In 2007 we revised Orkla's Goals and Values, an internal document that describes the fundamental values on which our corporate culture is based. We also defined the Group's ambition as being to create value by developing people. In this way, we wished to make it clear to ourselves that the key to the Group's future progress and growth lies in our ability to liberate the potential of our employees. Our new motto also emphasises the inter-dependence between our business and the community of which we are a part.
As a listed company, Orkla's most important task is to create value for our shareholders. We must continue to grow and develop our profitability, but how we do so is not an arbitrary matter. In all areas, Orkla must run a responsible, ethical business, making strict demands on ourselves and our impact on people, the environment and society at large. Orkla's operations must promote positive development, not only for our shareholders but also for our customers, our partners and the community. Only in this way can we achieve the trust on which our business depends.
We create value on several levels. By providing profitable jobs in more than 40 countries, we contribute to the generation of wealth and strong local communities. Through profitable operations we secure work for our 35,000 own employees, as well as jobs with Orkla's close to 40,000 suppliers world-wide. By imposing strict requirements for our products and our internal work processes, we wish to contribute towards raising quality standards in the sectors in which we operate.
Many of Orkla's industrial companies generate emissions to air or water. By investing in new forms of energy and more energy-efficient production methods, we can stay ahead of environmental requirements and increase our efficiency, thereby reducing our environmental footprint. We work continuously to reduce polluting discharges, greenhouse gas emissions, waste and energy consumption while at the same time improving our internal control and safety procedures.
Orkla wishes to integrate its work on corporate social responsibility into its day-to-day activities. This will enable us to adapt well to new operating parameters and help us to discover new opportunities. We wish to combine the challenges of sustainable development with profitable growth for Orkla. In this way, our efforts will be effective and have long-term, positive results. This requires good analyses and clear choices regarding the strategies we pursue. We must identify areas where we can make a difference and find the best ways of implementing necessary changes.
This year, for the first time, Orkla is publishing a separate sustainability report. In view of the greater expectations as regards openness about our business activities, in addition to all the information that is published on the Group's websites, we have chosen to provide a collated presentation in the form of a report. Because we operate in many countries and due to the influence we exert as a result of our size, we have a special responsibility for ensuring transparency. Orkla therefore finds it entirely natural to meet these expectations systematically, and this report is a contribution to this process.
I hope readers will find that this report provides a good opportunity to assess the efforts we make to fulfil our corporate social responsibility and thereby our contribution to sustainable development. Here, as elsewhere, we can point to both success stories and areas where we need to make a greater effort in order to achieve our goals. This report is intended to help us identify responsibilities, establish strategies and analyse areas where we can do better.
Dag J. Opedal
President and CEO