Sustainability Report 2013 Lek d.d.

Company Profile Sustainability Report 2013 – Lek d.d. 20 In 2013 additional members of the Workers’ Council from all sites were appointed at the Workers’ Council meeting in order to help the HSE specialist service carry out a risk assessment review. At employee meetings held at each of the sites, company results and results of individual business units as well as compliance issues were presented to employees. Employ- ees actively participated and put forward their questions, which were answered on the spot by the President of the Board of Management, Board of Management members and respective heads of business units. A member of the Lek Stars committee participated in the process of Lek Stars selection. A member of the Diversity and Inclusion committee (D&I) took part in the committee’s work, presenting the “Project 50+” initiative dealing with opportunities for better utiliza- tion of the skills and knowledge of employees older than 50 years. Together with the Head of Human Resources, he participated in the preparation of an agreement with the Association of Lek’s pensioners under which individual gatherings for employees nearing retirement will be orga- nized, and assistance in active preparation for retirement given. In 2013, the previous Innovation Committee and Th!nk Sandoz Commission merged into a single Innovation Committee. A member of this joint committee, who was appointed by the Workers’ Council, was actively involved in the assessment of Th!nk Sandoz proposals. Due to the expiry of the mandate, a new Workers’ Council was elected in the elections at the end of November. The constituent assembly session took place in December. A Chairperson and a Deputy Chairperson were elected and a meeting schedule for 2014 was confirmed. The engagement of employees in key projects aimed at opti- mizing the business processes and improvement of environ- mental performance is explained under item 2.1.5. 1.5.3 Shareholder overview and inclusion 22 Lek, a Sandoz company, focused its activities on five key groups of stakeholders: patients, employees, shareholders, healthcare partners (healthcare professionals, regulators, professional associations, buyers, suppliers) and society (local communities, non-governmental organizations, scien- tific and educational institutions, and the media). These diverse stakeholders are included in our operations in order to understand their needs and expectations and to improve access to healthcare. We identify them on the basis of their impact on our company and vice versa. On the basis of corporate citizenship principles, we endeav- our to maintain an open dialogue, seeking the most appro- priate forms of cooperation. The well-branched network of our stakeholder relations is associated with their various interests and a wide spectrum of Lek's operations. Our understanding of and dialogue with stakeholders are based on the following Novartis principles: commitment to patients, Lek employees and local communi- ties; respect for the natural environment; and adherence to the ethical principles of corporate governance. 22 GRI Disclosures G4-24, G4-25 Cooperation with patient groups Dihec Mihec teaches children about proper breathing Cooperation with groups of patients, including children, plays an important role at Lek, a Sandoz company. Asthma can develop at any time in life; however, it is most com- mon in childhood. Research performed at Golnik hospi- tal showed that Slovenian patients have poor knowledge about asthma. To mark the World Asthma Day in early May, we taught kindergarten children, as a part of the Asthma and Sports programme, about the importance of proper breathing. We prepared a workshop on healthy breathing and helped with publishing the educational story about Dihec Mihec and Taãko Dlaãko. Proper breathing and a healthy lifestyle are the keys to the quality of life of those with asthma. According to the World Health Organization, nearly two million people visit emergency departments each year be- cause of asthma. Asthma is the most common chronic dis- ease among children globally. According to some estimates, around 14% of school children in Slovenia suffer from asthma. Th!nk Sandoz Initiative Through attending a healthy breathing workshop and listening to an educa- tional story, children learned about the importance of proper breathing.