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<strong>The</strong> Linde Spirit.
02 <strong>The</strong> Linde Spirit<br />
Table of contents.<br />
Our culture.. ................................................04<br />
Our global presence. .........................................06<br />
Developing our culture together. ...............................09<br />
1.<br />
Vision – values – principles ....................................10<br />
1.1 Our vision. 13<br />
1.2 Our values. 15<br />
1.3 Empowering people. 17<br />
1.4 Innovating for customers. 19<br />
1.5 Thriving through diversity. 20<br />
1.6 Passion to excel. 23<br />
2.<br />
Our foundational principles. ...................................25<br />
2.1 Our foundational principles defined. 27<br />
2.2 What do the values and foundational principles mean for me? 29<br />
2.3 Living our culture. 30
<strong>The</strong> Linde Spirit<br />
03<br />
Culture? That’s the way<br />
we do things around<br />
here.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Linde Spirit describes our culture.
04 <strong>The</strong> Linde Spirit<br />
Our culture.<br />
We are a company of great diversity with people operating in over 100 countries, encompassing<br />
a vast array of traditions, talents, experiences and expertise. Our culture – the Linde Spirit –<br />
binds us together and defines the way we do things in our company. It guides us in how we<br />
operate and run our business, how we behave and interact with one another, how we deal with<br />
our stakeh<strong>old</strong>ers and the communities around us. It articulates what our aspiration is and how<br />
we will get there.<br />
Today, our core values and foundational principles are well embedded in our organisation,<br />
having guided us through the challenges and successes over the years. Our principles – Safety,<br />
Integrity, Sustainability and Respect – and our values – Empowering people, Innovating for<br />
customers, Thriving through diversity and Passion to excel – resonate in everything we do, no<br />
matter which part of the business or geography we are in.<br />
This spirit is captured in this booklet. It articulates how our principles and values are brought<br />
to life in our everyday business. We, the Executive Board, individually and collectively commit<br />
to live by these values and principles, and we invite you all to embrace the essence of our<br />
Linde Spirit, too.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Executive Board
<strong>The</strong> Linde Spirit<br />
05
06 <strong>The</strong> Linde Spirit<br />
Our global presence.<br />
North America<br />
South America<br />
Africa & UK<br />
Continental & Northern Europe<br />
Eastern Europe & Middle East<br />
South & East Asia<br />
Greater China<br />
South Pacific
<strong>The</strong> Linde Spirit<br />
07
I like being part of a company<br />
that encourages me to reach<br />
my full potential. Our company<br />
culture promotes innovation,<br />
efficiency and flexibility – the<br />
key success factors for a truly<br />
leading organisation.<br />
Colleagues really care about<br />
each other at Linde. When I<br />
first joined Linde, my team<br />
members went out of their way<br />
to help me orientate myself in<br />
my new role and environment.
<strong>The</strong> Linde Spirit<br />
09<br />
Developing our culture together.<br />
Our culture reflects who we are and what we stand for as a company. It represents the aspirations<br />
and beliefs of Linde people around the world.<br />
Culture is powerful. It shapes our work environment and our relationships with one another.<br />
It is interwoven into our processes. At Linde, we seek to build a culture that supports our ambitions<br />
of high performance by harnessing the vast array of skills, experiences and attitudes of<br />
our people. Our vision, values and principles, as set out in the Linde Spirit, provide us with a<br />
common direction and a guide for how we should work together.<br />
Every one of us has a role to play in continuing to embed our core values and foundational<br />
principles in everything we do. It is only through personal commitment and action that we will<br />
bring to life the Linde Spirit and reach our vision of becoming truly leading.
10 <strong>The</strong> Linde Spirit<br />
Our vision<br />
Our values<br />
Our principles
We will be the leading global<br />
gases and engineering company,<br />
admired for our people, who provide<br />
innovative solutions that make a<br />
difference to the world.<br />
Empowering people.<br />
Innovating for customers.<br />
Thriving through diversity.<br />
Passion to excel.<br />
Respect<br />
Sustainability<br />
Safety<br />
Integrity
12 <strong>The</strong> Linde Spirit<br />
We will be the leading global<br />
gases and engineering company,<br />
admired for our people, who<br />
provide innovative solutions that<br />
make a difference to the world.
