Sustainability Policy
Approved by: Board of Directors of Ørn Software AS
Date of approval: 22nd of March 2021
Scheduled review: Annually
Document owner: CEO
Contact person: Christina Rosellò
Purpose
This document defines Ørn Software AS’ («Ørn») general guidelines for corporate social responsibility and sustainability. The purpose is to reinforce and to guide our contribution to a sustainable economic, social and environmental development in the sectors and industries in which Ørn operates. The policy shall support employees and managers in their strategic decisions and daily work.
At Ørn Software, we are committed to harnessing our culture of innovation to be an industry role model on sustainability and contribute to setting sustainability on our industry’s agenda. We leverage the power of our people and our products to reduce the impact that we and our customers have on the planet. We see sustainability as a competitive advantage that helps us create long-term value for our business and our stakeholders.
Background
The development of our Sustainability Policy is part of the process of systematising the work we do on sustainability at Ørn. For this policy, we conducted a basic, internal materiality assessment, which identified key topics that we believe are most important to our stakeholders and our success as a business.
As of 2022, we will start publishing a sustainability report, informed by the Global Reporting Initiative Standards (GRI) and the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board’s (SASB) Software and IT Services sector guide. The report will serve to develop an effective sustainability strategy for Ørn, which targets the most significant impacts of our organisation.
Scope
Our sustainability policy applies to all of Ørn’s employees, including the Board of Directors, and persons who, without being employed by Ørn, work on assignment or as consultants for Ørn. In addition, the policy covers all business activities in connection with customers, suppliers and others commercial partners.
Framework
This policy is based on Norwegian law, and has been informed by the UN Principles for Corporate Social Responsibility (UN Global Compact), Ørn’s values and purpose, as well as the Global Reporting Initiative Standards (GRI).
Definition
We define sustainability as: “Developing products and solutions that meet today's needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.”
Objectives
The objectives of this policy are to:
Immediate (By end of 2021)
- Increase understanding of and commitment to the broader concept of sustainability within Ørn
- Initiate work on sustainability reporting
- Strengthen the Board and executive management’s oversight, proactive management and ongoing dialogue on sustainability topics
Intermediate (2022-2025)
- Serve as a platform for developing a sustainability strategy under which Ørn’s sustainability outcomes are maximised
- Embed sustainability considerations in all of Ørn’s decision-making
- Integrate a consistent approach in applying sustainability across the organisation
- Adopt a systematic approach to identify, assess and respond to sustainability-related risks in business operations
- Communicate consistently and accurately Ørn’s achievements in sustainability
Ultimate (2025-2030)
- Establish Ørn as an industry role model on sustainability that contributes to setting sustainability on our industry’s agenda
Principles
Ørn is committed to respecting human rights and labour rights standards, preserve the climate and the environment, combat corruption and uphold good governance standards. This applies to the development of the Company’s products and services, consulting and sales, as well as investment decisions. The same requirements apply to the Company's suppliers.
Our purpose at Ørn is to create a more sustainable society by supporting our clients in digitalising their operations, thereby improving energy efficiency, innovation, profitability and reducing the environmental footprint.
Our commitment to doing business fairly and responsibly is anchored in our values.
Our values are:
- Bold: We are entrepreneurial and thus are willing to take risks to innovate and remain at the cutting edge.
- Innovative: We embrace innovation, it’s at our core. We continually look for new and better ways of doing things. We always put users’ needs first and go the extra mile to adapt to their needs.
- Sincere: We value the trust and respect of our community and co-workers. We deal with our clients, our stakeholders and our employees with the utmost transparency. We commit to being a workplace that does what’s right because people must be able to trust our products and services.
- Joyful: We are passionate about our work and about working together. We strive to bring this joyfulness into everything we do.
Ørn’s commitment to respecting diversity, human rights, labour rights and the right to decent work entails:
- Having zero tolerance for all forms of bullying and discrimination, including verbal, physical and sexual harassment.
- To work against discrimination on the basis of gender, ethnicity, skin colour, language, religion, sexual orientation, age, disability, political opinions or other opinions, national or social origin and affiliation with national minorities.
- To consider gender imbalance as a risk and therefore strive for gender balance in all parts of the business. To work for equal pay for equal work of equal value, and to systematically work to redress any potential imbalances and close the pay gap that may be due to gender.
- To offer a workplace environment that is conducive to good health, beyond what is stated in the law's minimum requirements.
- To give all employees the opportunity for competency and skills development.
- To grant employees the fundamental right to be represented by a trade union and respect the rights of employees and their unions to negotiate collective bargaining agreements.
- To have routines and channels in place for notifying breaches of these commitments in accordance with the Norwegian Working Environment Act.
Ørn’s commitment to preserve the climate and the environment entails:
- To contribute to sustainable development and to continuously minimise negative environmental impact.
- To encourage an environmentally-conscious workplace, by minimising waste, recycling and re-using as much as possible, conserving energy and encouraging employees to use sustainable methods of transportation to get to work.
- To drive innovation, develop and promote sustainable products and services that help customers reduce their energy consumption, waste and environmental footprint, and help them make environmentally-conscious choices.
- To prioritise climate-positive buildings when considering office relocations or acquiring new office space.
Ørn commitment to upholding the highest ethical and corporate governance standards entails:
- To have a robust internal system against corruption, based on transparency and verifiability.
- To train employees in issues related to anti-corruption, money-laundering and bribery.
- To uphold the privacy of our customers, customer’s end users and employees. Ørn shall at all times comply with the data protection laws of the countries in which it operates.
- To not enter into partnerships with or invest in companies that, through their own business or through entities they control, violate international and national laws, or Ørn's internal guidelines, for human rights, labour rights, environmental regulations or anti-corruption.
- To not purchase goods and services from suppliers that violate international and national laws, or Ørn's internal guidelines, for human rights, labour rights, environmental regulations or anti-corruption.
- To develop a Supplier Code of Conduct that sets forth the minimum standards of business conduct that we expect from all of our suppliers.
Compliance and reporting
Ørn shall report on its work related to sustainability as described in this the policy in accordance with the rules in the Norwegian Accounting Act § 3-3 c. This shall be published in Ørn’s annual report as of 2022.