2022 Communication on Progress

Hempel A/S

Published date

June 10, 2022

No. of questions

62

CEO Statement

Signed

  • Governance

    Policies and Responsibilities

    1. Does the Board / highest governance body or most senior executive of the company:

    Optional comment
    Please see our Annual Report 2021 (https://www.hempel.com/news/2022/annual-report-2021) pages: 10-11, 37-38, 47

    2. Does the company have a publicly stated commitment regarding the following sustainability topics?

    No, this is not a current priority

    No, but we plan to have a commitment within 2 years

    Yes, and the commitment is focused on our own operations

    Yes, and the commitment includes our own operations and the value chain

    Yes, and the commitment includes our own operations and the value chain along with communities and society

    Human Rights

    Labour Rights / Decent Work

    Environment

    Anti-Corruption

    Optional comment
    Please see our Annual Report 2021 (https://www.hempel.com/news/2022/annual-report-2021) pages 4, 37-49. Also, FAFPI - Hempel is the Founder: http://www.fafpi.org/

    3. Does the company have in place a code of conduct regarding each of the following sustainability topics?

    No, this is not a current priority

    No, but we plan to have a code of conduct within two years

    Yes, focused on employee conduct

    Yes, focused on employees and suppliers

    Yes, focused on employees, suppliers, and other business relationships

    Human Rights

    Labour Rights / Decent Work

    Environment

    Anti-Corruption

    Optional comment
    Yes, we have a formal code of conduct in place for each of the topics listed above.

    4. Has the company appointed an individual or group responsible for each of the following sustainability topics?

    No one is specifically responsible for this topic

    Yes, with limited influence on outcomes (e.g., limited access to internal information, limited decision-making authority)

    Yes, with moderate influence on outcomes (e.g., has access to relevant information, reports to senior manager)

    Yes, with direct influence of some outcomes (e.g., has access to relevant information, includes one or more senior manager with decision making rights

    Yes, with direct influence at the highest levels of the organization (e.g., has access to relevant information, includes most senior members of organization)

    Human Rights

    Labour Rights / Decent Work

    Environment

    Anti-Corruption

    5. Does the company have a formal structure(s) (such as a cross-functional committee) to address each of the following sustainability topics?

    No formal structure

    Yes, and with limited influence on outcomes (e.g., limited access to internal information necessary to understand risks, poor representation from relevant departments or functions)

    Yes, with moderate influence on outcomes (e.g., it includes representatives of some functions, departments, or business units most relevant for addressing the risks concerned, has access to relevant information, reports to senior manager)

    Yes, with direct influence on some outcomes (e.g., it includes representatives of functions, departments, or business units most relevant for addressing the risks concerned, has access to relevant information, it involves one or more members of senior management)

    Yes, and with direct influence at the highest level of the organization (e.g., full access to relevant information, it involves members at highest level of organization)

    Human Rights

    Labour Rights / Decent Work

    Environment

    Anti-Corruption

    Prevention

    6. Does the company have a process or processes to assess risk?

    No, this is not a current priority

    No, but we are planning to develop one in the next two years

    Yes, related to our own operations

    Yes, related to our own operations and entire value chain and other business relationships

    Human rights risks

    Labour rights risks

    Environmental risks

    Corruption risks

    6.1. During the assessment of risk, which business relationships are reviewed?

    A few suppliers or business relationships [approximately less than 25 %]

    Several suppliers / business relationships (i.e., first tier or other high priority) [approx. 25 - 50 %]

    Most suppliers / relevant business relationships [approx. 51 - 99 %]

    All suppliers / relevant business relationships outside the supply chain

    Human rights risks

    Labour rights risks

    Environmental risks

    Corruption risks

    7. Does the company have a due diligence process through which it identifies, prevents, mitigates, and accounts for actual and potential negative impacts on sustainability topics?

    No, this is not a current priority

    No, but we are planning to develop one in the next two years

    Yes, related to our own operations

    Yes, related to our own operations and entire value chain and other business relationships

    Human rights risks

    Labour rights risks

    Environmental risks

    Corruption risks

    Concerns and grievance mechanisms

    8. Are there any processes through which members of the company’s workforce can raise concerns about the company’s conduct related to human rights, labour rights, environment, or anti-corruption?

    Optional comment
    To meet the EU Whistleblower Directive, we have a formal process in place in line with the requirements.

