Environment, Health & Safety

Our focus on growth is balanced by a respect for the environment. We try to find ways to minimise our impact on the environment by keeping our energy, water consumption and waste to a minimum through our working practices and indeed through our products.

Organisational arrangements

Our environmental, health and safety (EHS) approach starts with our EHS policy. The Group EHS Steering Committee, which is made up of senior Group and divisional representatives, develops our policies and strategy and tracks progress. The Executive Committee approves our policies and strategy and, along with the Board of Directors, monitors our performance. The Group EHS Technical Committee develops programmes through which we implement our EHS strategy. It also evaluates performance issues, helps us to share best practice around the Group and identifies training needs. The General Manager of each division has overall responsibility for EHS matters within their business.

Our EHS strategy

A key part of our overall business strategy is to promote a culture of responsibility throughout the business. Our EHS strategy supports this business strategy and our Code of Business Ethics. We update the EHS strategy each year. It sets out a multi-year plan for improving our EHS performance. Our current EHS strategy is based around our safety culture, organisation and resources, managed risks, infrastructure and compliance. Our EHS key performance indicators (KPIs) are aligned to the strategy and allow us to assess our progress. Achievement of KPIs also forms part of the performance assessment for our senior management.

Our EHS management systems

We strongly believe in the power of continuous improvement and use management systems to realise its benefits. These systems help to improve our management of EHS issues by providing an externally verified framework for risk reduction, continual improvement, compliance assurance and management review. Many of our businesses are certified to OHSAS 18001 for occupational health and safety management systems, and ISO 14001 for environmental management systems.

EHS compliance

Smiths is committed to meeting or exceeding its legal and other EHS requirements. We periodically assess our compliance, including using external auditors to audit our operations’ legal EHS compliance. The facilities to be audited are chosen from across the Group based on their size, complexity and compliance risks. After these audits, we prepare corrective action plans, which we closely monitor to ensure we resolve issues properly and in good time.

The EHS Technical Committee reviews the overall results of the audits and the potential Group-wide risks they identify. Common issues may result in Group-wide initiatives to ensure we maintain compliance. We also share best practices identified during the audits across the divisions. In addition to our external compliance auditing, sites with OHSAS 18001 and ISO 14001 management systems also have procedures for identifying their legal requirements and evaluating compliance.

Smiths and workplace safety

Smiths is committed to working in a way that protects, as far as reasonably practicable, the health and safety of all its employees. Our employees recognise our commitment. In a FY2011 Group-wide employee engagement survey, workplace safety was the highest-scoring dimension, exceeding the worldwide benchmark for manufacturing industry.

By focusing on their business risks and needs, our divisions are able to make improvements that reduce the chance of an incident. In addition, the divisions perform site safety performance assessments and create improvement programmes, if needed. These sites may also be selected for additional Group-level management review and assessment.

Smiths and the environment

We are committed to minimising, as far as reasonably practicable, any detrimental effects our activities, products and services have on the environment. This includes using performance-based environmental management systems to drive improvement throughout the business.

Our divisions develop and implement strategies to minimise their operations’ environmental effects. Our sites monitor their energy and water usage, waste generation and greenhouse gas emissions, identify opportunities for reduction and implement plans to realise improvements. We share action plans, lessons learned and best practices across the Group.

Energy and greenhouse gas

Smiths is committed to efficient use of energy and natural resources and reducing its greenhouse gas emissions. Our energy and greenhouse gas policy addresses our approach to managing these impacts.

Where feasible, we leverage our size to negotiate favourable terms and rates for buying energy. In addition, we contract to use cost-effective and reliable renewable energy sources, where available.