Social Responsibility

»Corporate social responsibility is continual company’s commitment to ethical behaviour, economic development, improving the quality of life of employees, their families, the local community, and society in general.« (Source: World Business Council for Sustainable Development, web site  www.wbcsd.ch)

The Lisbon strategy applied by the European Union to define economic competitiveness and dynamics, calls also for increased social security and concern for the environment. These requirements can be complied with by the companies only if the social responsibility concept has been integrated into the company’s business strategy.

The Gorenje Group is aware of the responsibility for its activities, which have an impact on people as well as on closer and wider surroundings, including the natural environment, therefore its approach to the social responsibility is a planned and responsible one.

• a fair and equal consideration of employees,
• ethical and fair business operations,
• respect for basic human rights,
• a positive attitude to closer and wider community and responsible environmental management,

serve as the basis for defining key social responsibility areas of the Group, which are reflected in the Group’s vision, mission and values.

EDUCATION AND HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT

• Education and training have been based on a concept of a leaning company.
• The activities have been focused on the awareness of the complete company management and systematic work in the area of creativity, encouragement and remuneration of innovative individuals and groups.
• In the parent company 4,541 employees of 86 % of all received training.
• Traditional training forms as results of our own knowledge: school of successful management for masters, Gorenje Management Academy for your forward-looking colleagues and team-building training.
• A possibility of further training to obtain a higher degree of formal education (332 students included in off-the-job training, to obtain a higher degree in technical professions, mostly in mechanical engineering, electro-techniques and economy).
• Care for constant flow of human resources with appropriate scholarship policy, mainly for occupations in shortage. At secondary-school level 41 students, 113 at graduate level and 4 students at post-graduate level. Three scholarships were granted for technical studies in Serbia.
• The assessment process in the assessment, development and promotion of an individual enables collection of objective data on intellectual and personal characteristics and on assistance in recruiting. The annual assessment method is used for the selection of appropriate colleagues for a new or vacant job and taking decisions on promotion.
• A survey has been conducted in order to establish professional desires and wills of forward-looking employees; it presents their satisfaction, motivation, innovativeness and effectiveness. The results show the harmonisation of professional wills and objectives of the colleagues with the objectives of the company

CARE FOR IMPROVEMENT AND MAINTENANCE OF THE EMPLOYEES' HEALTH

• The activities have been focused on preventive measures, solving of topical problems and encouragement of healthy life style.
• The working conditions in production have been improved by the introduction of the project of ergonomic arrangement of work places.
  An emphasis has been placed on health education and preventive measures: workshops Cook healthy, where the employees actively participated with proposals of healthy recipes and have been prepared with the help of a cook master and expert in nutrition and eaten in the kitchen of the show room.
• Informal socialising encourages good climate and co-operation; a great sports-social event “Gorenjada” was organised for this purpose also for family members.
• Gorenje, d.d., has acquired the OHSAS 1801 certificate for a system of safe and healthy work.

ASSURANCE OF PRODUCT QUALITY

• Product safety has been based on the results and findings collected in international and regional standards. The requirements of standards have been considered in the early stages of each product, in the development, defining of requirements to suppliers, checking safety parameters in production and after the completion of production.
• Safety parameters have been tested in own and top foreign independent accredited laboratories.
• The experts have been actively included in the work of international, regional and national standardisation technical committees.
• The state-of-the-art knowledge and considerations relating to the procedures of new standard preparation from the field of safety of electrical household and similar appliances, gas devices and electromagnetic compatibility have been introduced into development of the existing and new products.
   

ASSURANCE OF ENVIRONMENTALLY FREINDLY PRODUCTS

• Gorenje is a member of the European Committee of Domestic Equipment Manufacturers (CECED) through which it is a partner and a discussion partner of the European Commission in the preparation of legislation. The mission of the committee is to improve technical characteristics along with a reduction in environmental influence and representation of the members’ interests.
• Numerous studies (i.e. relevant studies on consumption of stand-by household appliances) have been conducted in scope of the Eco design directive.
• A target group (Task Force Energy Label) representing the centre of activity has been appointed within CECED in order to revise the framework directive on energy labels Task Force Energy Label. The new label shall enable transition without degradation of the existing energy-saving appliances; the introduction shall not cause any lack of clarity and confusion and shall stimulate producers to develop even better energy efficiency of appliances.
   

FULFILMENT OF GUARANTEE AND SERVICE OBLIGATIONS

• One of the fundamental strategic objectives and the basic mission of Gorenje is provision of satisfaction to a product user during its useful life.
• Repair services are guarantees to product users during the time of legal obligations. The guarantee conditions and service obligations exceed the minimum requirements, repair services outside the legal period is also possible.
• Repair services of products in use and provision of spare parts in the market belongs to the management of quality and service assurance process.
• The quality of products in use and quality of services per sales market is systematically monitored and up-graded on the basis of the results. 

HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES DIVISION

• The requirements of the Regulation on registration, evaluation, authorisation of chemicals legislation (REACH) that were put into force on 1 June 2008 were met in the parent company. With respect to the requirements of the regulation Gorenje is further use since it purchases chemicals in the EU market.  In order to ensure compatibility by the regulation the Company has limited its purchases from suppliers of registered substances and materials/components that do not contain any SVHC substances (Substances of Very High Concern).
• On 29 August 2008 the environmental agency of the Republic of Slovenia issued to Gorenje d.d. an environmental permit for the operation of the device that may cause large-scale environmental pollution, for the operation of the device  for surface treatment of metals with the use electrolytic or chemical substances with a total volume (without rinsing) of 215.4 m3. The environmental permit defines the measures and requirements for the prevention and reduction in emissions, for waste management and for efficient energy use,  permitted maximum limits of emissions, obligations of an operator relating to monitoring performance and reporting and operating conditions that the operator shall fulfil due to the insurance of environmental protection.
• A regular audit of environmental management system was conducted in the company Gorenje I.P.C. in accordance with the requirements of ISO 14001 and the EMAS regulation. As the second company in Slovenia the Company has been entered in the EMAS register.
• In the plant in Valjevo, Serbia the majority of activities was related to the harmonisation of the operation with the new legislative requirements. An activity program  for obtaining the integral of the environmental permit was confirmed in the republic of Serbia last year.
• The upgrade of old ecological burdening continued in the factory Mora Moravia in the Czech Republic; it started in the year 2002 and the its total costs amounting to EUR 6.1 million shall be paid by the Czech state. Numerous measures decreased the quantities of produced hazardous and deposited waste and water consumption. The new waste water treatment plant achieves a high level of waste water purification and the result is exemption from payment of the environmental tax.
  

HOME INTERIOR DIVISION

• Changes in the legislative requirements relating to all environmental segments being introduced per production programme have been monitored in Home Interior Division of Gorenje. Another integral IPPC environmental permit has been obtained for the kitchen programme and the ceramics programme got it a year ago.
• The solution of problems of emission of volatile organic substances that has to be found for the kitchen programme depends on the development of distempers and varnishes in the European / world market. There have been no appropriate materials in the market and therefore the Ministry has prolonged the deadline for the implementation of the plan of reducing HOS emissions until the year 2010.
• The quantities of some hazardous waste were successfully reduced in the bathroom programme and in accordance with the plan the emissions of volatile organic substances decreased.
  

THE ECOLOGY, ENERGY AND SERVICES DIVISION

• 185 companies that trusted the company ZEOS to meet the obligations of collecting and managing waste electrical and electronic equipment on their behalf completely fulfilled the obligation. Through a network of joint ZEOS scheme 30 % more electrical and electronic equipment were collected and processes than in the year 2007.
• The efficiency of the joint ZEOS scheme was recognised in the former Yugoslav countries and thus the company was invited to co-operate in drawing up the legislation and implementation of the waste electrical and electronic equipment management system.
• The Kemis Group has co-operated in the continuation of rehabilitation of the Goudron-like cave in Pesnica that belongs to the largest projects in Slovenia.  A building permit has already been obtained and the construction of a recycling centre in Vrhnika has started. In Croatia a plot of 27,000 m² has been purchased on the location Jastrebarsko in order to carry out all the activities on one location.
• An audit of the environmental management system based on ISO 14001 was conducted in the company Kemis-Termoclean in Croatia. The  relevant environmental aspects have been reviewed in the parent company, a review of risk assessment has been prepared in form of documentation and operation has been brought closer to the requirements of standards ISO 14001 and ISO 18001. The target of the year 2009 is compatibility of operation with the standards mentioned.

Various activities for the creation of better working conditions and life of the employees and their families and especially the operation of different institutions and societies were mostly supported in the local environment.

• in the field of culture: Borštnik Meeting in the Slovene National Theatre Maribor, the event ‘Traditional days of comedy’ hosted by the Slovene People’s Theatre Celje, the 2008 Lirikonfest gathering of Slovene writers in Velenje, the Biennial of industrial design BIO 21, and the publication of the book ‘Miti in legende iz Gorenja’.
• in the area of education: assets for schools where Gorenje has its plants, the programme of ‘best secondary school graduates’, donations to technical schools in Stara Pazova and Valjevo in form of school desks, Gorenje’s first discussion tournament for secondary schools held within the institutes ‘Za in proti’ and ‘Debatni klub Velenje’, as well as ‘Zavod Šport&mediji’ including a series of events e.g. ‘Delujmo ozaveščeno za šolajočo mladino v Šaleški dolini’.
• contributions in the area of health, humanitarian and environmental activities: providing a vehicle for transportation of members of the Association of paraplegics of South-East Styria, conducting humanitarian auctions in co-operation with the association Europa Donna; event ‘Prihranimo do 30 % energije s pranjem pri 30 ºC’ held in Ljubljana and Maribor in co-operation with Ariel and the support of the Jožef Stefan Institute, the Energy Efficiency Centre, and Slovenia’s Bicycle Association.
• In the field of sports Gorenje is a general sponsor of the Nordic team of Skiing Association of Slovenia, general sponsor of the handball club Gorenje Velenje, it co-financed the organisation of the FIS cup in ski jumps in Velenje, co-financed the organisation of the international table tennis tournament in Velenje that belongs to the world cup; contributed funds to amateur societies and activities whose objective was direction of the young in sports activities as contribution to healthy and useful free time spending.
• Gorenje has supported the activities of the Gorenje Pension Club that joins former employees in order to encourage the quality of live and acting.
• It has supported the Sports club where a whole range of organised recreational activities is available free of charge and the Culture club that organised events in the field of art and culture.
  

At the end of the year some planed activities were limited due to the financial crisis and in the year 2009 the funds for sponsorship and donations will be limited to the contractual obligations previously adopted or to the fulfilment of long-term contracts.