    8.1. Please provide additional detail regarding the process(es) the company has through which members of the company’s workforce can raise concerns about the company’s conduct.

    No

    Yes

    Is the process communicated to all employees/workers in local languages?

    Is the process available to non-employees (e.g., contractors, vendors, suppliers)?

    Is the process confidential (e.g., whistleblowing process)?

    Are there processes in place to avoid retaliation?

    Can concerns be raised about suppliers or other business relationships (e.g., clients, partners, etc.)

    Other (Please provide additional information)

    9. Does the company provide or enable access to effective remedy to right holders / stakeholders where it has caused or contributed to the adverse impact?

    No process to enable remedy to stakeholders

    Remedy available to some stakeholders (i.e., some geographies, employees only)

    Remedy is available to all affected stakeholders

    Remedy is available to all stakeholders, and suppliers are expected to have similar policies

    Human Rights

    Labour Rights / Decent Work

    Environment

    Anti-Corruption

    Lessons

    10. How does the company capture lessons regarding each of the following sustainability topics?

    No lessons are regularly captured

    Conducts root cause analyses/investigation of major incidents

    Conducts root cause analyses/investigation and changes organizational policies, processes, and practices accordingly

    Systematically conducts root cause analyses/investigation and leverages learnings to influence both internal and external affairs

    Human Rights

    Labour Rights / Decent Work

    Environment

    Anti-Corruption

    Executive Pay

    11. Is executive pay linked to performance on one or more of the following sustainability topics?

    No, and we have no intention to change

    No, but we plan to within two years

    Yes

    Human Rights

    Labour Rights / Decent Work

    Environment

    Anti-Corruption

    Board Composition

    12. Percentage of individuals within the company’s Board / highest governance body by:

    Number/Percentage

    Not applicable (Please provide additional information)

    Total number of board members (#)

    8

    Male (%)

    75

    Female (%)

    25

    Non-binary (%)

    0

    Under 30 years old (%)

    0

    30-50 years old (%)

    12.5

    Above 50 years old (%)

    87.5

    From minority or vulnerable groups (%)

    Not monitored or reported

    Executive (%)

    0

    Independent (%)

    75
    Optional comment
    Below 50 years old: Susanna Schneeberger (1973); Employee elected Board members: Mark Terrell Sutton and Helle Fiedler are considered dependent Board members.

    13. Do you produce sustainability reporting according to:

    Data Assurance

    14. Is the information disclosed in this questionnaire assured by a third-party?

    Plrease see Annual Report 2021 page

  • Human Rights

    Materiality / Saliency

    1. Which of the following has the company identified as material human rights issues connected with its operations and/or value chain, whether based on their salience (i.e., the most severe potential negative impacts on people) or another basis?

    Response

    8. Briefly describe practical actions the company has taken during the reporting period and/or plans to take to implement the human rights principles, including any challenges faced and actions taken towards prevention and/or remediation.

    Inclusion and diversity are key to how we evolve as a company. An inclusive, non-biased culture benefits all of us and serves for better decision-making, more innovation and better collaboration. We want colleagues to feel respected and be treated fairly, regardless of their background, preferences or where they are located. In 2021, we launched a number of initiatives to promote diversity, including Inclusive Leadership Training for our top 265 leaders to ensure a more diverse leadership style in Hempel. We also joined the Valuable 500, a business-to-business initiative that puts disability on the corporate agenda. In June, we celebrated WorldPride as part of our people sustainability initiatives. Gender equality remains a significant part of our inclusion and diversity agenda, and ensuring a balanced workforce is an important part of our strategy. Currently, 28 per cent of our employees are women, but only 23 per cent of management positions are held by women. This is an improvement from 2020, and will remain a focus area in the coming years. Promoting a strong safety culture continues to be a top priority and as such our Safety Excellence programme has also been extended to our Decorative stores across Europe. This increased safety awareness among our colleagues; however it also led to increased reporting of Lost Time Accidents (LTAs) from 1.61 per 1,000,000 working hours in 2020 to 1.72 per 1,000,000 working hours in 2021. Our Safety Excellence programme will continue to develop during 2022 focusing on initiatives such as incident sharing and learning, safety walks and eliminating unsafe conditions and acts while continuously working on enhancing our safety culture. We believe that any accident is one too many and we continue to move towards our target of zero accidents. We are committed to complying with health and safety regulation and our operations have been certified according to ISO 45001 since 2020.

