Principle 3:Businesses should uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargainingCOWI‘s employees are free to unionise and enter into collective bargaining with management across the COWI Group.

Principle 4:
Business should uphold the elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labour
All employees have individual contracts made and approved in accordance with international as well as national legal requirements in terms of conditions for work and notices. At project level, COWI DK screens all relevant projects for risks relating to occupational health and safety.

Principle 5:Business should uphold the effective abolition of child labour
COWI does not employ children under age.

Principle 6:
Business should uphold the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupationEqual opportunities and anti-discrimination starts with transparent systems in relation to employment and occupation.

To ensure the development of highly qualified staff, COWI invests in the personal development of all employees. As an example, all managers across the COWI Group are responsible for developing Personal Development Plans (PDPs) for their employees. This is a transparent way to ensure equal development and career opportunities for all employees.

In the biannual organisational development process, GOLD (Generating Organisational Learning and Development), diversity receives special interest in the evaluation of succession
and talent management in the COWI Group. It is a clear target in COWI that the number of women in management should reflect the gender balance in the business divisions. We are not there yet, but we are working systematically to encourage more women to undertake a management role and to create room for diverse management skills.

To underline our strong commitment to women in management we signed the Charter for „More Women in Management“ launched by the Danish Minister for Gender Equality. Since then, COWI has launched several corporate initiatives to fulfil the intentions of this charter.

Policies and principles relating to labour rights

• COWI‘s value on Respect
• Policy for Sustainable Development
• COWI DK Health, Safety, Environmental & social Screening (HSE&S)
• People Strategy
• FIDIC‘s „Sustainable Development in the Consulting Engineering Industry – a Strategy
  Paper“ (2000) by FIDIC, the International Federation of Consulting Engineers.