CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

• The company performs systematic and strategic work in the area of corporate social responsibility. We have created a Sustainability Team which consists of people responsible for all of the company’s key areas of activity / departments. Priorities in the field of social responsibility are defined each year;
• One of the priority areas defined by the Cēsu alus brewery is the education of the public regarding alcohol addiction prevention, placing the main emphasis on youths and secondary school students;
• The local community, within the scope of the social responsibility of Cēsu alus, is the public of Cēsis and its municipality;
• The company publishes its financial statements (annual accounts) and non-financial statements in the form of Corporate Social Responsibility Reports on its website;
• The company takes care of its reputation by implementing social responsibility projects both within the context of product development and the entire beer industry;
• When defining its position on industry development matters, Cēsu alus realises the representation of the company’s and industry’s interests through the agency of professional associations. The company is a member of both beer and non-alcoholic beverage industry associations, as well as of institutions representing the opinion of food companies;
• As the largest operating brewery in Latvia, Cēsu alus initiates and implements projects promoting beer culture, for example, with the “Beer Master Class” series of public education events.

REPRESENTATION OF INTERESTS

AS “Cēsu alus” supports and represents the company’s interests in so far as it relates to the promotion of sustainable growth and development of the whole beer and beverage production industry.

AS “Cēsu alus” is a member of the following organisations for industry and national economy development, and entrepreneurial interest representation:

• Employers’ Confederation of Latvia
• Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
• Latvian Federation of Food Companies
• Latvian Brewers’ Association
• Brewer and Packaging Union
• Association of Non-Alcoholic Beverage Producers
• Latvian Association for Quality
• Latvian Association of Testing Laboratories
  
• Latvian Association for People Management
• The Association of Accountants of the Republic of Latvia
• GS1 Latvia
• Finnish Trade Guild in Riga

ECONOMIC RESPONSIBILITY

• AS “Cēsu alus” supports a transparent and responsible remuneration system which it realises within the company and respects in its cooperation partners.
• AS “Cēsu alus” does not do business with representatives of the shadow economy. Therefore, the company’s business strategy includes and implements strict criteria in the verification of credit standings, as well as the selection of customers and customer agreements, especially in the trade and HoReCa sector.
• TAXES PAID BY AS “CĒSU ALUS” IN 2021

CONTRIBUTION TO SOCIETY

• Each year the company defines its priority sponsoring and support areas, however the sponsoring strategy basically does not change – Cēsu alus supports events of long-term significance, which have run for several years and become traditions. By continuously improving the company’s operation, we choose to support events which create true values and bring lasting emotions to their visitors;
• In addition to the defined financial support and sponsoring projects, we review submitted projects which the company might choose to support by providing our products at events;
• Priority is given to the local community when providing support for events, and it is determined that the local community within the scope of the social responsibility of Cēsu alus is the public of Cēsis and its municipality;
• One of the support project priorities is the education of the public which the company realises by implementing the alcohol addiction prevention project “Be Independent!” in secondary schools of Latvia, as well as the unique “Beer Master Class” educational series of events;
• The charitable side of the social contribution of Cēsu alus is apparent in its long-term support for the Cēsis day centre “Saules taka” which gathers and takes care of children from disadvantaged families in Cēsis Municipality;
• The company runs the Cēsu alus Pensioners’ Club which unites the company’s former and current long-term employees, establishes and maintains the social link and sense of belonging to the company, as well positively effects the quality of the respective people’s social life.

WORK WITH CUSTOMERS AND SUPPLIERS

• The Quality Policy of Cēsu alus prescribes that efficient partnerships with customers and suppliers ensure their trust in the company as a safe producer and supplier;
• Our objective is to continuously improve the company’s quality management system on the basis of measurements, comprehensive analysis and successful cooperation with our partners;
• The customers of Cēsu alus are representatives of the trade industry – shops and networks of shops, as well as cafés, restaurants and hotels. The customers of Cēsu alus can be roughly divided into two segments – trade customers (retail establishments) and customers of the HoReCa sector (hotels, restaurants and cafés);
• Whereas the suppliers of Cēsu alus are Latvian and foreign companies which supply us with beverage raw materials, technological equipment and other resources necessary for ensuring the support functions;
• Work with customers is carried out systematically – in accordance with the requirements of the BRC quality standard (BRC for Food Safety certificate) we perform the Customer Satisfaction and Retention Survey once every year, and we also publish informative materials – the Cēsu alus Customer Newspaper. We have also developed a special procedure for submitting and reviewing complaints, which allows our customers and suppliers to submit suggestions and complaints in the most convenient manner, form and time for them, as well as receive feedback;