  • Labour

    Commitment

    1. Does the company have a policy commitment in relation to the following labour rights principles?

    No, and we have no plans to develop a policy

    No, but we plan to in the next two years

    Yes, included within a broader policy

    Yes, articulated as a stand-alone policy

    Not applicable (Please provide additional information)

    Freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining

    Code of Conduct, Human Rights Policy

    Forced labour

    Code of Conduct, Human Rights Policy

    Child labour

    Code of Conduct, Human Rights Policy

    Non-discrimination in respect of employment and occupation

    Code of Conduct, Human Rights Policy

    Occupational safety and health

    Code of Conduct

    Working conditions (wages, working hours)

    Code of Conduct, Human Rights Policy

    1.1. For each labour rights policy, is it:

    Aligned with international labour standards?

    Publicly available?

    Approved at most senior level of the company?

    Applied to the company’s own operations?

    Applied to the company’s supply chain and/or other business relationships?

    Developed involving labour rights expertise from inside and outside the company?

    Other (Please provide additional information)

    Freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining

    Forced labour

    Child labour

    Non-discrimination in respect of employment and occupation

    Occupational safety and health

    Working conditions (wages, working hours)

    Prevention

    2. In the course of the reporting period, has the company engaged with affected stakeholders or their legitimate representatives in relation to the following labour rights issues?

    No engagement on this topic

    To better understand the risks/ impacts in question

    To discuss potential ways to prevent or mitigate the risks/ impacts in question

    To agree on a way to prevent/ mitigate the risks/ impacts in question

    To assess progress in preventing/ mitigating the risks /impacts in question

    To collaborate in the prevention/ mitigation of the risks/ impacts in question

    Other (Please provide additional information)

    Freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining

    Forced labour

    Child labour

    Non-discrimination in respect of employment and occupation

    Occupational safety and health

    Working conditions (wages, working hours)

    3. What type of action has the company taken in the reporting period with the aim of preventing/mitigating the risks/impacts associated with this labour rights issue?

    Provided internal training/ capacity building for the direct workforce

    Building capacity among relevant business relationships (e.g., partners, suppliers, clients, etc.)

    Conducting an audit process and/or corrective action plan

    Collective Action with peers or other stakeholders, in particular workers' organizations, to address the issue

    Collaboration with governmental or regulatory bodies

    Other (Please provide additional information)

    No action within reporting period

    Freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining

    Forced labour

    Child labour

    Non-discrimination in respect of employment and occupation

    Occupational safety and health

    Working conditions (wages, working hours)

    4. Who receives training for the following labour rights issues?

    No training provided

    Select employees

    All employees

    Contractors

    Direct suppliers of the organization

    Indirect suppliers of the organization

    Other – such as partners, clients, etc.

    Freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining

    Forced labour

    Child labour

    Non-discrimination in respect of employment and occupation

    Occupational safety and health

    Working conditions (wages, working hours)

    5. How does the company assess progress in preventing/mitigating the risks/impacts associated with the following labour rights issues?

    No monitoring of progress

    Review issues on ad-hoc basis

    Set annual targets/ goals, track progress over time (internal programs only)

    Set annual targets/ goals, track progress over time (internal and external programs)

    Other (Please provide additional information)

    Freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining

    Forced labour

    Child labour

    Non-discrimination in respect of employment and occupation

    Occupational safety and health

    Working conditions (wages, working hours)

    Performance

    6. What is the percentage of employees covered under collective bargaining agreements?

    Percent of employees (%)

    Unknown

    Employees covered under collective bargaining (%)

    30

    7. What is the percentage of employees in a trade union or other workers' organization?

    Percent of employees (%)

    Unknown

    Not applicable (Please provide additional information)

    Employees in a trade union or on a worker committee (%)

    30

    8. In the course of the reporting period, what was the percentage of women in:

    Percent of women (%)

    Unknown

    Senior leadership level position

    25

    Non-executive board

    25
    Optional comment
    Executive Group Management consists of two women out of the total of eight persons = 25% Board of Directors consists of two women out of the total of eight persons = 25%

    9. What was the average ratio of the basic salary and remuneration of women to men (comparing jobs of equal value) during the reporting period?

    Salary ratio (%)

    Unknown

    Choose to not disclose

    Women / Men (%)

    10. In the course of the reporting period, how frequently were workers injured (injuries per hour worked)?

    Frequency of injury

    Unknown

    Choose to not disclose

    Frequency of injury

    1.72
    Optional comment
    Lost time accident frequency (number/1,000,000 working hours). We use LTAs as a key measure of workplace safety. LTA frequency is calculated as the number of lost time accidents per one million working hours.

