A company that strives to be competitive has to concern itself with the short-term profitability objectives of its shareholders. Yet it also needs to be fully aware of the necessity to generate broader value over the long term.

It is imperative to consider the long-term interests of multiple categories of stakeholders, many of whose concerns and attitudes can substantially influence large-scale economic and financial equilibriums through media campaigns, lobbying efforts and other public forums. The company must remain aware of these developments and interests in order to guard against possible pitfalls that might result in image problems and reputational damage.

One tool that the company can make use of in managing these issues and in communicating its approach to long-term societal problems is the Sustainability Report.

The Sustainability Report:

• makes a survey of the strategies in use and provides a measure of their performance and impact with respect to a wide array of social and environmental issues;

• satisfies stakeholder demand for information relating to the social impacts entailed by the ordinary operation of our core businesses.
  
  

The 2008 Sustainability Report, approved by the Board of Directors, was compiled in compliance with the GRI3 requirements associated with an application level of B+. It details the germane activities carried out by the Group and provides a portrait of the interconnections between sustainability strategies and stakeholder relations.

This edition of the document, which is our ninth Sustainability Report, extend the scope of our reporting from Italy, Germany, Austria and Poland to include an account of activities in Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia e Hungary - a true group-wide perspective covering almost 114,000 employees.

2008 Sustainability Report now available in HTML version!

It’s now possible to look through the Html version of 2008 Sustainability Report. New interactive tools are also available.