Report 2017

Social and governance performance

Labor practices & human rights

At the end of 2017, the total number of employees was 6,245, compared with 6,441 in 2016. The employee absence rate was 2.1% in 2017, compared with 2.0% in 2016.

 

Novozymes promotes equal opportunities and strengthens diversity in the global workplace. At the end of 2017, 26% of senior management (directors and higher) were women.

 

Occupational health & safety

Our continuous focus on building awareness and keeping employees safe and healthy has resulted in a lower frequency of occupational accidents: 1.6 per million working hours in 2017, compared with 2.2 in 2016. 

 

Innovation

Novozymes is committed to delivering bioinnovation and launched eight new products in 2017. In 2017, Novozymes had 1,049 active patent families, which comprise the number of inventions that have active patent applications or active patents. See more details about our new products in Novozymes in a nutshell.

 

Customer engagement

Novozymes conducts an annual customer satisfaction survey and tracks progress on its Net Promoter Score (NPS), which is assessed on a scale from -100 to +100. In 2017, we received an NPS score of +39, compared with +45 in 2016. Despite this decline in score, which can be attributed to changing customer perceptions of account management, the survey results are largely positive.

 

Community engagement

In 2017, Novozymes engaged more than 188,000 learnersA learner is a person who has been engaged in a Novozymes Educate activity, for example a workshop or an educational activity that requires active participation from the learner., compared with approximately 106,000 in 2016. The increase was due to expansion of our 2016 projects across regions.

 

"We believe that the more people we educate, the more likely they are to get involved in creating sustainable biological solutions."

- Peder Holk Nielsen
President & CEO

Business ethics

In 2017, Novozymes reinforced its commitment to its business integrity principles. 99% of Novozymes’ employees completed business integrity training in 2017, on par with 2016.

 

There were no breaches of competition law in 2017. The number of investigated fraud cases increased to 49 in 2017, compared with 44 in 2016. None of the investigated fraud cases had a material financial impact on Novozymes.

 

 

Note 2017 2016
Labor practices & human rights
Employees, total 2.3 No. 6,245 6,441
Women 2.3 % 37.7 37.7
Rate of absence 8.1 % 2.1 2.0
Women in senior management 8.1 % 26 25
Occupational health & safety
Fatalities No. - -
Frequency of occupational accidents 8.2 Per million working hours 1.6 2.2
Frequency of occupational diseases 8.2 Per million working hours 0.2 0.7
Innovation
New products 2.4 No. 8 8
Active patent families 2.4 No. 1,049 1,123
Business ethics
Completion of business integrity training for employees 8.3 % 99 99
Breaches of competition law 8.3 No. - -
Investigated fraud cases 8.3 No. 49 44
Community engagement
Estimated number of learners reached 8.4 No. 188,000 106,000
Customer engagement
Customer satisfaction, Net Promoter Score (NPS) 8.5 No. 39 45
Reference to notes without data
Responsible sourcing 8.6 n.a. n.a.
Frequency of accidents (per million working hours)
Business integrity training for employees*
% * Data for 2013-2014 have not been restated to reflect updated accounting policies.
  • Training completion rate