    11. In the course of the reporting period, what was the company’s incident rate?

    Incident rate

    Unknown

    Choose to not disclose

    Incident rate

    Optional comment
    19 accidents occured in 2021 with lost time as a consequence.

    Response and Reporting

    12. In the course of the reporting period, has the company been involved in providing or enabling remedy where it has caused or contributed to the adverse impact associated with the following labour rights issues?

    Yes

    No

    Choose to not disclose

    Not applicable (Please provide additional information)

    Freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining

    Forced labour

    Child labour

    Non-discrimination in respect of employment and occupation

    Occupational safety and health

    Working conditions (wages, working hours)

    13. Briefly describe practical actions the company has taken during the reporting period and/or plans to take to implement the labour rights principles, including any challenges faced and actions taken towards prevention and/or remediation.

    We launched Futureproof, our sustainability framework, in early 2021. Futureproof steers our actions and communicates our commitment. The launch of Futureproof has been well-received by our employees, customers, suppliers and other stakeholders. Futureproof includes a holistic set of goals that cut across our value chain and encompass both our environmental and social ambitions, outlining how we will turn these ambitions into actions. It covers the following pillars: Performance, Products, People and Partners. In 2021, our focus was primarily on generating measurable improvements in our Performance and People pillars, as these lay the foundation for future work. In order to prepare for the rapidly growing requirements from legislators, customers, financial institutions and other stakeholders, we plan to assess and improve our ESG performance and reporting in the coming years.

  • Environment

    Commitment

    1. Does the company have a formal policy on the following environmental topics?

    No, and we have no plans to develop a policy

    No, but we plan to in the next two years

    Yes, included within a broader policy

    Yes, articulated as a stand-alone policy

    Not applicable (Please provide additional information)

    Climate Action

    Science-based targets in 2022

    Water

    Oceans

    Forests / Biodiversity / Land Use

    Air Pollution

    Waste (e.g., chemical spills, solid waste, hazardous, plastic, etc.)

    Futureproof in 2021

    Energy & Resource Use

    Futureproof and Maturity Assessment Model implemented in our Operations in 2022.
    Optional comment
    Climate Action: Futureproof + Science-based targets

    1.1. For each environmental policy, is it:

    Aligned with international environmental standards?

    Publicly available?

    Approved at most senior level of the company?

    Applied to the company’s own operations?

    Applied to the company’s supply chain and/or other business relationships?

    Developed involving environmental expertise from inside and outside the company?

    Other (Please provide additional information)

    Climate Action

    Water

    Oceans

    Forests / Biodiversity / Land Use

    Air Pollution

    Waste (e.g., chemical spills, solid waste, hazardous, plastic, etc.)

    Energy & Resource Use

    Optional comment
    Please see our Annual Report 2021 here: https://www.hempel.com/news/2022/annual-report-2021

    Prevention

    2. In the course of the reporting period, has the company engaged with affected stakeholders or their legitimate representatives in relation to the following environmental issues?

    No engagement on this topic

    To better understand the risks/ impacts in question

    To discuss potential ways to prevent or mitigate the risks/ impacts in question

    To agree on a way to prevent/ mitigate the risks/ impacts in question

    To assess progress in preventing/ mitigating the risks/ impacts in question

    To collaborate in the prevention/ mitigation of the risks/ impacts in question

    Other (Please provide additional information)

    Climate Action

    Water

    Oceans

    Forests / Biodiversity / Land Use

    Air Pollution

    Waste (e.g., chemical spills, solid waste, hazardous, plastic, etc.)

    Energy & Resource Use

    3. What type of action has the company taken in the reporting period with the aim of preventing/mitigating the risks/impacts associated with these environmental topics?

    Provided internal training/ capacity building for the direct workforce

    Building capacity among relevant business relationships (e.g., partners, suppliers, clients, etc.)

    Conducting an audit process and/or corrective action plan

    Collective Action with peers or other stakeholders to address the issue

    Collaboration with governmental or regulatory bodies

    Other (Please provide additional information)

    No action within reporting period

    Climate Action

    Carbon trust as consultant for science-based targets

    Water

    We have conducted an independent evaluation of our water impacts using third party specialists and created a draft plan of highest water risk areas. this plan will be implemented during 2022.

