Sustainability policy

We recognise that our global presence requires high ethical standards in our whole organisation and in our actions. We want to be a responsible and credible company capable of balancing economic, environmental, and social aspects.

This means that:

1. AVK recognises the ten principles of the UN Global Compact, which are concerned with human rights, labour, environment, and anti-corruption.
2. AVK supports the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We focus on SDG 6 related to clean water and sanitation and SDG 9 related to industry, innovation and infrastructure. AVK also contributes to other SDGs including the SDG 3 related to good health and well-being, SDG 8 related to decent work and economic growth, SDG 12 related to responsible consumption and production, SDG 13 related to climate action and SDG 17 related to partnerships.
3. We continuously keep focus on minimising our energy consumption and will ensure that sustainability is the foundation of our production and that we have a healthy and safe work environment
4. We focus on the environment and long-lasting solutions, and we are proudly certified according to:
   1. ISO 9001 – quality management
   2. ISO / TS 29001 – quality management within the oil and gas industry
   3. ISO 14001 – environmental management
   4. ISO 45001 – occupational health and safety management

Environmental policy

Environmental sustainability is a central value for AVK as a global manufacturer of valves, hydrants, and accessories for water and gas supply, wastewater management, and industrial applications. We recognize that our day-to-day operations inevitably impact on the environment. As a global company we want to minimize the potentially harmful effects of such activities where and whenever possible.
The management of AVK is committed to continual improvements in environmental performance and prevention of pollution. Environmental regulations, laws and codes of practice will be regarded as setting the minimum standards of environmental performance. Best practices and legislations from other industries will be taken into consideration and where applicable used within AVK facilities.
As part of AVK's continuous drive for high performance in all aspects of business, we have developed a comprehensive policy statement that will enable us to set our targets, by which our efforts towards sustainable environment improvement can be monitored on a regular basis.

To minimize the adverse effects on the environment from our operational activities, we have set the following objectives within the policy:

1. Promote recycling and use of recycled materials, whilst reducing consumption of materials wherever possible.
2. Minimize waste in all operations and product development.
3. Meet the requirements of legislative, regulatory and contractual obligations.
4. Continue to be at the leading edge of innovation in order to improve the performance. of our processes and products to increase efficiency and minimize impact on the environment.
5. To promote environmental awareness throughout the organization, including energy consumption.
6. AVK will continuously set environmental targets and goals designed to improve our environmental performance.

Quality policy

Our first priority is customer satisfaction; obtained through superior quality, customer service and continual improvement. Our Quality Management System will define the requirements for meeting our business needs, complying with regulatory requirements and is the tools to be used for establishing, reviewing and measuring our quality objectives. In AVK all products and services have to live up to the same quality demands.

All parts of our business processes shall be in control and create right value for our customers, employees or suppliers. We are all personally responsible for commitment and compliance to delivered quality. Continuously we follow our Quality Management System, to ensuring its suitability, and for continually improving its effectiveness, in order to enhance our customers' satisfaction. We will do it the right way, first time.

Safety policy

AVK prioritize safe and healthy jobs high.
We believe that all injuries can be prevented and avoided. With focus on continuous improvement and preventive activities we will strive for a zero injury environment. Any accident (or nearby) will be registered and corrective action will be conducted. Staff shall be trained on safety and we will empower employees to participate in injury prevention, to make safe choices, and to contribute towards a safer working environment. Our goal is to create, build and establish safety into every process.

Ethical policy

AVK believes in respect for human rights and in the ethical treatment of all our employees. It is AVK's policy to behave in a socially and ethically exemplary way and to operate business in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. We lean on the political tradition that praises freedom, democracy and basic human rights. These are values we do not negotiate and we make no compromises in this respect. On the contrary, we do best to promote others about these basic values and even to implement them.

AVK will:

• NOT allow child labour in accordance with the international conventions.
• NOT allow discrimination based on gender, religion, race or political affiliation.
• NOT trade with countries that are boycotted politically by e.g. the UN or the EU.

We want to be a responsible company in deed and word with due respect to proper business procedures and ethical behaviour. We want to be acknowledged as such by our employees, customers, suppliers, the local communities we are working in - and our competitors.