Key results 2023: Pioneering sustainable solutions in coatings
Read moreOur safety and
Well-being
The physical and mental health and safety of our employees and all people who work with us is of the highest priority. With a focus on preventative safety through model behaviors and the promotion of mental health, we put safety first in everything we do.
Managing the safety and well-being of our people
At Beckers, we aim to be a role model for well-being, which is why we follow clear goals, including our aim to achieve zero accidents by 2030. We run and track the success of our global behavior-based safety (BBS) program to reduce the probability of workplace accidents and injuries, and prevent them from happening in the first place.
We take a holistic approach to safety, work to prevent accidents, and focus on people and the consequences of accidents. Reporting the figures accurately is the precondition for analyzing and by that, learning from incidents. Understanding what caused an incident enables us to improve our safety performance. By focusing on behaviors, safety observations, and documenting and learning from previous incidents, we aim to prevent and reduce the risk for accidents to happen.
An important aspect of safety is mental health and corresponding initiatives are part of our annual targets. While Lost Time Injury (LTI) is still an indicator among the other indicators in our reporting, our key performance indicator is the Total Recordable Injuries Frequency Rate (TRIFR). We aim to annually reduce the rate by 10%.
Understanding what caused an incident enables us to improve our safety performance.
Why safety and well-being is material to us
Read about the risks and opportunities related to our health and safety program in our Performance Report 2023.
How we contribute to safety and well-being
At Beckers, the mental and physical health of our employees and their families are a high priority. As a company that works with chemicals and machinery, we must consider the potential risk of accidents in our value chain with extra caution.
Minimizing our employees’ exposure to chemicals and related dangerous gases such as volatile organic compounds (VOC) is an inherent challenge for us. Furthermore, we must ensure the safety of our employees while using machinery by providing appropriate work clothing and safety instructions in our buildings.
We focus on preventative safety through our BBS program, investments in fire safety and machinery safety as well as the promotion of mental health. We provide tools for employees to improve their health, offer training opportunities to employees, contractors and customers, and train our managers to be safety role models who inspire and inform. Due to our measures, we are not only protecting our people from health hazards, but we contribute positively to improve their work environment.
We focus on preventative safety through behavior-based safety, investments in fire safety and machinery safety as well as the promotion of mental health.
Mental health
In 2023, we intensified our mental health efforts since launching our program in 2021, by implementing a comprehensive program for all our sites. We introduced a Mental Health toolbox, including an employee assistance program, mental health first aiders, and training for managers on mental health. This toolbox will be crucial as we continue our mental health initiatives.
Our mental health initiatives gained momentum as they were integrated into our local practices during 2023, despite the various challenges and changes encountered globally over the past year. Some key activities included:
- Mental Health Workshop for Managers, utilizing a Train-the-Trainer model to empower HR and EHS managers for local facilitation, which was rolled out in six countries
- Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) tailored to individual country needs through surveys, first-aiders, workshops, webinars, and counseling continued with increasing traction
- Efforts to adjust local policies and employment practices, such as working hours, flexible schedules, and work-from-home options, have been made to foster work-life balance and overall well-being
- Engaged social wellness programs and health institutions collaborations in various countries to introduce mental health initiatives
Looking ahead to 2024, the focus will be on building upon these practices with practical initiatives aimed at establishing a culture of mental health awareness, including the promotion of peer sharing and learning among HR colleagues on best practices and successful strategies.
Learn more
Caring for our mental health and well-being is business-critical. Our global mental health program made big strides this year.
Global governance of Health & Safety Management
Safety is everyone’s responsibility – every employee from the office to shopfloor assumes the same responsibility for safe work. To enable this, Beckers created a framework to prevent work-related injury and ill health to provide safe and healthy workplaces.
The global Health and Safety Director drives the topic via a set of procedures, standards and guidelines. These governing practices go beyond legal compliance in several areas such as incident investigation, loss prevention, personal protection equipment, and the transport and handling of hazardous materials. The global Health and Safety team then sets the framework and supports the realization of the “SHIELD” (Safety and Health Initiative for Establishing Loss Decrease) program. The global team also monitors the progress of the local data collected at the group level.
The global management system is complemented by local ISO certified management systems that cover all employees. This supports the Managing Directors (MD) of our sites to take accountability for health and safety-related matters and to mitigate the risks to an acceptable level. The MDs are supported by local Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) Managers, and (where applicable) the EHS Management Committees. The global Health and Safety Director also meets with the local MDs every other month to review changes or topics needing discussion. It is the local responsibility to report risk observations, loss of containments and accidents into a local database. Every time we update our risk assessments, we integrate findings from the reported incidents. All our sites have strict emergency response procedures and evacuation plans that are trained regularly to ensure the robustness.
