Occupational Health and Safety

Management approach

Occupational Health and Safety at Clariant is managed globally by the Environmental Safety and Health Affairs (ESHA) department. In addition, the company has appointed ESHA experts worldwide who are responsible for Occupational Health and Safety in all countries and across all business units. All measures apply to all employees who work under the direct supervision of a Clariant employee (Clariant full-time employees and supervised workers). This also includes contractors who must follow Clariant’s rules and measures.

To ensure the health and safety of employees, Clariant has a set of principles and guidelines in place. The ISO 45001 standard, which formulates requirements for an Occupational Health and Safety management system, is authoritative. Clariant made the transition from the current OSHAS 18001 certification to ISO 45001 in 2020. In 2021, internal audits were carried out in accordance with ISO 45001. The certificate confirming complianceComplianceCompliance is a key element of Corporate Governance. It refers to compliance with the law and directives as well as with company codes and ethical business practices and behaviors.View entire glossary with the standard is available.

Further guidelines cover a variety of safety issues, such as fire and explosion protection, the handling of hazardous substances, and the identification of risks in chemical production. In addition, Clariant adheres to the precautionary principle when it comes to risks that have not yet been fully clarified scientifically. The safety of employees and the environment is also anchored in Clariant’s sustainability policy. Occupational Health and Safety affect Clariant as a company in the value chainValue chainThe value chain describes the series of steps in the production process, from raw materials through the various intermediate stages to the finished end product.View entire glossary .

Goals and measures

Goals and measures

Clariant aims to achieve zero accidents worldwide. Progress toward zero accidents is linked to bonuses for top management. In 2021, there were 23 lost-time accidents. The company has thus achieved the milestone. In addition, process safety is to be integrated into the daily routine of all operations. Milestones are defined at the Group and business unit levels.

Clariant regularly monitors several key performance indicators: The lost-time accident rate (LTAR), occupational diseases, and work restriction cases are continuously tracked globally by Corporate ESHA and reported to an assigned member of Corporate ESHA. Recorded injuries are continuously tracked and reported quarterly to an assigned member of Corporate ESHA. Additionally, site ESHA continuously monitors safety deviations at each site. On a global level, safety deviations are monitored quarterly.

COVID-19 pandemic

During the global health crisis triggered by the coronavirus, pro­tecting the health of all employees has been a top priority for Clariant. In 2021, the company enforced strict hygiene protocols, provided personal protective equipment (PPE) when needed, and procured surgical and FFP2 masks to ensure safe working con­ditions. Surgical and FFP2 masks were also provided to employees for personal use. With the availability of the vaccine in 2021, Clariant motivated its employees to get vaccinated. In some countries, the company has supported vaccination when endorsed by authorities.

In order to quickly adapt to a changing environment, including constantly updated scientific recommendations and regulatory requirements, Clariant developed more than 30 different response scenarios to react to possible developments in the spread of the pandemic. The scenarios were approved by Group Emergency Management (GEM) and distributed to the regions, countries, and sites. The scenarios were revised to keep them up to date with the increasing knowledge about the pandemic.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Clariant has provided comprehensive support to its employees worldwide on topics such as working from home, staying healthy, and staying in touch with the team. Clariant relied on an approach developed jointly by the Human Resources, Group Innovation and Sustainability, and Corporate Communications departments: Using facts and encouraging messages, Clariant promotes the same level of knowledge among all employees and external stakeholders. All questions and concerns about the virus were collected and answered in a digital COVID hub that employees can access when needed. In addition to internal measures, Clariant also provides external support: To alleviate the availability problems in the midst of the virus outbreak, Clariant delivered around 15.5 tons of dis­infectant free of charge to the »Hilfswerk Osteuropahilfe« in Switzerland. The company managed to maintain the sustainability focus embedded in its DNA even in these turbulent times: It sourced the main ingre­dient of the disinfectant, ethanol, from Crop Energies, the largest European producer of renewable ethanol.

Occupational Health and Safety programs and training

Occupational safety at Clariant means much more than just wearing the necessary protective equipment. It is a commitment to address safety comprehensively and to ensure that employees come home from work as healthy as when they arrived.

Protection against health hazards

Protection against health hazards

Clariant’s internal guideline »Protection from Hazards to Health« serves to prevent work-related illnesses and regulates the identification of work-related health hazards for all workplaces. The guideline includes defined review criteria and cycles. The Sub­stitution, Technical measures, Organizational, and Personal (STOP) principle defines the hierarchy of measures to be taken to prevent incidents. It must be applied to the control measures. A comprehensive internal audit system ensures quality and triggers con­tinuous improvements.

