Scope 1 Emissions
2022 Communication on Progress
Akzo Nobel N.V.
Published date
July 15, 2022
No. of questions
63
Supplemental files
entire-akzonobel-ar21.pdfCode-of-Conduct-EN-2021-AkzoNobel.pdfHSE&S Policy.pdfCode-of-Conduct-EN-2021-AkzoNobel.pdf20210325 AkzoNobel Modern Slavery Statement.pdfAkzo Nobel - Annual Report 2021.pdfHSE&S Policy.pdfsustainability-akzonobel-ar21.pdfCEO Statement
Signed
Governance
Policies and Responsibilities
1. Does the Board / highest governance body or most senior executive of the company:
2. Does the company have a publicly stated commitment regarding the following sustainability topics?
3. Does the company have in place a code of conduct regarding each of the following sustainability topics?
4. Has the company appointed an individual or group responsible for each of the following sustainability topics?
5. Does the company have a formal structure(s) (such as a cross-functional committee) to address each of the following sustainability topics?
Prevention
6. Does the company have a process or processes to assess risk?
6.1. During the assessment of risk, which business relationships are reviewed?
Optional commenthttps://report.akzonobel.com/2021/ar/sustainability/planet/responsible-procurement.html7. 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?
7.1. During the due diligence process, which business relationships are reviewed?
Optional commenthttps://report.akzonobel.com/2021/ar/sustainability/planet/responsible-procurement.htmlConcerns 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 commentSpeakUp! portal: https://secure.ethicspoint.com/lrn/media/en/gui/23734/index.html8.1. 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.
Optional commentSpeakUp! portal: https://secure.ethicspoint.com/lrn/media/en/gui/23734/index.html9. Does the company provide or enable access to effective remedy to right holders / stakeholders where it has caused or contributed to the adverse impact?
Optional commenthttps://www.akzonobel.com/en/about-us/governance-/policies---procedures/remediationLessons
10. How does the company capture lessons regarding each of the following sustainability topics?
Executive Pay
11. Is executive pay linked to performance on one or more of the following sustainability topics?
Optional commentWe defined executive pay as Board of Management. 20% of Board of Management LTI is linekd to ESG metrics: Safety, Energy, Circular waste and renewable electricity. For answering this question we have grouped "energy, circular waste and renewable electricity" under Environment and "Safety" under "Labour rights". We also have non-financial KPIs for the short-term incentive, such as diversity and culture - although these do not fall under groups above. In addition, our main core values are Integrity, Safety and Sustainability, we consider this a pre requirement for any employee in the company, covering human rights and anti-corruption. We therefore do not include this in board of management remuneration.Board Composition
12. Percentage of individuals within the company’s Board / highest governance body by:
Optional commentFor this question, we have combined the Supervisory Board and the Executive Committee as of April 2022 (pre-AGM).13. Do you produce sustainability reporting according to:
Optional commentFYI: We comply with NFRD as CSRD has not formally come into play yet.Data Assurance
14. Is the information disclosed in this questionnaire assured by a third-party?
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?
Optional commentWe've interpreted "material human rights issues" as "salient human rights issues" as disclosed in our 2021 annual report. In addition to the four provided, the last one, five (couldn't tick any more boxes) is "modern slavery".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.
From our 2021 annual report, briefly per topic: Health and Safety: We carry out due diligence on thousands of raw materials – some of which are high risk – looking at how they can impact our people, our sites and the communities around them. In 2021, building on the existing Priority Substances Program and extending the focus to other sustainability-related raw material topics, we initiated the Raw Material Sustainability Group (RMSG). Working conditions: For example, we’re introducing our own Global Working Hours standard, ensuring that everywhere in the world, we’re working a safe number of hours, even if local laws allow people to work longer. We’re also reinforcing our efforts to integrate water, sanitation and hygiene assessments and audits into our Health, Safety and Security suite to ensure good sanitary conditions, the importance of which has been re-emphasized by COVID-19. Discrimination and harassment: In 2021, we signed up to the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles. Our plans for the immediate future include rolling out a global “trusted person” network, which involves having a trusted person at each location with over 100 employees. We’re also aiming for at least 90% of online employees to complete inclusive behavior training and 70% of sites to have run our inclusive behavior workshop. Impact on local communities: We work closely with local neighborhoods to manage the social impact of our business activities, address any concerns about our operations and enhance the benefits we’re able to bring. We’re currently conducting due diligence into our sites to identify where we have risks in order to address any possible negative impact. Modern slavery: We have zero tolerance for modern slavery, such as child or forced labor, and conduct relevant due diligence into our high risk supply chains. In 2021, we conducted in-depth research into our raw materials portfolio and added barytes, calcium carbonate, copper, fluorspar and talcum to our human rights due diligence in the supply chain. These were added to cobalt, mica minerals and tin, which were already in scope. We’ve surveyed all suppliers that directly, or indirectly, supply us these materials. By the end of the year, we had an 85% response rate. We also formalized our membership of the Responsible Mica Initiative.Labour
