When companies take responsibility
CSR, Corporate Social Responsibility, will come to mean even more at TrygVesta in the next few years. TrygVesta has joined an extensive Nordic cooperation on CSR-driven innovation – a project that is set to last for some years.
TrygVesta has joined a new Nordic project to support and develop the business potential of small and medium sized businesses.
Helle Kjærgaard works with strategy and management at the TrygVesta Management Secretariat. She is also the company’s contact person for the new project with the Danish Commerce and Companies Agency, Nordic Innovations Centre, Region Zealand and TrygVesta:
"CSR, which stands for Corporate Social Responsibility the term covers the company’s social responsibility and involves how a company cares for the environment we live in, cares for its people and plays an active role in society. It’s a matter of maintaining a long-term and sustainable approach," explains Helle Kjærgaard:
"We work with a CSR umbrella concept that covers three areas: The environment. Employees. And society. We’ve always worked with CSR at TrygVesta. What’s new is that we now have one specific concept and work towards systematising our activities in this field. We want to make sure that our experiences are collected and outlined to benefit the whole organisation. We used to do this but without really considering why. We put our thoughts into action but not into words."
Tryg – still providing peace of mind
Corporate Social Responsibility fits in well with TrygVesta’s history and values. A history that’s about determination, initiative and solidarity. And about a responsible company that focuses on human potential – and its employees. TrygVesta believes that large, well-consolidated companies with intellectual and financial capacity are obliged to conduct business with consideration. And show social responsibility. Out of the ruins of the great fire of Copenhagen in 1728 grew the desire to take care of each other. To show consideration. A group of citizens decided to establish "the fire fund". Some 300 years later, the same mindset formed the basis of TrygVesta’s Corporate Social Responsibility policy.
CSR creates value for the company
Within its three CSR areas, TrygVesta has set up various steering groups. One environment group is investigating what action TrygVesta can take in relation to purchasing, air-conditioning systems, employee cars, environmentally-friendly products, green products and insurance products. Another group is focusing on employees, in terms of diversity, for example. The goal is to define some guidelines for the company’s employment policy:
"Like many other companies, we’re facing the challenge of attracting employees, especially in IT, where we’d like to make work easier for employees with reduced working capacity, for example. Employees with impaired hearing and vision should also be welcome at TrygVesta," says Helle Kjærgaard.
Stine Bosse receives an invitation
The invitation to take part in a long-term Nordic project on CSR-driven innovation came from the Danish Commerce and Companies Agency. The project is being financed by TrygVesta, the Nordic Innovation Centre and Region Zealand. The aim is to support and develop the business potential of Nordic small and mediumsized businesses. A panel of business executives is also being set up to make recommendations, compare practical experience with theory in the area, and map new trends:
"The next two years will be a long learning process. The entire project depends a great deal on the companies that will actually form the basis for the research. We will probably invest in a combination of various kinds of companies and people. There will be entrepreneurs, individuals with good ideas, more traditional thinkers and others," says Helle Kjærgaard, adding: "TrygVesta would like to have someone to play with. We know from the Danish Commerce and Companies Agency that small and mediumsized businesses are very effective in this area. Possibly because they keep the path from idea to practice reasonably short. Naturally, we would also like to find out why they’re so good at CSR-driven innovation in particular. And we want to learn the techniques and tools they use."
CSR in a global era
Research, including studies from the Copenhagen Business School, show that social responsibility makes sound business sense:
"Citizens and consumers, banks and suppliers are so sensible and responsible that companies who actually take on responsibility and invest in projects that might not appear to benefit the company initially, actually make good returns on their investments or the costs of social responsibility activities," says Steen Hildebrandt, Professor at the Institute for Management, Århus School of Business, Århus University (From a book entitled Company Karma, 2007).
TrygVesta bases its business on core elements anchored in the company’s history and in conscious choices. It’s been that way for several hundred years. A long time before it became "trendy":
"Today, nearly 300 years after the great fire of Copenhagen, we’re all citizens of the global village. TrygVesta belongs to a global eco-system where everything is linked and intertwined. In this globalised world, CSR will be a competitive parameter because consumers, employees and society in general will choose companies that take their responsibility seriously," says Helle Kjærgaard.
Klausdalsbrovej 601DK-2750 BallerupTelephone: +45 7011 2020Fax: +45 4420 6700E-mail: ir@trygvesta.com