Sustainability management
Background
Discovery’s executive board and sub-committees of the board, as well as its executive management team, are responsible for our business strategy. Our business strategy is inherently responsible towards our stakeholders and takes into account the requirement of sustainability. Although each business and operational area is responsible for doing specific strategies and achieving set objectives, during the past year we focused on setting up a sustainability team and process to oversee sustainability issues for our company. Our aim is to ensure that our business and sustainability strategy align to deliver on our business’ core purpose and to ensure the long-term sustainability of our company.
Our core purpose
Discovery’s core purpose is to make people healthier and to protect and enhance their lives. Our core purpose drives our business strategy.
Our business strategy
Our strategy to deliver on our core purpose is to offer consumers products that they need and want and that add value and enable them to engage in their health. We look to grow our business organically by structurally changing the way industries work for the benefit of the consumer. Our approach to our business and customers is driven by strong values.
Discovery’s guiding values
- Great people
- Liberating the best in our people
- Intellectual leadership
- Innovation and optimism
- Business astuteness and prudence
- Dazzle clients
- Drive, tenacity and urgency
- Integrity, honesty and fairness
Governance, compliance and risk management
It is important for us to manage our business ethically and prudently according to international best practice within an acceptable level of risk. We are therefore committed to an open and transparent governance process that not only ensures we manage our business justly, but also gives our stakeholders this assurance.
Discovery has various mechanisms in place to ensure we manage the business ethically while managing risk prudently. While the Discovery board is responsible for developing, approving and monitoring corporate governance for the company, all employees are required to act according to a code of conduct, business ethics, and morals as well as with honesty and integrity.
Detailed information about Discovery and corporate governance, risk management and compliance can be found in our 2009 Annual Report. Please see our website www.discovery.co.za. Go to Investor Relations.
Discovery’s policies
Discovery’s policies aim to set a standard of behaviour for all employees. This ensures that the company, employees and our stakeholders are protected. We have the following policies in place:
- Code of conduct
- Company property
- Discipline and grievance
- Domestic relocation
- Bursary
- Assessment
- Dress code
- Educational assistance
- Employee assistance programme
- Employee reimbursement
- Employee sponsorship
- Employment equity
- Exit interview
- Fraud
- HIV and AIDS
- Health and safety
- Information security policy
- Staff retirement fund policy
- Moonlighting
- Life-threatening diseases
- Network access
- Notebook
- Parking policy
- Passing of an employee
- Promotions
- Recruitment
- Referral bonus
- Reputation management
- Restructuring
- Retirement scheme
- Safeguarding of person and property
- Sexual harassment
- Smoking
- Substance abuse
How we approach fraud when it happens in our business
We have adopted a zero tolerance approach to incidents of fraud and corruption. The Group Forensic Services department is responsible for the fraud risk management for the Discovery group of companies and continuously investigates and monitors incidents of both internal and external fraud and corruption.
During the reporting period we dismissed 31 employees following disciplinary procedures for various offences relating to fraud and corruption. No business partner contracts were cancelled or reviewed as a result of corrupt activities.
Our involvement with the industries we operate in
Financial services companies in South Africa subscribe to the Department of Trade and Industry’s Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) Codes of Good Practice as well as the Financial Services Charter (FSC) due to the pending gazetting of the FSC as a sector code under section 9 of the act. Discovery has not only implemented the elements as per the FSC but also subscribes to the Codes of Good Practice. Discovery’s BBBEE status has been verified by a South African National Accredition System – an approved BBBEE verification agency – as a level 4. Discovery Life and Discovery Invest are also members of the Association of Savings and Investments of South Africa (ASISA).
Issues that are material to us
In our report we aim to give an account of the issues that are material to our business and the economic, social and environmental areas where we have an important impact. The way we decide on whether an issue is material for our business, differs across the business and depends on the area affected, as well as our engagement with our stakeholders.
Factors that influence materiality
In our business, the following factors influence our decisionmaking on the material issues for our business:
Our core purpose, business strategy performance and values
- Discovery’s core purpose
- Business strategy
- Financial perfomance
- Products and services
- Vitality Insured Persons study
- Member-based research surveys
- Surveys with healthcare professionals
Risks and opportunities for our business
- Scarce healthcare resources and access to healthcare
- Legislation and healthcare reform
- Transformation
- Current economic climate and market turmoil
- Our investment in the community
- Global sustainability issues such as climate change
Our employees’ expectations
- Employee engagement