Due to the large number of (internal and external) requirements, it is necessary to check the compliance on a regular basis. This is being checked through internal and external health and safety audits, self-assessments, and regular monitoring. All sites are audited every two to three years by insurance companies depending on risk, complexity, and the size of the site.
Employees
1000
Our colleagues are based in 17 countries with 23 production sites and two offices.
We’ve accelerated our capital expenditure with a commitment to exceed legal requirements in fire safety and working conditions.
Our sharpened focus on prevention
This year we experienced a tragic event with a fire at our Goa, India facility. Everyone evacuated safely, and from this, we humbly embarked on a journey to turn the incident into a learning opportunity. The SHIELD program emerged, emphasizing three major topics: people and safety culture, processes and compliance, and facilities and equipment.
The ensuing prevention program, emphasizing people, culture, and safety observations, has been instrumental in our progress. It’s through comprehensive workshops and the engagement of 330 individuals, that we have fostered a more robust safety culture. Our approach has been holistic, increasing the number of procedural trainings and enhancing awareness of global procedures among our staff. Special emphasis has been placed on fire safety, where our insurance broker’s insights have significantly improved knowledge of our sprinkler systems.
Our facilities and equipment have also seen enhancements, despite challenges. The 5S lean program (sort, set in order, shine, standardize, sustain) which began in 2023, aims to address housekeeping issues, a leading cause of fire incidents. We’ve accelerated our capital expenditure with a commitment to exceed legal requirements in fire safety and working conditions. This investment program represents 27% of our total investments in the coming four years.
Despite the challenges, we take pride in the structured approach we have adopted. It signals a clear learning curve from past events and highlights three maturity areas: awareness, skills in risk recognition, and the ability to work safely.
Hazard identification, risk assessment and incident investigation
We operate in a fast-changing regulatory environment. We take a proactive approach to implementing any necessary changes, from both a risk mitigation and advocacy perspective.
Rigorous risk reporting and follow-up through a global safety database, including safety observations and near-miss reports, are essential preventive measures. Sites must promptly log and resolve any risk-related issues identified.
The site manager and EHS team are tasked with maintaining an efficient reporting system, keeping local management well-informed. All Beckers employees are accountable for recording actions, probing incidents, and timely communication of findings to the EHS manager.
Senior Management must promote active participation in reporting observations using available forms in the global database or in paper format for those without computer access. Where necessary, EHS Alerts or Learning Lessons reports are produced to disseminate findings and advice across sites. Communication of all results to employees is carried out through various sessions, ensuring widespread awareness and learning.
Continuing since its 2022 rollout, our BBS program has been crucial in refining our approach to identifying safety improvements at the employee level, monitoring safety trends, and developing actionable plans. BBS has supported our safety culture by promoting a caring mindset and reducing unsafe behaviors, aligning us with our 2030 goal of zero accidents. This ongoing effort underscores our dedication to a proactive safety environment and the well-being of our workforce.
Our Behavior Based Safety (BBS) program has supported our safety culture by promoting a caring mindset and reducing unsafe behaviors
This year, as part of EHS month, we ran a competition that aimed to capture the personal motivations behind Beckers EHS culture. More than 100 colleagues from across the organization entered, responding to the question “Why do you care about EHS?”
Responses demonstrated how caring for each other and caring for the planet are increasingly seen as part of the same thread at Beckers, underlining the decision to expand the scope of what used to be known as ‘Safety Days’ to include wider sustainability issues.
“I think that our most important duty in the education of our children is to give them the example of how to behave to preserve our planet, and the moral and physical integrity of those around us. A form of kindness, a conviction, which begins at work, every day, every hour.”
Philipe Grataloup, Production Worker in Beckers France
“Because working is safe, you can ensure your health in particular and your family and children in general. Caring about the environment because the environment is important for both current and future generations. EHS is the responsibility of everyone, not just one individual.”
Nguyễn Thị Mi Mi, Customer Service Executive in Beckers Vietnam
“What if I told You that You and Your beloved ones can live longer in this beautiful world?
What if I told You that the solution is hiding behind only three letters?
Do I have Your interest?
It doesn’t matter why EHS it is important to You or me as long as We can make it important to all of us.”
Rafał Czmyr, Junior Color Matcher in Beckers Poland
Our journey towards a mature safety culture is ongoing, but the path is clear. With structured approaches, clear messages, and targeted investments, we are reducing the incidence of accidents and ensuring that our commitment to safety is understood well beyond legal compliance.
Human Rights and Ethics
Our Code of Conduct and putting these principles into practice ensures that every decision, every action, and every innovation is aligned with the greater good for people and the planet.
Our Sustainability Journey
Hindsight offers clarity. Join us in reflecting on our sustainability journey, marking milestones and pivotal moments.
Our improved version of BSI
We relaunched and validated our tool to measure the sustainability aspects of products in our industry.