Case study: How Delta promotes employee health, safety and security
As a global aviation leader, with 180 million customers in the United States and around the globe and 335 destinations in 58 countries, employing 84,245 people, Delta tries to provide a healthy and safe workplace for all employees Tweet This!, through a range of safety and health policies, regulations and programs.
This case study is based on the 2016 Corporate Responsibility Report by Delta published on the Global Reporting Initiative Sustainability Disclosure Database that can be found at this link. Through all case studies we aim to demonstrate what CSR/ sustainability reporting done responsibly means. Essentially, it means: a) identifying a company’s most important impacts on the environment, economy and society, and b) measuring, managing and changing.
Abstract
Creating a proactive safety culture for all employees, through a number of procedures and initiatives intended to ensure a safe and healthy work environment, is a key priority for Delta. In order to promote employee health, safety and security Delta took action to:
- improve safety at facilities through annual Safety Business Plans
- increase employee awareness of health and safety through the National Safety Month
- offer health benefits to employees
- protect the health of traveling employees
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With this case study you will see:
- Which are the most important impacts (material issues) Delta has identified;
- How Delta proceeded with stakeholder engagement, and
- What actions were taken by Delta to promote employee health, safety and security
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What are the material issues the company has identified?
In its 2016 Corporate Responsibility Report Delta identified a range of material issues, such as environmental compliance, community support and engagement, carbon emissions/climate change, customer service, supply chain management, financial performance. Among these, promoting employee health, safety and security stands out as a key material issue for Delta.
Stakeholder engagement in accordance with the GRI Standards
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) defines the Principle of Stakeholder Inclusiveness when identifying material issues (or a company’s most important impacts) as follows:
Stakeholders must be consulted in the process of identifying a company’s most important impacts and their reasonable expectations and interests must be taken into account. This is an important cornerstone for CSR / sustainability reporting done responsibly.
Key stakeholder groups Delta engages with:
Stakeholder Group | Method of engagement |
Investors | · Annual shareholder meetings · Annual report, quarterly earnings and proxy statement · External recognition, ratings and rankings · Investor Day |
Customers | · Customer Satisfaction Survey · Social media |
Employees | · Employee Satisfaction Survey · Employee Involvement Group (EIG) · TechOps EIG · Reservations Liaison for Information Networking and Communication (ResLINC) · Airport Customer Service and Cargo Frontline Involvement Team (FIT) · Velvet-360 Tour · Town Hall Program · Delta Board Council |
Suppliers
| · Supplier ESG Assessment · Supplier Diversity (MBE, WBE and SBE) engagement |
Governments | · Collaborative partnerships with governments and NGOs around the world |
Nongovernmental organizations | · Industry associations · External recognition, ratings and rankings |
Communities | · Delta Air Lines Foundation · Social media |
How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues
To identify and prioritize material issues Delta distributed a questionnaire focused on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues to stakeholder groups that included customers, employees, investors, governments, suppliers, nongovernmental organizations and communities.
What actions were taken by Delta to promote employee health, safety and security?
In its 2016 Corporate Responsibility Report Delta reports that it took the following actions for promoting employee health, safety and security:
- Improving safety at facilities through annual Safety Business Plans
- Every Delta facility prepares an Annual Safety Business Plan, to ensure prevention of incidents and regulatory compliance. Moreover, Safety Business Plans describe how to plan, organize, communicate, apply, measure and enforce workplace safety procedures. In addition, Safety Business Plans include elements such as a hazard prevention and control plan, an overview of involvement by employees and a health and safety training plan.
- Increasing employee awareness of health and safety through the National Safety Month
- Each June, Delta celebrates the National Safety Month. During the National Safety Month, Delta provides employees with health and safety information regarding specific areas of focus, and health and safety fairs take place at Delta’s facilities.
- Offering health benefits to employees
- Delta employees are provided with a range of health benefits through various programs and initiatives. These benefits include:
- dental, vision and flexible spending account benefits for eligible employees
- 100% coverage for preventive care services through the Delta Account-Based Healthcare Plan
- support with healthcare questions and needs through the Delta Health Direct program
- confidential counseling, evaluation and referral service support for employees and their eligible family members through Delta’s Employee Assistance Program
- a minimum six weeks of 100% pay maternity leave, for all U.S.-based expectant mothers
- rewards dollars for completing specific health actions (such as not using tobacco products), that help U.S. employees and their spouses or same-sex domestic partners achieve health goals, through Delta Health Rewards (a voluntary, incentive-based wellness program)
- Protecting the health of traveling employees
- To protect the health of employees on business travel Delta:
- makes sure they are offered travel health consultation and company-paid vaccine coverage, anti-malaria medication and insect repellent
- implements a new WHO International Health Regulation relating to lifetime yellow fever vaccination status
- provides medical support to employees who become ill or injured while traveling internationally on company business
Which GRI indicators/Standards have been addressed?
The GRI indicators/Standards addressed in this case are:
1) G4-LA2: Benefits provided to full-time employees that are not provided to temporary or part-time employees, by significant locations of operation – the updated GRI Standard is: Disclosure 401-2 Benefits provided to full-time employees that are not provided to temporary or part-time employees
2) G4-LA6: Type of injury and rates of injury, occupational diseases, lost days, and absenteeism, and total number of work-related fatalities, by region and by gender – the updated GRI Standard is: Disclosure 403-2 Types of injury and rates of injury, occupational diseases, lost days, and absenteeism, and number of work-related fatalities
3) G4-LA8: Health and safety topics covered in formal agreements with trade unions – the updated GRI Standard is: Disclosure 403-4 Health and safety topics covered in formal agreements with trade unions
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References:
1) This case study is based on published information by Delta, located at the link below. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses. However, we made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the report’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original, please revert to the original on the Global Reporting Initiative’s Sustainability Disclosure Database at the link:
http://database.globalreporting.org/
2) http://www.fbrh.co.uk/en/global-reporting-initiative-gri-g4-guidelines-download-page
3) https://g4.globalreporting.org/Pages/default.aspx
4) https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/gri-standards-download-center/
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