Values and Standards

In doing business, Copenhagen Airports A/S (CPH) is aware of the fact that we have an effect not just on individuals, but on society as a whole as well, through the relationships we enter into when we own, build, operate and advise airports.

We respect for each individual person

The diversity of our employees reflects the many job functions they have at CPH. We are equal-opportunity employers, i.e. we select the best-qualified person regardless of gender, ethnic background, age, religion, or political or other views. We provide our employees with the opportunity for development, both personal and professional, as the needs of our company and each individual change.

We are aware of our responsibility towards our employees

With a staff of 1700, we are a society in ourselves, with the same joys and sorrows as the world around us. Thus we also have personal crises, substance abuse problems, dismissals, illness and death at CPH. We wish to help our employees on the basis of our fundamental respect for them as individuals. We give them time and space when life hurts. Our aim is to help each individual move on in life, and we will use the resources that are necessary.

We do not evaluate our business partners alone on the basis of their services and prices, but also on their ethics

CPH wishes to work together with firms who respect equal rights and employees' right to unionise, who do not employ children, and who trade with sub-suppliers who also adhere to these principles.

We have a high communication ethic

CPH stands for reliable and trustworthy communications with the world around us. This means that we listen to the arguments of others and seek dialogue with clients and other stakeholders.

How do we put our values into practice?

Stakeholder group: Employees

In general, all employee affairs are evaluated on the basis of the situation at hand. This gives us the flexibility that is necessary due to the fact that the situations, employees, and especially reactions are very different. This is why it is often, in practice, the department in which an employee works that finds solutions when an employee becomes seriously ill, for example.

Our starting point is that our relationship with our employees must not be permitted to drown in a strict adherence to the rules. That being said, however, there are some ‘framework policies’ within which these decisions are made.

When life hurts: Any employee may receive the services of a psychologist if he/she needs it.  This scheme is in every respect completely confidential.

Alcohol problems: When the intake of alcohol (and/or other drugs) has a negative effect on an employee’s work, this is a signal that the employee has a problem with these substances.

Early intervention may mean that a talk with a colleague and with an offer to help is sufficient. If the problem has reached a certain stage, then firmer measures are often necessary to end the abuse. It is a difficult problem to address, and it must be approached correctly if a successful solution is to be found.

To ensure the best possible treatment in each individual case, the employee in question and his/her colleagues, superiors and family will be given the option of receiving confidential substance abuse counselling.

Senior employee and social policies:

CPH wishes to retain older employees and avoid unnecessary wearing down of employees. Another vital task is to ready employees for their life as pensioners, to help them realise that there is a life after CPH. Today, former employees remain connected with CPH through events such as pensioner picnics as well as continued receipt of the staff magazine. CPH has written special senior employee policy guidelines.

As far as social policies are concerned, CPH’s departments are good at taking care of their employees so that they can remain in the department if they become ill. If it is necessary, we try to find sheltered jobs in the various departments. If one of CPH’s employees is or becomes disabled and in a wheelchair, or if CPH hires a person in a wheelchair, then the company premises will have to be made wheelchair-accessible.

Death: If an employee dies, their next of kin receives three months’ salary. We also offer the family help with practical matters, if they are having trouble coping, and we try to comfort and help them as best we can in their difficult time.

Stakeholder group: Suppliers

We have a well-incorporated practice that all our business partners sign a declaration that they and their sub-suppliers adhere to certain principles. CPH has formulated a number of requirements that we wish our suppliers to comply with and sign a document stating that they will do so.

Our suppliers must be able to document that they actually comply with these requirements, and we will take random spot checks to ensure that they do.

Thus our choice of suppliers is based on an assessment of price, service and ethics, and we inform them in no uncertain terms that CPH does not wish to do business with suppliers whose ethics are less than desirable.

Stakeholder group: Clients and our resident neighbours

However different these two stakeholder groups may be otherwise, our relations with them belong under the same general principle. We have a high communication ethic, also towards many other stakeholder groups, e.g. journalists. Good relations with these different groups are of the utmost importance, also in the long term. Thus it is important that we uphold our credibility, and we do this to a great extent through dialogue.