Partnerships
Partnerships are fundamental to the way in which Novo Nordisk runs its business. They help to build trust among our key stakeholders and to reach a better understanding of a variety of important issues. Partnerships also pave the way for more successful solutions to problems, concerns and challenges. Two examples of global challenges that Novo Nordisk is actively addressing together with key partners are the epidemic growth of type 2 diabetes and climate change.
Objectives of partnerships
Novo Nordisk’s main objectives in seeking partnerships are to:
- Earn respect as a partner that can work openly with other sectors of society.
- Be more attractive as an employer.
- Pursue business interests while balancing concerns for the society and local communities of which the company is a part.
- Make better business decisions.
- Develop successful solutions to problems.
What makes successful partnerships?
In our experience, the success of a partnership comes down to the following ingredients:
- Collaboration rather than confrontation; a two-way learning process
- Willingness from both sides to take risks and to compromise
- Willingness to make the time and commitment
- Willingness to share responsibilities
- Clear definition of rules and expectations
- Identification of mutual goals
- Agree to disagree when necessary
- Concrete actions, not just talk
- Ongoing discussions, not one-off
- Recognition of what each party has to contribute
- A commitment to change
- Trust built over time
- Mutual accountability
Examples of partnerships for Novo Nordisk
There are many types of partnership in which Novo Nordisk engages:
- Meetings with communities where production sites are located to reduce environmental impacts.
- Evaluating suppliers’ social and environmental performance.
- Meetings between Novo Nordisk employees and people with diabetes or other healthcare needs that we serve.
- Partnerships with NGOs, for example on animal welfare or environmental issues such as global warming.
- Membership of business organisations, including organisations that promote sustainable development.
- Participation in public debate on issues such as human embryonic stem cell research.
- Lobbying with other interested parties to place diabetes higher on the public agenda, for example the Unite for Diabetes campaign.
- Working with local or national authorities to try to build national healthcare capacity, for example Novo Nordisk’s Changing Diabetes Leadership Forums..
- Funding international research partnerships such as the partnership with Oxford University and the UK National Health Service that is behind the Oxford Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism (OCDEM).
- Employees’ involvement with schools and other institutions in raising public awareness and funds for diabetes on World Diabetes Day.
The partnerships take many forms, including:
- Face-to-face meetings
- Participation in committees or round-table discussions
- Membership of organisations
- Ongoing dialogue and collaborations
Benefits of partnerships
Novo Nordisk benefits through partnerships by:
- Exploiting opportunities and sharing risks and opportunities towards common goals
- Staying tuned to stakeholders’ concerns
- Improving understanding of difficult issues for all parties
- Aligning with multiple agendas
- Identifying and prioritising issues
- Managing business risks and opportunities
We believe that society benefits from these partnerships in the following ways:
- Awareness of and solutions to diabetes care
- More sustainable solutions to specific problems
- Contribution to global sustainable development
- Innovative products and services
- New but useful partnerships among groups or individuals that may not have worked together before
Partnerships are likely to become even more important in the future since so many of the challenges facing society are broad and complex, requiring many different stakeholders to become engaged. The complexity and breadth of the diabetes pandemic is just one example.
See also a list of memberships.