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

• The vision of Cēsu alus is to be the development leader of the Latvian beverage market, which the company is accomplishing by expanding its portfolio of innovative products – creating and introducing new product categories, segments, flavours and packaging;
• The company also actively involves its employees in product development by organising Innovation Week once per year, during which the departments of the company can create and present their innovative product ideas. Moreover, the employees have the opportunity to submit their product ideas on a daily basis by using the Idea Box;
• Cēsu alus also involves beer lovers and consumers in the generation of new product ideas and the improvement of current products by establishing and maintaining an active dialogue through various social networks: Draugiem, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram;
• For several years Cēsu alus has promoted public engagement in product development through the annual campaign of its leading brand – Cēsu Premium – for example, by giving everyone the opportunity to create their own unique beer can designs. These campaigns possess a certain cultural and historical significance every year, and they are implemented within the context of current events taking place in Latvia.
• The operation of Cēsu alus is based on responsible marketing both by initiating the creation and observation of the Latvian Brewery Self-Regulating Code of Ethics and entering into a cooperation agreement with the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Latvia regarding compliance with responsible marketing, and educating child audiences instead of directing communication and advertising activities towards them;

PERSONNEL DEVELOPMENT AND WORK SAFETY

• The company’s values provide that professional, satisfied and loyal employees are the most important resource of Cēsu alus, in helping to meet the set objectives;
• The Personnel Development Vision of Cēsu alus is as follows: “Our employees truly strive for and achieve outstanding results!” According to this vision, work on personnel development, motivation and training is systematically and strategically carried out;
• Team and teamwork are among the most important values of the company. Teamwork allows us to set and meet challenging objectives, collaborate in the decision making process, and take responsibility;
• Once every two years Cēsu alus carries out the Employee Engagement and Satisfaction Survey, which is a group level project;
• Each year we organise Annual Development Discussions with each employee, as a result of which Individual Development Maps are drafted, serving as the basis for meeting the employee’s training needs;
• Training is developed and carried out systematically – in accordance with the individual needs and development objectives of each employee, as well as the development objectives of the team. The company carries out both internal and external training, engaging the necessary specialists;

ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS

High product quality

• We provide customers and consumers with products that are of high and constant quality, safe for consumption, as well as corresponding with their needs and desires;
• The Quality Policy of AS “Cēsu alus” foresees the improvement of existing products by facilitating the development of new products and their introduction in the market. Increasing market competitiveness by simultaneously complying with the needs of the consumers and customers, as well as the requirements prescribed by the laws and regulations of the Republic of Latvia, and Codex Alimentarius;
• Our task is to maintain, improve and evaluate the company’s quality management system, which covers the BRC standard requirements, and ensure the regular improvement of its efficiency by constantly increasing the consumers’ and customers’ satisfaction with the product and service quality;
• We form an understanding among the company’s employees regarding their contribution to the development of the company and achievement of the set objectives, as well as a sense of responsibility regarding the quality of the products and services provided;
• We continuously improve the company’s quality management system on the basis of measurements, comprehensive analysis and successful cooperation with our partners.

Cēsu alus operates according to the following quality standards:

• Self-regulation system;
• HACCP;

Ethics policy

Basic principles of the ethical attitude and behaviour of the employees of Cēsu alus:

• Honest and respectful attitude towards the customers, oneself, colleagues and the company by accepting differences in opinions, experience, and the way of thinking;
• Professional development, improvement of skills and the ability to learn from one’s own experience and that of others;
• Fair and responsible attitude in any negotiations regarding a possible deal within the interests of AS “Cēsu alus” or outside of AS “Cēsu alus”, without favouring one’s own personal interests or those of one’s family and other relatives, as well as those of one’s friends and acquaintances;
• The requesting, accepting or giving of presents or other benefits with the aim of influencing decisions is not supported;
• Efficient operation and development depends on the contribution of every employee, including his or her professionalism and behaviour;
• Observation of the generally accepted behavioural norms at work, as well as outside of it, is confirmation of each employee’s personality and a guarantee of a positive company image;
• Inviolability and protection of one’s personal life from the side of the company.

Responsible marketing communication

By realising responsible marketing communication, Cēsu alus has initiated and observes the main principles of ethics of the industry and the field of advertising:

• Brewers’ Code of Ethics
• Code of Ethics of Latvian Advertising Professionals
• Membership in the “Be Free” association
• Memorandum on cooperation regarding changes in the advertising of non-alcoholic beverages aimed at children

Social responsibility in Olvi group

Olvi and its subsidiaries have been in business for centuries – and responsible practices have always been a part of our operations.

Corporate responsibility is one of our values and a crucial component of strategic and operational decision-making, and therefore a natural part of the company’s everyday operations. In order to better respond to the expectations and needs of different stakeholders, we want to develop the beverage industry towards more responsible one, and therefore we make responsible choices ourselves and help our partners and consumers do the same.

Corporate responsibility is traditionally divided into three areas: economic, social and environmental responsibility. These areas serve as the fundamentals in our thinking where we have divided Olvi’s corporate responsibility into four focus areas:

• sustainable value chain
• best place to work
• creating value for stakeholders
• consumers and products

through which we communicate about our actions and objectives. In addition to these four focus areas, one of the cornerstones of our operations regardless of the focus area is ethical business. It penetrates all of the focus areas and works like an umbrella guiding the operations.