Principles
This is the fifth time that Novo Nordisk has reported on its performance in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative’s 2002 Sustainability Reporting Guidelines. Some elements of the GRI reporting are integrated in the Annual Report 2006, while the remaining information is accessible online. The external assurance provider’s assurance of the Annual Report 2005 includes an assessment of Novo Nordisk’s reporting in accordance with the GRI 2002 Sustainability Reporting Guidelines.
Novo Nordisk’s reporting in accordance with GRI is divided into two parts. Firstly we describe how we strive to meet the 11 principles that GRI demands that reporting organisations meet when reporting in accordance with GRI. Secondly, we include performance against the 142 indicators, including explanations for those indicators on which we do not report fully. Novo Nordisk reports fully on 110 indicators and does not report on 32.
Reporting in accordance with GRI
Reporting in accordance with the 11 principles and the sustainability indicators is a way of ensuring that we present a balanced and reasonable account of the company’s economic, environmental and social performance. We cross-reference the GRI indicators for which information can be found either in the Annual Report or on the corporate website. We have also provided a GRI summary in the Annual Report.
Transparency
Full disclosure of the processes, procedures and assumptions in report preparation are essential to credibility.
Transparency is a key element for earning stakeholder trust. That is why we have adopted a reporting format that integrates financial and non-financial performance. In doing so, we aim to enhance the transparency of the company’s activities and performance across the Triple Bottom Line.
The accounting policies for financial and non-financial data respectively are found in the Annual Report. Below is a description of the principles and rationale for information included in the annual reporting.
Inclusiveness
The reporting organisation should systematically engage its stakeholders to help focus and continually enhance the quality of its reports.
Novo Nordisk’s Annual Report is primarily prepared for shareholders – a diverse group of private and institutional investors, mainly in Denmark, the UK and the US. However, being available online, the report is also read by current and prospective employees, business partners, NGOs and other stakeholders affected by our operations – a diverse audience with quite different information needs. The report covers the material issues identified during our engagements with stakeholders and research activities. The final evaluation and decision on what to include in the report for the year is made by Novo Nordisk's management.
To accommodate different stakeholders’ individual needs for information, the performance section of the online report lists those issues that various stakeholder groups would find relevant. For each, there is an account of the issue and why it matters to Novo Nordisk and our stakeholders, Novo Nordisk’s approach, and the company’s performance during 2006.
Auditability
Reported data and information should be recorded, compiled, analysed and disclosed in a way that enables internal auditors or external assurance providers to attest to its reliability.
Since the first Novo Nordisk Environmental Report in 1994 (covering the year 1993), the company’s annual reports have been assured by an independent body. Over the years, different approaches have been taken and different assurance teams have undertaken the task. In 2002 Novo Nordisk used the AA1000 Assurance Standard for the first time. This year all the information included in the Annual Report is part of the financial audit and audit statement. In addition, the Assurance Provider has been asked to review Novo Nordisk’s Annual Report according to AA1000AS. We believe this will lend additional credibility to the information we publish.
Different activities assure different stakeholder groups and a description of the different activities in Novo Nordisk that assure the company’s performance in one way or another is given in What assures? These activities include facilitations, ISO 9002 and ISO 14001 certification, FDA approvals, internal financial controls and IT audits. The company’s strategy for the assurance is to make the process leaner and more effective, while also involving external stakeholders in the process.
The underlying systems, structures and processes and all data and information in the Annual Report have been part of the assurance engagement, and documentation has been presented to the auditors and assurance providers. See more about:
Completeness
All information that is material to users for assessing the reporting organisation’s economic, environmental and social performance should appear in the report in a manner consistent with the declared boundaries, scope and time period.
The scope of Novo Nordisk's Annual Report is described in the accounting policies.
Relevance
Relevance is the degree of importance assigned to a particular aspect, indicator or piece of information, and represents the threshold at which information becomes significant enough to be reported.
The information included in Novo Nordisk’s Annual Report is what we deem relevant to the company’s primary stakeholders. Different stakeholders have their particular interests in the company, and key performance indicators were defined through consultations with interested parties such as the International Diabetes Federation, WWF and Novo Nordisk employees.
Sustainability context
The reporting organisation should seek to place its performance in the larger context of ecological, social or other limits or constraints, where such context adds significant meaning to the reported information.
The Annual Report accounts for what Novo Nordisk believes to constitute sustainability performance in a global context. It defines the material issues and key stakeholders on the basis of external expectations of Novo Nordisk as a focused pharmaceutical company and identified business challenges.
For Novo Nordisk, four themes stand out as significant. What characterises these challenges is that they cut across conventional thinking about what are sustainability-related and what are ’core business’ issues:
One challenge is particularly vital to Novo Nordisk: defeating diabetes is the main driver for our contribution to sustainable development. Moreover, the right to health is one of the universal human rights, which Novo Nordisk subscribes to through its commitment to the UN Global Compact.
In 2006, Novo Nordisk communicated its changing diabetes messages globally and drove initiatives to improve prevention, treatment and care of diabetes. Novo Nordisk actively supported the campaign for a UN Resolution on diabetes, which was adopted on 20 December 2006, and intends to take active leadership in its implementation.
Accuracy
The accuracy principle refers to achieving the degree of exactness and low margin of error in reported information necessary for users to make decisions with a high degree of confidence.
The external assurance provided for the Annual Report covers the underlying systems, structures and processes in Novo Nordisk on which the reported information is based. Novo Nordisk strives to be fully transparent. The definitions of the information are described in the accounting policies.
Neutrality
Reports should avoid bias in selection and presentation of information and should strive to provide a balanced account of the reporting organisation’s performance.
To the best of our knowledge, the information included in the Annual Report gives a fair view of Novo Nordisk’s activities, ensuring balanced reporting on good and bad performance. We respect that others may have different views.
The external assurance providers have made an assessment of the information included in the Annual Report to ensure a balanced presentation of key issues. Read their guide to assurance.
Comparability
The reporting organisation should maintain consistency in the boundary and scope of its reports, disclose any changes, and restate previously reported information.
We strive to ensure that data are comparable. By disclosing the definitions in the accounting policies we ensure that it is transparent to the reader where the scope might differ. Notes are used where changes have been made. Any changes to how we define and calculate data are included in the accounting policies.
Our goal is to ensure that all key performance data are available over a five-year period. This has not been fully achieved yet. The fact that the maturity of issues differs, combined with differences at national level in what social and environmental data can be registered, makes the task difficult.
Clarity
The reporting organisation should remain cognisant of the diverse needs and backgrounds of its stakeholder groups and should make information available in a manner that is responsive to the maximum number of users, while still maintaining a suitable level of detail.
Novo Nordisk has been working with different approaches to inform the company’s many diverse stakeholder groups on its performance. This is done through external reporting, stakeholder engagement, presentations, sponsorships, community involvement etc. The corporate website has been designed to enable easy access.
Timeliness
Reports should provide information on a regular basis that meets user needs and comforms to the nature of the information itself.
Novo Nordisk published its first environmental report in 1994 for the reporting year 1993. Since then the company’s non-financial reporting has developed to include social and economic performance, with annual printed reports, supporting web solutions and site reports. As of 2003 a sustainability update has been included in quarterly press releases. Novo Nordisk remains committed to continuing the reporting with increased focus on using diverse communication processes and tools.
This page has been assessed by PricewaterhouseCoopers as part of its assessment of Novo Nordisk’s statement that it reports ‘in accordance’ with GRI. Please refer to Audit and assurance for a full description of the nature of assurance offered.
