Management Processes

AkzoNobel’s sustainability strategy is integrated into the overall business strategy and processes. From 2009, the combined financial and sustainability KPI dashboard will be monitored quarterly by the Executive Committee.

We retain a Sustainability Council to monitor the integration process and advise the Executive Committee on strategy developments.  The Council includes representatives from the Executive Committee, business unit Managing Directors and corporate staff. The Corporate Director of Sustainability reports directly to the CEO.

Each business unit Managing Director defines their own non-financial targets and has appointed a Focal Point to support the embedding of sustainability throughout their business. They bring together an appropriate team to develop and implement the sustainability agenda in their own business environment. Focal Points have regular meetings to exchange best practices and identify opportunities for further development.

Key sustainability issues are included in the corporate and business unit planning processes, risk management and compliance processes, the non-financial Letter of Representation and in the corporate audit process. Each element of the value chain has identified focus areas for sustainability, with targets where appropriate.

These include personal targets, product development processes, the vendor policy, Health, Safety, Environment and Security performance monitoring and reporting, Code of Conduct training and a global complaints procedure. In 2008, our systems to manage sustainability were reviewed by an external auditor in order to attain the highest possible level of assurance.