We want to increase sustainability in a way which supports the long-term health, safety
and well-being of our employees, consumers, customers and the communities in which
all our stakeholders live and work.
Health
Introduction
Over the years, Heineken International Health
Affairs has developed and deployed many different
initiatives and activities through its social
responsibility programme. In our previous
Sustainability Report we explained the role of this
team in greater detail. Here, we provide an update
on our performance as a business, focusing on
areas in which we have taken further steps to
improve the health of our employees and their
dependants. Our employee clinics provide a large
number of services, including antenatal services
and health monitoring for children under five.
We work with a number of other institutions,
contributing to better health standards at
national level.
In the safety section of this report, we comment on
the number of employee fatalities in our production
areas. In addition to these two fatalities, in 2005 a
further four colleagues lost their lives while working
for Heineken: two colleagues were killed in road
accidents, one colleague drowned in the swimming
pool of one of our guest houses whilst attending
a training course and one colleague died of the
consequences of a shooting accident. Road
accidents are now the primary cause of fatalities
in our company and our prevention activities are
focused on addressing this fact.
Combat of HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
Over the past two years our HIV/Aids policy
has been developed and rolled out further.
The management system has been set up in
partnership with the NGO, Pharmaccess Foundation,
ensuring that appropriate protocols and standards
on voluntary testing, counselling and therapy are
used. Twice-weekly telephone conferences and
follow-up contacts are carried out. Information
on policies and practices is shared with other
multinational companies and NGOs.
Currently, over 8,000 voluntary HIV tests have been
carried out within Heineken, of which 5,500 were
completed during the period 2004-2005. Of 370
patients identified as sero-positive, 230 are
currently receiving free HIV treatment. The
remaining patients do not require treatment yet.
Our HIV/AIDS programme has been expanded
beyond Africa into Surinam. Here it will become
local and regional best practice for Heineken and
will serve as an example for other companies in
the country.
Tuberculosis (TB), specifically the multi-drug
resistant type, poses a health threat to our staff
around the world, particularly those working in
Russia. We are developing a standardised approach
for detection, working with other companies if
necessary. One of our Group Medical Advisers has
Elnara Ossipova, HR Manager at Dinal, at Zheti Kazyna, Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Ossipova now wants to include a small
video section as well where employees can
access some of the latest films in English to
watch at home. The main challenge, she
explains, will be to find materials to fill the
shelves. "It's going to be a slow process and
in case you're wondering - yes, we will
accept book and film donations!"
To help address this, Elnara Ossipova
recently set up a small library in the
building's training room. "The books or
comic strips people are looking for aren't
always available on the market in
Kazakhstan so we try and share what we
have. I've asked all our managers to bring
along interesting books in English for the
library if they no longer need them
themselves."
The library appeal
Reading and listening practice is crucial to
any foreign-language learning experience.
However, getting hold of English-language
books and other reading materials in
Kazakhstan can be difficult and expensive.
Heineken N.V. - 2004/2005 Sustainability Report