    Oceans

    Microplastics discussions are ongoing with relevant stakeholders including paint industry association.

    Forests / Biodiversity / Land Use

    Air Pollution

    Waste (e.g., chemical spills, solid waste, hazardous, plastic, etc.)

    Energy & Resource Use

    4. How does the company assess progress in preventing/mitigating the risks/impacts associated with the following environmental topics?

    No monitoring of progress

    Review issues on ad-hoc basis

    Set annual targets/ goals, track progress over time (internal programs only)

    Set annual targets/ goals, track progress over time (internal and external programs)

    Other (Please provide additional information)

    Climate Action

    Water

    Oceans

    Forests / Biodiversity / Land Use

    Air Pollution

    Waste (e.g., chemical spills, solid waste, hazardous, plastic, etc.)

    Energy & Resource Use

    4.1. For each environmental topic in which the company sets timebound goals / targets, what kind of targets has the company set?

    Description of targets (e.g., what is the target, absolute vs. intensity, externally verified, on track, etc.)

    Climate Action

    1) Be carbon neutral in our own operations by 2025 (2019 base year). 2) 90% reduction in absolute CO2e emissions for Scope 1 & 2 by 2025 in line with the Science Based Targets 1.5°-degree pathway (without using any offsets). 3) 50% reduction in absolute CO2e emissions for Scope 3 by 2030 in line with the Science Based Targets 1.5°-degree pathway.

    Energy & Resource Use

    1) Reduce and phase out hazardous (red) raw materials (RRM): 25% reduction of RRM (kg/1,000L paint produced) by end of 2025. 2) Halve the amount of scrapped finished goods and raw materials by the end of 2025, even as we double in size. 3) Ensure that 70% of electricity used in our production units comes from renewable sources, while also expanding the use of renewable electricity at other applicable Hempel premises

    Water

    Forests / Biodiversity / Land Use

    Air Pollution

    Waste (e.g., chemical spills, solid waste, hazardous, plastic, etc.)

    1) Zero waste to landfill from production sites by end of 2025. 2) Reduce waste sent to landfill from our production sites by 80% compared to 2019 while expanding our efforts on waste reduction in all our facilities e.g. warehouses, distribution centres, retail stores and offices

    Oceans

    Optional comment
    Hempel's science-based targets were verified by the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) in March 2022. The verified targets include 90% reduction in absolute emissions of scope 1 & 2 by end of 2026 as well as a 50% reduction in absolute emissions of scope 3 by end of 2030.

    4.2. For each environmental topic in which the company sets timebound goals / targets, how is progress against target / goal tracked?

    Progress is reviewed against goals annually or more frequently

    Progress is reported internally to the most senior level

    Progress is reported externally

    Other (Please provide additional information)

    Climate Action

    Energy & Resource Use

    Water

    Forests / Biodiversity / Land Use

    Air Pollution

    Waste (e.g., chemical spills, solid waste, hazardous, plastic, etc.)

    Oceans

    5. In the course of the reporting period, has the company been involved in providing or enabling remedy for any actual impacts associated with the following environmental issue(s)?

    Yes

    No

    Choose to not disclose

    Not applicable (Please provide additional information)

    Climate Action

    Water

    Oceans

    Forests / Biodiversity / Land Use

    Air Pollution

    Waste (e.g., chemical spills, solid waste, hazardous, plastic, etc.)

    Energy & Resource Use

    Optional comment
    Through our product and service offering we support our customers to tangibly reduce their own sustainability impacts. This includes: emissions to air (associated with fuel consumption), waste and efficiency and oceans impacts (e.g. in connection with our leading hull coatings / anti-fouling systems).

    Climate Action

    6. What were the company’s gross global greenhouse gas emissions for the reporting period?

    Scope 1 Emissions

    Emissions (tCO2e)

    8952

    Scope 2 Emissions

    Emissions (tCO2e)

    20758

    Scope 3 Emissions

    Emissions (tCO2e)

    2803278
    Optional comment
    See page 58 in our Annual Report 2021.

    7. What percentage of the company's revenue was invested in R&D of low-carbon products/services during this reporting period?

    Percent of revenue (%)

    8. Has the organization acted to support climate change adaptation and resilience?

    Energy / Resource Use

    9. Please report the company's renewable energy consumption as a percentage of total energy consumption in the reporting period.

