Key performance data
In managing its business with a Triple Bottom Line approach, Novo Nordisk is linking a set of key targets to sustainability goals. Twenty top-level indicators help track performance over time in regard to environmental, social and socio-economic goals. They relate to six areas of strategic importance: living our values, access to health, our employees, our use of animals, eco-efficiency and compliance, and economic contribution. The indicators have been defined through consultation with stakeholders, while methods of measuring and targets are set by Novo Nordisk’s management. See Key performance indicators.
As a supplement to these top-level indicators, performance is tracked on an additional set of data, which forms the basis for some of the sustainability work in Novo Nordisk. For comparative data, see Environmental and social highlights and interactive charts.
Environmental key performance data
The consumption of resources has increased since 2003. This is the case for both water and energy consumption, which increased by 5%. However, at the same time the efficiency of water and energy use increased by 7% and 8%, respectively. The consumption of materials increased by just 1%. The increase in absolute figures is less than from 2002 to 2003. This is mainly due to the increased focus throughout the organisation to minimise resource consumption.
As expected the volume of waste water also only increased by 3%; the low increase in water consumption inevitably leads to a lower increase in the volume of waste water emitted. This also reflects the changes in the measured components in the waste water with regard to nitrogen (+1%) and phosphorus (no change). Emissions of COD have increased by 22%. This is due to the fact that the production of NovoSeven® has been stepped up.
The volume of by-products has decreased by 14%, as Novo Nordisk no longer has NovoGro30 as a by-product. This has been replaced by NovoGro which has a high dry matter content and therefore less volume.
Looking at the waste data, there has been a modest increase of solid waste at 2% compared to 2003. This is a combination of a fall in the non-hazardous waste of 2% and an increase in the hazardous waste of 6%. The decrease in non-hazardous waste is mainly due to a general decrease in household waste and other ordinary waste fractions. The increase in the hazardous waste is mainly due to increases in the waste fractions ‘medical waste’ and ‘other chemical waste’ . However the total numbers are results of large variations at site level, so for a more thorough understanding of the changes in waste data, see the interactive charts. The recycling percentage has decreased by 1%. This is explained by the fact that there have been large quantities of ethanol which have had to be sent to special treatment.
In 2004, emissions to air generally increased. The emission of organic solvents decreased by 16% and the emission of ozone-depleting materials increased by 12%. For energy related emissions large increases on all three factors have occurred; CO2 with 65%, SO2 with 82% and NOx with 55%. These large increases are due to three factors. First, the small increase in the energy consumption affects the level of emissions. Secondly, the emission factors for electricity production in Denmark (2003 factors), on which Novo Nordisk bases its calculations for the Danish part of the production, has increased. For CO2 this figure went up from 525 grams per kWh to 618 grams per kWh for Eastern Denmark production. Thirdly, in 2004 Novo Nordisk did not buy any ‘Bra miljöval’ electricity with zero emissions for the production site in Kalundborg, and emissions were therefore calculated for full electricity consumption.
The increases in emissions to air and water also affected the calculated Environmental Impact Potentials, which have all increased: by 65% for global warming, ozone layer depletion 40%, acidification by 67% and eutrophication by 13%.
The number of complaints increased to 13 from 11 in 2003. 4 of them relate to the building activities in Chartres and concern nuisance from employees’ cars parked outside the factory’s own parking lot. The remaining complaints are mostly related to noise from activities at the sites.
Social key performance data
By the end of 2004 Novo Nordisk employed 20,725 persons – an increase of 8% compared with 2003. This reflects increased activities in all areas of the company. The ratio between men and women has changed slightly; at the end of 2004, 50.9% of the employees were men, as compared with 50.6% at the end of 2003.
The rate of absence is at level with 2003 performance; 3.2 as compared to 3.1 in 2003. The staff turnover increased to 7.3 from 7.1. Unfortunately both the frequency of occupational injuries and illnesses has increased, from 5.4 to 5.6 and from 1.1 to 1.3, respectively. There is a continued high focus on ensuring high health and safety for the employees in Novo Nordisk. In August 2004, Novo Nordisk announced that at the Kalundborg site where a new insulin factory is under construction, there had not been a single notifiable work accident since construction began in 2003; all in all 400 days with no work accidents
In 2004, the annual spending for training, measured as average spend per employee, increased by 20%. The money spend per employee does not fully reflect training in Novo Nordisk, since on-the-job-training, internal seminars and other activities are not included here.
Other key performance data
Both environmental costs and investments have increased in 2004 compared to 2003. The increase in the environmental costs is mainly due to an increase in the handling of waste and the fact that there are more employees working with improvements for the environment in the environmental departments in corporate headquarters and abroad.
All data can be viewed in the interactive charts for the company in total and specified per production site. Also, for some data types, more detailed data are available in the articies.
