Sustainability governance

Good corporate governance is important for the success of our business. In 2022, we formalized the governance structure for the successful delivery of our sustainability strategy. This included oversight and due diligence at the highest level of the business, establishing the right policies and mechanisms to guide ethical business practices and ensuring adherence to recognized sustainability frameworks and certifications.

Our 2022 site certifications and publicly available policies supporting our sustainability efforts are available on our Resources & downloads page.

Our board & ELT sustainability responsibility

Our board of directors is responsible for overseeing Arxada’s strategy, risk management and corporate reporting. The board is comprised of ten members, including three independent members (two of whom joined our board in January 2022), four members from Bain Capital and three from Cinven. The board does not include members of our Executive Leadership Team (ELT) responsible for the daily management of our business.

Forming part of our wider governance and reporting to the board, we have three committees in place: an audit committee, a people committee and a sustainability committee. In 2022, the sustainability committee focused on developing our sustainability strategy and associated targets; in 2023, the focus will be on the strategy’s institutionalization and execution. To support our sustainability committee and progress on our sustainability strategy, we also have a two-person sustainability team which reports to our Chief Technology and Sustainability Officer.

Demonstrating our commitment to driving positive impact, we linked the remuneration of our ELT members to our safety performance. As we were still defining our sustainability strategy in 2022, we included Arxada’s safety performance as part of our short-term incentive program. With our strategy now finalized, in 2023 we will consider how to further integrate sustainability-related metrics into our remuneration and incentive program.

 

Board of directors
Our board of directors consists of ten members and is responsible for overseeing Arxada’s strategy, risk management and corporate reporting. The board is also responsible for approving our overall sustainability strategy.
Sustainability committee
Composed of eight members, including our Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chief Technology and Sustainability Officer and four representatives from Bain Capital and Cinven, the sustainability committee is responsible for the measurement, improvement, and reporting of our environmental and employee safety impact plans, and works to develop and execute plans for our environmentally related remedial actions for existing sites.[1] [2] The sustainability committee also works closely with other members of our business to ensure sustainability data is thoroughly understood and reported, and that sustainability topics are effectively communicated and managed throughout the organization.
Audit committee
Composed of three members from Bain Capital and Cinven, with participants including our CEO and Chief Financial Officer, our audit committee assists the board with its oversight responsibilities to the members, potential members, the investment community and others (as appropriate) relating to (i) the integrity of the Company’s financial statements; (ii) the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting; (iii) selection of the independent auditor and assessment of the independent auditor’s qualifications and independence; (iv) the performance of the Company’s internal audit functionality and independent auditors; and (v) the performance of the other committee functions.
People committee
Composed of seven members, including our CEO and Chief People Officer, and four representatives from Bain Capital and Cinven, our people committee is responsible for providing strategic input to advance a transformational people agenda focusing on building a strong employer brand.
Executive Leadership Team
Our ten-person ELT is responsible for managing our day-to-day business and defining our overall strategy, including our purpose, vision, and sustainability strategy.
Sustainability team
The two-person sustainability team reports to our Chief Technology and Sustainability Officer. They play a key role in facilitating ongoing communication and driving the implementation of our sustainability strategy.

[1] GHG, waste and water.

[2] Total Recordable Injury Rate and Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate.

Business ethics

Our policies form the foundation of our ethical business conduct by setting standards for our employees and suppliers, who are expected to adhere to our policies and act with integrity. The foundations of our principles and values for ethical behavior are set out in our Code of Conduct.

In 2022 we introduced several new ethics and compliance policies, including a Code of Conduct, Anti-Bribery Policy, Business Gift Policy, Antitrust Policy and Whistleblower and Non-Retaliation Policy. We initiated a new compliance program that requires our employees to undergo an annual training on the Code of Conduct. They will also be trained in two to three rotating topics. We have customized our training programs, ensuring that employees receive content that is relevant and thorough. Training provided in 2022 included Code of Conduct, Anti-Bribery and Conflicts of Interest. In 2023, we are training on Antitrust, Harassment, Confidential Information and Computer Security.

Expanding on our global training and policies, we will provide training that is targeted and region-specific. This may be based on potential compliance risks identified for a region or the need to adhere to specific local laws and regulations. For example, we created and implemented region-specific policies for our Chinese sites that are available in the local language.

We regularly communicate the importance of compliance and business ethics through training, written materials and our Arxada intranet. All employees have access to our whistleblower program, which includes a hotline and an online portal. The program is available 24/7, in all our operating languages, to allow employees to flag compliance issues they may observe. Employees who raise concerns and compliance issues are protected through our Whistleblower and Non-Retaliation Policy, ensuring anonymity.

HIGHLIGHT

Navigating business in a complex & interconnected world

We have suspended all business operations in Russia since 1 April 2022.

Our business in Russia represented an exceedingly small proportion of our operations, consisting of four employees working in our sales group.

We have no manufacturing facilities in either Russia or Ukraine, nor do we receive any strategic raw materials from these countries. So far, the conflict has had only an extremely limited business impact on markets outside this region.

As part of the global humanitarian effort that has been mobilized in response to the crisis, Arxada donated USD 100,000 to the International Medical Corps — an independent, not-for-profit organization that operates worldwide to provide emergency relief and long-term support to those affected by war, disaster and disease.

 

Our business & sustainability
About the 2022 sustainability report