Risk management
At Sulzer, risks are assessed regularly as part of the company’s integrated risk management process. The results are discussed with the management and the Audit Committee.
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Risk |
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Risk exposure |
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Main loss controls |
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External and markets |
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Market assessment |
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Market developments that are assessed inappropriately could lead to missed business opportunities or losses. |
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Continuous monitoring and assessment of market developments |
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Systematic midrange planning based on market developments and expectations |
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Geopolitical shocks |
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A geopolitical shock event could have an impact on operations and travel. Also, it could imply currency risks and default risks of countries and banks. |
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Monitoring of exposure in critical countries |
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Monitoring of debt situation of countries and banks |
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Continuous monitoring of raw material prices and inflation indicators |
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Sulzer’s global presence mitigates the effect of geopolitical shocks |
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48.82% of Sulzer’s shares are beneficially owned by Viktor F. Vekselberg, who is listed as a Specially Designated National by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control and subject to sanctions in other jurisdictions including the Ukraine, Japan, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Poland. These sanctions and possible future sanctions in further countries could result in negative media coverage, damage to Sulzer’s reputation and impair existing business relationships with customers, suppliers, banks or other business partners as well as Sulzer’s ability to win future business. |
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Continuous monitoring of international sanctions environment and seeking of advice by reputable sanctions law firms |
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Maintaining and enhancing a robust sanctions compliance program |
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Strategic |
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Innovation |
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Failure in R&D and innovation activities could negatively impact the ability to operate and to grow the business. Insufficient investments in innovation to maintain technology leadership and develop innovative products. |
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A phased process, technical risk manageability assessments and key performance indicators to ensure quality of the development |
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Product development council with strong focus on strategic plans and digitalization |
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Prototypes and own test beds to test and validate products before market release |
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Core technology council for research of basic technology |
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Focus on innovation with strategic customers |
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Innovation and ideation projects |
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Implementation of an expert development program for key critical resources |
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Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) |
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ESG-related regulations could change. Stakeholder expectations related to ESG commitments could change. Not meeting regulatory requirements could result in fines, limit access to financing, impact banking channels and result in loss of business and reputational damages |
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Board Strategy and Sustainability Committee extended to cover ESG and sustainability |
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Setting of clear ESG-related objectives and progress tracking |
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ESG initiatives driven by EC including different group and business functions covering regulatory requirements and supply chain due diligence |
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ESG assessments in business projects |
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Operational |
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Attraction and retention |
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Failure to attract, retain and develop people could lead to a lack of critical skills and knowledge, which hinders both daily operations and growth potential. |
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Ensuring that Sulzer’s people and performance efforts are anchored to the company’s values and behaviors |
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Ongoing feedback through employee opinion survey “Voice of Sulzer” |
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Robust internal communications strategy |
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Ongoing engagement in workshops and collaborative activities |
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Visibility and access to creating development experiences and opportunities |
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Consistent approach to salary grading and benchmarking |
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Health and safety |
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An unsafe working environment could lead to harm to people, reputational damage, fines as well as liability claims and could have a serious economic impact. |
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Health and safety directives, guidelines, programs (e.g. Safe Behavior Program) and training |
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OHSAS 18001 and ISO 45001 certifications |
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Monthly health and safety controlling and regular audits, systematic risk assessments |
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Global network of health and safety officers |
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Environmental |
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Environmental damage could lead to harm to people and nature, reputational damage, fines as well as liability claims and could have a serious economic impact. |
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Mitigation in comprehensive environmental due diligence (EDD) projects for acquisitions and divestitures |
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Elimination of environmentally damaging substances through Prohibited Substances List |
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Sulzer sustainability strategy that defines key targets in view of climate change |
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Compliance |
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Non-compliant or unethical behavior could lead to reputational damage, fines and liability claims. |
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Active fostering of high ethical standards by tone from the top and middle management |
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Continuous monitoring and assessment of potential exposures |
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Continuous monitoring of regulatory environment |
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Sulzer Code of Business Conduct and a number of supporting regulations (e.g. anticorruption, antitrust, trade control) |
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Third-party due diligence process |
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Global and centrally led organization of compliance and trade compliance officers |
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Compliance training (incl. e-learning) and audits |
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Sensitive country list with escalation process and project-specific compliance assessments in high-risk countries |
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Speak-up culture, compliance hotline and sanction checks |
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Quality of products and services |
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Failure of high-quality products and services could lead to repeated work, reputational damage or liability claims. |
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Quality management and assurance systems tailored to specific businesses |
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Third-party accreditation |
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Competence development programs and training of employees |
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Test centers |
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Business interruptions |
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Business interruption, such as a fire, could cause damage to people, property and equipment. It could have a negative effect on the ability to operate at the affected site. Security incidents could impact the IT infrastructure or systems, which could result in a business interruption. Business interruption caused by pandemic-related lockdowns or bottlenecks in logistics centers, lack of transport capacities, lack of raw materials or electronic parts or increased demand could have an impact on operations and supply chains and thus could lead to serious economic impact. |
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Crisis and emergency management systems (at global and local level) including close monitoring of incidents which could impact supply chains |
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Risk management policy and guidelines |
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Global manufacturing footprint and global procurement |
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IT security standards, measures and incident response team |
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Disaster recovery plans in IT |
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Enhancement of IT infrastructure to cope with higher data volumes during extended remote work |
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Financial |
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Financial markets |
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The unpredictability of financial markets may have a negative effect on Sulzer’s financial performance and its ability to raise or access capital. |
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Group financial policy |
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Foreign exchange risk policy |
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Trading loss limits for financial instruments |
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Credit |
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Credit risks arising from financial institutions and from customers could have a negative effect on Sulzer’s financial performance and ability to operate. |
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For financial institutions, only parties with a strong credit quality are accepted (third-party rated) |
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Individual risk assessment of customers with large order volumes |
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Continuous monitoring of country risks |
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Liquidity |
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Failure in liquidity risk management may have a negative effect on Sulzer’s financial performance and its ability to operate. |
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Continuous liquidity monitoring |
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Management of liquidity reserves at group level |
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Cash flow program to optimize liquidity and cash flow management |
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Efficient use of available cash through cash pooling |