Commitment
1. Does the company have a policy commitment in relation to the following labour rights principles?
Optional commentLabour rights principles are part of our Code of conduct and our Human Rights Statement.1.1. For each labour rights policy, is it:
Optional commentThese topics are part of our Codes of conduct (employees and Bussiness Partners, which can be accessible in our website. Our Human Rights policy and modern slavery statement as well as our HSE&S policy are also publicly available. Moreover, we assess the performance of our suppliers in Human rights using the tools of Together For Sustainability and Ecovadis.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?
Optional commentline with the United Nations Guiding Principles to continuously assess a company’s salient human rights issues, we finalized our second in-depth salient human rights issues assessment. While we respect all human rights equally, we prioritized certain issues based on their severity and likelihood. These were established following internal data analysis, external trends and engagement with our stakeholders. For example, we held two (digital) workshops in China and India with external stakeholders, including NGO representatives and human rights experts. Source Annual report 2021 Human Rights. https://report.akzonobel.com/2021/ar/sustainability/people/human-rights.html3. 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?
4. Who receives training for the following labour rights issues?
5. How does the company assess progress in preventing/mitigating the risks/impacts associated with the following labour rights issues?
Performance
6. What is the percentage of employees covered under collective bargaining agreements?
Optional commentPlease note that we publicly disclose the % of employees covered by an independent trade union or collective bargaining agreements as a single number7. What is the percentage of employees in a trade union or other workers' organization?
Optional commentWe operate in some countries where the right to exercise freedom of association and collective bargaining may be at risk. We ensure that systems are in place for employee involvement/ engagement in line with company values and HR policies, for example by inclusion in the Code of Conduct.8. In the course of the reporting period, what was the percentage of women in:
Optional commentIn 2021, we set gender targets for all our businesses and functions to increase female representation as part of leadership accountability. This will contribute to our goal of having 30% female executives by 2025. In 2021, we had 22% female executives, with 33% in the Supervisory Board and 43% in the Executive Committee.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?
10. In the course of the reporting period, how frequently were workers injured (injuries per hour worked)?
Optional commentnumber per /200,000 working hours, as reported in our Annual report11. In the course of the reporting period, what was the company’s incident rate?
Optional commentnumber per /200,000 working hours, as reported in our Annual reportResponse 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?
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.
In 2021, we focused our people safety program on forklift truck safety and safe driving in general. We also accelerated our life-critical procedures and Health, Safety, Environment and Security (HSE&S) roadmap program. We identified areas that need improvement in our own operations and put them on the roadmap with targeted plans and governance. To ensure healthy working conditions for all our employees, we continue to actively manage occupational illness-related absenteeism. We’ve piloted a Wellness Checkpoint which supports the evaluation of psycho-social risk factors. in line with the United Nations Guiding Principles to continuously assess a company’s salient human rights issues, we finalized our second in-depth salient human rights issues assessment. While we respect all human rights equally, we prioritized certain issues based on their severity and likelihood. We’ve also created a new, more diverse Human Rights Committee, with a more robust governance. we’re introducing our own Global Working Hours standard, ensuring that everywhere in the world, we’re working a safe number of hours, even if local laws allow people to work longer. . In 2021, we signed up to the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles. Our plans for the immediate future include rolling out a global “trusted person” network, which involves having a trusted person at each location with over 100 employees. We’re also aiming for at least 90% of online employees to complete inclusive behavior training and 70% of sites to have run our inclusive behavior workshop. We have zero tolerance for modern slavery, such as child or forced labor, and conduct relevant due diligence into our high risk supply chains. In 2021 we mapped our raw materials and surveyed our suppliers and indirect suppliers using the tools of the Responsible Minerals Initiative. We have formalized our partnership with the Responsible Mica Initiative (RMI) which mission is to establish a fair, responsible and sustainable mica supply chain in India that’s free of child labor by 2030.Environment
Commitment
1. Does the company have a formal policy on the following environmental topics?
Optional commentWe have clear Planet targets and ambitions. Having science based targets approved to reduce our carbon emissions by 50% across our entire value chain (scopes 1,2,3).1.1. For each environmental policy, is it:
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?
