20. Chapter 1: The company (continued)
The Code of Whistle Blowing
In December 2004, The Executive Board approved
the Heineken Code of Whistle Blowing; a measure
designed to allow employees to report any incidence
of serious wrongdoing or mismanagement (including
infringements of the Code of Business Conduct)
without fear of reprisal or any other detrimental
consequences.
The Code outlines three ways in which employees
can report an incident:
to the line manager with direct responsibility for
the incident;
to a locally appointed Trusted Representative;
via an external help line, allowing them to
safeguard their anonymity should they wish
to do so.
Cases with an international dimension, or which
involve senior management, are referred to the
Integrity Committee, based at our Corporate Head
Office. The Integrity Committee consists of the
Directors of Group Control Accounting, Group
Human Resources and Group Legal Affairs and the
Manager Group Internal Audit. It is chaired by the
Head of Corporate Affairs.
The Committee advises the Executive Board on
any actions to be taken, following the issue of an
internal report. Members of the Executive Board
are accountable to the Chairman of the Supervisory
Board for their adherence to the Code. In 2005,
the Integrity Committee drew up its Terms of
Reference outlining the procedures for dealing
with internal reports.
All operating companies were required to fully
implement the whistle blowing procedure together
with their transposition of the Code of Business
Conduct in 2005. Parallel to the Code of Business
Conduct transposition, not all our operating
companies have met this obligation yet.
Due to anticipated sensitivities, a general exception
was granted to our operations in the Sub-Saharan
region. A pilot project initiated in Burundi will provide
further insights into the best way to implement the
whistle blowing procedure in this part of the world.
The project will be concluded in the first half of 2006.
Sustainability
Indexes
Member of
Dow Jones
The Dow Jones Sustainability Index
Launched in 1999, the Dow Jones
Sustainability Indexes track the financial
performance of the leading sustainability-
driven companies worldwide. Based on the
cooperation of Dow Jones Indexes, STOXX
Limited and SAM Group the indexes provide
asset managers with reliable and objective
benchmarks to manage sustainability
portfolios.
The Dow Jones Sustainability World Index
(DJSI World) covers the top 10% of the
biggest 2,500 companies in the Dow Jones
World Index in terms of economic,
environmental and social criteria. As a
benchmark for European sustainability
investments, the Dow Jones STOXX
Sustainability Index (DJSI STOXX) covers
the leading 20% in terms of sustainability
of the companies in the Dow Jones STOXX
SM 600 Index. The Dow Jones EURO STOXX
Sustainability Index (DJSI EURO STOXX) is
the Eurozone subset of the DJSI STOXX and,
thus, tracks the financial performance of
sustainability leaders in this particular region.
Source: www.sustinability-index.com
Heineken N.V. - 2004/2005 Sustainability Report