Sustainability Report 2013 Lek d.d.

11 Company Profile Corporate Citizenship Corporate volunteering By helping others we enrich ourselves Lek, a Sandoz company, is one of the pioneers of corpo- rate volunteering in Slovenia. The numerous volunteers among our employees have for many years been showing great respect to others and a sense of belonging to the community in which we work and live. With their activities, they are embedded in this humanitarian endeavour throughout the year. April was especially festive as the Slovenian Friends of Youth Association (SAFY) celebrated 60 years of operation. Because of this remarkable jubilee of our partner with whomwe have a 15- year partnership in a joint effort for the welfare of children, we gla- dly kicked-off the activities for the Novartis traditional global Com- munity Partnership Day early, in the month of April. Cooperation with an organization that brings together 91 associations and 5,000 volunteers gave us invaluable experience and brought us closer to children and families in need. In this unfavourable eco- nomic situation its mission is even more valuable as children’s social rights and status are even more frequently compromised. As Miran ·inigoj, one of the Lek volunteers said, we forged close ties with the Slovenian Friends of Youth Association and were delighted to help them celebrate their remarkable jubilee on 12 April. A team of 12 associates joined the many participants in- volved in the organization of the festive event and helped in the call center by responding to donor calls. They helped raise funds for the operation of the TOM telephone help line for children and youth. Donations raised on that day amounted to EUR 28,509. Among key SAFY projects is also the humanitarian campaign A Wink at the Sun, enabling children from socially deprived families to go on free holidays. SAFY implements this cam- paign in partnership with Lek, a Sandoz company. In June 2013, 312 children whose parents cannot afford to take holidays were taken to the seaside. For over 15 unforgettable years, 10,500 children from disadvantaged families have been able to enjoy free, healthy and relaxing holidays. Lek, a Sandoz company, has allocated more than 215,000 Euros to this charity campaign. Of course, the experience that our volunteers have gained is priceless. Corporate Responsibility at Lek, a Sandoz company, is based on the Novartis and Sandoz corporate responsibility program and is a strategic priority for our business. The objectives of the Sandoz Corporate Responsibility program are the following: • increasing access to affordable medicines and • being a responsible and ethical employer, an active community member and leading company in the industry. Through implementation of the corporate responsibility program, we further our business mission by developing programs, social business models and other initiatives which increase accessibility, affordability and availability of high-quality medicines for patients around the world. The Sandoz Corporate Responsibility program focuses on: We strive to increase access to health services, medicines and raising awareness about health. We are a responsible and ethical employer and benefit our wider community. We adopt a preventive approach, striving to make efficient use of natural resources and minimizing our environ- mental impact. Setting and maintaining the highest standard of ethical business conduct. Access to medicines People and community Sustainable busi- ness operation Ethical busi- ness conduct The associates from the Menge‰ site brightened up the day in the home for the elderly. Director of Mala Hi‰a in Pli‰tanj Ada PoÏeg (left) and her deputy, child-carer Simona Simon (right), handed a certificate of appreciation for the long-term cooperation to Katarina Klemenc, Head of Corporate Communication.