Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a concept incorporated in the foundations of the work of Farmahem from its beginning and throughout its growth. The main activities of Farmahem are closely related to all aspects of social responsibility. Environmental protection, social responsibility, care for the people’s health, building close relations with suppliers, investing in the satisfaction and motivation of the employees are all part of the long-term goals which have been included in the quality policy and the strategy of the organization.

Farmahem is continuously conducting activities and projects for social responsibility and has won numerous national and international award and recognitions in the category of small and middle size enterprises. In 2015, Farmahem won an national award for CSR in the category "environmental protection ". The awarded project was entitled: "A small step towards nature conservation".
Furthermore, to our great satisfaction, we are actively participating in the local network of Macedonian companies which joined the UN Global Compact.

We will continue to follow the concept of CSR as well as share our experience in the field of socially responsible conveying to our business partners and associates. We plan in the upcoming period to implement even greater inclusion and support of the educational process in the Republic of Macedonia.

Marjonka Veljanovska
Executive manager
FARMAHEM

Permanent commitment and the key to the success of FARMAHEM are based on several principles and guidelines among which is the principle of respect for human rights and freedoms and non-discrimination on any grounds (sex, age, race, religion, ethnicity, nationality, etc.).

There are many examples which are showing that Farmahem cares about the welfare of its employees and continually invests in them. Besides meeting all the human rights provided by the law, Farmahem goes a step further and does more to motivates its stuff members.

1. Structure of employees

Our commitment to the gender equality and non-discrimination on any basis, is the principle that is respected in the employment process and in the structure of the company. On the leading positions currently we have appointed more women than men. The top management has 3 women (General Manager, Executive and Financial manager) and when it comes to Heads of the departments Farmahem has equal gender representation: two women and two men. In this way, Farmahem serves as an example to encourage women entrepreneurs in the Republic of Macedonia and in the region. At the same time, we have a handicapped person in our stuff and colleagues from different religions (Catholic, Muslim, Orthodox) and atheists. In the structure of the employees there are persons from different nationalities (Macedonians, Serbs, Croats and Aromanians). During the employment process, people from the local Municipality have slight advantage, but only when there are two or more candidates with the same qualifications for the opened job position. Currently, we have 6 employees from the Skopje municipality Gjorce Petrov where the Farmahem's headquarters are located.

2.We are continuously investing in the health of employees and team building activities:

 Occasionally we rent a gym (hall) for practicing sports for a period of one hour. The hall provides opportunities for active sports: basketball, volleyball, table tennis, mini football and running;
 Twice a year, in the spring and fall, we organize excursions to various locations in the Republic of Macedonia but always with conditions for sports, hiking and developing team spirit;
 Periodic informal gatherings outside of working hours (walking, hiking, sports, etc.).

3. We take care of safety and social security our staff

 All employees have paid all contributions (social and health insurance) which are mandatory by law. However, besides that Farmahem invests in insurance of our employees and we have collective insurance in case of accidents (injuries) on the workplace;
 Apart from legal obligations for health and safety at work, additionally is invested in video surveillance system and smoke detectors which provide and preserve the health and safety of employees.

4. Motivate our employees

 Awards (bonuses) for the sales representatives according to realized profit and for all the other employees for successfully completed tasks;

 Also Farmahem awards prizes to employees for ten, fifteen and twenty years of working in Farmahem. The gift amount is the same for all employees regardless their status in the company;
 We provide compensation for baby, wedding and death in the family of our employees;
 We have a tradition of giving a gift to each employee for his / her birthday and organize a small celebration with all colleagues at the end of working hours. All employees are buying gift of choice, but in the same monetary value;
 In addition, Farmahem invests in modern infrastructure and care that every employee feels comfortable in the workplace and we provide equal and pleasant working conditions. The offices are spacious and pleasant to work with modern designs, paintings and pastel colors;
 Each year we organize a Christmas celebration for employees and another celebration for their children when we give the Christmas presents and books and we rent a Santa Clause so they can take a photo while receiving a present;
 We grant additional time off in the case of employees working during the weekend or after working hours;
 Regular reports are sent to all employees on cultural events in the city and in the region, and we periodically organize collective visits to cultural events.

5. We are building a system in which all our employees are involved in the decision-making process:

 During the regular meetings on Mondays, every employee has the opportunity to be heard and to give suggestions for resolving possible issues and ideas for the development of its programs and improving of the overall performance of the company. Thus, we all together as a team take part in this decision-making process and promote transparent governance. After each meeting we prepare a report with the minutes from the meeting a distribute it to every employee.

