deSter Sustainability Report 2022

PEOPLE ESG REPORT DESTER 2022
OUR PEOPLE
IN 2022
POLICIES
As a crucial part of our ESG and HR
strategies, we focused on our governance
in 2022 by writing, reviewing, sharing,
and communicating our ”Global
People Policies”. deSter staff familiarized
themselves with these policies
through in-house training and testing
to demonstrate their knowledge.
Our global policies focus on:
• Prohibition of any form of child labor
• Abolition of all kinds of compulsory
and forced labor
• Diversity, Equality and Inclusion
• Fighting discrimination and
harassment, including
grievance mechanisms
• Recruiting
• Training
• Career management
• Social dialogue
DIVERSITY, EQUALITY,
AND INCLUSION
Diversity
We strive for an inclusive culture
that values diversity, as well as equal
treatment and opportunities for
all. We employee people from over
40 nationalities worldwide, and are
constantly looking for more talented
people to join us. To expand our
teams, we offer internal career opportunities,
seek external talent, and
aim to new talent through employee
referrals. During the selection and
recruitment process, we systematically
apply gender neutrality and nondiscrimination
approaches.
Equality
We work to achieve a workplace environment
in which individual and team
efforts are rewarded and recognized and
all employees have access to the same
opportunities, benefits, and treatment.
In 2022, we achieved a 49/51 men-towomen
gender balance within the company,
and the number of female leaders
is increasing.
Gender pay gap analysis
Every year at our Belgium location, we
conduct an adjusted gender pay gap
analysis, which is then reported and discussed
with the local workers council.
As part of our ongoing commitment to
promoting equality, we broadened our
scope in 2022 and conducted a global unadjusted
gender pay gap analysis across
our organization. The initial findings indicate
that factors such as company seniority,
job seniority and job levels play a
significant role in the results, with men
earning higher hourly wages on average
than women. With this knowledge, we
are taking steps to conduct an adjusted
gender pay gap analysis on a global level
and develop a tailored action plan.
Living wage pay gap analysis
We also conducted a pay gap internal
audit including 97% of our employees and
compared the results against recognized
living wage standards. We understand our
responsibility to promote living wages for
all of our workers and are committed to
making the necessary changes to close
the gap by 2032.
Inclusion
Where needed, employees receive support
from supervisors and HR to successfully
integrate into our culture and
work environment. For example, they can
attend language training at our facilities
and we offer one-on-one sessions to
monitor their progress.
In cases of long-term illness where people
cannot fulfill their job due to physical or
psychological reasons, we provide reintegration
support. Together with an
occupational physician, we strive to offer
employees another job or adjust work
schedules and provide more flexibility.
Externally, we collaborate with companies
employing people from minority
groups, such as an educational center
for people convicted of crimes and workshops
for people with disabilities, in our
supply chain.
WELL-BEING AND
WORK-LIFE BALANCE
Employee feedback
With the support of the IDEWE (External
Service for Prevention and Protection at
Work in Belgium), we took a well-being
survey in 2022 to map psychosocial workloads
(e.g. stress, burnout, and transgressive
behavior). Positive aspects
were also covered, such as satisfaction,
commitment, participation, and development
opportunities. The feedback has
informed our goals and helped shape
our roadmap for coming years, in which
learning opportunities and general wellbeing
will be a priority.
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