voestalpine is in regular contact with the stakeholder groups outlined above by way of its Management Board, its executives, and employees. It makes use of numerous opportunities including discussions and panels with experts, conferences and trade fairs, analyst and investor meetings. Important formats for structured communication with internal stakeholders are the regular employee survey and annual performance dialogues. voestalpine is also represented on a wide variety of committees serving advocacy groups, trade associations and initiatives, as well as platforms.
During the reporting period there was contact with individual stakeholder groups across a whole range of different formats, and with respect to different topics, as described below.
Employees
The voestalpine Group currently has a global workforce of over 50,000 employees. In addition to the annual performance dialogues for around 65% of its employees, the employee survey which is run every three years (with the next in 2019) plays a key role.
Following the last employee survey in 2016, a variety of measures were implemented, on topics such as information & communication, career development opportunities, and identification/employer.
Customers and suppliers
voestalpine maintains open dialogue and close cooperation with all its business partners. These relationships, many of which are long standing, form the basis for trusted and transparent cooperation. They enable the development of new processes and products which meet the requirements of all those involved, as well as ensuring the responsible use of resources.
The voestalpine Code of Conduct is binding for suppliers and business partners, and forms part of its terms and conditions. Furthermore, there are also regular technical visits and viewings of the production sites. There is more information on this topic in Chapter “Transparency in the supply chain”.
Analysts and investors
voestalpine AG has been listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange since 1995. Institutional investors and analysts are one of the company’s key stakeholder groups. The members of the Management Board and the managers of the Investor Relations Department maintain close contact with shareholder representatives and investors, meeting at investor conferences, roadshows, and individual visits, in order to discuss current issues and the market situation. At regular intervals voestalpine holds so-called ”Capital Markets Days” which are special investor events at which trends and developments related to a principle Group focus are presented.
Research institutions and universities
Working closely with universities and research institutions is essential, particularly in the field of research and development. voestalpine supports outstanding dissertations, Master’s theses, and research projects, as well as funding endowed professorships. The voestalpine Management Board regularly attends special student events at institutions such as the Montanuniversität Leoben in order to answer questions from students. (For more details see Chapter “Research and development”.)
NGOs, advocacy and special interest groups, and platforms
voestalpine experts collaborate in various working groups and in committees of advocacy and special interest groups, and platforms such as EUROFER, worldsteel, ASMET, and Estep. voestalpine is also invited to contribute its knowledge and opinions on a variety of standpoints during EU consultations. Within the context of corporate responsibility, the focus lies on employee topics such as health & safety, and specific ecological issues including life cycle analysis (LCA).
In terms of environmental issues, voestalpine engages in intensive, facts-based exchanges with NGOs on the subject of energy and climate policy.
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