Policy and procedures
Charter has issued formal policies and procedures manuals to all subsidiaries of the Company (except those situated in North America). Amongst other matters, the manuals determine the policies and procedures that Charter's subsidiaries must follow to operate in an environmentally and socially responsible manner. The most relevant sections from a CSR perspective are those on:
- Code of conduct
- Whistleblowing
- Employment
- Health and safety
- Environmental
- Risk management
- Business continuity planning and disaster recovery
Charter's subsidiaries must comply with the policies and procedures contained in these manuals unless they conflict with applicable local legislation.
Management responsibilities
Employees must comply with and act in accordance with the provisions of the Code of conduct and the Whistleblowing policy. The Chief Executive is responsible for ensuring that the sections of the manual covering employment, heath and safety and environmental matters are regularly updated.
The Head of Risk Management is responsible for ensuring that sections of the manual relating to risk management and business continuity planning are updated and has been delegated responsibility for preparing monthly performance reports on health and safety, and quarterly reports on environmental matters, for submission to the Executive Committee and the Board.
Operational responsibility for managing these matters lies with the senior management of each operating unit. The Head of Risk Management has a co-ordinating role in areas of CSR to improve the sharing of best practice, collection of data and consistency of reporting. CSR is considered to be an important driver of long term sustainable business success and is being integrated within the overall risk management practices of Charter. Risks and issues relating to CSR are updated by subsidiary companies as part of their regular reviews, and progress on mitigating actions is monitored regularly. There is a formal management review of major risks by the Executive Committee on a quarterly basis and by the Board every six months.
Recent focus has been on strengthening human resources, incorporating health and safety as an integral part of the deployment of lean manufacturing, further improving product safety labelling for welding consumables, increasing the frequency and consistency in reporting key health, safety and environmental matters, and progressing business continuity plans.
Key areas of CSR focus
Health and safety
The importance of health and safety has been emphasised by ensuring that performance and progress on improvement actions are considered as a formal agenda item at meetings of senior management and at Board meetings. Any injury that results in lost time is reported to senior management and to the Head of Risk Management. In addition, the Head of Risk Management prepares a monthly report on overall health and safety performance for senior management and the Board.
Each operating unit has its own environmental, health and safety committee, and health and safety resources are also deployed at major manufacturing sites. Safety is considered to be a key part of the Lean-manufacturing initiative and improvements in safety are already being made as this initiative is rolled out across the Company's operating units.
The overall policy of Charter is to protect the health and safety of all employees, contractors and third parties. Leadership training in this area is underpinned by management systems built on OHSAS 18001. ESAB is planning to achieve group certification in 2007. The majority of Howden manufacturing sites will also be certified by the end of 2007.
Environmental
ESAB has a long history of evaluating and addressing environmental impacts, being one of the first companies in its sector to produce a Sustainable Development Report in 1997. The Lean-manufacturing initiatives underway will aid in ensuring the efficient use of raw materials and energy, the promotion of recycling and a reduction in waste products.
ESAB is the only welding company to have achieved global certification to ISO 14001, which was awarded on 22 January 2006. The commitment to environmental improvement continues, with a current focus on completing energy audits of all of its major manufacturing sites to identify areas for further improvement.
Howden's main environmental impact is through the products it supplies to its customers to enable them to achieve greater energy efficiency in their operations. Howden supplies fans and rotary heat exchangers that are used in coal fired power stations to increase efficiency and reduce atmospheric pollution. Howden is aware of the environmental impact of its own manufacturing processes and is committed to conducting its operations in a manner that minimises any detrimental effect on the environment and to continuously improving overall environmental performance.
Howden has started to collect internal usage of electricity, water and waste generation. Two of Howden's sites are certified to ISO 14001, being Belfast in the UK and NogentsurOise in France. Two further sites, in France and South Africa, are working towards achieving certification in 2007 with the remaining manufacturing sites targeted for completion by the end of 2008.
Employment
Charter recognises and values diversity in its subsidiaries' workforces and encourages them to attract, develop, deploy and reward employees solely on the basis of merit.
The Company has in place a Whistleblowing policy which provides an opportunity for all employees to raise any concerns independent of their normal reporting lines. Any concerns raised are investigated by Internal Audit and reported to the Audit Committee.
Communications with employees are a significant factor in developing an efficient and successful business. ESAB issues a newsletter, ‘Let's Talk', every two weeks, which includes community initiatives and staff stories, as well as customer wins and company projects. Howden produces a ‘team brief' every two months that is circulated to managers globally for use in local discussions. A six-monthly newsletter is provided in the local language to Howden employees. Employees also receive information through works councils and other consultative bodies.
Community involvement
Charter's subsidiaries are encouraged to support the local communities in which they operate. As an example, ESAB Brazil was a founding member of a project aimed at training young destitute people. The project is carried out in partnership with companies and institutions in the neighbourhood and so far ESAB has contributed eight welding machines, fume extraction equipment for the eight cabins and technical support. Two groups, with 15 people in each group, completed the course in 2006.
Many Charter subsidiaries actively support local charities either through fundraising or other forms of assistance.
A joint programme between Hunter Valley Training Company and Howden Australia has been conducted to address the chronic skills shortages in metal trades industries within the Hunter Valley area by injecting a new group of skilled apprentices into the local community.
Supply chain
Charter recognises the importance of its subsidiaries working in partnership with their suppliers and sub-contractors to meet commitments to customers. In addition to focus on quality, consideration is given to environmental, health and safety issues. A ‘Sustainability Questionnaire for Suppliers' has been developed by ESAB which is being distributed to suppliers. The questionnaire addresses environmental management; occupational health, safety and labour management; and restricted chemical substances.