sain t-gobain annu al report 2008 annual report

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Lastly, we make every effort to educate employees
about EHS-related issues via print media, internal
communication (see below) and by other methods.
International Environment, Health and Safety Day provided
an opportunity to raise awareness of EHS issues among
our 210,000 employees. The event represents
one of the highlights in our Communication On
Progress for the United Nations Global Compact.
Spreading the word about
the challenges we face
Events
The Health & Safety Diamonds have been held each year
since 1990. The sites with the best health and safety results
are recognized and their best practices shared with the rest
of the Group. The event promotes healthy internal rivalries
and provides an opportunity for fruitful exchanges among all
participants. In 2008, 25 units in 15 countries were awarded a
Diamond for health and safety progress achieved in 2007.
Some Delegations, including the United Kingdom and Italy,
as well as some companies, including Lapeyre, organize similar
events of their own to give teams added recognition.
An International Health and Safety Day was held in October
2004 and again in June 2006, to raise awareness among both
Saint-Gobain employees and their outside colleagues.
The environment was added for the 2008 event, held on
May 15, in line with the Group’s strategic stance
on environmental solutions. Each Group facility is encouraged
to organize workshops, conferences, games and other
initiatives, with input from employees, workplace health
and safety committees and representatives of consultative
bodies, among others. At the same time, managers are
encouraged to become more involved in health and safety
matters through direct action, field visits and participation
in site activities.
INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENT,
HEALTH AND SAFETY DAY
May 15, 2008 marked the Group’s third International
EHS Day. Every Group facility hosted events, workshops,
conferences and presentations, all focused on respecting
people and their environment.
The speech by Pierre-André de Chalendar, the Group’s
CEO, highlighting the critical nature of EHS issues was
broadcast to all 210,000 employees and each General
Delegate appeared in a video shown to employees
of their Delegation. Saint-Gobain executives visited sites
to underscore the Group’s commitment to these topics.
At corporate headquarters, the CEO opened the day’s
proceedings by announcing that “Safety used to be a
priority for the Group; now, it is one of our core values.”
He then visited several sites in and around Paris
and took part in a number of organized events.
“Stars of Communication” is a competition designed
to recognize communication initiatives at Group companies.
One award is given each year in the EHS category,
and in 2008 it went to Saint-Gobain PAM for
its EHS communication campaigns.
In-house publications
Every month, at least three or four EHS news briefs are
published in the weekly newsletter The Bridge received
by all managers, in the monthly magazine The Month,
of which 38,000 copies are distributed in four languages,
and on the intranet. Moreover, since January 2005,
the EHS Department has been publishing a special EHS
newsletter called EcHoeS.
The Delegations and Sectors also include EHS information
in their own internal communications. The Benelux, India,
Italy and UK Delegations, among others, publish newsletters
devoted entirely to EHS topics, as do the Innovative
Materials Sector – High-Performance Materials
and a number of companies, including the Lapeyre Group,
SGBD UK & Ireland and SGG Italy. However, the bulk
of communication takes place at the sites themselves,
because, like training, it plays a vital role in improving
performance.
Encouraging results
Safety
Incident frequency and severity rates
Lost time incidents
As part of our safety policy, we use a number of specific
indicators to monitor our progress and performance. The
lost-time incident rate (LTIR) (more than 24 hours’ lost time)
stood at 4.8 in 2008, representing a 0.4-point improvement
from 2007 and a 19% decrease from two years ago. We are
targeting a rate of less than 3.7 in 2010 (this figure was revised
from 3.5 to reflect the growing size of the Building Distribution
Sector). The severity rate, i.e., the number of lost-time days per
thousand hours worked (SR), was 0.22, down 0.2-points since
2007 and down 21% from two years ago.
Saint-Gobain - 2008 Annual Report