RA Sonae 59.indd

Values and Principles
The Sonae Group, aware of its business and social responsibilities, and, regardless of
the countries where its companies are located, undertakes to respect the following
Values and Principles
Business Culture
Management
To accept as a basic principle of good management, the
duty of its directors to accept and welcome controls by
stakeholders whether they be shareholders, market and
financial analysts, suppliers, employees or customers.
Leadership
To develop skills that add value, enabling businesses to
attain positions of leadership in the markets where they
operate.
Willingness to change
To maintain, as a fundamental characteristic of the Group’s
culture, a permanent willingness to change.
Loyalty and control
To base daily management practice on the principles of
professionalism, loyalty, frugality, risk management, and
the adoption of management methods that swiftly detect
and correct adverse situations.
Transparency
To put into place procedures, which allow a true evaluation
to be made of business performance and degree of
compliance with Sonae values and principles, namely
by obtaining the opinion of employees and outside
observers.
Responsibility Towards Employees
Equal Treatment
To implement a Human Resources Management policy
that contains no form of discrimination on the grounds of
race, sex, religion, nationality or social class.
Professional Development
To offer high levels of satisfaction to all employees,
encouraging career development through access to
training and educational programmes.
Safety
To provide working conditions which avoid risks to the
health and safety of employees.
Community Responsibilities
Environmental Awareness
To constantly improve the environmental performance of
its products, processes and activities.
Community Involvement
To establish close ties with the community specifically
through co-operation and support to cultural, sport and
social institutions, in ways which are appropriate to each
case.
Openness to Society
To disclose information about internal projects and
activities targeted for employees, the media and the
general public, but obviously keeping certain information
confidential.
Trust
To develop relationships with business partners, namely
customers and suppliers, which are based on high
standards of trust.
Ethics
To establish relationships with third parties which
are based on principles of honesty, integrity, and
transparency. Any form of corruption even in a passive
way is unacceptable.
Independence from Political Power
Independence
To avoid financing political organisations and parties, as
well as avoiding involvement in party political questions.
However Sonae has the right to express itself publicly in
the way it sees fit, to defend its values and interests.
Co-operation
To adopt a position of independence in relation to central
and local government but with a willingness to co-operate
with government in many different ways, for example in
planning and executing development projects, whether
they are for infrastructure construction or new legislation.
Sustainability Report 06
Sonae SGPS, S.A.
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