We started our journey in 2008, when we decided to implement a new group-wide CSR approach to help our business grow in a fast and responsible way. Although we have made a good first step, we also recognise that there are still challenges ahead. Nonetheless, we are now in a much stronger position to identify areas for improvement and develop action plans.
During 2009, three new policies were developed to set new group standards in the areas of Labour and Human Rights, Health and Safety and Marketing Communication. While you are reading this, we are also finalising new group policies for Business Ethics and Community Engagement and a revised Environmental Policy. In 2010 we will focus our efforts in further deploying our policies in order to improve our standards and integrating CSR into our value chain.
By implementing these CSR policies, we also confirm our on-going commitment to the United Nations (UN) Global Compact. On our website, you can find the ' Communication on Progress', which is our report to demonstrate how far we have progressed in implementing the principles of the UN Global Compact.
2009 was also the year we developed a new environmental strategy. We focus on maintaining our industry leader position in energy and water efficiency by setting ambitious targets for 2012 as well as reducing packaging materials and promoting the re-use and recycling of these materials. We will also work towards a better understanding of water issues in the communities where we operate. To align our new environmental strategy with the UN Global Compact, I signed the CEO Water Mandate on behalf of the Group and we endorsed the Caring for Climate Initiative.
In line with our GloCal approach, we continued to develop local initiatives to promote responsible drinking and address issues related to the misuse of our products, such as underage drinking and drinking and driving. Last year we also continued to work for improvement of the social, ethical and environmental standards in our supply chain and going forward CSR criteria will also part of the evaluation of our main investment and procurement activities.
I would like to invite you to go through our CSR web section to read more about these and other stories, and give us feedback to help us better understand our impact and improve our performance in the years to come.
Best regards,
Jørgen Buhl Rasmussen
CEO and President, Carlsberg Breweries