The Health and Safety Policy is an essential element in the Bekaert Group’s overall corporate policy as an expression of our mission and beliefs statement, and in line with our vision of sustainability.
Our three General Health and Safety commitments are:
1. Creating a healthy and safe working environment.
We are committed to preventing occupational accidents, injuries and work-related diseases by removing or minimizing the hazards and risk factors to health and safety in the working environment.
2. Preventing damage and loss.
We are committed to preventing or minimizing all forms of damage and loss resulting from unsafe and unhealthy conditions in our working environment and throughout the company.
3. Compliance with health and safety legislation.
We are committed to a policy that complies with all applicable laws and regulations.
We will achieve our health and safety commitments through:
· A visible leadership by management.
We expect our management to show visible leadership and commitment to their employees in all aspects of health and safety.
· Development of an effective preventive system.
We shall seek to identify and prevent risks to H&S at an early stage or reduce them to an acceptable level. Risk control and training of all employees form the foundations of our prevention policy.
· Integration of health and safety responsibilities.
We shall seek to define all activities, which are critical for the achievement of our H&S commitments, to define and establish all individuals’ responsibilities and accountabilities and to incorporate these into the assignments of the concerned departments.
· Safe conduct under all conditions.
We will enhance the health and safety awareness and responsibility of all our employees through their active involvement in H&S practices.
We expect all our employees to act in a safe way in all conditions.
· Promotion of cooperation.
We can only achieve a healthy and safe working environment through teamwork and co-operation within and between departments.
Management and every employee are responsible for the implementation of our H&S policy at every Bekaert location. The management of every location, department or office and every employee within is responsible for the implementation of our H&S Policy. The Management will incorporate programs and resources in their plans designed to achieve the commitments of our H&S policy. These plans will include commitments to the implementation of applicable legislation and effective monitoring of its observance.
Regular progress reports will be issued. The Bekaert Group Executive will at appropriate intervals evaluate progress at Group level in order to ensure the continuity of the Health and Safety Policy.