Principles in Brief
The essence of stewardship is recognizing our obligation to always act in a manner that respects the rights of others. By rights we refer to the universal right for everyone to live as they choose, so long as they don’t violate the rights of others. This includes everyone’s right to their own property along with the obligation to manage it responsibly and do the same for all other resources for which they are stewards.
Throughout history, the role of business in society has been to provide goods and services that help people improve their lives, and to do so responsibly. Likewise, our experience has been that we only succeed when we benefit others. Good stewardship is vital to mutual benefit, which, in addition to our moral and legal obligations, is why we all have stewardship obligations.
Nothing is more important than human life. Thus, the safety of all those with whom we interact – such as employees, contractors and communities – is our top priority. To create the conditions for a safe workplace, all employees need to take personal responsibility for their own safety and the safety of those around them, and to ask questions and challenge practices whenever they have concerns.
Similarly, proper regard for the environment starts by understanding and giving priority to the highest-consequence risks. We proactively use technology, data, sound science, good judgment and economic thinking to implement responsible environmental practices — even if not required by law. We seek to identify and apply beneficial technologies and practices that use fewer resources and improve the environmental performance of our products and processes. This benefits our customers, employees, investors, communities and people throughout society.
Compliance with all laws and regulations is a requirement of every employee. Each of us is expected to know and understand the legal and regulatory requirements for our roles, identify anything that might lead to non-compliance, and discuss with our supervisors and others who are knowledgeable how best to comply. When unsure about how to respect the rights of others, work safely, be environmentally responsible or comply with legal and regulatory requirements, stop, think and ask before proceeding.
Our words and commitments matter. Success depends on us having the courage to stand up for what we believe and not make commitments or act in ways that are inconsistent with our principles. This is central to what makes our approach to Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) different than most. We focus on helping people improve their lives and communities by motivating and empowering them rather than controlling and coercing them. We all need to be responsible for our actions, thoughtful about resources entrusted to our care and always respectful of the rights of others.
See Koch’s Stewardship Framework on kochind.com for more information.
Understand it Better
Innovating To Improve Stewardship - Unscripted
Hear how collaboration across Koch companies helped us innovate and improve EHS practices and results.
Creating Superior Value - Unscripted
Leaders discuss how profitability is an incomplete measure of value creation and superior results.
Examples
Below are various examples of what it means to practice stewardship at work.
- Know Relevant Laws and Regulations
- Stop, Think and Ask
- Act Responsibility
Each of us is expected to know and understand the legal and regulatory requirements associated with our work.
- Marsha creates a lot of written content. She has learned about intellectual property laws so she can protect the company’s and respect others’ intellectual property.
- Eddy is an environmental engineer in a manufacturing facility. He stays current with environmental laws and safety regulations relevant to his company’s operations.
- Terrance is a new supervisor. He is learning about the wage and labor laws for his location.
Because the legal and regulatory requirements can be complex and often change, we must get help when unsure what to do.
- Marsha is updating digital materials and notices some images without copyright information in the notes. She talks to the right people to determine if we have legal permission to use the images.
- Eddy read about a new emissions regulation that will take effect later in the year. He discusses it with the leadership team to ensure the facility effectively prepares for the change.
- Terrance thinks there’s an error on an employee’s timecard. Instead of simply approving it, he talks to the employee to understand the situation and then asks his HR partner how to code the time correctly.
The essence of stewardship is recognizing our obligation to respect the rights of others and manage resources responsibly.
- Recently, the company won a major environmental award. Marsha is asked why we don’t do more to advertise it. She responds, “Awards are nice, but that’s not what drives us to be good stewards. While we want to acknowledge the hard work of our employees to achieve these results, we don’t want the award to become the goal.”
- Eddy is working on an initiative to limit the facility’s noise levels to below the regulatory requirements because it will improve the lives of employees and community members.
- At Terrance’s previous company, there was an end-of-year rush to spend all budgeted funds (use them or lose them). Terrance realizes this would be wasteful and inconsistent with our principle of stewardship because we are expected to use resources wisely.
Give it a Try
The power of these principles happens through application. There’s no substitute for learning as you apply.
- Read Koch’s Stewardship Framework (on kochind.com). Discuss any questions you have with your supervisor.
- Talk to your supervisor and team about the laws and regulations that apply to your work and how to become more familiar with them.
What does it mean to be a good steward? What are some ways your team or facility has demonstrated good stewardship? Where could you improve?
Why is the safety of people our top priority?
What resources are entrusted to your care at work? How can you be a good steward of those resources?
What should we do when laws or regulations are unclear? Who can we turn to for help in these situations?
What are the consequences of not being good stewards?