6. Investing in new personnel
More than 15 years in during the summer we receive interns from Europe through the student exchange organization IAESTE (International Organization for the Exchange of Students from Technical Sciences). Their internship lasts month and a half and at the end the intern is required to prepare a report from his/her experience and obtained knowledge and skills from visiting our company. Past 8 years, from 2008 to 2016, we had internships in our Environmental Laboratory and before that in our biochemical laboratory "Farmahem Diagnostics".
Since 2012, we have had two internships in the finance department from the Faculty of Economics in Skopje and in the Dept. for Environmental Consultancy form the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering - Skopje, Division Environment and Energy.
At the same time, we support and assist the future masters and PhDs in R. Macedonia through providing them with free importing of chemicals needed for their researches and scholarships.
Our activities in the following period will include more support of the educational process and educating young people in the country because we believe that in that way we invest in future highly professional and skilled personnel.

1. This year we organized two excursions. One on the mountain Plachkovica and the second one in the city of Pehcevo.
Both events included team building activities, hiking and sports.

2. Trainings

Training of employees in the Rep. of Macedonia and abroad according to the annual training plans are prepared at the level of Departments and approved by the Farmahems’ CEO. When planning trainings we always take into consideration that all departments and all employees receive equal opportunities for professional and vocational advancement.
_______________________________________________________
Department Trainings in 2015 Total
in the country/abroad
_______________________________________________________
1. Diagnostics and Pharmaceuticals 6 abroad 6
2. Instruments and equipment,
section laboratory equipment 4 abroad 4
3. Instruments and equipment,
section measuring instruments 4 abroad 4
4. Reagents and additives 2 abroad 1
5. Environmental consultancy and
Environmental Laboratory 1 in the country 1
_______________________________________________________

All of the other previously elaborated actions are being implemented on regular basis.

Farmahem and the market

Farmahem is a company which is aware of the importance of fostering appropriate relationships with clients / customers and suppliers.

Under the system of quality management ISO 9001:2008, we have implemented a procedure for managing complaints, objections and reclamations. According to this procedure, all complaints are recorded and processed and then the management provides appropriate corrective and preventive measures for their resolution. These measures are monitored and controlled according to a predetermined timetable and the final effect is to improve the operation of the company through reduction of errors to a minimum.

Transparency and involvement of all employees in the decision-making process

Farmahem fully encourages employee involvement in the decision -making within the company and thus increases the confidence and loyalty of employees to the company. This is implemented through:

• Regular staff meetings once a week where ongoing and future projects and activities are being discussed. Also, on these meeting we analyze successes, problems, coordinate the work of all departments are prepare weekly plans for field trips and other activities, and discuss the reports from the work done during the previous week. These meeting are attended by the employees in Farmahem, and the meeting is headed by the Executive Manager;

• Regular and transparent information flow between all levels of employees via e-mail regarding any changes in the weekly plans, sending minutes from the weekly meetings to all employees and sharing information on the latest developments of the company. This activity enables regular communication between company employees and Departments. We have made an electronic group (Ethernet) where all employees have access and information provided there are public to all employees in the company;

• Maintenance of monthly meetings between different Departments and the management of the company. Within this activity, the current activities of the Department are being discussed as well as specific activities of each employee in the Department. They agree upon the following activities and discuss current issues and requirements of the Department;

• The Executive Manager holds an annual presentation in front of all employees Farmahem for the annual results of the company. Traditionally, the end of December, the company's management, represented by the CEO organizes a presentation of the achievements of the company in the current year for all the employees in the company. On this occasion, presented are successes, revenues, investments as well as public praise of employees or departments.

• Presentation of the latest activities in the printed edition of Farmahems’ newsletter “Info” which is prepared once a year and is delivered to all Farmahems’ customers. This printed edition is used as a medium for presenting the latest achievements of the company to the customers, clients aiming for them to get acquainted with the possibilities offered by Farmahem to improve their work.

• In case if staff or stakeholders have objection or complaint, it is taken into account and we apply certain corrective measures for improvement.

1. We are supporting activities in our field of work

• Farmahem regularly promotes the organization of the following scientific congresses in the country:

- Congress of ecologists,
- Congress of pharmacists,
- Congress of veterinarians,
and
- Congress of chemists and technologists.

• We are continuously trying to allocate and provide, according to our possibilities, sponsorships and donations for laboratories on our Clinics;
• A large part of the employees in the Farmahem have been included in corporate volunteering by supporting the community by investing its working time work for the realization of socially responsible practices.