<strong>The</strong> Linde Spirit<br />
13<br />
1.1 Our vision.<br />
We touch and improve the lives of billions of people through the jobs, capability and wealth<br />
created by our core activities across the world, as well as through the products and services we<br />
supply to our customers across a wide range of industries, from steelmaking to food production<br />
and distribution.<br />
We have the ability to make even greater differences to the world through innovative solutions<br />
in areas such as clean energy, energy efficiency, safer and healthier food processing and distribution,<br />
environmental protection and health care. We will be relentless in our search for new<br />
technologies, applications and services in these and other areas for the benefit of mankind and<br />
our planet. To do this, we need talented and committed people across our range of activities<br />
and we will invest in finding, developing and retaining them and in creating a working environment<br />
in which their talents and energies can be unleashed.<br />
We use the term “leading” in a broad sense. We want to be the leader in our businesses in<br />
terms of profitability, growth, safety, customer service, operational excellence, corporate<br />
responsibility, shareh<strong>old</strong>er value as well as attracting, developing and retaining talented<br />
employees.<br />
We realise that this is a broad set of aspirations, however we will not shy away from continuously<br />
improving until we consistently achieve them.
In my team, we clearly strive<br />
to create and offer the best<br />
solutions to our customers.<br />
I believe that if we make this<br />
our common goal, we will drive<br />
our business growth.<br />
It isn’t always easy working in<br />
a global team, but I wouldn’t<br />
change anything about it.<br />
Discussions can sometimes get<br />
quite intense over how things<br />
should be done. But, in the<br />
end, I believe we always reach<br />
a better solution to our problems<br />
than if we all thought the<br />
same way.<br />
In projects I am involved in,<br />
I see everyone putting in<br />
their full effort and striving<br />
to achieve the best possible<br />
result. This attitude makes the<br />
difference for me to want to<br />
work here.<br />
One of the most fulfilling parts<br />
of my job is to be involved in<br />
the career development of my<br />
direct reports and to see them<br />
excel in their roles.<br />
It is great to know that I can<br />
focus on delivering my best<br />
to our external customers<br />
while colleagues from other<br />
functions are taking care of<br />
continuously finding new<br />
ways to improve our internal<br />
business processes.<br />
At Linde, empowerment means<br />
employees having access to<br />
the right tools and skills that<br />
enable them to be successful.<br />
When I face a challenge, my<br />
manager helps me reflect and<br />
find ways to overcome it. This<br />
inspires me to do better every<br />
day – and I achieve more than<br />
what I thought I could.
<strong>The</strong> Linde Spirit<br />
15<br />
1.2 Our values.<br />
Our four core values express what we stand for and what will differentiate us from our<br />
competitors:<br />
Empowering people.<br />
Innovating for customers.<br />
Thriving through diversity.<br />
Passion to excel.
1.3 Empowering people.<br />
What it means: People are given the space to contribute and grow.<br />
Why this value?<br />
——<br />
Our people create our success.<br />
——<br />
We believe that capable and engaged people can make a difference.<br />
——<br />
We trust our people and believe in empowering individuals and teams to do the<br />
right thing.<br />
Behaviour:<br />
——<br />
We agree clear goals and h<strong>old</strong> people accountable.<br />
——<br />
We define boundaries but give people the opportunity for taking the initiative,<br />
learning and personal fulfilment.<br />
——<br />
We encourage entrepreneurship.<br />
——<br />
We stand up for what we believe in and do the right thing.<br />
——<br />
We support the development of people and coach people for success.<br />
——<br />
We each personally behave in ways consistent with our foundational principles<br />
of Safety, Integrity, Sustainability and Respect.<br />
——<br />
We provide people with the right tools and training to get the job done.<br />
We reject:<br />
——<br />
Bullying, fear and micromanaging.
1.4 Innovating for customers.<br />
What it means: We relentlessly pursue new ways to add value to external<br />
customers.<br />
Why this value?<br />
——<br />
External customers are the reason we exist and are central to our current and<br />
future success.<br />
——<br />
We need to innovate in every area of our business in order to retain existing<br />
customers and gain a footh<strong>old</strong> in new markets and customer segments.<br />
——<br />
We offer excellent service to internal customers so that they can provide better<br />
service for external customers.<br />
Behaviour:<br />
——<br />
We always deliver on our promises.<br />
——<br />
We make it easy for customers to do business with us.<br />
——<br />
We provide value-adding solutions to customers.<br />
——<br />
We anticipate customer and market needs by spending time with customers to<br />
understand their needs.<br />
——<br />
We create a climate that supports innovation.<br />
——<br />
When servicing internal customers, we always ask “How will this benefit the<br />
external customer?”<br />
——<br />
We recognise and reward people who put customers’ interests first and display<br />
innovation and creativity.<br />
We reject:<br />
——<br />
Resistance to new ideas, internal focus and “We have tried it before” attitude.
