ANNUAL REPORT INTRUM JUSTITIA A N N U A L R EP O R T 2 0 ...

24 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
Our thoughts about
corporate social responsibility
At Intrum Justitia we understand
that it pays to have a long-term
perspective and to assume our
social responsibility. For us,
corporate social responsibility
(CSR) is not an empty phrase – we really believe
in it. CSR is a means for our company
to earn more money, give bigger dividends
to our shareholders, and have more satisfied
customers and employees because we are
contributing something to society through
our services.
A SOUND ECONOMY
Our ambition of being a “catalyst for a
sound economy” means exactly that – we
are assuming our responsibility in society by
helping businesses and consumers to enter
into sound and secure business transactions.
Our aim is to initiate the right activity at
the right time in the credit granting, invoicing
and claim management processes. We
help our clients provide good credit options
with a reasonable level of risk for both the
client’s themselves and the credit recipient.
We also offer various methods for managing
invoices, payments and claims – all based
on the customer’s payment capabilities so
that we can support both parties in making
a good deal.
WE fIND SOLUTIONS
Our position on social responsibility enables
us to reduce the risk that a credit recipient,
i.e. a consumer or company, will consume
more than they can pay for. If things go
wrong anyway, we provide them with support
to get out of a bad situation.
We are not in the business of looking for
problems – we want to find solutions. We
treat debtors with the respect they deserve
and as members of a valuable target group.
Our unique combination of consumer and
market information allows us to find the
best solutions for cash flow problems in a
way that benefits everyone. It also means
that our clients can create better relationships
with their customers and significantly
improve their results because we help them
with prospecting and segmenting their markets,
lowering their credit losses, and ensuring
that they lose fewer customers.
PERSONAL fINANCE
EDUCATION fOR YOUNG PEOPLE
Another way for us to help build a sound
economy is to educate people. A clear
trend has emerged in many European
countries in recent years where more and
more, younger and younger people are getting
into financial difficulties because of
too much debt. Teaching young people to
manage their personal finances and have
healthy payment behavior is something we
prioritize at Intrum Justitia.
Some examples:
• In Finland Intrum Justitia sets up information
tents every summer in central Helsinki
and Tammerfors to educate Finnish
consumers about the consequences of late
payments.
• In Switzerland Intrum Justitia has, for several
years now, arranged the Swiss School
Award, a competition for schoolchildren and
classes on the theme of managing money.
Students as well as teachers and businesses
throughout Switzerland are involved in the
project.
• In 2010 Intrum Justitia launched a university
partnership in Belgium to increase
awareness about and interest in credit management.
Intrum Justitia has been visiting schools in
several countries and informing students
about the best way to manage their personal
finances and avoid debt traps.
fEWER SOCIAL PROBLEMS
We are helping to reduce problems in society
in general by ensuring that fewer private
individuals get into financial difficulties and
fewer people go bankrupt.
Here is an example of a now debt-free
consumer:
“
Hi!
I have spent the last four years in a
downward spiral, both financially
and emotionally. I lost my job and
a lot of things I took for granted. In
all of the interactions in this state
of financial ruin you are treated
with contempt and faced with
claims that you can’t handle.
Thankfully I have good friends
and I am inclined to include the
people at Intrum among them.
You manage to turn paying off
debt into a positive experience
without the unpleasantness. I
feel that you respect the people
you work with. There are no
lectures in your letters – just a
cheerful and positive tone. I have
to give you credit for doing a job
that cannot always be easy. Pass
this on to all of your employees –
you are well worth the praise!
Yours sincerely,
Mikael
For more information about Intrum Justitia’s
corporate social responsibility and environmental
work, see page 39.