Optional commentAs part of our existing Supplier Sustainability Balanced Scorecard (SSBS) we assess the eco-performance of our top suppliers (i.e. waste, energy, greenhouse gas emissions) to see if they’re moving in the right direction when it comes to meeting their own sustainability goals. We are have also communicate and launched our suppliers innovation challenge to deliver on our ambitions to reduce carbon emissions across our value chain.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?
4. How does the company assess progress in preventing/mitigating the risks/impacts associated with the following environmental topics?
4.1. For each environmental topic in which the company sets timebound goals / targets, what kind of targets has the company set?
4.2. For each environmental topic in which the company sets timebound goals / targets, how is progress against target / goal tracked?
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)?
Climate Action
6. What were the company’s gross global greenhouse gas emissions for the reporting period?
Scope 2 Emissions
Scope 3 Emissions
7. What percentage of the company's revenue was invested in R&D of low-carbon products/services during this reporting period?
Optional commentmajority of our spend in R&S (€260mln)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.
Technology
10. What percent of the company's revenue came from environmentally friendly products / services during this reporting period?
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):
Water consumption (volume of water in megaliters):
Optional commentOur focus is mainly on recycling and reusing process water and driving a continuous reduction in freshwater intake and wastewater discharge. Currently, 19% of our water intake is from potable water, while the rest is mainly from surface water. Around 78% of the total water intake is used for cooling purposes. Wastewater can be processed at on-site treatment plants, or via third parties. Adapting formulations and using adequate water treatment enables us to reuse the water at our plants.13. Please provide details about the company’s water intensity of products in regions with high or extremely high water stress.
Optional commentWe continue to assess risks related to water. We use the Aqueduct water risk atlas developed by the World Resources Institute to assess the level of risk related to water at our production locations. Around 10% of our sites are in areas rated “extremely high” for overall water risk (with standard weighting factors). Aqueduct is also used to assess current climate related risks (coastal flooding, river flooding and drought). Around 14% of our locations are in areas rated “extremely high”. These account for 3% of our fresh water use. Intensity has not been calculated yetSector-specific: Air pollution
17. Where applicable, please report the company's emissions of the following pollutants during the reporting period.
Optional commentWe report on air pollution metrics that are relevant to our industry. https://www.akzonobel.com/en/about-us/sustainability-/esgSector-specific: Waste
18. Please report the company's total weight of waste generated in metric tonnes during the reporting period.
Optional commenthttps://www.akzonobel.com/en/about-us/sustainability-/esg19. Please report the percentage of the company's waste that was hazardous waste (i.e., hazardous waste ratio) during the reporting period.
Optional commenthttps://www.akzonobel.com/en/about-us/sustainability-/esg20. Please report the company's estimated metric tonnes of single-use plastic consumed wherever material along the value chain during the reporting period.
Optional commentWe do not track single use plastics waste. However, we have a target to use at least 50% recycled content in the plastic packaging used by our Decorative Paints Europe business by 2025. We’re initially focusing on this particular business as more than half of our plastic packaging is used in this area of our activities. https://www.akzonobel.com/en/about-us/sustainability-/esgOverall 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.
In 2021 our target to reduce carbon emissions by 50% across the entire value chain was approved by the Science Based Targets Initiative. We have also encourage our partners to set ambitious targets and started a collaboration platform with suppliers. We have achieved the switch of 100% renewable electricity across our operations in Europe and continue to invest in other regions. We have also clear targets to reuse water at our most water intensive sites and proceed to assess the water risk of our operations and suppliersAnti-corruption
Commitment
1. Does the company have an anti-corruption compliance programme?
Optional commentLink: https://www.akzonobel.cnom/en/about-us/governance-/policies---procedures/anti-bribery-and-corruption-policy and code of conduct (p. 14 and 15): https://www.akzonobel.com/content/dam/akzonobel-corporate/global/en/corporate-governance/policies-and-procedures/download-code-of-conduct/code-of-conduct-general/Code-of-Conduct-EN-2021-AkzoNobel.pdf2. 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?
