Health, Safety and Environmental (HSE) Protection Policy Statement
Updated: Tue 7 Nov 2023
We are committed to caring for our people, customers, contractors, the communities in which we work and the environment.
Our goal is to make sure everyone goes home safe; the environment is protected and enhanced wherever possible and damage to property is avoided. Without a safe business, we have no business.
1. Three Health, Safety & Environmental Pillars underpin all our activities:
Leadership and Engagement: As leaders, we inspire and lead the implementation of a culture that values Health, Safety and the Environment at the core of our business.
We will engage our people in the development of solutions and empower everyone to act. Risk reduction and improvement: We will proactively identify risks, plan and act to eliminate and/or minimise risks that make our workplaces unsafe, or harm the environment.
Commitments we live by: We are all responsible for Health, Safety and protection of the Environment in our workplace. This is a core value defined by fundamental behaviours that we live by every day.
2. To achieve our Health, Safety & Environmental Goals we:
- Clearly define responsibilities and accountabilities, enable our people to address HSE issues and strive to ensure that HSE arrangements are adequately resourced.
- Implement effective HSE standards for our operations and our people along with a robust contractor management process to ensure HSE standards are maintained by our contractors and suppliers.
- Communicate effectively and transparently with our people, customers, contractors, suppliers and with others affected by our operations on HSE matters.
- Listen to our people, consult and involve them in matters that affect Health, Safety or the Environment.
- Train and develop our people to enhance competency and capability to work safely and minimise our impact on the environment.
- Empower our people to make choices to eliminate risks and protect the environment using tools such as stop work authority and take time take charge.
- Develop and implement effective contingency plans and train our people to minimise the consequences of any incident.
- Strive to continuously improve our Safety Management Systems, fulfil all regulatory and industry requirements and meet the needs of our stakeholders
3. To continuously improve by:
- Setting measurable and achievable targets aligned with our business strategy
- Monitoring our performance and acting to meet our health, safety and environmental objectives
- Encouraging openness and ensuring transparency in the sharing of learning events and HSE performance data and engendering trust in the investigation of incidents, maintaining a “Just Culture”
- Engaging with leading industry associations and being at the forefront of the development of industry standards
- Reviewing this policy on an annual basis and adapting our strategies as the business evolves
4. International Standards Certification
In a significant milestone in P&O Ferries’ transformational journey, we are thrilled to announce the successful attainment of two prestigious certifications - ISO 14001 and ISO 45001.
- ISO 14001 is the international standard for Environmental Management Systems (EMS), emphasising the need for organisations to prioritise their environmental impact. Our certification not only demonstrates our commitment to sustainability but also provides us with tangible benefits, including greater control over costs.
- ISO 45001, the world’s standard for Occupational Health and Safety, is a crucial step in ensuring the well-being of our employees and visitors. In a world where preventable workplace incidents result in millions of injuries, our commitment to ISO 45001 reflects our dedication to providing a safe and healthy working environment.
These certifications are a testament to our commitment to excellence in Health, Safety, Security, and Environment (HSSE) across our Shoreside Operations, including Channel House, Cairnryan, Larne, Dublin, and Dover Port.
Our journey towards ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 certifications involved rigorous audits conducted by NQA auditors across multiple locations. This process ensures that our internal controls align with international standards, setting the stage for a robust Integrated Management System.
These certifications are not just milestones but symbols of our unwavering commitment to excellence in environmental management and occupational health and safety. As we continue to ‘Adapt and Evolve’ to ‘Build for a better future’, these certifications serve as a foundation for sustained growth, improved productivity, and an enhanced organisational safety culture.