Cotraco Rom SRL considers corporate social responsibility (CSR) a commitment that the company makes to customers, suppliers, employees, community, environment and partners.

Cotraco Rom SRL chooses to contribute positively to the community and the environment and treat people with respect and dignity.

Because our success depends on how we understand and meet the needs of our clients, we engage ourselves to respect a contract through which we always offer quality services, but above contracts, we have a responsibility to contribute in the development of the community in which our clients, agents and employees live and work.

For our company, the social social responsibility is concentrated in four main directions:

– Work Environment
– Market
– Community
– Environment


WORK ENVIRONMENT

Cotraco Rom is one of the main employers in the community of Sangeorgiu de Mures and it is in full process of development. This reflects in the work environment as it follows:

–       Wages are above local average;
–       The management of the company organizes an annual retreat for the employees and their families;
–       Access to jobs is easy, the management team encourages employment of people from the local community;
–       The working conditions are very good, ensuring best space for sustaining the activity of the company, space for lunch breaks and meals, food for lunch breaks. In addition, the employees benefit of new cars, to be able to carry out their work in the region safely and efficiently;
–       An extremely well managed aspect by the management team involves the continuous training of the employees in fields that are related to their professional activity, but also courses that may contribute to their long term personal and professional development;
–       Regarding the relationship between the employees and the partners of the company, the management team has created a system for the allocation of the contracts by region. This way, the employees always know their clients. To avoid tension and destructive competition between employees, the policy is clearly communicated to them, based on the proximity principle and encourages team work between colleagues to try to meet client’s needs;
–       An extremely appreciated aspect is that the company gives the employees the feeling that they are in a large family. The interactions between the employees and the management team are informal and based on mutual respect and attention to individual needs. This is seen as a plus of the Cotraco Group and a characteristic that must be kept intact, even if the team will grow.


MARKET

Cotraco Rom is known on the market as a high quality products distributor, who respects safety rules for users. Also Cotraco Rom encourages the distributors and the final users to use products with a long life span that can considerably reduce long term costs.

Regarding the nature of the products from the company portfolio, the information regarding use of the products and safety are a very important element. This is why company’s products always come with all these information. An important responsibility for distributing them is taken by the sales agents, who permanently offer details about those characteristics of the products.

Cotraco manages the complaints and additional information about the products through the management team and the sales team. Following an evaluation of the client opinion, the company obtained high grades both for the quality of the products and services, and for offering the possibility to manage reclamations and returns.

Besides offering high quality products, the company always offers high quality distribution services through its own distribution network. The company policy is to respect as much as it is possible the client needs, responding to their request in the shortest time. This is why Cotraco Rom is seen as a long term partner, that understands and fulfills the needs of its clients. Besides that, the sales agents of the company have always communicated correctly the safety levels of the products, to avoid accidents and misunderstandings.

To be able to maintain this work process, the company became a producer, creating its own products. This way, the company wishes to offer quality at a lower price and higher reaction speed in distributing the products. This need to serve its clients and distributors, invested by the company, is also seen as responsibility regarding the local community, becoming a local producer, contributing to its development.

In the relationships with the suppliers, Cotraco Rom was remarked as a good, stable and respectful business partner. This is what pushed the company to become exclusive and unique distributor in Romania for some certain products.

Another characteristic of Cotraco Rom’s work process is referred to respecting the confidentiality right of the clients and suppliers. This way, by managing these partnerships, the company has assumed the right to keep secret data regarding prices policy, the distribution network and any other data that is specified in its contracts.


COMMUNITY

Cotraco Rom has a good relationship with the local authorities, because the management of the company is involved in establishing local development plans for the community.

The company has always paid its taxes in time and the local hall has created a facility for the companies who pay their taxes by the beginning of March – a 10% discount. This facility is welcomed by the local business environment, including Cotraco, fact that on long term is seen as an opening for future local-business partnerships.

Assuming the fact that Cotraco Rom is the third biggest company in the community, based on the number of employees, the hall values the relationship with it, because it is seen as a good local employer. The development plans of the company are important for the community development plans, because Cotraco Rom aims to search for local value.

The company has also taken into consideration the ethnical and cultural diversity of the area and has hired people from all local ethnical groups.

To maintain a good relationship with the representatives of the community, the company offers invitations to personal development courses for persons from around the area. For attracting the most suitable persons for these courses, there is a strong partnership between the parts: the hall informs citizens about organizing these courses and Cotraco Rom coordinates their professional training.

Other relevant partners in this initiative are the Regional SME Patronage and the Central Region Businesswomen Patronage. Having the role of support institutions for the regional business environment, these entities can play the role of catalyst and facilitator in the personal training process.

Besides the activities that regard the development of the local community, Cotraco Rom sustains multiple community institutions through sponsorships and donations, helping the promotion of local culture.


THE ENVIRONMENT

In aspects regarding environmental protection, the activity of the company is carefully managed. The company is certified according to ISO 14001. This means a good management of the waste, production processes that involve collecting and reusing the waste and zero greenhouse emissions resulted from the production process.

For safety reasons, the company has bought new fleet of cars, offering its employees vehicles that are more efficient regarding greenhouse emissions.

With increasing the production and opening a new production hall, Cotraco Rom has taken into consideration the possibility to reduce the waste resulted from packaging. This way, the wooden waste resulted from buying products from its suppliers will be reused as a source of heat energy. Furthermore, the production hall is provided with photovoltaic panels which ensure a part of the energy needed for production and other activities. Another solution that is already included in the development plans is to identify and efficiently use reactive energy.

Cotraco Rom has chosen as a main aspect of its CSR policy the sponsoring, as a way to get involved in different aspects of community life. In nine years of activity, Cotraco Rom has supported various local events, actions, activities of different institutions, understanding that it is a moral duty for the community in which it has grown. The investments grow up to 200.000 Euros in sponsorships into fields as child education, people with special needs, environmental protection and volunteering.

CONCLUSION:
CSR is integrated in our everyday activity.