2. Cooperation with local and international foundations and associations

Farmahem has always supported the following associations:

- DEM – Ecologists’ Movement of Macedonia;
- MED - Macedonian Ecological Society;
- IAESTE Macedonia - already 15 years during the summer we accept interns from Europe through the Macedonian Committee for international exchange of students from the technical faculties.
- Rotary Club - The founder of the Farmahem, Josif Tanevski, PhD (1945-2010) was active member of the Rotary Club - Skopje since its establishment in 1992. Farmahem periodically allowed the conference hall in Farmahem for meetings of the Rotary Club.

3. Free education of customers

Farmahem organizes free training for its stakeholders. In 2009, a workshop was organized for white brined cheese to train Macedonian dairies, our long-term and future customers, as on how to improve quality and to avoid gaps in the white cheese, and thus how to get a standardized product and training for staff in the National Agency for Food and other stakeholders in accordance with the requirements of the HACCP system. The effect of these activities has motivated us to continue with similar free activities for our customers.

Environmental protection in is a major principle incorporated in each segment of the work of Farmahem.

1. Our services protect the environment

Immediately after the establishment of a company whose core business is trading, we established a separate department for consultancy in the field of environment. Services offered by this Department are fully geared towards environmental protection in accordance with the requirements of current legislation in the R. Macedonia and the requirements of international conventions and directives. When it comes to environmental protection, Farmahem despite its commercial services which directly influence the environment, often gives free advice to its clients. Thus, Farmahem uses the opportunity to further influence and enhance the environmental practices of clients. Using Farmahems’ services, clients/companies change their business processes in order to have a negative impact on the environment and thus have a long term impact.

2. Farmahem participation in the adjustment of legislation

Farmahem team constantly participates in adjusting of the legislation related to the environment and nature. At the time when the Republic of Macedonia began to adapt its legislation with the EU, initiated by Farmahem a group of companies was established in order to work on environmental consulting within the Economic Chamber of R. Macedonia. The need for such group, at the time of adoption of new laws and regulations, has proved to be very significant. Experts were actively involved in making the laws in this area and helped by giving suggestions and comments directly in the making of the legislation by delegating a member of the Supervisory Board CARDS Programme (Programme for the harmonization of national legislation with the EU directives). Farmahem team was constantly invited to give their comments in amendments to the legal documents that are continuously being brought in the country.

3. Aware of our impact on the nature

The main task of a part of the team is the Farmahem is implementation of projects related to the conservation of nature in the R. Macedonia. The team consists of professionals with appropriate education and experience in this area. Their knowledge of the importance of nature and biodiversity, and the importance of its preservation, the team closely transferred to colleagues and associates and customers through presentations, walks in the nature, discussions etc. In this way, we create a corporate culture and awareness of the impact that each of us, but also the company, has on the environment.

1. Awarded project: "A small step towards nature conservation"

Objective:

The project aims to strengthen and raise awareness of Pharmachem’s employees of the importance of biodiversity conservation and protection as one of the segments of sustainable development, so they can act on their own, or as part of groups. Тhey can afterwards make a kind of dissemination on the acquired knowledge from these educational excursions and thus further contribute towards spreading the idea of ​​preservation, protection and sustainable use of biodiversity.

Activities:

The project consists of the following main activities:
- Designate a team for the project;
- Define and organize activities for the project;
- Introduce employees with the program;
- Realization of sightseeing and outdoor lectures by colleagues biologists;
- Preparation of promotional material - calendar for the yeear 2015. The calendar is composed of more (13) different photos from different locations in Macedonia where this and similar excursions already have been held, and it also contains photos from this excursion for the months of November and December. The calendar is titled: "Macedonia through the lens of Pharmachem's employees – a successful team for 25 years of successful Pharmachem".

Results:

Although the project is only a small step towards achieving a great goal - preserved nature and biodiversity in the country, however this innovative project achieved significant results as:
- Updated knowledge of employees about various fungi, mushrooms and rare and endangered species of plants as part of the biodiversity in Macedonia;
- Raised awareness among employees about the benefits of natural resources and the need for their conservation and sustainable use;
- Raised awareness of the danger of extinction of some species of plants and fungi;
- Raised awareness of the danger to the health and lives of people from consumption of certain species.

