unions at national level in countries where this is possible. Through these agreements, the right to collective bargaining is recognised. In Denmark, the workforce is organised in 10 company unions (clubs) according to profession:

• Semi-skilled workers
• Skilled workers
• Salaried staff (including specialists, managers and vice presidents).

To encourage continued focus and motivate additional efforts on health and safety, a Novo Nordisk Working Environment Award is given each year.

This page has been assessed by PricewaterhouseCoopers as part of its assessment of Novo Nordisk’s statement that it reports ‘in accordance’ with GRI. Please refer to Audit and assurance for a full description of the nature of assurance offered.