Open and honest communication with all key stakeholders has always been an integral part of our corporate culture. Biotechnology impinges on society at a deeper philosophical level, and scientific understanding of the issues does not always suffice. Ongoing dialogue in the public realm is a prerequisite for public acceptance of biotechnology.

We define our stakeholders very broadly as those having a stake or interest in our business. Examples of ongoing activities with stakeholder groups include meetings with authorities, visits to plants by local community groups, NGO visits, partnerships with schools and universities, and the environmental auditing of our supply chain.

Stakeholder Relations
Dialogue with stakeholders from the academic world and with international NGOs has been of significant importance in helping us understand how biotechnology is perceived in various parts of the world. In order to highlight the value we place on the interaction with key stakeholders - internal as well as external - our corporate staff functions, including labour relations, health and safety, communications, environment, education and training, research affairs and investor relations, have been restructured into a Stakeholder Relations unit. We believe the new organization will further facilitate an even stronger focus on and commitment to stakeholders.

New 1999 target: Conduct a workshop on triple bottom line reporting with key international stakeholders.

Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)
The GRI was formed in 1997 as a global joint stakeholder effort to chart a course towards ensuring that sustainability reporting becomes a standard, consistent and reliable source of business performance information. We are participating actively in this initiative and believe that it will help us to move forward in our efforts with sustainability reporting. The strength of the initiative lies in the fact that business, NGOs and accounting organizations from North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America are involved.

Support for Californian wetlands project
Our research facility, Novo Nordisk Biotech Inc., based in Davis, California, has donated US$ 100,000 to the Yolo Basin Foundation. The donation will be used to support the development of the Pacific Flyway Center, a museum and landscape complex adjacent to a major wetlands area outside Davis. The Pacific Flyway is a major route for migrating birds from Canada to South America and the wetlands are a unique wildlife habitat.

WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) & Novo Nordisk Biodiversity Grant Fund
We continue to support this fund with DKK 250,000 per year. Applications for grants are reviewed by WWF's Scientific Committee and approximately ten research projects receive funding each year.

External recognition in 1998 - see an overview