Assessments support development of responsibility work
Algol Chemicals has been conducting customer satisfaction surveys for a long time in order to clarify how we can respond even better to customer expectations regarding responsibility. In addition to the feedback received from customers, various responsibility assessments serve as a good guideline for developing our responsibility work. Responsibility at Algol Chemicals is also reflected in the remuneration of our employees.
Membership in FIBS (Finnish Business & Society), the largest corporate responsibility network in the Nordic countries, has provided Algol Chemicals the opportunity to conduct self-assessments regarding responsibility. The detailed reports from these assessments help support the development of our responsibility work. In addition to self-assessments, Algol Chemicals responds to the assessments performed among both suppliers and customers.
In addition to these assessments, Algol Chemicals has joined the EcoVadis sustainability evaluation system and is committed to the Responsible Care programme for chemical distributors. Through these commitments and assessments, useful information has been obtained about the state of our responsibility work and development needs. For example, areas for improvement have been found in how we measure, report and communicate environmental impacts.
“All these assessments have provided us with good ideas for further development and strengthened the perception that we are moving in the right direction. By conducting self-assessments, we have gained additional information about our strengths and areas for improvement, as well as concrete recommendations for developing our responsibility work. The biggest challenges right now are related to the carbon footprint of products and CO2 emissions from transportation in the supply chain,” says Päivi Autiovuori, HSEQ Team Leader at Algol Chemicals.
Responsibility as a component of remuneration
The assessments have indicated that integrating responsibility into the daily work of employees should be further strengthened. The orientation of new employees includes online training in our values and business principles. In addition, training is available in such areas as occupational health and safety, chemical safety and information security. Some of these training programmes are mandatory for all employees.
“Each employee should understand the importance of their own work in implementing and developing responsibility. Responsible action always starts with people, understanding the issue, the right way of thinking, and commitment", Autiovuori states.
The remuneration of employees has been included in the development and goals of our responsibility work. The aim is to help management and employees pay closer attention to responsibility and to act in a way that contributes to the achievement of our targets. Currently, responsibility at Algol Chemicals is taken into account in remuneration in the areas of safety and resource efficiency, for example.
“We have set targets for reporting safety observations and conducting workplace-specific safety walks a certain number of times each year. In addition, we pay special attention to deviations observed in products or deliveries. The number of safety walks performed and safety observations reported, as well as how effectively deviations are handled, all have a positive effect on remuneration for employees,” Autiovuori lists.
According to Autiovuori, in addition to remuneration and orientation, integration can be further developed by providing responsibility training and increasing internal communications about responsibility-related projects, targets and challenges.
Further information
Päivi Autiovuori, Team Leader, HSEQ, t. +358 50 588 0488
Read more about responsibility at Algol Chemicals.