Handouts on Occupational Health and ­Safety-related topics

Handouts on Occupational Health and Safety-related topics

As part of the »Safety Moments« initiative, employees at Clariant have been trained on Occupational Health and Safety-related topics with the help of handouts since 2017. These are presented and discussed, for example, at the beginning of meetings and can be accessed via an internal platform. Currently, there are more than 330 »Safety Moments.« In 2021, several Safety Moments related to COVID-19 were developed and distributed.

Reporting near misses and unsafe situations

Reporting near misses and unsafe situations

To report unsafe situations or near-miss incidents, Clariant’s employees can either approach their supervisors directly, submit a report using »Safety Counts!« cards, or utilize an online system at some sites. If employees identify a hazardous situation, they are permitted and encouraged to stop the activity and report to their supervisor. After a work-related incident, Clariant conducts an investigation to identify corrective actions to avoid recurrence. Specific methodologies are provided and described in Clariant’s investigation guide. According to internal processes, Lost-Time Accident and Restricted Work case reports are only closed if an appropriate investigation report is available and filed. The decision to close a report is made at the Group level by an assigned member of Corporate ESHA.

Global program for safe working conditions

Global program for safe working conditions

AvoidingAccidents@Clariant is a global program that creates safe work environments, raises awareness of safety, and illustrates Clariant’s focus on prevention. Under the umbrella of the program, Clariant rolled out multifaceted trainings and tools to achieve the zero-accidents objective. These include, for example, safe behavior trainings, safety leadership improvements, safety checks, safety days, and safety weeks. Since the start of the program in 2007, the lost-time accident rate (LTAR) has decreased from 0.92 to 0.16 in 2021.

AvoidingAccidents@Clariant

AvoidingAccidents@Clariant is a global program that creates safe working environments, raises awareness of safety, and illustrates Clariant’s focus on prevention. Since the start of the program in 2007, the lost-time accident rate (LTAR) has declined from 0.92 to 0.16.

Learning Management System (LMS)

Learning Management System (LMS)

Clariant has a Learning Management System (LMS) that is used to provide, steer, and monitor various programs such as Occupational Health and Safety-related e-Learnings, webinars, and workshops. Additionally, there are special trainings regarding work-related hazards, hazardous activities, or potential hazardous situations. Additionally, there are special trainings provided by the respective plant and the building management regarding work-related hazards. These trainings are customized and depend on the jobs to be performed.

Hazard identification, risk assessment, and incident investigation

Workplace assessment

Workplace assessment

As part of Clariant’s audit program, internal experts from Corporate ESHA and Integrated Group System Management (IGSM) regularly visit sites to review workplace and process safety standards. To do this, they evaluate the facilities and determine corrective actions to address the main risks. Process Hazard Analyses (PHAs) are conducted regularly by competent personnel at the sites. PHAs are reviewed at least every five years and updated as changes occur. If a change is implemented in a facility, change management procedures ensure that this change is assessed and controlled to avoid risks.

To protect employees from work-related hazards, each workplace undergoes a systematic, multistep assessment. This includes workplace ergonomics, lighting, noise, indoor air quality, humidity, and temperature. If a workplace falls below defined minimum requirements, Clariant takes measures to redesign this workplace.

Employee health checks

Employee health checks

At certain workplaces, Clariant carries out regular comprehensive employee health checks. The objective is to detect signs of illness as early as possible. Clariant takes care to obtain special health certificates and to carry out vaccinations that are required for some jobs. Medical professionals anonymously report problems identified during employee personal health checks. Depending on local laws, these reports are addressed to the local ESHA organization or the appropriate area. The reported information is used to review mandatory workplace risk assessments in accordance with the guideline »Protection from Health Hazards.« Clariant ensures medical confidentiality.

Worker participation, consultation, and communication on Occupational Health and Safety

Worker participation, consultation, and communication on Occupational Health and Safety

Ninety-six percent of staff employed in production are repre­sented by a safety committee. Considering the whole workforce (production, procurement, sales, and management), 85 % of staff are represented. At Clariant, safety issues are also addressed in committees that do not primarily deal with this topic. A working group is established if it is necessary to implement new internal standards or update existing ones. The resulting draft is sent to the different stakeholders in Clariant’s business units and regions to solicit feedback. Feedback and requests for revisions are duly considered before the standard is finalized and approved. The relevant information is subsequently published in the Group Management System (GMS) database and on SharePoint.

