Novozymes recognised for sustainable practices
to further integrate sustainability into its business.
The food enzymes firm was selected by the United Nations Global Compact for its communication on progress in further integrating sustainability throughout their business operations. "The recognition from United Nations Global Compact gives credibility to Novozymes' sustainability commitment," said Michael Hougaard Pedersen from Novozymes' Sustainability Development Centre. "It sends a strong message to our customers, investors and other business partners." The recognition follows the identification of the firm as being among the 100 most sustainable corporations in the world by Innovest Strategic Value Advisors and Corporate Knights. The Global 100 list of the most sustainable companies in the world for 2007 is the result of studies and research of 1800 international companies carried out by the institutions. It is designed to provide information to investors with an interest in sustainable companies and serves as a benchmark for companies' sustainability performance. The issue of sustainability is something that will only increase in importance. According to a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers report, consumers are increasingly conscious about which companies have been quickest to adapt to more sustainable practices. Exploitative sourcing is now a mainstream issue, while the dramatic growth of fair trade is pulling food consumption out of the cost-is-all bracket, with consumers prepared to pay more for guarantees of fair labour practices and sustainable sourcing. Products marked 'natural' or 'organic' are flying off the shelves, with fair trade sales in the UK, alone, growing by more than 40 per cent a year. United Nations Global Compact is the largest sustainability initiative in the world, with more than 3,000 companies as signatories. It is based on ten universal principles in the areas of human rights, labour, the environment and anti-corruption. The goal of Global Compact is to promote responsible corporate citizenship so that businesses can be part of the solution to the challenges of globalisation. Novozymes signed the Global Compact back in 2002, and the commitment is an integrated part of Novozymes' values. "An example is the little red booklet called Bribery - no thanks! that was handed out to all employees at Novozymes in 2005 and 2006," said Hougaard Pedersen.
