16. October 2018.
Hemofarm is the only company from Serbia and this part of Europe that has had an opportunity to participate, side by side with the biggest global companies such as Google, in this year’s United Nations Debate dedicated to sustainable development. Recent Hemofarm’s ranking for finals of the global competition in the area of sustainable development Ideas for Action has nominated this company as a participant in the expert discussion which was organized in the United Nations headquarters in New York, whereby Hemofarm received a global acknowledgment for good business practice it applies in its operation.
Sanda Savić, Director of Corporate Affairs and Communications in this company, has had the opportunity to give an address on behalf of Hemofarm to the highest officials of international organizations, and governmental and corporate representatives from all over the world. Sustainable development principles, which are the foundation of Hemofarm business operations, were presented at the event attended by Mahmoud Mohieldin, World Bank Vice President, Djordjija Petkoski, a renowned professor at Wharton Business School of the University of Pennsylvania, as well as the UN Women Executive Director, Assistant to UN Secretary General, directors of international organizations, and ministers.
‘The importance of this topic to Hemofarm is best illustrated by the fact that we have conceived our latest Sustainable Development Report exactly according to the 17 UN goals. We want to motivate also other companies in Serbia and across the region to start caring more for resources, preservation of nature, respecting the rights of employees, providing more support to individuals and local community, i.e. everything sustainable development is composed of. At the same time, our goal is also to inspire each individual to bring own life and behaviour in tune with sustainable development values. It is the only way for us to preserve our only planet for the generations to come’, Hemofarm’s Director of Corporate Affairs said at the event.
In the mentioned UN debate with the main topic - the role of women in achieving sustainable development goals, the Serbian company has also served as an example of good practice in view of the status of women in business.
‘Women make more than a half of employees in Hemofarm, accounting for 60 percent of company’s management. Although it should be implied everywhere in the world, I proudly point out that women and men in our company are equally paid for the same jobs, with the same opportunities for professional development, and their successes are evaluated exclusively by expertise, professional achievements and personal motivation’.
Unfortunately, women are still treated as unequal to men even in developed countries. ‘The fact that equality is not everywhere explicitly visible, but is rather sophisticated, does not mean that it does not exist. Therefore, the task of all of us is to work on empowering the status of women. By doing it, we return to the society one of the principal values of the mankind – the care for people!’ – Sanda Savić concluded.
The winners of the special competition which promotes women entrepreneurs, with the focus on projects from Africa this year, were presented at the UN headquarters. When presenting the award winning projects and their lady authors, Mahmoud Mohieldin, World Bank Vice President, pointed out that it would not be possible to achieve the sustainable development goals without women’s involvement in business and social life.
