At Wolters Kluwer, sustainability is at the heart of how we operate. Our high-quality solutions significantly improve the quality of work and life for our customers and communities around the world. At the end of 2009 we announced our Maximizing Value for Customers strategy, which reflects this global ambition.
Innovation is the driving force behind our products, and for us, innovation is about more than creating new ideas; it is about transforming ideas into valuable solutions. Maintaining an ongoing dialogue with customers and tapping into the talent and inspiration of a diverse group of employees continually drives new ideas and creates new solutions. By staying in contact with customers, our employees collect first-hand observations about what happens in the field so they can see where improvements are needed. In addition, at Wolters Kluwer we believe diversity sparks innovation. Therefore, we actively create an environment that helps our employees look at things from new angles, encourages them to ask questions, and supports the ability of people with different professional skills, different nationalities, and different backgrounds to develop new ideas together.
To continue the stream of new and innovative ideas, we offer rewards and recognition to employees to foster their innovative capabilities. With an ambitious talent development strategy that will be integrated within our annual business planning process, we actively involve our employees in making Wolters Kluwer a better place to work while increasing our capacity for new ideas. We focus on acquiring the right talent with the right capabilities, and on placing people in the right roles at the right time.
Driving sustainability through innovation is reflected at Wolters Kluwer in two ways:
First, our products contribute to sustainability. Our solutions improve the quality of work and life for customers and, consequently, for society. We develop integrated solutions across all of our divisions that facilitate the work of professionals, improving the quality of life for their clients around the world. For example, UpToDate helps doctors improve their patient care, which saves lives and leads to shorter hospital stays. And our Financial Services compliance products help financial institutions manage risk and reporting requirements.
Second, Wolters Kluwer promotes sustainability in the way we conduct our business. As a global company we recognize our responsibilities to the world and the need to integrate sustainability into our operating process. Integration starts with our suppliers, who are expected to act in a responsible way by adhering to laws and the application of labor and human rights standards. We recognize that operating on a global scale means our products have an impact on the environment in many places around the world. We have increasingly transformed our paper-based portfolio to high-quality, electronic solutions that reduce the use of natural resources. We are also aware that we are an important part of our local communities, and our employees promote community involvement initiatives. These efforts do not go unnoticed, as have been shown by the two awards that Wolters Kluwer Spain received from the Alares Foundation.
