We hold a robust and effective corporate governance to be an indispensable component of our company’s management infrastructure. Our personnel know to view the company’s corporate governance manual (CD-07) as their definitive guidebook, which sets the rules of engagement and serves as the authoritative source of information on all matters related to their professional conduct. CD-07 is actually a “book of laws” that informs every aspect of our professional conduct and behavior. Our associates and officers of the Company are instructed to follow the precepts of CD-07 without exception. In particular, the laws of corporate governance in CD-07 teach us to be objective and truthful at all cost, which is important for proper functioning of our nuclear quality assurance program (which is critically reliant on individual integrity and honesty). Likewise, unconditional transparency and freedom from repressive retaliation enforced by CD-07 are essential for an effective quality assurance program. Thus, it can be said that our corporate governance infrastructure undergirds our quality assurance program whose central role in our nuclear program, of course, cannot be overstated.
We also believe that a strong and supple Corporate governance program that emphasizes personal ethics, equality, meritocracy, absence of prejudice in all its ugly forms, etc., is necessary to mold the company’s culture of business morality which helps shape individual behavior.
For the above reasons, corporate governance occupies a central place in Holtec’s operations and is a subject of attention at all levels of the company, including the Advisory Board and the various management teams.
My role as the CGO is to ensure that our personnel at all operation centers here and abroad are thoroughly inculcated in the values espoused in our Governance Manual. Subscribing to the belief that no amount of training is ever enough, we run a ceaseless campaign of indoctrination through “governance bulletins” and “training tablets” disseminated through our network that supplement formal training. The exhortations on ethics, mutual respect, collaborative work, sexual harassment, bigotry, etc., mentioned in this website provide glimpses of our teachings that we make a tireless effort to propagate across our company.
In addition to a continuous training program, we maintain an easy-to-access facility for our personnel to submit suggestions, complaints or concerns, anonymously if desired. All Holtec associates at company’s operation centers dispersed over the globe have equal ability to communicate their complaints, grievances or concerns to the CGO’s office. This unfettered access has been especially beneficial to our manufacturing management teams who are grateful recipients of a healthy stream of suggestions for improvement from their workers.
As we forge ahead, a world class governance will continue to be the centerpiece of our drive for continuous improvement.
J. Scott Thomson
Chief Governance Officer