Recommendations and Novo Nordisk's response
As part of the assurance process and according to the AA1000AS, PricewaterhouseCoopers are required to include recommendations for improvement in relation to Novo Nordisk’s non-financial performance. The reporting of the recommendations is done in a Commentary. The Commentary can be read here.
Assurance process 2007
In 2007, PricewaterhouseCoopers did not report recommendations to the Board of Directors or the Executive Management.
Assurance process 2006
In 2006, PricewaterhouseCoopers reported three recommendations to the Executive Management.
The recommendations, Novo Nordisk’s response and the conclusions are reported below. The information is the same as reported on page 89 in Novo Nordisk’s Annual Report 2007.
2006 recommendations
Recommendation 1
The Eco Intensity Ratios (EIR) for water and energy in the Diabetes area have been developed to measure the eco-efficiency of Novo Nordisk’s production by measuring annual energy and water consumption against annual production. We recommend that Novo Nordisk revises the calculation method for the EIR for water and energy in the Diabetes area in 2007 to ensure that the indicator covers all the steps of the production process.
Novo Nordisk’s response
The EIR concept and the long-term targets will be evaluated – and revised if necessary – in the beginning of 2007 on the basis of the 2006 process. The first year was considered as a test period for the new EIR concept. Our assurance provider will be invited to review the EIR calculation method no later than mid March 2007.
Conclusion
The EIR methodology was reviewed in 2007. Novo Nordisk has not found a solution to how to cover all steps of the production process. There was therefore no change in the EIR methodology in 2007 and there will be no change in the 2008 calculations. The 2007 review will continue into 2008 and Novo Nordisk expects to either have a revised EIR methodology or a new indicator for reporting in 2009.
Recommendation 2
In view of Novo Nordisk’s commitment and overall efforts to promote internationalisation and integration in lines of business of Triple Bottom Line issues as well as the continuously evolving sustainability agenda, we recommend Novo Nordisk to consider whether the existing governance structures, including committee memberships and mandates, are fully aligned to support these commitments and efforts.
Novo Nordisk’s response
Triple Bottom Line issues continue to evolve and faster than ever. In Novo Nordisk, the responsibility for managing issues is allocated to a committee, and all current issues are anchored with a committee. However, Novo Nordisk will review the governance structure for Triple Bottom Line issues to ensure alignment between committees, target-setting and reporting.
Conclusion
The review of the governance structure showed that all issues are dealt with by the existing committees.
Recommendation 3
We recommend Novo Nordisk to continue its work on developing longerterm targets for its non-financial performance with a view to drive performance by targets and objectives aligned with vision and strategy as well as to identify and report performance targets in key areas such as business ethics, internationalisation, and customer care and product quality.
Novo Nordisk’s response
As part of the review of the internal governance structure for Triple Bottom Line issues, special focus will be placed on identifying indicators to measure the performance and impact of the activities, and on setting targets wherever possible. This will rely on the ability to define meaningful and relevant indicators.
Conclusion
A non-financial indicators and targets table has been introduced as part of the reporting.
This page has been reviewed by PricewaterhouseCoopers as part of its assurance of Novo Nordisk’s non-financial reporting. Please refer to Audit and assurance for a full description of the conclusions and the nature of assurance offered.
