The issue
As one of its corporate goals, the health care company, Novo Nordisk, seeks to hold itself accountable to stakeholders with respect to the company’s social and environmental performance. The company also endeavours to report in a transparent way on the challenges and opportunities for its business over both the short- and longer-term.
With these goals in mind, Novo Nordisk sought to improve the transparency and credibility of its non-financial data through assurance provided by independent experts.
Our approach
After a thorough review, PricewaterhouseCoopers provided Novo Nordisk with an assurance statement for its 2004 Annual Report that confirmed the company’s commitment to sustainability and stakeholder engagement as embodied in the principles of the AA1000 Assurance Standard (AA1000AS) and in accordance with the ISAE 3000. Additionally, we assessed Management’s statement that the Annual Report met the conditions for reporting as described in the GRI’s 2002 Sustainability Reporting Guidelines; and that its reporting, underlying policies, systems, and activities accord with the United Nations’ Global Compact.
The outcome
The assurance statement provided by PricewaterhouseCoopers provided additional credibility to Novo Nordisk’s long-standing commitment to sustainability and stakeholder engagement. Furthermore, the assurance process helped strengthen the company’s internal reporting process.