1.5 Thriving through diversity.<br />
What it means: Diversity results in enriched collaboration and enhanced solutions.<br />
Why this value?<br />
——<br />
We strongly believe that the diversity of our employees, their capabilities, our<br />
global footprint and our range of business activities is a source of competitive<br />
advantage.<br />
——<br />
We will unleash the power of our people by creating an environment where<br />
every employee can contribute fully.<br />
——<br />
We believe that there are tangible business benefits from developing gender<br />
diversity.<br />
Behaviour:<br />
——<br />
We actively seek, encourage and embrace contribution and participation from<br />
diverse individuals and teams.<br />
——<br />
We stretch ourselves to learn from different points of views and strive to turn our<br />
dilemmas into enriched solutions.<br />
——<br />
We actively seek to remove practical and psychological barriers which prevent<br />
diverse groups from joining, contributing fully and having rewarding careers in<br />
<strong>The</strong> Linde Group.<br />
——<br />
We collaborate within and across teams, functions and regions by putting our<br />
company interests in front of the interests of our own group.<br />
——<br />
We foster a global mindset and develop individuals and teams who can think<br />
globally and act locally.<br />
We reject:<br />
——<br />
Discrimination (in all its forms), self-interest and narrow-minded views.
1.6 Passion to excel.<br />
What it means: We have the commitment and drive to pursue ever higher<br />
standards of excellence and we celebrate success.<br />
Why this value?<br />
——<br />
Our vision is to be the leading global gases and engineering company.<br />
——<br />
We are passionate about winning and are committed to continuous improvement.<br />
——<br />
We want to become and remain a high-performance organisation.<br />
Behaviour:<br />
——<br />
We strive for excellence in everything we do.<br />
——<br />
We continuously improve every aspect of our organisation, processes and<br />
operations and use Lean Six Sigma to help us to do so.<br />
——<br />
We look for opportunities to learn from within, as well as from customers,<br />
competitors and other industries.<br />
——<br />
We develop and coach our people so that they achieve superior performance.<br />
——<br />
We recognise and reward high-performing individuals and teams.<br />
We reject:<br />
——<br />
Indifference, mediocrity and arrogance.
Unethical behaviour is just<br />
not tolerated here. Everyone<br />
knows that.<br />
Doing business in a sustainable<br />
way means caring for the<br />
world around us – not only for<br />
our business and employees,<br />
but also for the environment<br />
and the social needs in our<br />
communities.<br />
Safety is our number one<br />
priority. More and more, I see<br />
people in my team ensuring<br />
that everyone behaves in the<br />
safest way possible. No one<br />
should have to worry about<br />
returning home safely and<br />
healthy to their family at the<br />
end of a working day.<br />
Even though I am the youngest<br />
person in my team, I feel comfortable<br />
sharing my thoughts<br />
openly. My colleagues listen<br />
to me and treat my ideas<br />
equally with those of the more<br />
experienced team members.<br />
Safety is fundamental to our<br />
business. If you can’t manage<br />
safety, then you shouldn’t be<br />
a manager. It is that simple.
<strong>The</strong> Linde Spirit<br />
25<br />
Our foundational principles.<br />
Our four foundational principles underpin all our decisions, actions and behaviour.<br />
<strong>The</strong>y are our licence to operate as an employer, supplier and publicly owned company.<br />
Safety.<br />
Integrity.<br />
Sustainability.<br />
Respect.
