Case study: How Fuji Xerox New Zealand promotes employee health and safety
Operating across New Zealand as a sales subsidiary of Fuji Xerox, Fuji Xerox New Zealand is a New Zealand business and industry leader, providing print and document management solutions to a wide range of customers. Ensuring healthy and safe working conditions is vital to all Fuji Xerox New Zealand’s work processes and a key area of importance. Tweet This!
This case study is based on the 2020 Sustainability Report by Fuji Xerox New Zealand 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/ ESG/ 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
To enable healthy and safe working conditions across its business in New Zealand, Fuji Xerox New Zealand implements an H&S (health and safety) Management System covering all its employees, with a goal of minimising illness and injury. This is made possible by identifying, assessing, and controlling risks in all workplace operations. In order to promote employee health and safety Fuji Xerox New Zealand took action to:
- implement an H&S Management System
- provide training
- promote incident reporting
Subscribe for free and read the rest of this case study
Please subscribe to the SustainCase Newsletter to keep up to date with the latest sustainability news and gain access to over 2000 case studies. These case studies demonstrate how companies are dealing responsibly with their most important impacts, building trust with their stakeholders (Identify > Measure > Manage > Change).
With this case study you will see:
- Which are the most important impacts (material issues) Fuji Xerox New Zealand has identified;
- How Fuji Xerox New Zealand proceeded with stakeholder engagement, and
- What actions were taken by Fuji Xerox New Zealand to promote employee health and safety
Already Subscribed? Type your email below and click submit
What are the material issues the company has identified?
In its 2020 Sustainability Report Fuji Xerox New Zealand identified a range of material issues, such as product quality and safety, technology and innovation, customer satisfaction, information security and privacy. Among these, promoting employee health and safety stands out as a key material issue for Fuji Xerox New Zealand.
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 Fuji Xerox New Zealand engages with:
| Stakeholder Group |
| Academia |
| Certifying bodies |
| Customers |
| Employees |
| Government |
| Industry experts |
| Iwi |
| Local communities |
| Media |
| Non-governmental organisations |
| Peer organisations |
| Regulatory bodies |
| Shareholders |
| Sponsor recipients |
| Suppliers |
| Sustainability experts/ membership groups |
| Unions |
| Youth |
How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues
To identify and prioritise material topics Fuji Xerox New Zealand carried out a Stakeholder Engagement Survey, to review material topics previously identified by stakeholders through an online survey, following an extensive workshop and a face-to-face, interview-based approach.
What actions were taken by Fuji Xerox New Zealand to promote employee health and safety?
In its 2020 Sustainability Report Fuji Xerox New Zealand reports that it took the following actions for promoting employee health and safety:
- Implementing an H&S Management System
- Fuji Xerox New Zealand’s H&S Management System considers legal guidance from in-house and external legal counsel, regulatory authorities, and the Employers and Manufacturers Association. Fuji Xerox New Zealand has also had the System externally certified to ISO 45001:2018 and AS/NZS 4801:2001 standards. The System is underpinned by an H&S Policy reviewed and approved by the SLT and extensively documented in an H&S Manual available to all employees to guide efforts. It is executed across the company with the help of regular H&S Committee meetings (these were held twice weekly during the COVID-19 period) and regular meetings with Branch H&S Coordinators. H&S outcomes are reviewed and reported monthly to the SLT to evaluate effectiveness, with a goal of continually improving practices and results. Through this regular review and reporting process, routine hazards are identified and regularly communicated across the business.
- Providing training
- Fuji Xerox New Zealand’s employees undergo H&S training at induction and on the job, to increase awareness of hazards and the controls and behaviours required to minimise their exposure to risks. Branch H&S Coordinators are provided with more advanced training. Operational control posters and safety information also feature widely across the company, posted in key operational areas and also in congregational areas such as staff pantries. These initiatives are driven by the H&S and Wellbeing Manager together with Branch H&S Coordinators.
- Promoting incident reporting
- Fuji Xerox New Zealand’s work-related activities are safe if proper precautions are followed by employees as detailed in the H&S Manual. However, accidents and other unforeseen incidents can still occur, and these are picked up via incident reporting to drive wider H&S Management System corrective improvements. In terms of incident reporting, a matrix of Risk Levels, Tolerances, and Management Actions is included in the H&S Manual. Employees who have H&S incidents or even near misses are required to submit reports to the H&S and Wellbeing Manager. Should circumstances arise (for any reason) that render workplaces unsafe or unhealthy, even temporarily, employees are advised to remove themselves from the unsafe areas and report the situations immediately to their managers, H&S Coordinators at their locations, or the H&S and Wellbeing Manager. Participation is welcomed for all H&S matters at branch levels, and employees can also raise concerns to and participate in the H&S Committee.
Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?
The GRI Standards addressed in this case are:
1) Disclosure 403-1 Occupational health and safety management system
2) Disclosure 403-2 Hazard identification, risk assessment, and incident investigation
4) Disclosure 403-5 Worker training on occupational health and safety
5) Disclosure 403-8 Workers covered by an occupational health and safety management system
6) Disclosure 403-9 Work-related injuries
Disclosure 403-1 Occupational health and safety management system corresponds to:
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
- Targets: 8.8
Disclosure 403-2 Hazard identification, risk assessment, and incident investigation corresponds to:
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
- Targets: 8.8
Disclosure 403-4 Worker participation, consultation, and communication on occupational health and safety corresponds to:
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
- Targets: 8.8
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
- Targets: 16.7
Disclosure 403-5 Worker training on occupational health and safety corresponds to:
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
- Targets: 8.8
Disclosure 403-8 Workers covered by an occupational health and safety management system corresponds to:
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
- Targets: 8.8
Disclosure 403-9 Work-related injuries corresponds to:
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
- Targets: 3.6, 3.9
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
- Targets: 8.8
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
- Targets: 16.1
78% of the world’s 250 largest companies report in accordance with the GRI Standards
SustainCase was primarily created to demonstrate, through case studies, the importance of dealing with a company’s most important impacts in a structured way, with use of the GRI Standards. To show how today’s best-run companies are achieving economic, social and environmental success – and how you can too.
Research by well-recognised institutions is clearly proving that responsible companies can look to the future with optimism.
7 GRI sustainability disclosures get you started
Any size business can start taking sustainability action
GRI, IEMA, CPD Certified Sustainability courses (2-5 days): Live Online or Classroom (venue: London School of Economics)
- Exclusive FBRH template to begin reporting from day one
- Identify your most important impacts on the Environment, Economy and People
- Formulate in group exercises your plan for action. Begin taking solid, focused, all-round sustainability action ASAP.
- Benchmarking methodology to set you on a path of continuous improvement
See upcoming training dates.
References:
1) This case study is based on published information by Fuji Xerox New Zealand, 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) https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/gri-standards-download-center/
Note to Fuji Xerox New Zealand: With each case study we send out an email requesting a comment on this case study. If you have not received such an email please contact us.