Challenge

Health and safety are the basis and prerequisite for our business activities. We have therefore developed management systems and introduced measures at all our operating and corporate divisions to ensure the highest possible level of work safety and to maintain and promote the health of our employees.

Targets and KPIs

In order to make these measures and activities as effective as possible, we aim to harmonize our Group-wide system for occupational safety and corporate health management by 2024. To this end, we are reviewing various measures (e.g. uniform specifications, occupational safety support, and training tools) regarding their transferability to other operating divisions and are preparing the development of a Group-wide strategic alignment for our occupational safety and health management activities.

As the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) may result in a number of requirements for our Group-wide occupational health and safety management system, we have postponed the timeframe for achieving this goal from 2023 to 2024. We are currently in the process of analyzing the relevant standard (ESRS-S1) and deriving appropriate measures from it.

As accident risks vary from one operating division to another, the responsibility for ensuring high standards of occupational safety lies with the individual operating units. Most of our companies have developed their own occupational safety management systems with a focus on preventive safety measures. All our sites have implemented technical occupational safety measures, even beyond the statutory requirements. Our efforts are now focused on preventing behavior-related accidents through a combination of technical, organizational, and personal protection measures, including the relevant training for staff and the respective teams.

Furthermore, steering committees or occupational safety committees have been set up at all sites. Our corporate head office supports the operating divisions with a host of Group-wide occupational safety measures.

We offer our staff numerous health-promoting measures to maintain and improve their health. These include sports programs and Health Days, as well as ergonomic assistance and preventive check-ups. The operating divisions are also responsible for the specific design of the offerings. Corporate HR supports and coordinates these measures where possible and sensible.

What we achieved in 2022

• Expanded a platform for occupational safety specialists in Germany to share their experiences
• Organized four information exchange events on the topic of occupational safety in Germany
• Defined standard minimum content for risk assessments in several areas of the company
• Implemented improvements to the Secova SAM instruction and training tool
• Implemented several measures to raise awareness of occupational safety issues among managers
• Strategically realigned occupational health management (e.g. expansion of corporate medical services, expansion of health-promoting offers, reaching new target groups)

What we are currently working on

• Continuation and expansion of the information exchange events on occupational safety in Germany
• Analysis of CSRD requirements and derivation of appropriate measures
• Establishment of an international platform for occupational safety specialists to share their experiences
• Closer linking of occupational safety and health management issues
• (Further) development of occupational safety regulations and health management offerings with regard to remote working
• Expansion of health-promoting offers (e.g. digital offers, Health and Action Days with new content, offers for employees’ children)
• Establishment of a dedicated “Health” page on the Intranet