    % of total energy consumption

    51

    Technology

    10. What percent of the company's revenue came from environmentally friendly products / services during this reporting period?

    Percent of total revenue (%)

    Optional comment
    Various parts of our product and service offering help our customers reduce their environmental impact and could be considered more sustainable than the standard industry alternatives. We are currently expanding on this and evaluating each of our products in terms of sustainability using our quantitative scorecard methodology. At this stage, it is too soon for us to accurately quantify in revenue percentage terms the full contribution of these types of products and services.

    Sector-specific Questions

    11. Which sector(s) does the company operate in? If diversified, choose top 3 by revenue.

    Sector-specific: Water

    12. Please provide details regarding the company's water withdrawal and consumption (own operations) during the reporting period.

    Water withdrawal (volume of water in megaliters):

    Mega-liters

    Unknown

    Not applicable (Please provide additional information)

    Total

    360

    Groundwater:

    Surface water:

    Rainwater:

    Wastewater:

    Percentage of water withdrawn in regions with high or extremely high water stress (%)

    Water consumption (volume of water in megaliters):

    Mega-liters

    Unknown

    Not applicable (Please provide additional information)

    Total

    360

    Groundwater:

    Surface water:

    Rainwater:

    Wastewater:

    Percentage of water consumed in regions with high or extremely high water stress (%)

    Optional comment
    Summary of our status at Hempel: At solvent production sites there are some water usage for other purposes than production but this is limited. A few sites have experienced short-term irregularities in the water supply (Buk, Footscray, Kilburn, Jeddah) but generally our sites are not located in water stressed areas. Most sites only measure total water consumption and have no knowledge and monitoring of individual water usage on site but we are looking into options to expand our data collection during 2022 / 2023. Most sites have no contract/permit for water delivery – not needed due to local legislation, public/private water companies are expected to deliver what is needed.

    13. Please provide details about the company’s water intensity of products in regions with high or extremely high water stress.

    Water intensity of products (cubic meter/$):

    Optional comment
    We have calculated intake on site - l water / l paint is 0.86, this is an average taken across our product ranges i.e. solvent as well as water based production

    Sector-specific: Air pollution

    17. Where applicable, please report the company's emissions of the following pollutants during the reporting period.

    Emissions (tCO2e)

    Unknown

    Not applicable (Please provide additional information)

    NOx

    SOx

    Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC)

    Hazardous air pollutants (HAP)

    Particulate matter (PM10)

    Persistent organic pollutants (POP)

    Other (please specify in text box)

    Sector-specific: Waste

    18. Please report the company's total weight of waste generated in metric tonnes during the reporting period.

    Waste Generated (t)

    17784

    19. Please report the percentage of the company's waste that was hazardous waste (i.e., hazardous waste ratio) during the reporting period.

    Hazardous Waste Ratio (%)

    42

    20. Please report the company's estimated metric tonnes of single-use plastic consumed wherever material along the value chain during the reporting period.

    Single-use plastics (tonnes)

    45.166
    Optional comment
    Based primarily on the packaging that is used in our production sites. Packaging from our raw materials is accounted for as waste, and we are currently working on reporting our waste data in a more detailed manner.

    Overall Environment

    21. Briefly describe practical actions the company has taken during the reporting period and/or plans to take to implement the environment principles, including any challenges faced and actions taken towards prevention and/or remediation.

    During the reporting period, we have strengthened our environmental commitments by signing up to the Science Based Targets approach and our Scope 1, 2 and 3 goals were independently verified during March 2022 (and aligned with the most ambitious 1.5 degree reduction pathway). We continue to drive improvement across our business areas and segments by having sustainability as one of the three key elements of our corporate strategy. Furthermore, during the reporting period we have, for the first time, linked our sustainability performance to some of our financial agreements so our ability and cost of raising capital is now linked to how well we perform across a number of sustainability KPIs. In terms of operational performance, last year we made a meaningful reduction in emissions from our own manufacturing sites by focusing on energy efficiency and sourcing renewable electricity at as many of our sites as possible, as well as generating our own power in some cases. We have reduced waste to landfill at our production sites by 29% in 2021, compared to 2020. This is a total reduction of 70% compared to our baseline year, 2019. Some of our challenges relate to availability of renewable power or alternatives to landfill at some of locations. For these cases, we actively monitor developments in infrastructure so we can make use of new opportunities as soon as they become available to allow us to further reduce our impact.

