26 Our People and Partners
Our People and Partners Managing and encouraging people and protecting the health and safety of our employees and contractors is critical to meeting our business and sustainability goals. People who are passionate about our work and committed to creating a sustainable society make significant contributions to the success of our business. We are a leading employer in the industry, with a global staff of more than 13,000, including more than 90 nationalities: we reflect the societies and cultures in which we operate by providing opportunities for people of all backgrounds, gender and location. We believe that diversity and inclusivity add strength and balance to our workforce and we look to contribute to full and engaged employment and decent work for all. Part of our commitment to decent work is our insistence on fair compensation, labour rights and good labour/management relations as well as continuous development of the skills of our talented workforce. We are opposed to all forms of forced labour and exploitation of children. Finally, health and safety are critical elements of our work as we strive to get ‘Everyone Home Safe, Everyday.’
Promoting diversity and managing talent under fair conditions
Diversity is critical to helping us manage our complex operating environment and serving our customers in the best possible way. Equal opportunity is necessary to cultivate leaders with legitimacy and to make better business decisions. Managing talent allows us to attract and keep the best and the brightest. We embrace diversity throughout our organisation and are fully committed to increasing inclusiveness. We produce analytics to assess and review the numbers of our balanced workforce (in particular relating to gender and nationality) and we track progress in this regard, including the percentage of women and high growth market nationalities in leadership positions. Our Diversity Position Statement outlines our commitment to ensuring a representative workforce that reflects the diverse communities in which we operate.
Givaudan – Our Sustainability Approach
One way we promote this is through our approach to a better balance: a good mix of nationalities and gender reinforces our inclusive culture and is essential to achieving our business goals. Evolving the balance of nationalities and genders in our management teams over time will lead to steady, sustainable change, not quick or superficial fixes. We are committed to providing and contributing to a work environment that is based on mutual respect among people and is free from harassment. Leadership path open to all The path to leadership is open to all motivated, talented and qualified people and we are committed to equal opportunity. Our Principles of Conduct state that it is our policy to recruit, employ and promote people on the sole basis of the qualifications and abilities needed for the work to be performed without regard to race, age, gender, national origin or any other non-relevant category. While we believe it is fundamentally right to do so, it also makes sound business sense. Highly qualified candidates may be more likely to consider working for a company if they believe opportunities for economic growth will be available to them as they demonstrate their value, regardless of their gender or nationality. Companies who compensate men and women and people from all backgrounds equally will have access to a larger talent pool when recruiting and hiring, and are more likely to retain these highly talented people.
