The Linde Spirit.
02
The Linde Spirit
Table of contents.
Our culture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 04
Our global presence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 06
Developing our culture together. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 09
1.
Vision – values – principles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.1 Our vision.
13
1.2 Our values.
15
1.3 Empowering people.
17
1.4 Innovating for customers.
19
1.5 Thriving through diversity.
20
1.6 Passion to excel.
23
2.
Our foundational principles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
2.1 Our foundational principles defined.
27
2.2 What do the values and foundational principles mean for me?
29
2.3 Living our culture.
30
The Linde Spirit
Culture? That’s the way
we do things around
here.
The Linde Spirit describes our culture.
03
04
The Linde Spirit
Our culture.
We are a company of great diversity with people operating in over 100 countries, encompass­
ing a vast array of traditions, talents, experiences and expertise. Our culture – the Linde Spirit –
binds us together and defines the way we do things in our company. It guides us in how we
operate and run our business, how we behave and interact with one another, how we deal with
our stakeholders and the communities around us. It articulates what our aspiration is and how
we will get there.
Today, our core values and foundational principles are well embedded in our ­organisation,
­having guided us through the challenges and successes over the years. Our principles – Safety,
Integrity, Sustainability and Respect – and our values – Empowering people, Innovating for
­customers, Thriving through diversity and Passion to excel – resonate in everything we do, no
matter which part of the business or geography we are in.
This spirit is captured in this booklet. It articulates how our principles and values are brought
to life in our everyday business. We, the Executive Board, individually and collectively ­commit
to live by these values and principles, and we invite you all to embrace the essence of our
Linde Spirit, too.
The Executive Board
The Linde Spirit
05
06
The Linde Spirit
Our global presence.
North America
South America
Africa & UK
Continental & Northern Europe
Eastern Europe & Middle East
South & East Asia
Greater China
South Pacific
The Linde Spirit
07
I like being part of a company
that encourages me to reach
my full potential. Our company
culture promotes innovation,
efficiency and flexibility – the
key success factors for a truly
leading organisation.
Colleagues really care about
each other at Linde. When I
first joined Linde, my team
members went out of their way
to help me orientate myself in
my new role and environment.
The Linde Spirit
09
Developing our culture together.
Our culture reflects who we are and what we stand for as a company. It represents the aspir­
ations and beliefs of Linde people around the world.
Culture is powerful. It shapes our work environment and our relationships with one another.
It is interwoven into our processes. At Linde, we seek to build a culture that supports our ambi­
tions of high performance by harnessing the vast array of skills, experiences and attitudes of
our people. Our vision, values and principles, as set out in the Linde Spirit, provide us with a
common direction and a guide for how we should work together.
Every one of us has a role to play in continuing to embed our core values and foundational
principles in everything we do. It is only through personal commitment and action that we will
bring to life the Linde Spirit and reach our vision of becoming truly leading.
10
The Linde Spirit
Our vision
Our values
Our principles
bilit
aina
Int
e gr
e
sp
Re
t
Sus
ety
Saf
ity
Empowering people.
Innovating for customers.
Thriving through diversity.
Passion to excel.
We will be the ­leading global
gases and e
­ ngineering ­company,
­admired for our people, who ­provide
­innovative solutions that make a
­difference to the world.
ct
y
12
The Linde Spirit
We will be the leading global
gases and engineering company,
admired for our people, who
provide innovative solutions that
make a difference to the world.
The Linde Spirit
13
1.1 Our vision.
We touch and improve the lives of billions of people through the jobs, capability and wealth
created by our core activities across the world, as well as through the products and services we
supply to our customers across a wide range of industries, from steelmaking to food production
and distribution.
We have the ability to make even greater differences to the world through innovative solutions
in areas such as clean energy, energy efficiency, safer and healthier food processing and distri­
bution, environmental protection and health care. We will be relentless in our search for new
technologies, applications and services in these and other areas for the benefit of mankind and
our planet. To do this, we need talented and committed people across our range of activities
and we will invest in finding, developing and retaining them and in creating a working environ­
ment in which their talents and energies can be unleashed.
We use the term “leading” in a broad sense. We want to be the leader in our businesses in
terms of profitability, growth, safety, customer service, operational excellence, corporate
responsibility, shareholder value as well as attracting, developing and retaining talented
employees.
We realise that this is a broad set of aspirations, however we will not shy away from continu­
ously improving until we consistently achieve them.
In my team, we clearly strive
to create and offer the best
solutions to our customers.
I believe that if we make this
our common goal, we will drive
our business growth.
It isn’t always easy working in
a global team, but I wouldn’t
change anything about it.
