Foreword by the President and CEO
Taking greater responsibility is an integrated part of our business.
In 2007, a dominating theme in public debate was the sharp rise in interest concerning the social and environmental responsibility of the business community. These are issues that have a high priority at Trelleborg, not because we are forced to, but because it is smart from a commercial perspective. People, particularly the young generation, and companies increasingly make financial choices based on the perspective of long-term sustainability.
As the guiding principle for our governance of the company, Trelleborg shall be transparent in relation to all our stakeholders and society. We are therefore emphasizing the Trelleborg Group’s focus on corporate responsibility (CR) in matters concerning the work environment, environmental impact, business ethics and social responsibility in many ways. In 2007, we joined the UN Global Compact, and we also encourage our suppliers to work in accordance with the Global Compact’s ten principles covering responsible business practices. In our efforts to continuously improve our CR information, we prepared our report in accordance with Global Reporting Initiative’s guidelines and were accepted for inclusion in the Dow Jones Stoxx Sustainability Index during the year.
During the year, we launched our new Code of Conduct, which is based on international conventions and agreements in the CR field. We view our new Code of Conduct as an excellent tool to ensure compliance with generally accepted business principles in all of our units globally. We also want the daily work of our employees to be characterized by well-being and to minimize health and safety risks and monotonous work.
Trelleborg’s core values –
customer focus,
performance,
innovation and
responsibility – provide common values for our employees throughout the world. They represent a long-term commitment that guides us in our work and our decisions.
The expansion of our operations increased our environmental impact in absolute terms, but in relation to growth, the majority of key figures show a declining trend.
Furthermore, we took clear steps to prevent and reduce the climate-related effects of our operations by initiating a pilot project in the UK and participation in the Carbon Disclosure Project.
At the same time, in light of subsidiaries of Trelleborg being involved in contexts related to violations of competition law – which is absolutely unacceptable – we focused on how we conduct ourselves in the market. I want to emphasize that our Code of Conduct and other internal rules in this area are extremely clear, and we are investing considerable resources in the form of time, energy and money on training the organization in the regulations and how we should conduct ourselves.
Sustainability is part of our business. Through Trelleborg’s primary task – to seal, damp and protect in demanding industrial environments – our business contributes in various ways both positively and innovatively with products and solutions for the development of society in the environment, health and safety areas. A selection of examples of this includes seals for wind power plants, seals for windows and doors that improve the indoor climate and reduce the consumption of power, seals for hydraulic applications that prevent hazardous chemicals from leaking into the surroundings, tunnel seals and rubber membranes in projects that protect cities from flooding, as well as vibration-damping solutions in cars and other vehicles.
Apart from the commercial aspects, Trelleborg will continue to focus on raw materials, energy consumption, the use of chemicals and health and safety in the future.
With the help of continuous improvement, our ambition is to progressively develop our corporate responsibility and how it is reported.
Peter Nilsson
President and CEO