Corporate Social Responsibility

Statutory Statement for Corporate Social Responsibility, cf. the Danish Financial Statements

Act § 99 a

The Aalborg Industries Group is dedicated to earn the trust and respect of our customers, stakeholders and the communities we are part of. We consider it of the utmost importance to be socially responsible in all our actions and act with integrity in all aspects of our business. This statutory statement is part of the Management’s Review in the Aalborg Industries Group’s annual report for the financial year 1 January – 31 December 2009.

In the Aalborg Industries Group, our values shall be the basis of our behaviour and the fundamental principles we believe in when doing business – in all aspects and towards all stakeholders. Thus they also serve as the foundation for our corporate social responsibility (CSR).

Our values are:

We relate the relevant values to the below key principles encompassing our CSR responsibilities:

• We are committed to behave ethically and to contribute to the economic development while improving the quality of life for our workforce and their families as well as the local community at large.

• We take responsibility for our impact on society and the environment.

• We attach great significance to awareness, acceptance and management of the implications and effects of all corporate decision making.

• All entities in the Aalborg Industries Group have obligations to the wider community and we believe that good corporate citizenship extends further than simply following the law.

Based on our values, the philosophy of our corporate social responsibility can be divided into three segments: Commitment, Environmental Sustainability and Working Environment.


Commitment
Aalborg Industries’ business activities have a positive impact on the local communities in which we operate. Involvement is a keyword when it comes to Aalborg Industries’ commitment globally, and we believe that our presence in numerous parts of the world calls for us to get involved in the local communities. Our commitment is among others expressed in the following examples:

SA 8000 certification
In 2007, Aalborg Industries S.A. in Brazil adapted its practices, documentation and processes to the SA 8000 certification. SA 8000 is an auditable certification standard based on international workplace norms and covers issues such as child labour, forced labour, healthy and safe working environment, freedom of association and right to collective bargaining, discrimination of any kind, discipline at work place, working hours and management systems. The certification was not only an important step in relation to customer’s demands, but also in relation to the company’s working environment. Aalborg Industries S.A. is the first boiler manufacturing company in Brazil to have the SA 8000 certification.

Donations
Through local sponsorships, the Aalborg Industries Group supports different organisations and efforts. For instance, we have made contributions to the municipality in Hai Phong, Vietnam for maintenance of the roads, and donations have among others been given to the Brazilian organisation “Comunidade Jesus Menino” helping young, poor handicapped children and to an orphanage in Vietnam. Contributions for charity to the Danish Seaman’s church in Hong Kong have been donated from Aalborg Industries (Shanghai) Limited and support have been provided to a fundraising campaign for South Africa, just to mention a few.

Taking care
In South Korea, Aalborg Industries Ltd. has volunteers visiting an orphanage of light disabled children once a month helping out where needed. Aalborg Industries Pty. Ltd. in Australia has set up a group of employees assisting the Morisset Multi-Purpose Centre and the Bonnells Bay Youth & Community Centre as “working-bees”. This was a great opportunity for the staff to be able to contribute to the community while not requiring specialised skills. Many duties were required such as digging, planting, mulching, mowing and just basically helping out.

Supporting educational Institutions
It is essential to the Aalborg Industries Group’s continued growth and development to attract highly technical skilled labour for development, production and service implying that education is important. As part of our commitment to the local communities, we have sponsored IT equipment to different educational institutions.

Procurement
The Aalborg Industries Group dissociates from child labour and corruption. A good and valuable relationship between Aalborg Industries, its employees and business associates relies on an open dialogue, unambiguous contracts, mutual confidence and trustworthiness. Only this will result in a beneficial and competitive development of the company.


Environmental sustainability
We ensure that all entities of our business comply with existing environmental legislations, but we find it natural to go even further allocating resources to reduce the environmental impact of the Aalborg Industries Group’s activities.

The corporate strategy for 2010-2012 focuses on environmental certifications to secure sustainability on a continued basis. Allocating even more resources to this area we ensure an ongoing environmental consideration always offering our customers the most advantageous solution while making sure that our products are developed and manufactured in consideration of existing environmental legislations and best practices.

In our production units, energy saving initiatives have been implemented and in Aalborg Industries A/S in Denmark, the consumption of gas, electricity, district heating and waste management was examined by a local energy centre in Denmark. All possibilities for saving energy were to be found and the results and experiences are to apply to Aalborg Industries’ other production facilities as well to reduce our total energy consumption profile. Furthermore, our employees in Aalborg Industries K.K. in Japan have for instance initiated a common effort to put out the light during lunch break.

Based on our values of being innovative and high performing, we take part in a range of different initiatives such as the “Green Ship of the Future” project which is a project established by Aalborg Industries, MAN Diesel, A. P. Møller - Mærsk A/S and Odense Steel Shipyard with the primary objective of developing and demonstrating new green technologies, with significant reductions of emissions. The partnership of “Green Ship of the Future” enables us to make a strong collective effort reducing CO2 emissions and air pollution from ships, thus being a natural choice for the Aalborg Industries Group to support.

Working environment
Different initiatives are constantly initiated to ensure the continued well-being and development of our employees. Satisfied employees form the basis of a good business and in the end this is for the benefit of both the employees and the company.

Below is an extract of some of the initiatives made in the Aalborg Industries Group to ensure an ongoing adaption of the working environment.

Health and safety organisations
The Aalborg Industries Group has factories in Brazil, China, Vietnam and Denmark and here Health and Safety organisations and systems have been established to ensure the safety of our employees.

Policies
As part of our commitment to total care, Aalborg Industries A/S in Denmark has set down and implemented policies and procedures for abuse, harassment, sexual discrimination, psychological working environment and long term sick leave. In addition, a senior policy exists showing consideration for employees nearing retirement. Finally, a global health and safety policy exists applying to the entire Aalborg Industries Group.

Company healthcare programme
Aalborg Industries A/S in Denmark initiated a company healthcare programme in the beginning of 2007. With this programme, the company has put a fitness centre at the disposal of its employees and their families while offering different exercising classes. In addition to that, a physiotherapist has been engaged providing all employees with the opportunity to seek guidance and treatment, just like weight and diet guidance has been initiated for interested employees.

Furthermore, soccer teams have been formed in some of our subsidiaries encouraging social intercourse across departments usually followed by other social events.

Education
Aalborg Industries S.A. in Brazil offers a 50 percent company support for post graduation classes and internally, English classes are offered to the employees.

Accident insurance
Employees at our factory in Jiaozhou City, China are offered accident insurance exceeding the mandatory insurance as the rate of traffic accidents in particular is very high in China.

Precautionary measures against diseases
As a global company with subsidiaries in 14 countries and several travelling employees, we consider it our duty to inform and take precautionary measures against diseases. In 2003, during the SARS epidemic, we made a contribution to the government in Qingdao, China and as the recent H1N1 flu pandemic spread, disinfectants were arranged for and guidelines for prevention of the disease were set up. In areas with numerous cases of AIDS and HIV infections, seminars for the employees are arranged.