We believe it is our responsibility to ensure mutual benefit between companies and the society, and to do our part towards a sustainable future. As a company, and a large employer, we need to engage with our stakeholders and assess sustainability risks and opportunities related to our operations to continue to improve our Corporate Responsibility (CR) performance.
As a supplier to the oil and gas industry, it is important that we stay abreast with the ongoing developments in environmental standards. Aker Solutions will continue to invest in research that will lead our products and services and thus, our industry towards a more sustainable future.
Aker Solutions' approach to corporate responsibility is grouped into four building blocks: People, Community, Environment and Integrity. Together with our values they provide guidelines for our conduct and operations. We encourage employees to live our values and demand that our CR principles, outlined in our Code of Conduct, are reflected in our behaviour. Our principles and vision can only become part of our common culture and practice if they are brought to life through the everyday actions of our employees.
In 2008, Aker Solutions joined the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC). Its ten principles matched our own approach to business and constituted a strong framework for the development of our policies and strategies. The UNGC is founded on universally accepted principles and a multi-stakeholder approach. This means that by aligning our conduct with the Ten Principles, Aker Solutions attempts to actively respond to the most important concerns raised by our stakeholders.
Aker Solutions will continue and strengthen its commitment to the UN Global Compact. We see the principles as constituting basic rules which all companies should integrate into their operations and every day practice. We also encourage our suppliers, sub-contractors and other third parties to align their conduct with these principles.
Since Aker Solutions became a member of the UNGC in 2008, we have focused on strengthening our framework for Corporate Responsibility, by reviewing policies and standards, and increasing our competence in the Corporate Enterprise Risk department and Compliance resources throughout our organisation.
Our effort towards anti-corruption awareness has been renewed, and in 2010 we undertook a global review of all Aker Solutions’ third party representative contracts. In addition we have increased the focus on our whistle-blowing function and revised the whistle blowing chart.
We have also implemented an improved project review system, which incorporates considerations of human rights, environmental impacts and ethical dilemmas in the projects we are involved with.
Following our reorganisation in the first part of 2011, we have engaged with stakeholders to confirm the materiality of our CR focus areas, and to improve our reporting according to the Global Reporting Initiative. This year we will also implement a new and more broadly focused ethical training programme, and we will follow up on the increased CR focus in our supply chain management.
More information about our ongoing initiatives and actions to improve our CR efforts, including communication on our progress towards the Global Compact principles, is available on our webpages.
Yours sincerely,
Øyvind Eriksen
Executive Chairman
26 August 2011