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Safety Policy

Health, Safety, Environment and Security

Increasing stakeholder value by delivering sustainable solutions to our customers is crucial for the success of our company. Sustainable business operations are a prerequisite for meeting our challenging targets.

In 2008, we issued a new Policy Statement on Health, Safety, Environment and Security, which is fully aligned with our commitment to meeting all of our stakeholders’ expectations in running a profitable and sustainable business, while at the same time meeting  all of our commitments to society and the environment.
To help implement the Policy’s requirements we have a comprehensive HSE&S Management System in place. This consists of:

• Corporate Directives, which specify general minimum requirements, that must be strictly applied and help implementing the policy.
• Standards included in our Corporate HSE&S Manual, which specify additional professional detail on requirements to be followed to fully comply with the Corporate Directives.
• Guidance Notes, also included in our  Corporate HSE&S Manual, which provide additional and/or explanatory information useful to develop local procedures and systems to effectively implement the Directives and Standards. In general Guidance Notes are based on best practices within the company: they are recommended but not mandatory.
• Operational management systems at our sites. These systems are integrated on quality, and HSE&S. They are risk-based and follow the Responsible Care® and Coatings Care® principles. Management systems have been set up in line with international standards as ISO-9000, ISO-14001, RC-14001 and OHSAS-18001.

Product Stewardship, the ongoing performance improvement of products in terms of safety, health and environmental impact is an important part of our Value Chain approach to sustainability. AkzoNobel’s Eco-premium solutions program, which focuses on the development of products with lower toxicity; improved energy efficiency; use of natural resources/ raw materials, reduced emissions waste, land use and risks (e.g. of accidents) is the logical next step in Product Stewardship.