Novo Nordisk receives praise in Newsweek Japan
Novo Nordisk recently came in on a handsome third place in a survey of 500 leading companies in the world. The survey named ‘Global 500’ has been carried out for three years in a row and was commissioned by Newsweek Japan that has a circulation of more than 80,000.
Mitsui-san and Eda-san, both from People & Business Support in Japan, holding the recent Newsweek Japan.
Companies were evaluated on financial strength in terms of earnings, growth and safety, as well as corporate social responsibility in terms of corporate governance, employees, society and environment. Novo Nordisk’s high scores in each of these categories lifted the company to the third place on the list just behind the winner AstraZeneca and Statoil. Last year Novo Nordisk was ranked number five.
In the story related to the survey, Newsweek Japan reported among other things that the management of Novo Nordisk appears to have a very strong focus on corporate social responsibility. For example it was mentioned that Novo Nordisk has adopted a strict policy based on the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights that has been applied to all of its corporate activities.
This policy emphasises the importance of diversity and helps eliminate discrimination among employees. In this context the magazine notes that currently, among 22,000 of Novo Nordisk’s employees in 79 countries, female employees account for about 50%, and those of them in the management position or who are senior researchers are 30%.
Novo Nordisk’s efforts to recruit diverse human resources, especially when it comes to minorities, were also mentioned in the article. For example readers learned that Novo Nordisk in the US puts recruiting ads on the 'i Minorities' website and that 7% of new hires in Denmark are immigrants and/or refugees.
According to Claus Eilersen, president and representative director of Novo Nordisk’s Japanese affiliate, the ranking in the very top of Newsweek's survey catches significant attention among Novo Nordisk’s Japanese customers and other stakeholders.
“It offers a great opportunity to explain more about Novo Nordisk and what we stand for, especially in relation to corporate social responsibility which is subject to fast growing focus in Japan's business community and general public," he says.
