Dear stakeholder,
During the last decade of strong economic growth, the concept and practice of sustainability has taken shape around the world and within the Adecco Group. In the more testing times now upon us, sustainability will become even more important. To the Adecco Group, sustainability is not something nice to have; it is not a form of corporate benevolence: it is central to the way we run our business, and its value to ourselves and our stakeholders will become more and more apparent in what are likely to be tough times ahead.
For us, sustainability is about recognising the interdependence between our interests and those of our stakeholders. We must optimise our contribution, whilst responsibly managing the consequences of our actions. What is good for us as a Group should also be good for individuals, corporate clients, shareholders, suppliers, governments and society at large.
The Adecco Group, at its core, has a multifaceted, positive role, the value of which is being brought into sharp focus in the challenging market environment. For example, the training we provide develops talent and enhances the re-employability of people; our speed and efficiency in connecting people to work opportunities not only benefits the individual, it also reduces welfare payments. Our flexible workforce strategies help companies respond to changes in demand and to remain competitive.
There are many more examples that demonstrate the broad-based relevance of what we do in this respect. It was therefore with confidence and conviction in the value of our role that we stepped up our management of sustainability in 2008, revising our Code of Business Conduct and creating a dedicated CR organisation, which is led by Group Communications and overseen by the Corporate Governance Committee of the Adecco Group’s Board of Directors. I am sure that we have created an efficient and powerful structure to continue developing our positive role.
We have identified three areas of social accountability, as focal points. The first, ‘safety’, encompasses all our efforts to guarantee employees’ safety from threats and risks in the workplace.
Our second focus is ‘skills’. Our colleagues will benefit from our experience in developing talent, not just finding people their next role, but providing expert career guidance and training.
Third is ‘integration’. We strive for fair access to the labour market and equal opportunities for all. Integration starts with training in non-discriminatory practices for our consultants and reaches out to our public-private partnerships with governmental organisations to help disadvantaged groups enter the labour market.
In short, it has been a year of notable progress in developing our respective corporate role, a role that is already well defined by our long-standing participation in the UN Global Compact, the principles which we regard as central to our day-to-day operations.
In the Annual Report 2008, you will find concrete examples of activities at both local and international level. These range from the extension of our relationship with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), helping retiring athletes integrate into the working world, to programmes aimed at the unemployed in France and the USA, where the country organisation was awarded the Henry Viscardi Legacy Award in December 2008, in recognition of their achievements in employing and supporting individuals with disabilities. Additional details will be published in our next Sustainability Report in August 2009.
Stephan Howeg, Head Group Communciations & CR