Optional commentThe public documents (for both employees and business partners) are available on our website: https://www.akzonobel.com/en/about-us/governance-/policies---procedures/anti-bribery-and-corruption-policy and the employee-specific document are available on our internal policy portal, which for confidentialy reasons we are unable to upload. Code of conduct publicly: https://www.akzonobel.com/content/dam/akzonobel-corporate/global/en/corporate-governance/policies-and-procedures/download-code-of-conduct/code-of-conduct-general/Code-of-Conduct-EN-2021-AkzoNobel.pdfPrevention
3. Who receives training on anti-corruption and integrity?
Optional commentBusiness partners are required to follow and adhere to our business partner code of conduct: https://www.akzonobel.com/en/about-us/governance-/policies---procedures/business-partner-code-of-conduct0 Also Annual Report p. 77: "We continued to counsel and educate employees on integrity and compliance rules and controls through e-learnings and in-person sessions. Due to the challenges posed by COVID-19, only a limited number of face-to-face trainings took place. Virtual and video conference trainings were offered to help increase employee engagement. Employees are also required to follow mandatory role-based and risk-based e-learnings. Training included our Code of Conduct, fraud, operating a diverse and respectful workplace, competition law, export control, information security and data privacy. We focused in particular on our blue collar workers, as we designed a new, short and interactive Code of Conduct training covering topics of special relevance to them, leading to >90% completion rates.". https://report.akzonobel.com/2021/ar/servicepages/downloads/files/entire-akzonobel-ar21.pdf3.1. How often is such training provided?
Optional commentTraining is also provided as often as needed. Different training is provided to employees every year, e.g. during annual integrity week different parts are also highlighted.4. Does the company monitor its anti-corruption compliance programme?
Optional commentAnti-corruption is part of integrity within AkzoNobel, which is part of our core values. It's controlled through our Integrity and Compliance function and through our suppliers through EcoVadis and Together for Sustainabilty, see 2021 Annual Report p. 77 under "monitoring": https://report.akzonobel.com/2021/ar/servicepages/downloads/files/entire-akzonobel-ar21.pdf We also run amnesty programs for newly acquired businesses.Response and Reporting
5. Please report the company's total number and nature of incidents of corruption during the reporting year.
Optional commentWe report SpeakUp! Reports in relation to the categories "Safety, Integrity and Sustainability" in our annual report. Therefore we do not disclose specificlly related to corruption, this is included under integrity (page 78 here https://report.akzonobel.com/2021/ar/servicepages/downloads/files/entire-akzonobel-ar21.pdf).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?
7. Does your company engage in Collective Action against corruption?
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.
Day-to-day management of our Integrity and Compliance program is delegated to the Integrity and Compliance team. The function is led by the Director of Integrity and Compliance, who reports to the General Counsel. This team includes experts in integrity and compliance program design, legal experts in the field of competition law, anti-bribery and anti-corruption, export control and sanctions, data privacy and human rights, and the regional Integrity and Compliance managers in all regions driving the implementation of the program. The regional Integrity and Compliance managers contribute to further strengthening the culture of integrity. This includes identifying and addressing local risks and cooperating with the businesses and functions to tailor the program to local needs, monitor controls and follow up on SpeakUp! cases. In 2021, the heads of Integrity and Compliance, Internal Control and Internal Audit met at least quarterly to discuss findings and trends, and to align actions. When it comes to anti-bribery and anti-corruption, we expect all our employees and business partners acting on AkzoNobel’s behalf to apply the highest ethical standards in their business dealings and relationships at all times by following our anti-bribery rules and procedures. We have a comprehensive anti-bribery and anti-corruption compliance framework that describe our responsibilities and provide basic guidance on how to deal with issues relating to these topics (rules) and information on how to comply with our rules (procedures), and related training. Our anti-bribery and anti-corruption framework is available at https://www.akzonobel.com/en/about-us/governance-/policies---procedures/anti-bribery-and-corruption-policy We have several processes to monitor compliance by employees and business partners with our rules and procedures. Managers are also required to self-assess and confirm compliance with company rules and procedures as part of the internal control self-assessment. Our supplier performance is monitored through the EcoVadis self-assessments and on-site third party audits that we carry out via the Together for Sustainability initiative. From a competition law perspective, we also ran amnesty programs for newly acquired businesses as part of the integration process into the wider group. The Internal Audit function performs numerous audits on our operations. Their audit plan is risk-based and takes account of prior compliance and internal control findings. Several internal audits were held at the request of the Integrity and Compliance function to validate compliance with our rules and procedures in certain units or on certain risk areas. We have also further advanced our Gift and Conflict of Interest Register, and designed automated key anti-bribery and anti-corruption controls to increase control efficiency. We were highlighted by Transparency International NL as having the number one whistleblowing framework in its most recent study of top companies in the Netherlands (P. 80: https://report.akzonobel.com/2021/ar/servicepages/downloads/files/entire-akzonobel-ar21.pdf).