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Work-related injuries

		Total 2021		2020		2019		2018		2017
Number of fatalities as a result of work-related injury		0		0		0		0		2 1
Rate of fatalities as a result of work-related injury (per 200 000 hours)		0		0		0		0		0.0053
Number of high-consequence work-related injuries (excluding fatalities)		2		2		0		1		0
Rate of high-consequence work-related injuries (excluding fatalities) (per 200 000 hours)		0.01		0.01		0		0.005		0
Number of recordable work-related injuries		141		157		232		248		302
Rate of recordable work-related injuries (per 200 000 hours)		1.00		0.95		1.21		1.31		1.57
Number of hours worked		28 440 000		33 262 000		38 556 000		37 796 000		38 134 000
1 The fatalities disclosure includes employees and contractors.

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Occupational accidents

		Continuing operations		Discontinued operations		Total 2021		2020		2019		2018		2017
Lost-time accidents 1		n.a.		n.a.		23		26		28		27		38
Male		n.a.		n.a.		21		26		27		27		34
Female		n.a.		n.a.		2		0		1		0		4
Lost-time accident rate (LTAR) 2		0.15		0.21		0.16		0.16		0.15		0.14		0.20
Male		n.a.		n.a.		0.15		0.16		0.14		0.14		0.18
Female		n.a.		n.a.		0.01		0		0.01		0		0.02
Lost-time accident rate (LTAR)2 for contractors		n.a.		n.a.		0.30		0.14		0.22		0.24		0.21
Lost-time accidents by supervised (non-Clariant) workers (included in the overall number of occupational accidents)		1		0		1		1		1		6		2
Male		n.a.		n.a.		1		1		1		6		1
Female		n.a.		n.a.		0		0		0		0		1
Lost workdays (LWDs) caused by occupational accidents		902		72		974 3		1 229		661		879		1 135
Male		n.a.		n.a.		962 3		1 229		648		874		1 051
Female		n.a.		n.a.		12		0		13		5		84
Lost workday rate (LWDR)		7.32		3.81		6.85		7.39		3.43		4.68		5.95
Number of cases of recordable work-related ill health		0		0		0		0		3		1		0
1 Number of occupational accidents with at least one day’s work lost
2 Occupational accidents with at least one day’s work lost relative to 200 000 hours of work
3 279 lost workdays (LWDs) from 2019 and 2020 incidents

Tracking health and safety

Clariant utilizes dashboards for Occupational Health and Safety reporting. All sites are obliged to report an accident resulting in loss of work immediately. This concerns cases where the affected employee cannot work for at least one day and cases of restricted work. For these cases, investigation reports are mandatory.

In 2021, the overall health and safety performance at Clariant’s sites further improved. The total number of lost-time accidents decreased from 26 in 2020 to 23 in 2021 with a pro rata decrease in the number of employees (-17 %) due to the sale of the Business Unit MasterbatchesMasterbatchesThese are plastic additives in the form of granules with dyestuffs or other additives used to dye or alter the properties of natural plastic.View entire glossary in the course of 2020. In addition, 13 lost-time accidents occurred involving contractors, which is a strong increase compared to the six accidents in 2020. First aid was required for 79 % of all recorded injuries; 16 % needed medical treatment; and 5 % of recorded injuries were restricted work cases. The most frequent injury types in 2021 were sprains, bruises, and contusions (39 %); bone fractures (26 %); and burns (18 %). In 2021, no chemical burns, burn injuries, or poisonings occurred. Internal injuries and limb losses each accounted for 4 %. The remaining 4 % were unspecified injuries. Neither work-related fatal accidents nor recognized occupational illnesses were recorded in 2021.

The lost-time accident rate (LTAR) of 0.16 accidents per 200 000 hours of work remained stable compared to 2020. The total number of lost workdays decreased significantly from 1 229 in 2020 to 974 in 2021, representing a decrease of over 20 %. This indicates that job-related injuries were less severe in 2021 than in 2020. Accordingly, the lost workday rate (LWDR) decreased from 7.39 workdays lost per 200 000 hours of work in 2020 to 6.85 workdays lost per 200 000 hours of work in 2021.

Further indicators

Employees covered by an occupational health and safety management system

Occupational accidents by region

Occupational accidents of contractors