Norwich Union (NU) is set to measure its performance in treatment of suppliers, health and safety, and human rights. The policy is being implemented throughout the CGNU group.
The move pre-empts the September launch of a corporate social responsibility (CSR) index for FTSE-100 companies.
CGNU director of corporate social responsibility Anthony Sampson explained that the 2002 CSR report superseded the 2001 report and included a raft of new measures. He said the 2001 report encompassed environmental issues, but that the 2002 report went much further. "We are setting out to measure performance of how we treat suppliers and customers," he said. "And how we perform on health, safety and human rights issues."
Sampson said one of the key performance indicators would be the length of time it took to pay suppliers. He claimed that over the past year, CGNU had reduced this period from 39 days to 19.
Sampson said the next few months would see the development of a number of performance indicators. That performance would be measured and reported both internally and externally in annual reports, he added.
Sampson, who is chairman of Forge - a group of corporate social responsibility directors of insurers and banks, said CGNU had already performed well in environmental responsibility. "We came second in the Innovest environmental report of 21 companies with AAA rating earlier this year."
