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Veidekke’s commitment to social responsibility is rooted in its basic values of being professional, honest, enthusiastic and ground-breaking. Veidekke focuses on people as users of its buildings and structures, and its goal and driving force in every process is the creation of value through partnership.
To render visible its corporate social responsibility, a company must be able to create profitability and, as a minimum, comply with laws and regulations. The company must also have the best possible relationship with its employees and managers, hold basic values which are lived up to and which mean something to its employees, and be on the best of terms with its customers, suppliers and partners.
Corporate social responsibility also means that Veidekke must be aware of its duty towards its stakeholders, and make sure that its actions contribute towards socially responsible business operations. Under its motto: “Creating value through partner-ship”, Veidekke will work continuously to achieve its ambition of improving cooperation both internally and externally. Consider-ation for social responsibility is incorporated in general guidelines and in the entities’ management systems under specific headings such as ethics, stopping undeclared work, HSE and the external environment.
Ethical and social matters
Great emphasis is placed on ethical matters in line with Veidekke’s basic values. Ethical guidelines have been drawn up and are implemented throughout the organisation with the help of discussions and dilemma training in the company’s different fora. In 2009, a web-based program was completed for dilemma training, which enables individual employees or groups to explore problems relevant to the company. Through our internet portal Veidekkehuset.no/se/dk employees can train on relevant issues individually or in groups. Veidekke also has a program which provides employees with training in compliance with competition laws.
An important part of the company’s ethical foundation is to ensure the best possible working conditions throughout the organisation. Veidekke has developed rules and measures to prevent the use of illegal labour in its own workplaces. To this end, registration is carried out at project level. Among other measures, an identity card system granting access to projects has been established.
Veidekke has committed itself to safeguarding its employees’ professional and social rights wherever it has operations. The international framework agreement between the Norwegian United Federation of Trade Unions, the Norwegian Union of General Workers and the International Federation of Building and Wood Workers is based on the rights laid down in the UN Declaration on Human Rights, the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.
Diversity
The community around us is changing, and it is important that Veidekke as an organisation adapts itself accordingly. If we are to maintain our competitiveness over time, the organisation must, as far as possible, reflect wider society in terms of age, gender, cultural background, religion or disability.
Our main challenge is to increase the proportion of women and people of minority backgrounds among our employees, especially among our craftsmen, engineers and civil engineers. In the first instance, we wish to influence women and students of minority backgrounds to choose studies that our type of business and industry needs, to significantly increase the proportion of potential candidates from today’s level.
Through our own "School on Site" Veidekke has provided educational offers for years in trades courses to candidates who have previously dropped out of public school. A majority of these students have a minority background. "School on Site" is an important contribution to meeting the demand for skilled workers in the industry.
Veidekke has initiated measures to extend leaves of absence with pay for older workers to pave the way for an active working life until retirement. This helps to retain necessary competence in the organisation, and to reduce the number of disability and people on early retirement pensions.