Corporate Social Responsibility

Ambu has always focused on corporate social responsibility, and Ambu’s aim has been to create real value both for the company and for society at large through the company’s products and through working with corporate social responsibility. By structuring and ensuring a sense of ownership of these efforts in the organisation, Ambu is working in a targeted fashion to strengthen the link between responsible and value-creating corporate behaviour.

Ambu’s business is inextricably linked to social responsibility. This is solely due to the fact that it is Ambu’s vision to save lives and improve patient care. Working with corporate social responsibility also contributes to forging good relations with customers and suppliers, increasing productivity and reducing waste, reducing non-financial risks and strengthening the company’s identity and culture.

Ambu’s structured work with business-driven corporate social responsibility is based on the principles of the UN’s Global Compact initiative and can be divided into three overall focus areas which are particularly relevant for Ambu’s efforts:

People and community
Environment and products
Business ethics

In 2009/10, a CSR unit was set up to work with business-driven corporate social responsibility comprising employees from Sales and Marketing, Finance, HR, Communications, R&D and Operations. The unit reports to the Executive VP for Finance, IT and Business Systems. The CSR unit is responsible for ensuring that Ambu monitors developments in the area and reports to the Executive Board. Once a year, action plans are made for the coming year based on a workshop for the CSR unit and representatives of the other organisational units in Ambu as well as representatives of Ambu’s subsidiaries. Moreover, the CSR unit meets every quarter and as required.

With reference to the three overall focus areas, a Corporate Guideline was prepared in 2009/10 setting out nine guidelines for the work on business-driven corporate social responsibility in Ambu. Furthermore, the efforts currently being made within these areas have been mapped, and specific action plans have been made for future activities.

Nine common guidelines for Ambu’s corporate social responsibility work

PEOPLE AND COMMUNITY	ENVIRONMENT AND PRODUCTS	BUSINESS ETHICS
Guidelines 1. We work for diversity and non-discrimination in employment 2. We work for a safe and healthy work environment 3. We prohibit the use of forced and child labour 4. We support interaction with educational institutions	Guidelines 5. We aim to reduce the environmental impact in our innovation, manufacturing and distribution processes 6. We use materials efficiently and strive to optimize packaging and waste handling 7. We work to reduce energy consumption	Guidelines 8. We are committed to abide by the laws and regulations of the countries in which we operate. In absence of adequate laws and regulations, we refer to recognized international standards and industry norms 9. We do not accept bribery and other kind of corruption

Actions and results • Efforts are being made to increase the safety of all processes, and the number of workrelated accidents and injuries is measured. • Supplier assessments are conducted to ensure that forced and child labour is not used in the supply chain. • In connection with the transfer of production, Ambu has invested in strengthening the competences of the employees who have been made redundant.	Actions and results • Work has gone into the design of packaging and choice of packaging material to reduce environmental impacts in connection with transport. • Investments have been made in video conference equipment to reduce environmental impacts in connection with travelling. • Print and copy concepts have been introduced to reduce the number of prints and copies made, and investments have been made in IT solutions and in optimising production equipment with a view to minimising energy consumption.	Actions and results • All senior employees have signed the company’s Code of Conduct, and in Ambu’s internal procedures the emphasis is on compliance with legislation and rules.