  • Anti-corruption

    Commitment

    1. Does the company have an anti-corruption compliance programme?

    2021

    2. Does your company have policies and recommendations for employees on how to act in case of doubt and/or in situations that may represent a conflict of interest, e.g. with regard to gifts and hospitality, donations, sponsorship, or interactions with public officials?

    Prevention

    3. Who receives training on anti-corruption and integrity?

    3.1. How often is such training provided?

    One time only

    Every year

    Every two or more years

    We do not collect this data

    All employees

    Select employees

    Contractors

    Direct suppliers of the organization

    Other – such as partners, clients, etc.

    Indirect suppliers of the organization

    4. Does the company monitor its anti-corruption compliance programme?

    Response and Reporting

    5. Please report the company's total number and nature of incidents of corruption during the reporting year.

    Number of incident(s)

    Unknown

    Choose to not disclose

    Confirmed during the current year, but related to previous years

    Confirmed during the current year, and related to this year

    46
    In 2021, there was a high number of enquiries to our compliance helpline and 46 registered whistleblower reports. This is a notable increase compared to 2020 (30 reports). The significant spike in reports was primarily related to the work environment. We believe this to be a natural consequence of Hempel’s increased focus on anti-harassment and bullying, which included town hall discussions, training, release of a new anti-harassment policy, and employee surveys. The number of reports confirms that our frequent communication about raising concerns is understood by colleagues, partners and suppliers.
    Optional comment
    Please see more in our Annual Report 2021 on pages 47-48 and 59. In 2021, there was a high number of enquiries to our compliance helpline and 46 registered whistleblower reports. This is a notable increase compared to 2020 (30 reports). The significant spike in reports was primarily related to the work environment. We believe this to be a natural consequence of Hempel’s increased focus on anti-harassment and bullying, which included town hall discussions, training, release of a new anti-harassment policy, and employee surveys. The number of reports confirms that our frequent communication about raising concerns is understood by colleagues, partners and suppliers.

    6. Within the reporting period, what measures has the company taken to address suspected incidents of corruption independently or in response to a dispute or investigation by a government regulator?

    Optional comment
    Please see more in our Annual Report 2021 on pages 47-48 and 59. In 2021, there was a high number of enquiries to our compliance helpline and 46 registered whistleblower reports. This is a notable increase compared to 2020 (30 reports). The significant spike in reports was primarily related to the work environment. We believe this to be a natural consequence of Hempel’s increased focus on anti-harassment and bullying, which included town hall discussions, training, release of a new anti-harassment policy, and employee surveys. The number of reports confirms that our frequent communication about raising concerns is understood by colleagues, partners and suppliers.

    7. Does your company engage in Collective Action against corruption?

    Hempel is the founder of FAFPI (http://www.fafpi.org/).

    8. Briefly describe practical actions the company has taken during the reporting period and/or plans to take to implement the anti-corruption principle, including any challenges faced and actions taken towards prevention and/or remediation.

    As a responsible partner, Hempel is committed to conducting business ethically, respectfully and honestly at all times. This commitment covers our entire organisation, as well as our relationships with customers, suppliers and other stakeholders. Hempel’s zero tolerance for bribery and corruption is clearly described in our Business Ethics Policy, which outlines procedures to counter corruption, bribery and other unethical behaviour. In 2021, we took a number of actions to strengthen our culture of compliance and business ethics. This included ensuring that acquisition targets were duly vetted to make sure that they have the right ethical fit. We also accelerated the roll-out of our strong compliance programmes for acquired companies. We continued to increase our digital and automation capabilities. For example, the launch of Workday, our new HR platform, better allows us to assign relevant and tailormade compliance e-learning courses to specific groups of employees. In September, we rolled out Hempel’s annual Code of Conduct training globally to all employees with PC and Workday access, and we reached 100 per cent completion during the year. In addition, in 2021 we analysed gaps in our data privacy programme and took effective steps towards further compliance. Our ‘speak up’ culture remains sound. In 2021, there was a high number of enquiries to our compliance helpline and 46 registered whistleblower reports. This is a notable increase compared to 2020 (30 reports). The significant spike in reports was primarily related to the work environment. We believe this to be a natural consequence of Hempel’s increased focus on anti-harassment and bullying, which included town hall discussions, training, release of a new anti-harassment policy, and employee surveys. The number of reports confirms that our frequent communication about raising concerns is understood by colleagues, partners and suppliers.