Dutch life science company presented its sustainable strategy yesterday and emphasised the company's progress in the fields of 'People, Planet and Profit' through a new medium - the 'Triple P' report.
While asserting that it has made progress in many fields, the company concludes that there is a great deal of room for improvement.
On the subject of 'people' DSM aims to rank among the top 25 per cent of companies in its industry in terms of health and safety at work. The company has set itself the target of reducing the number of lost-workday accidents by 20 per cent each year. In 2002, there were 48 accidents leading to more than one lost workday - this compares to the 81 lost-workday cases that occurred in 2001.
Turning to the environment. DSM is keen to rank among the best companies in the world in terms of energy efficiency and emissions to air and water. The company reports that emissions of harmful chemicals to air and water in 2002 were either the same as or lower than in 2001. The total volume of emissions decreased, mainly because of the sale of the company's petrochemical activities. According to the report, a total of 432 complaints were received in 2002 about environmental matters - 75 per cent less than in 2001. Although the marked decrease is due in part to the fact that over 900 complaints received in 2001 were caused by an incident at a naphtha cracker at the Geleen site.
And what of the last 'P' ? The company reported that operating profit from ongoing activities increased by 14 per cent, from €336 million in 2001 to €383 million in 2002.