<strong>The</strong> Linde Spirit<br />
27<br />
2.1 Our foundational principles defined.<br />
Safety: <strong>The</strong> Linde Group will avoid to harm people and society.<br />
Safety is a foundational principle of our businesses. <strong>The</strong> safety and health of our colleagues,<br />
customers, business partners and communities in which we do business is our number one<br />
priority. Safety principles shall be reflected in 100 percent of our behaviour, 100 percent of the<br />
time; we expect all people to behave and conduct themselves in a manner that demonstrates<br />
the highest priority for safety all of the time. By doing this, safety considerations will become<br />
an integral and automatic part of everything we do and guide our day-to-day work.<br />
Integrity: Our actions are honest, fair and ethical.<br />
<strong>The</strong>re are universal moral and ethical principles that transcend cultural differences. We expect<br />
consistent adherence to these. We have the right to expect honesty and fairness from one<br />
another and adhere to this in dealings with customers, suppliers and other stakeh<strong>old</strong>ers. Linde<br />
people consistently behave in accordance with the detail and spirit of the Linde Code of Ethics.<br />
Sustainability: We are focused on today’s success, but accept our responsibility for future<br />
generations.<br />
In line with our vision, we are committed to treating people and the environment with respect.<br />
We work to protect natural resources in the world by delivering technologies that help our<br />
customers improve their environmental impact and meet the challenges facing society today.<br />
We believe in creating long-term relationships with our stakeh<strong>old</strong>ers. Our success is linked to<br />
turning business challenges into positive outcomes for our customers and the communities<br />
where we operate.<br />
We are committed to growing together with our employees by enabling them to develop,<br />
reach their full potential and improve their standard of living.<br />
Respect: Every human being deserves to be treated with respect.<br />
Linde people treat each other with courtesy and dignity, regardless of seniority, age, gender,<br />
ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation or any other difference. We respect the humanity of<br />
others through our words and actions. Linde people behave in accordance with the detail and<br />
spirit of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations.
<strong>The</strong> Linde Spirit<br />
29<br />
2.2 What do the values and foundational<br />
principles mean for me?<br />
In evaluating our success as individuals, teams and as an organisation, we do not just look at<br />
what we have achieved, but also at how we did this.<br />
Sustainable high levels of credibility and performance require the “what” to be performed<br />
in line with our core values and foundational principles.<br />
<strong>The</strong>y guide our behaviour and are the link that keeps us together.<br />
We believe that Empowering people, Innovating for customers, Thriving through diversity and<br />
Passion to excel will result in a high-performing organisation. Moreover, by exercising these<br />
values with integrity and in ways that are safe, sustainable and respectful we will create an<br />
organisation which we can be proud to work for and in which each of us can find fulfilment.<br />
Our core values and foundational principles are incorporated into all our people processes,<br />
including selection, development, advancement, recognition and reward. We also ensure that<br />
all our business processes are aligned with our values and foundational principles.<br />
By living these values and principles in our daily lives, we consciously define and live the<br />
culture we desire. This builds a solid foundation for realising our vision of being the leading<br />
global gases and engineering company.
30 <strong>The</strong> Linde Spirit<br />
2.3 Living our culture.<br />
We face difficult choices every day. Some are ethical choices: Is it right and am I comfortable<br />
with it? Others are cultural choices: Does this fit? Would I want the same done to me?<br />
Our foundational principles provide a good starting point for answering these types of<br />
questions.<br />
——<br />
Linde will only do business in a safe manner. Ask yourself: Can I do this safely?<br />
——<br />
Linde will only do business, execute deals and interact with our external and internal<br />
partners in a way that is ethical and maintains our integrity. Ask yourself: By doing this, will<br />
I retain my integrity and that of the organisation?<br />
——<br />
Linde will only do business that is sustainable for the company, its people, our customers,<br />
communities and the environment. Ask yourself: Does this avoid negative long-term<br />
impacts?<br />
——<br />
Linde will only do business in a way that maintains respect for others. Ask yourself: Does<br />
this respect the humanity of others?<br />
Our values create a framework for describing our high performance culture.<br />
——<br />
How can I put my passion into excelling?<br />
——<br />
How can I ensure that my creativity and innovation can benefit external customers?<br />
——<br />
Am I empowering individuals and teams who work with me?<br />
——<br />
Am I harnessing and leveraging diversity with the richness that a variety of backgrounds,<br />
capabilities, perspectives and approaches can provide?
Published by<br />
Linde AG<br />
Klosterhofstrasse 1<br />
80331 Munich<br />
Germany<br />
Phone +49.89.35757-01<br />
Fax +49.89.35757-1075<br />
www.linde.com<br />
Munich, July 2013