Health and safety at work

Health and safety forms a substantial part of the audits conducted by the Health, Safety, Environment and Quality (HSEQ) team based in Boxmeer, the Netherlands. The team has a key role in maintaining and improving standards that apply throughout Nutreco operations.

As well as helping to ensure that everyone in Nutreco can have a safe and healthy working environment, the team contributes to improving operating efficiency by sharing knowledge and experience through Nutreco. It is in an excellent position to do this because team members visit and audit or inspect every Nutreco production and processing site and thus are aware of many options for solving a problem or making improvements. Talking with local managers, they can usually identify one that is appropriate for the site. The exact details vary from site to site to suit the construction and activities of the site rather than imposing identical procedures everywhere.

Each audit takes two to three days on site, including an audit introduction, the site inspection, a review of organisation and systems, and discussions of audit findings at the end of the audit. Afterwards, the auditors prepare a detailed report with recommendations. A site inspection is shorter, usually one day. They take place between audits, for example to see that important changes have been implemented or to see that there are no new problems at sites that already have high HSEQ ratings.

The audit reports, with any recommendations for action, are sent to managers at the site, to their managers at business level and to the Executive Board. The recommendations often form part of subsequent applications for investment (capex). Whenever recommendations call for urgent action, the HSEQ team will follow up to check something has been done. In the unlikely event that there is reluctance or refusal at a site to make required changes, the Nutreco Executive Board can call on reserved powers that enable it to impose control on a business to protect the interests of Nutreco.

In addition to health and safety, the audits cover environmental issues. Certificates and licences required for activities at the site are checked, for example relating to quality control, hygiene measures and use and discharge of water. This aspect of auditing is relevant to ‘Responsibility towards natural resources’ (see pages 26–37) and to relationships with local communities. Any complaints made concerning odours or noise are noted and, if there is a real problem, the team works with management to find a practical solution.

In addition to audits and inspections, the HSEQ team coordinates the gathering of performance data used in these Corporate Social Responsibility/Sustainability Reports and in the CSR/Sustainability section of our website.

Nutreco has had an HSEQ team since its foundation in 1995. In that time, it has recorded continuous improvement. Starting in January 2008, Nutreco sites have been rated in one of five categories, based on the HSEQ audit results. The categories are: Insufficient, Below average, Nutreco average, Excellent and Superior. To achieve Excellent status, a site must have an overall score of 85% in the audit. Superior status requires a score of 90% or more in every section of the audit. Sites achieving Excellent or Superior status in the Safety module are awarded a Nutreco HSEQ certificate. At the end of 2009, 35 sites held one of these certificates. The categorisation of a site affects the interval until the next visit. Sites categorised as Insufficient (a total of two sites at the end of 2009) are subject to a full audit within two years, while those attaining Superior category are audited again in six years.

In 2009, the HSEQ team worked with the Nutrace® team to identify parameters that can be checked during an HSEQ audit to provide an assessment of the level of implementation of the Nutrace standards (see page 40).

Site managers assess the usefulness of their HSEQ audits. Results are almost always positive, as shown in the accompanying chart, which is based on feedback from all of the 32 HSEQ audits and inspections and ten other inspections conducted in 2009.

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