Sustainability Report 2012 Lek d.d.

23 Environment 24 GRI Indicator EN7 2.1.5 Optimization of business processes Based on Lek’s business strategy and environmental policy, the company’s environmental performance improved, being part of Lek’s projects aimed at optimizing the business proces- ses. The key business process optimization projects include: TH!NK SANDOZ Initiative TH!NK SANDOZ, a web-based idea management program, was launched as a pilot project in April 2012. In its first year, the TH!NK SANDOZ initiative recorded excellent results. At all Lek sites, employees contributed more than 600 intere- sting ideas to improve work procedures and processes, of which more than 150 were applied in practice. The ideas adopted in 2012 are expected to deliver savings of EUR 4.4 million, whereas those implemented in practice so far have resulted in EUR 2.2 million savings. Although searching in the database can be carried out according to several crite- ria, the searching tool does not enable segregation by con- tent. Consequently, we cannot provide the information on the exact number of HSE improvements, even though a number of improvements are directly related to this area. According to our estimates, more than 10% of improvements are direc- tly HSE-related, and at least 5% are environment-related. The management staff has already recognized the signi- ficance of identifying creative and innovative associates. Their innovation-oriented thinking brings the company addi- tional quality, enabling it to achieve and exceed its business goals faster. They therefore deserve our full support. European Integrated Facilities Management (EIFM) We continued the EIFM project aimed at improving business transparency and cutting the costs. Project-related activities are performed simultaneously in se- veral European regions. Slovenian sites are comprised in the region that includes Novartis organizational units in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. We create a uniform basis for effective facility and equipment maintenance, waste management, lan- dscaping, and other factors. The new working method will be supported by appropriate information technology solutions, and will improve the business transparency, contributing to long- term savings. In 2012, we completed the activities planned, including the selection of potential providers and the final selection of EIFM categories. The Help Desk assumed an important role in the process of receiving bids for contractual services. For the project and online portal launching, several communication materials were prepared. A management model was establi- shed, and an operational team was appointed for Slovenia, consisting of representatives of the major business functions. Explosion safety– ATEX By obtaining ATEX certificates for installations for buildings, lines and system at our production sites, we fulfilled the cri- teria for maintenance certification. The project complies with explosion safety regulations. Maintenance certification proves an appropriate level of compliance with the changes imple- mented, and a proper level of Ex equipment maintenance. Activities related to explosion safety such as building ma- intenance, upgrading of equipment, and employee training, certainly contributed to reducing the number of incidents recorded in the company over the past years. We are Sandoz Initiative Performance is the key factor of our winning culture imple- mented through the “We are Sandoz” initiative. The initia- tive is instrumental in developing the organization and an excellent working environment. It gives every employee the opportunity of contributing to the company's future and expressing their opinions. It is based on the following elements of our success: • Outstanding people. Sandoz’ global success would not be possible without numerous individual achieve- ments by our associates worldwide. The focus of the initiative is to improve employee visibility and recogniti- on at both the local and global level. • Outstanding achievements. We foster cross-fun- ctional consistency of operations, particularly in the Product Development, Quality Management and Technical Operations units. • Customer focus. At Sandoz, customers play a very significant role. A great deal of employee attention the- refore focuses on cooperation with customers and on how to improve their satisfaction. Leading Solution, Leading Breakthrough, and Leading Manager Project The Leading Solution project encompasses any minor improve- ment, either visible or invisible, contributing to the quality of the work process. Initiatives received are collected on a monthly basis, and assessed by a special committee. If the committee finds a particular idea suitable for implementation and upgra- ding, the idea is then classified into the next awarding category, the Leading Breakthrough category. As part of this project, Lek presented the Leading Solution, Leading Breakthrough and Le- ading Manager awards. The Lek Leading Solution award 2012 was given to the BCS-biowaiver project, a novel approach to the registration of fast-release solid dosage forms. 2.1.6 Indirect environmental impacts We expect our suppliers to be committed to the principles of the Novartis Corporate Citizenship policy. By signing a supply agreement, the supplier undertakes the commitment to miti- gate his environmental impact, environmental accountability being one of the key supplier selection or confirmation criteria. The signing of a supply agreement should be preceded by an environmental audit of the supplier's operations. The agree- ment constitutes the supplier's guarantee to comply with all applicable HSE laws and regulations, fair work practices and unlawful discrimination. For waste management, we only select suppliers having all authorizations needed, and those recorded as contracting providers with the respective Ministry. Transport is one of the major sources of indirect environmen- tal impact. It is mitigated by more extensive use of teleconfe- rencing and videoconferencing which replace long-distance business travel. For all the fleet cars used by Lek employees, fuel consumption, mileage and CO 2 emissions are monitored on a regular basis 24 . These data is reported quarterly into the Novartis database. For the 96 fleet cars Lek had in 2012, a to- tal traveling distance of 3,231,854 km was recorded, with fuel consumption of 453 m 3 , and CO 2 emissions of 1,204 tonnes. The indirect impact of transport is also taken into account in the process of selecting suppliers in categories such as placing orders for packaging materials (see Item 2.2.4.).