Respondents satisfied with Sustainability Report 2002
- November 2003
Respondents to a survey among shareholders rate Novo Nordisk’s Sustainability Report 2002 very positively and encourage its editors to continue their efforts.
Moreover, the respondents, who are generally very satisfied with the company’s strategy, policies, and results, believe the report reflects Novo Nordisk’s sustainability performance.
Valuable information
This summer, Novo Nordisk’s Stakeholder Relations department carried out a survey addressing shareholders who had expressed interest in receiving the Sustainability Report 2002. This survey, which is the first of its kind in Novo Nordisk, aimed at identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the report seen from the shareholders’ perspective.
The sustainability report is an important communication tool for the company. Therefore, understanding the shareholders’ needs and their expectations for the report provides valuable information when designing future reports.
Who responded?
The survey was planned as part of an MBA thesis and conducted in two stages. In the first round, the almost 5,500 shareholders who ordered the annual Sustainability Report received a letter asking if they would participate in an interview survey. More than 1,600 responded, and 323 agreed to be interviewed or fill in a questionnaire.
The conclusions are based on responses from the 108 – primarily Danish – shareholders, corresponding to a 30% response rate. 42% of the respondents indicate that they read selected parts of the 60 page report, whereas 8% read the complete report.
Half of the participants are between 40 and 60 years old. While almost half of them are solely shareholders, a fourth are shareholders as well as Novo Nordisk employees. The rest of the respondents belong to research groups or are consumers or students.
Sustainability - a well-known term
The survey shows that the vast majority - 80% - are familiar with the terms sustainable development and the Triple Bottom Line, but 60% are not familiar with other sustainability reports.The bulk of the respondents consider the Sustainability Report as a tool for providing transparency in the company’s business policies. However, 43% feels that the report should benchmark the company’s performance.
Regardless of whether the report is for private or professional use, it provides most of the information that participants are looking for. However, many participants are not looking for any specific information. Furthermore, the great majority believes the report covers Novo Nordisk operations globally.
Accountability to customers
The ranking given by the respondents regarding to whom the company should be accountable puts the customers on the top of the list, followed by shareholders, employees, and the general public.
Most of the respondents find the report trustworthy above all as well as reliable, convincing, and accurate. In addition, with respect to the readability of the report, most of the respondents found the topics at first glance and felt the search for information was easy. However, the lower rating for its comprehensiveness, transparency, completeness, and especially comparability leaves room for improvement.
Printed and short, please
The average time spent on reading the report is 30 to 60 minutes and the majority consulted the report on more than one occasion. Only 11% consulted the report via the web-version, which is also confirmed by the preferred format of the report being the printed version.
Nearly half of the respondents would like the report to be maximum 30 pages long, while 31% would be happy with a report of 31 to 50 pages.
Compulsory reporting
The vast majority of the respondents would like to see sustainability reporting as a compulsory exercise. Of these, more than half wish to see all corporations of a certain size follow such an exercise. Similarly, most of the respondents wish to receive more information on Novo Nordisk sustainability related investments and their respective Return on Investment.
Nearly half of the respondents find the fact that the report is prepared in accordance with standards such as GRI’s Sustainability Reporting Guidelines enhances the report’s credibility.
Finally, half of the respondents attach great importance to the external audit of the report.
