Veolia's International Health and Safety Week kicked off this Monday, September 18. This annual event organised by the Group is an opportunity to affirm the importance of accident and illness prevention at work, in order to improve working conditions and move towards a "zero accident" target. Veolia is once again committed to ensuring safety by implementing good habits, for everyone.
A committed team
More than a strategy, health and safety prevention is an integral part of all Veolia's activities and structuring processes. With an incredible collective of men and women committed to ecological transformation, the Group works every day to preserve resources while protecting its employees.
Veolia's proactive approach to occupational risk prevention, which is promoted at the highest level of the organisation, is based on the involvement of everyone, complemented by a continuous improvement system that enables us to keep our commitments, achieve our objectives and implement the ideas set out in our commitment to prevention, health and safety in the workplace.
Estelle Brachlianoff, Chief Executive Officer of Veolia, said: ”The zero accident target is a choice. Our Group is more than ever committed to ensuring that we can carry out our activities safely, and guarantee optimal working conditions for all our stakeholders, both internal and external. This is our absolute priority.”
A concrete objective and a performance driver
Reinforcing health and safety prevention and ensuring optimal working conditions for our employees, our customers and all our stakeholders is our priority. That's why Veolia has made health and safety a major objective for the Group and its activities.
Veolia has made a number of commitments to ensure the health and safety of all its employees. Thanks to the application of ambitious objectives and the strict implementation of these principles by all employees, together we have succeeded in halving the number of lost-time accidents in 10 years.
A zero accident policy
But the Group doesn't stop there. Indeed, risk control and full compliance with standards are non-negotiable. This is made possible by the commitment of everyone at every site we operate, in France and abroad, and by the implementation of concrete tools that contribute to our goal of zero accidents.
This is why, for example, in 2022, the Group developed the "12 rules that save". These easy-to-remember rules, designed with the support of the various countries, are the last barrier in avoiding a serious accident. They are based on management standards for high-risk activities such as working at height, handling hazardous materials or working in contact with electricity. They are deployed at all our sites and with our subcontractors, so that they can be applied everywhere, all the time, by everyone.
A global culture of health and safety prevention
Driving behaviour remains a priority. With the aim of continuing to raise employee awareness, this year's International Health and Safety Week focuses on accident risks associated with reflexes. In order to establish sustainable health and safety in the workplace, Veolia identifies innovative practices in the field within the group, which are rewarded with trophies.
This year, our "Always Safe Awards" challenge involves all our employees, as well as our various stakeholders (customers, subcontractors, temporary workers, etc.), to anchor a shared health and safety culture, and reward actions taken to build a genuine partnership around health and safety. These awards underline the full integration of the safety dimension into the company's social policy.
Last but not least, managerial safety visits are the focus of a reinforced collective effort. They provide an ideal opportunity for managers and operators to exchange views. Teams need to feel that they are being supported, and that this exercise enables them to discuss, make progress in the application of safety behaviours, understand problems, and take corrective measures if necessary. They help to create a positive occupational health and safety culture and forge a shared vision.