­Discussions can sometimes get
quite intense over how things
should be done. But, in the
end, I believe we always reach
a better solution to our prob­
lems than if we all thought the
same way.
In projects I am involved in,
I see everyone putting in
their full effort and striving
to achieve the best possible
result. This attitude makes the
difference for me to want to
work here.
One of the most fulfilling parts
of my job is to be involved in
the career development of my
direct reports and to see them
excel in their roles.
It is great to know that I can
focus on delivering my best
to our external customers
while colleagues from other
­functions are taking care of
continuously finding new
ways to improve our internal
­business processes.
At Linde, empowerment means
employees having access to
the right tools and skills that
enable them to be successful.
When I face a challenge, my
manager helps me reflect and
find ways to overcome it. This
inspires me to do better every
day – and I achieve more than
what I thought I could.
The Linde Spirit
15
1.2 Our values.
Our four core values express what we stand for and what will differentiate us from our
competitors:
Empowering people.
Innovating for customers.
Thriving through diversity.
Passion to excel.
1.3 Empowering people.
What it means: People are given the space to contribute and grow.
Why this value?
—— Our people create our success.
—— We believe that capable and engaged people can make a difference.
—— We trust our people and believe in empowering individuals and teams to do the
right thing.
Behaviour:
—— We agree clear goals and hold people accountable.
—— We define boundaries but give people the opportunity for taking the initiative,
­learning and personal fulfilment.
—— We encourage entrepreneurship.
—— We stand up for what we believe in and do the right thing.
—— We support the development of people and coach people for success.
—— We each personally behave in ways consistent with our foundational principles
of Safety, Integrity, Sustainability and Respect.
—— We provide people with the right tools and training to get the job done.
We reject:
—— Bullying, fear and micromanaging.
1.4 Innovating for customers.
What it means: We relentlessly pursue new ways to add value to external
­customers.
Why this value?
—— External customers are the reason we exist and are central to our current and
future success.
—— We need to innovate in every area of our business in order to retain existing
­customers and gain a foothold in new markets and customer segments.
—— We offer excellent service to internal customers so that they can provide better
service for external customers.
Behaviour:
—— We always deliver on our promises.
—— We make it easy for customers to do business with us.
—— We provide value-adding solutions to customers.
—— We anticipate customer and market needs by spending time with customers to
understand their needs.
—— We create a climate that supports innovation.
—— When servicing internal customers, we always ask “How will this benefit the
external customer?”
—— We recognise and reward people who put customers’ interests first and display
innovation and creativity.
We reject:
—— Resistance to new ideas, internal focus and “We have tried it before” attitude.
1.5 Thriving through diversity.
What it means: Diversity results in enriched collaboration and enhanced solutions.
Why this value?
—— We strongly believe that the diversity of our employees, their capabilities, our
global footprint and our range of business activities is a source of competitive
advantage.
—— We will unleash the power of our people by creating an environment where
every employee can contribute fully.
—— We believe that there are tangible business benefits from developing gender
diversity.
Behaviour:
—— We actively seek, encourage and embrace contribution and participation from
diverse individuals and teams.
—— We stretch ourselves to learn from different points of views and strive to turn our
dilemmas into enriched solutions.
—— We actively seek to remove practical and psychological barriers which prevent
diverse groups from joining, contributing fully and having rewarding careers in
The Linde Group.
—— We collaborate within and across teams, functions and regions by putting our
company interests in front of the interests of our own group.
—— We foster a global mindset and develop individuals and teams who can think
globally and act locally.
We reject:
—— Discrimination (in all its forms), self-interest and narrow-minded views.
1.6 Passion to excel.
What it means: We have the commitment and drive to pursue ever higher
­standards of excellence and we celebrate success.
Why this value?
—— Our vision is to be the leading global gases and engineering company.
—— We are passionate about winning and are committed to continuous improvement.
—— We want to become and remain a high-performance organisation.
Behaviour:
—— We strive for excellence in everything we do.
—— We continuously improve every aspect of our organisation, processes and
­operations and use Lean Six Sigma to help us to do so.
—— We look for opportunities to learn from within, as well as from customers,
­competitors and other industries.
—— We develop and coach our people so that they achieve superior performance.
—— We recognise and reward high-performing individuals and teams.
We reject:
—— Indifference, mediocrity and arrogance.
Unethical behaviour is just
not tolerated here. Everyone
knows that.
Doing business in a s­ ustainable
way means caring for the
world around us – not only for
our business and employees,
but also for the environment
and the social needs in our
­communities.
