GSK Romania: Valuing your Trust

"Valuing your Trust" is the title of the first local CSR report of GSK Romania, a report which conforms to Application Level B of the GRI framework, and which was launched this week at a well-attended press conference in Bucharest. At a time when trust in business is often thought of as an oxymoron, GSK Romania has gone public with a very clear statement on what it means to be a business which is worthy of trust. Pascal Prigent, General Manager of GSK Pharma in Romania, explained in his opening remarks to the press: " In order to survive, businesses today need to work in collaboration and partnership, and strive to create shared value, so that they can deliver economic and social benefits simultaneously. Trust is an essential ingredient of survival."

If transparency is a demonstration of trust, then GSK shows leadership as the first local pharma company to publish a CSR Report and also the first Romanian company to become an organizational stakeholder of the GRI. This is highly significant in a market in which  very few companies have ventured to report on Sustainability: the GRI Sustainability Disclosure Database shows only 6 companies that have reported using the GRI Framework (5 at Level C and one at Level B), while CorporateRegister.com shows thirty reports published in Romania by just seven companies between 2006 and today.

 

In this first report (Disclosure: I was GSK Romania's reporting consultant and assisted in writing the report) which is available for download in English and Romanian here, GSK Romania explains the ways in which this significant local pharma player is building and sustaining trust with local stakeholders, including regulators, customers, patient advocacy groups, community associations and of course, employees.

GSK in Romania is comprised of four different entities a Pharma company, a Consumer Healthcare Company, a Distribution business (Europharm) and a Manufacturing Operation which exports to over 80 countries. In Pharma, GSK Romania  delivers innovative medicines and vaccines in 13 therapeutical areas, with over 2,000 vaccines per day being administered, and distribution of products to over 6,000 Points of Sale throughout the country. The entire GSK operation in Romania employs just over 1,000 people and is the most diversified pharmaceutical business in the country, and the only pharma company to manufacture innovative drugs locally. GSK Romania aligns with GSK's global mission  to improve the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer, while making this specifically relevant to Romanian stakeholders by adding the objective to contribute to increasing the life expectancy of the Romanian people which is currently the lowest in Europe, and to support the transformation of the healthcare sector in Romania which suffers from a weak political leadership, under-budgeting and many problems which restrict access to medicine. GSK Romania is a major contributor to the state budget, with EURO 75 million paid in taxes during the last 2 years.

Some highlights of the GSK Romania CSR performance over 2011:

• EURO 719,940 invested in the community in Romania.
• EURO 29,000 provided to support  11 Patient Associations.
• Over 3,000 hours in employee training.
• Developing Romanian professional talent: six GSK Romanians are working in management GSK roles abroad.
• 40% reduction in carbon emissions per ton of product delivered.
• 23% reduction in manufacturing waste.
• Absolute energy consumption reduction of 7.5% in manufacturing, despite 9% increase in output during the same period.
• Zero lost-time injuries recorded.
• Gender balance with 61% female employees, 62% women in management and 50% women in executive leadership positions.
• 68% of employees engaged in volunteering in the community with over 6,000 volunteer hours.
• Main community partners: Save the Children Romania, United Way, Save the Delta and Danube Association, Habitat for Humanity, and Hospice Casa Sperantei. One example of an inspiring community partnership is with Save the Children in a five year plan to reduce child mortality in Romania with a new programme called “Every Child Matters”. Over 600 children and 400 pregnant women were supported by this programme in 2011, in 16 rural areas of Romania.

It is always a pleasure to work with an organization that oozes passion and commitment to a more sustainable future, and my experience with GSK in Romania is of a company built of individuals who live the value of trust and are working hard to improve perceptions about the pharma industry by putting patients first and creating new standards of ethical behavior in the sector in Romania.

Take a look at GSK's report, and as always, please give feedback :)
 

 

For interest, a small selection of links to press coverage (in Romanian):

• Finantistii: GSK a lansat primul raport de sustenabilitate al unei companii farmaceutice din Romania
• Cariere: În 2011, GSK România a investit 719.940 de euro în comunitate
• Media Academica: GSK România a prezentat primul raport de responsabilitate socială din industria farma
• CommunicateMedicale: Primul Raport de Responsabilitate Corporativa al unei companii farmaceutice in Romania
• Green Report: GSK, primul raport de CSR din industria farma autohtona
• SfatulMedicului: GSK publica primul raport de sustenabilitate al unei companii farmaceutice din Romania
• CSRMedia: GlaxoSmithKline a realizat primul sau Raport de Responsabilitate Corporativa 
• Manager.ro: GSK publica primul raport de sustenabilitate al unei companii farmaceutice din Romania

elaine cohen, CSR consultant, winning (CRRA'12) Sustainability Reporter, HR Professional, Ice Cream Addict. Author of CSR for HR: A necessary partnership for advancing responsible business practices Contact me via www.twitter.com/elainecohen   on Twitter or via my business website www.b-yond.biz  (Beyond Business Ltd, an inspired CSR consulting and Sustainability Reporting firm)