Kesko recognised for corporate responsibility
KESKO CORPORATION PRESS RELEASE 09.11.2010 AT 15.15 1 (2)
Kesko's 2009 Corporate Responsibility Report ranked second in the Corporate Responsibility 2010 competition. The focal points in the competition were energy and material efficiency, and the diversity and management of working life.
The competition was organised by the Confederation of Finnish Industries EK, Finnish Business & Society, the Finnish Institute of Authorised Public Accountants, the Ministry of Employment and the Economy, the Association for Environmental Management (YJY), and the Ministry of the Environment.
According to the jury, Kesko's report is comprehensive and detailed. Kesko is especially good in reporting on its strategy and management practices from the perspective of corporate responsibility. The jury said that describing management practices is important, because they explain how sustainable development risks and opportunities are managed. Kesko was also given credit for paying special attention to human rights issues related to the purchasing chain.
Corporate responsibility is part of strategic management
The awards were presented by the competition's patron, Minister of Labour Anni Sinnemäki, at the House of Estates in Helsinki, on 8 November.
-Corporate responsibility is an increasingly important part of competition between enterprises. The ground rules of operations are naturally established by legislation. But a wider sense of corporate responsibility has become integrated in strategic business management, said Minister of Labour Sinnemäki.
Kesko has been awarded in the corporate responsibility reporting competition also in two previous years. In 2008, Kesko came in at the second place and in 2009, Kesko ranked Finland's best service sector company reporting on its corporate responsibility.
-Kesko's corporate responsibility work is long-standing and it has established a position in comparisons measuring responsibility. For years, we have been included in the most important sustainability indexes and chosen for 'The Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations' list. Corporate responsibility reporting provides information on the results of our operations, builds stakeholder confidence and supports management, says Kesko's President and CEO Matti Halmesmäki.
The reporting competition was now arranged for the 15th time
A preliminary evaluation in the Corporate Responsibility 2010 competition was made of the responsibility reporting of all of the 128 companies on the main list of the Helsinki stock exchange. The final evaluation included 42 organisations.
The first prize went to Wärtsilä and the third to Outokumpu. An honorary mention for their reporting was awarded to Kone, Senaatti-kiinteistöt, Nokia and Orion.
Further information is available from Helena Frilander, Development Manager, Corporate Responsibility, tel. +358 1053 23143.
Kesko (www.kesko.fi) is a retail specialist whose stores offer quality to the daily lives of consumers. Kesko has about 2,000 stores engaged in chain operations in the Nordic and Baltic countries, Russia, and Belarus
