For the past four decades, Altron and its subsidiaries have adopted a way of doing business that attempted to benefit all stakeholders. This approach has long been dictated by humanity and common decency. It will continue to guide us as we take Altron into a future where sustainable development is an intrinsic element of corporate success – a future where every person who interacts with our group, in however small a fashion, contributes to our success. A future where our responsibility to repay that contribution will determine our survival on the triple bottom line of financial, social and environmental accountability.
In this Sustainability Report, much attention is focused on transformation, guided by the targets set in our Altron Transformation Vision 2010 (Vision 2010). In the South African context, transformation specifically refers to broad-based black economic empowerment in the workplace. This is a process we fully support and one that we are attempting to accelerate in our own business and in all organisations in our supply chain.
However, we believe transformation is much broader than the empowerment necessary to build an equitable economic base for our nation. Transformation is at the heart of sustainable citizenship – and at every level, from equity ownership to gleaming new soccer kits that see children take to the field with dignity and hope, the use of academics creating a useful tool for our 11 official languages to safe products and recycling initiatives that conserve our natural environment. This is the ambit of sustainable citizenship and a challenge we are meeting – at every level.
Although our Vision 2010 is being reviewed in light of recent draft codes and industry charters, the principles behind its development remain firmly in place and our group companies are being measured accordingly. The first round of reporting against our internal scorecard began last year and the amount of progress is indeed heartening. Every effort is being made to address areas that are behind on target. |
