Corporate Responsibility
Our Commitment
Consort Medical plc recognises the importance of the impact its businesses can have on the environment, employees, its customers and the communities in which it operates. To run a responsible and sustainable business we must remain committed to managing these impacts, while also delivering opportunities that can have a positive influence.
Governance
The CR Committee is chaired by Non-Executive Board Director Jim Dick and comprises of the Group Chief Executive Officer, the divisional MD and CEO of the Bespak and King Systems Divisions respectively, Director of Human Resources and the Company Secretary. The Committee meets quarterly, to define strategy, set targets, monitor progress and to report back to the Board.
Finding our Focus
At the beginning of 2009 we conducted an issues identification and prioritisation exercise to find a focus for our CR programme of activities. This helped to define our strategy and shape our CR framework which defines our responsibilities across four pillars:
Community – recognition from the communities in which we operate
Employees – supporting our people
Environment – managing our environmental impact
Ethical Standards – acting with integrity to achieve the highest ethical standards
Objective Setting
Each financial year the CR Committee sets a number of high-level objectives. Our progress against 2009/10 objectives are reported below.
2009/10 Objectives |
Our progress |
Completion of CR audit risk assessments together with reinforcement of current good CR practice |
Exercise completed |
Prioritisation of new opportunities along with the development of appropriate performance measures |
Ongoing development of performance measures |
Alignment of CR programmes with the execution of the business strategy |
CR programmes aligned |
Broader communication of CR programmes to help further develop employee understanding and involvement |
Commenced employee engagement programme |
Identification and prioritisation of future programmes for ongoing CR development |
Ongoing process |
Our Objectives for 2010/11 are:
2010/11 Objectives |
Reporting against our key performance indicators |
Execution of Employee Engagement Programme |
Integration of ethical and environmental considerations in supplier contracts/evaluation |
Conduct stakeholder engagement mapping exercise |
Publish a Group Ethical Code of Conduct |
Community, Employees, Environment, Ethical Standards
1. Community
‘recognition from the communities in which we operate’
Consort Medical is committed to supporting charities related to the Group’s environment, patient groups and communities local to its businesses. Special consideration is made towards those causes working to improve the health, wellbeing and education of the communities where our employees are drawn from.
In 2009, the Company completed a review of its charities policy with the following renewed focus:
· Initiatives aimed at improving respiratory treatment and care;
· Charities, organisations and events within the local communities in which our employees live and work; and
· Charitable causes that are aligned to health, health education and welfare, and medically related scientific research.
Click here to see a copy of our charities policy.
The following provides an overview of community related activities for each Division in the financial year 2009/10.
Bespak
For the fifth successive year the Bespak Division supported the Bespak Grand Anglia Run www.greateastangliarun.co.uk . This year, 33 Consort Medical employees took part and helped raise money for a number of different charities, including Breathe for Life. During 2009, Bespak were also awarded the Opportunities West Norfolk (O.W.N.) Employer Champion Award. This award was in recognition of the Company’s sustained outstanding support given to local schools and colleges. This was a significant achievement for the Division and in the local community.
Bespak has also increased the number of its school mentors from two to six, and continues to support academic awards in local schools.
King Systems
King Systems has chosen United Way as their charity partner. In December 2009 approximately 35 percent of employees participated in payroll giving together with the Company raised $74,976.74, which substantially exceeded the initial $49,000 target.
2. Employees
‘supporting our people’
Consort Medical pursues employment policies designed to attract, retain, motivate and develop employee talent, to ensure that the Group develops the skills and competencies needed to deliver sustainable, profitable growth.
Our employees are proud to work for the Group, and of the contribution our products and services make to improve the quality of millions of lives each year. We strive to create a working environment which fosters mutual respect and teamwork. Employee wellbeing is a priority for our business and a healthy, positive work environment is key to our success.
From helping with problems, through setting stringent health and safety standards, to supporting employees in their efforts to live healthier lives, we’re constantly looking for ways to make Consort Medical a better place to work.
Consort Medical is dedicated towards helping employees feel part of the Group and to understand their own role in shaping its success. To achieve this aim the Group rolled out an Internal Communications framework which King Systems implemented in 2009 and Bespak at the beginning of 2010.
In addition to these efforts, in early 2010 the Group began the roll out of its key values. You can view these by clicking here. These values capture what’s important to Consort Medical as a company and help to define the behaviour of our people. The next step is to incorporate these values and behaviours into the 2010/11 performance appraisal cycle, with the aim to help employees focus on ‘the how’ as well as the hard objectives of their roles in the organisation.
The following provides an overview of employee related activities for each Division in the financial year 2009/10.
Bespak
Bespak launched its Employee Communication strategy in 2010, which includes the publication of an employee news letter “The Pulse”, twice yearly all-employee briefings on Company strategy and financial performance from Consort Medical Executives and Bespak’s MD. Bespak’s Operating Board are also now hosting regular lunch and breakfast meetings with employees to discuss issues facing them and discuss their ideas on how we can continuously improve.
King Systems
King Systems launched the Values in Practice programme, an employee recognition initiative that rewards significant employee accomplishments.
King Systems also conducted an employee satisfaction survey, and will now instigate a programme of corrective action against any negative results.
3. Environment
‘managing our environmental impact’
Consort Medical operates within highly regulated product and market categories and its policy, as a minimum, is to comply with all relevant industry and Government regulatory requirements. This group monitors the findings of the divisional Health, Safety and Environmental Committees, which also carry out regular monthly reviews.
The application of Continuous Improvement across the Group continues to yield savings in materials and reductions in all forms of waste including energy, water and manufacturing intermediates.
The following provides an overview of employee related activities for each Division in the financial year 2009/10.
Bespak
Bespak implemented a Travel Plan with the target to reduce traffic at the King’s Lynn site by 20% over the next 5 years.
The King’s Lynn site also achieved ISO14001 accreditation, and has instigated a number of energy saving initiatives.
King Systems
Waste reduction continues to be the main Continuous Improvement initiative with actual savings to be reported in the near future.
Continuous Improvement efforts have also focused on reducing freight damage. This provides savings in transit packaging materials, as well as fuel savings in returning and re-shipping product. Damaged freight is down 50% with the number of returns down 52%.
In October 2009 King Systems received a safety order and notification of penalties (totaling US$ 191,000) from the local occupational safety and health administration in Indiana, alleging non-compliance in its production facilities with federal and local health and safety standards and requirements. The Company is contesting the order and penalties.
4. Ethical Standards
‘acting with integrity to achieve the highest ethical standards’
The Group encourages responsible raw material sourcing both directly in its own activities, as well as indirectly through responsible supply chain selection and management of its supply base.
The following provides an overview of ethical related activities for each Division in the financial year 2009/10.
Bespak
Bespak has instigated a review of ethical commitments in supplier contracts, and added an ethical standards section in supplier questionnaires to sit alongside Quality and Financial Stability assessments.