2. As for the direct impact of Farmahem on the environment, it should be noted that we take the following actions:

 select waste (paper, toners and batteries);
 paper re-use or multi-use of used paper;
 properly treat medical waste in accordance with the legislation;
 transport of imported hazardous chemicals, biochemical reagents and radioactive materials is conducted according to the requirements of domestic and European legislation;
 chemicals and reagents are stored properly in order to prevent environmental impact.

The Department for Environmental Consultancy completely implements at the company all its knowledge of environmental protection and nature conservation which it has to offer as a service to customers.

Ethical Management

Farmahem respects the International Declaration of Human Rights by striving for transparency in governance, involvement of employees in the decision-making process and recognizing the importance of the integrity of the enterprise.
The company actively participates in national and international forums concerning ethical management. Furthermore, Farmahems’ management strongly advocates for promotion of ethical standards in the business and believes that each individual is responsible and can positively affect the wider community to achieve the common goal which is to eliminate restrictions that are a result of corruption in the society.
Management has signed a Statement of Business Ethics Code on a national level in November 2012.

Transparency and involvement of all employees in the decision-making process

Farmahem fully encourages employee involvement in the decision -making within the company and thus increases the confidence and loyalty of employees to the company. This is implemented through:

• Regular staff meetings once a week where ongoing and future projects and activities are being discussed. Also, on these meeting we analyze successes, problems, coordinate the work of all departments are prepare weekly plans for field trips and other activities, and discuss the reports from the work done during the previous week. These meeting are attended by the employees in Farmahem, and the meeting is headed by the Executive Manager;

• Regular and transparent information flow between all levels of employees via e-mail regarding any changes in the weekly plans, sending minutes from the weekly meetings to all employees and sharing information on the latest developments of the company. This activity enables regular communication between company employees and Departments. We have made an electronic group (Ethernet) where all employees have access and information provided there are public to all employees in the company;

• Maintenance of monthly meetings between different Departments and the management of the company. Within this activity, the current activities of the Department are being discussed as well as specific activities of each employee in the Department. They agree upon the following activities and discuss current issues and requirements of the Department;

• The Executive Manager holds an annual presentation in front of all employees Farmahem for the annual results of the company. Traditionally, the end of December, the company's management, represented by the CEO organizes a presentation of the achievements of the company in the current year for all the employees in the company. On this occasion, presented are successes, revenues, investments as well as public praise of employees or departments.

• Presentation of the latest activities in the printed edition of Farmahems’ newsletter “Info” which is prepared once a year and is delivered to all Farmahems’ customers. This printed edition is used as a medium for presenting the latest achievements of the company to the customers, clients aiming for them to get acquainted with the possibilities offered by Farmahem to improve their work.

• In case if staff or stakeholders have objection or complaint, it is taken into account and we apply certain corrective measures for improvement.

As a result of this kind of leadership, the company achieved the following benefits:

• Increased trust among the company employees (increased trust among employees, cross-Department cooperation and consequently increased number of joint multiple Departments business actions with one client);
• Increased transparency of the company to employees and to customers (on annual level, more than 800 e-mails have been sent, 24 Department meetings, 50 weekly meetings and one final presentation);
• Increased motivation of employees (employees are motivated to work harder, improve and to build successful careers which is evident in the increased number of trainings Farmahem has delivered to customers);
• Increased profits for the company (although it was a crisis in the whole economy, just transparent management of the company and its activities in 2010, 2011 finished as one of the most successful years ever).

The major benefit of ethical management is strengthen relationship between employees and management or setting up an open relationship for the flow of information that lead to greater success of the company. Satisfied, motivated and highly skilled employees and citizens are the main benefits for the company by which we can achieve a greater accessibility to the company's employees as well as to citizens and customers.

As a result of this kind of leadership, the company achieved the following benefits:

• Increased trust among the company employees (increased trust among employees, cross-Department cooperation and consequently increased number of joint multiple Departments business actions with one client);
• Increased transparency of the company to employees and to customers (on annual level, more than 800 e-mails have been sent, 24 Department meetings, 50 weekly meetings and one final presentation);
• Increased motivation of employees (employees are motivated to work harder, improve and to build successful careers which is evident in the increased number of trainings Farmahem has delivered to customers);
• Increased profits for the company (although it was a crisis in the whole economy, just transparent management of the company and its activities in 2010, 2011 finished as one of the most successful years ever).

The major benefit of ethical management is strengthen relationship between employees and management or setting up an open relationship for the flow of information that lead to greater success of the company. Satisfied, motivated and highly skilled employees and citizens are the main benefits for the company by which we can achieve a greater accessibility to the company's employees as well as to citizens and customers.