Society
Community engagement
Communication
Höganäs aims to engage in two-way communication with its neighbours in the communities where we operate. The social media channels Facebook and LinkedIn have proven efficient tools for spreading messages and receiving comments. On Facebook and LinkedIn, we inform about how our production facilities develop, what our plans are and how they affect the surrounding society.
In Höganäs and Halmstad, both in Sweden, where we have our largest production sites, we also distribute a printed newsletter Insikt (Insight), 2-3 times per year. In between the printed issues, we continuously update our blog. In the newsletter and on the blog, we invite open dialogue and encourage our neighbours to share their opinions or questions with us. Good results from open dialogues with neighbours and the local municipality have been achieved in several projects involving local infrastructure.
During 2019, a printed newsletter was also established in Mogi das Cruzes, Brazil, where Höganäs’ facility is located close to housing areas. During 2020, we aim to launch a similar concept in Laufenburg, Germany.
In Ath, Belgium, the local management team invites a board of citizens and companies twice a year. The goal is to answer questions and concerns from neighbours and present Höganäs’ plans and actions.
Contributing locally
In line with our global commitment, we have developed a Group framework for community engagement and donations. Companies within Höganäs Group have the freedom to decide what to sponsor and support locally within the framework of our policy.
Companies within Höganäs Group contributed 3.46 (1.97) MSEK to local communities during 2018.
Areas that received substantial contributions are aid to vulnerable groups in society, local sports clubs and social programmes motivating young people to adopt a healthy lifestyle, fighting drugs and promoting physical activities. The most substantial individual contributions were for scholarships and other initiatives to promote education.
Memberships and engagementsBelow is a list of the main memberships of industry or other associations of importance for our business. Höganäs holds a position on the governance body for:
Höganäs participates in projects and committees in:
Höganäs is a signatory of the UN Global Compact since 2017. |
Grievance mechanisms
In all locations where we operate, we have a responsibility to maintain an active and transparent dialogue where we inform the community about our activities and listen to their opinions.
We also welcome spontaneous feedback from our neighbours and all sites have channels for communication and grievance mechanisms.
In 2019 we received six grievance reports from our neighbours. Two were concerning smell, three were related to noise and one was related to dust. We have investigated the causes and handled each case to find the best possible solution and remediation.
