Case study: How OCP promotes employee health and safety
OCP Group is a leading producer of phosphate rock and phosphatic fertilizers, employing 21,000 people and serving 350 customers around the globe. Beyond direct positive impacts on productivity and costs by avoiding repeated absences, medical expenses and insurance premiums, OCP believes that safe, healthy, and well-rounded workers sustain its business model. Tweet This!
This case study is based on the 2019 Sustainability Report by OCP 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
Aware that there is significant safety risk inherent in mining and industrial operations, OCP implements a preventive approach and management system in line with the best available international standards, fostering a mature safety culture to reach the world-class and zero-incident level. In order to promote employee health and safety OCP took action to:
- implement an occupational health and safety management system
- provide training
- identify and assess risks
- measure performance
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With this case study you will see:
- Which are the most important impacts (material issues) OCP has identified;
- How OCP proceeded with stakeholder engagement, and
- What actions were taken by OCP to promote employee health and safety
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What are the material issues the company has identified?
In its 2019 Sustainability Report OCP identified a range of material issues, such as economic growth, community engagement, food security, renewable energy development. Among these, promoting employee health and safety stands out as a key material issue for OCP.
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 OCP engages with:
| Stakeholder Group | Method of engagement |
| Employees
| · Workshops · Surveys · Situations and movements (Act4Community, diversity, Happy@OCP, etc.) · Hackathons · Training, peer-to-peer knowledge transfer (OCP Professors) and skills assessment programmes · Group intranet · 1 Pacte · Digital applications and workplace, performance evaluation, etc |
| Senior management
| · Board of Directors · Audit and Risk Committee: risk assessment integrating sustainable development · Strategic Committee: Global Strategic Review (activities integrating sustainable development criteria through a down-top/bottom-up process) · Management Committee (Executive Vice Presidents): advisory process (on environmental and social issues) and thematic focus groups · Operational Committee using, in their decision making, input from site management committees (right place, time, rate, source) · Contracts with local authorities, public-private partnership · Specialised committees (health, safety, environment, technical) |
| Farmers
| · 4R Programme (customised agriculture) · Development of a soil fertility map · OCP Foundation / Phosboucraa Foundation · Al Moutmir caravan and agronomic advice · Development of a farmer-friendly business ecosystem (local production and distribution infrastructure) |
| Customers
| · Feedback in various forms (written, by phone, etc.) · Meetings, site visits, road shows, client events (trade fairs, exhibitions, etc.) · Quality and risk management processes |
| Trade unions
| · Social Charter · CSP (Staff Status Commission) · CAS (Social Action Commission) · CHS (Health and Safety Committee) · CNC (Collective Bargaining Committee) · Training academy |
| Suppliers
| · Progress pact (training and support for improving social, environmental, and safety compliance, and in other areas) · The Movement (Act4Community) · OCP purchasing platform (e-purchase) · Programmes for suppliers · Forums and conferences on the emergence of an industrial ecosystem · Meetings and dialogue with local stakeholders at the operational site level |
| Nearby communities | · Public survey for industrial projects (development, modification, and expansion projects) · Complaint management system at the corporate level and at operational sites · Association forums · Meetings with residents · Thematic forums on entrepreneurship (micro-business, local business, etc.) |
| Associations and NGOs | · Skills development programmes · Dialogue and joint development: Act4Community · Subsidies for projects · Association forums · Thematic forums on entrepreneurship (micro-business, local business, etc.) |
| Influencers: Media & rating agencies | · Discussions with local, national, and international media · Site tours · Websites (corporate, foundations) and social media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn) · Presentation of the sustainable development programme to local and national media · Forums, conferences, national and international events |
| Institutions, authorities and regulators | · Global issue advocacy · Board of Directors · Programme contracts · Various discussions (local meetings, informal meetings, written correspondence with institutions, etc.) |
How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues
To identify and prioritise material topics OCP engaged with its stakeholders through a questionnaire sent to 40 stakeholder representatives.
What actions were taken by OCP to promote employee health and safety?
In its 2019 Sustainability Report OCP reports that it took the following actions for promoting employee health and safety:
- Implementing an occupational health and safety management system
- A corporate team is dedicated to health and safety management for all OCP sites and defines the guidelines of the safety approach based on feedback from the field. Each site implements a programme to address its specific road and safety issues – driven by a safety manager who coordinates a network of safety correspondents assigned to different areas of the site. Health & Safety committees – composed of employees’ representatives – are regularly held to ensure the co-construction and the efficiency of the performance cascading and feedback culture. The DOOC (DUPONT OCP Operations Consulting) joint venture – dedicated to health, safety and environment challenges – transversally supports the OHS management system.
- Providing training
- To build a mature safety culture, training at OCP consists of both technical and soft skills training. Employees acquire knowledge and know-how in accordance with safety standards and job exposure; and behavioural skills to have teams feel ownership, responsibility for safety culture and believe zero injuries is an attainable goal. OCP suppliers and subcontractors also receive safety training and procedures when it comes to intervention on industrial sites. Training mainly goes through OCP’s Industrial Expertise Centres (IECs) that provide site-specific trainings as well as UM6P and OCP professors.
- Identifying and assessing risks
- Aligned with OHSAS 18001 standard, OCP has implemented procedures and standards within its operations and developed a Zero incident roadmap. Prevention measures for serious and potentially serious injuries and fatalities (PSIFs) have been strengthened by developing a methodology to analyse the root causes of serious or potentially serious injuries and make sure that corrective actions are taken accordingly. The aim is to avoid any recurrence of these events and to gradually develop a mature safety culture for all OCP staff and business partners (subcontractors, suppliers, joint ventures). Aligned with OCP’s continuous improvement approach, this methodology is strengthened year-on-year.
- Measuring performance
- OCP has independent bodies conducting regular safety audits to verify the compliance of each unit and site with the management system and safety standard requirements. Each audit follows a defined protocol and schedule and conclusions are sent to the management of both the unit/site and corporate to adapt action plan. In addition, units/sites carry out their own audits based on self-assessment and implement the issued recommendations. OCP’s safety approach is also continuously improved through a regular feedback survey and grievance mechanisms available to employees and people who work for it.
Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?
The GRI Standards addressed in this case are:
1) Disclosure 403-9 Work-related injuries
2) Disclosure 403-10 Work-related ill health
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
Disclosure 403-10 Work-related ill health does not correspond to any SDG.
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References:
1) This case study is based on published information by OCP, 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/
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