Safety is our number one
­priority. More and more, I see
people in my team ensuring
that everyone behaves in the
safest way possible. No one
should have to worry about
returning home safely and
healthy to their family at the
end of a working day.
Even though I am the youngest
person in my team, I feel com­
fortable sharing my thoughts
openly. My colleagues ­listen
to me and treat my ideas
equally with those of the more
­experienced team members.
Safety is fundamental to our
business. If you can’t manage
safety, then you shouldn’t be
a manager. It is that simple.
The Linde Spirit
Our foundational principles.
Our four foundational principles underpin all our decisions, actions and behaviour.
They are our licence to operate as an employer, supplier and publicly owned company.
Safety.
Integrity.
Sustainability.
Respect.
25
The Linde Spirit
27
2.1 Our foundational principles defined.
Safety: The Linde Group will avoid to harm people and society.
Safety is a foundational principle of our businesses. The safety and health of our colleagues,
customers, business partners and communities in which we do business is our number one
­priority. Safety principles shall be reflected in 100 p
­ ercent of our behaviour, 100 ­percent of the
time; we expect all people to behave and conduct themselves in a manner that demonstrates
the ­highest priority for safety all of the time. By doing this, safety considerations will become
an i­ntegral and automatic part of everything we do and guide our day-to-day work.
Integrity: Our actions are honest, fair and ethical.
There are universal moral and ethical principles that transcend cultural differences. We expect
consistent adherence to these. We have the right to expect honesty and fairness from one
another and adhere to this in dealings with customers, suppliers and other stakeholders. Linde
people consistently behave in accordance with the detail and spirit of the Linde Code of Ethics.
Sustainability: We are focused on today’s success, but accept our responsibility for future
generations.
In line with our vision, we are committed to treating people and the environment with respect.
We work to protect natural resources in the world by delivering technologies that help our
­customers improve their environmental impact and meet the challenges facing society today.
We believe in creating long-term relationships with our stakeholders. Our success is linked to
turning business challenges into positive outcomes for our customers and the communities
where we operate.
We are committed to growing together with our employees by enabling them to develop,
reach their full potential and improve their standard of living.
Respect: Every human being deserves to be treated with respect.
Linde people treat each other with courtesy and dignity, regardless of seniority, age, ­gender,
ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation or any other difference. We respect the humanity of
­others through our words and actions. Linde people behave in accordance with the detail and
spirit of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations.
The Linde Spirit
29
2.2 What do the values and foundational
principles mean for me?
In evaluating our success as individuals, teams and as an organisation, we do not just look at
what we have achieved, but also at how we did this.
Sustainable high levels of credibility and performance require the “what” to be performed
in line with our core values and foundational principles.
They guide our behaviour and are the link that keeps us together.
We believe that Empowering people, Innovating for customers, Thriving through diversity and
Passion to excel­will result in a high-performing organisation. Moreover, by exercising these
values with integrity and in ways that are safe, sustainable and respectful we will create an
­organisation which we can be proud to work for and in which each of us can find fulfilment.
Our core values and foundational principles are incorporated into all our people processes,
including selection, development, advancement, recognition and reward. We also ensure that
all our business processes are aligned with our values and foundational principles.
By living these values and principles in our daily lives, we consciously define and live the
­culture we desire. This builds a solid foundation for realising our vision of being the leading
global gases and engineering company.
30
The Linde Spirit
2.3 Living our culture.
We face difficult choices every day. Some are ethical choices: Is it right and am I comfortable
with it? Others are cultural choices: Does this fit? Would I want the same done to me?
Our foundational principles provide a good starting point for answering these types of
­questions.
—— Linde will only do business in a safe manner. Ask yourself: Can I do this safely?
—— Linde will only do business, execute deals and interact with our external and internal
­partners in a way that is ethical and maintains our integrity. Ask yourself: By doing this, will
I retain my integrity and that of the organisation?
—— Linde will only do business that is sustainable for the company, its people, our c­ ustomers,
communities and the environment. Ask yourself: Does this avoid negative long-term
impacts?
—— Linde will only do business in a way that maintains respect for others. Ask yourself: Does
this respect the humanity of others?
Our values create a framework for describing our high performance culture.
—— How can I put my passion into excelling?
—— How can I ensure that my creativity and innovation can benefit external customers?
—— Am I empowering individuals and teams who work with me?
—— Am I harnessing and leveraging diversity with the richness that a variety of backgrounds,
capabilities, perspectives and approaches can provide?
Published by
Linde AG
Klosterhofstrasse 1
80331 Munich
Germany
Phone +49.89.35757-01
Fax
+49.89.35757-1075
www.linde.com
Munich, July 2013