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Health and Safety

Health and Safety

Health and Safety

Protecting the health and safety of employees and neighbouring communities is the core responsibility for a chemicals company and key to Borealis’ licence to operate. Since the Group was founded, health and safety has been at the top of its agenda. Safe use of Borealis’ products is also key – by converters, customers and during recycling. At the same time, Borealis products and solutions offer important health and safety benefits, through applications such as fire-safe cables and affordable healthcare products.

Borealis will continue to prioritise health and safety, as a material issue for the Group. It has therefore identified health and safety as one of the three focus areas in its sustainability strategy.

Reference activities

Occupational Health & Safety

Chemicals operations involve highly flammable and hazardous substances, therefore, at Borealis health and safety always come first.

Borealis has achieved world-class health and safety for many years. To reach its objective of recording zero accidents, Borealis launched its Goal Zero Programme. The company continuously works to strengthen its collective health and safety mindset, which is summarised by the following motto: "If we can't do it safely, we won't do it at all." But Borealis' approach to safety goes beyond its operations, to include safety issues in the office environment. Safety awareness campaigns also target travel and extracurricular sports.

The Responsible Care® global charter sets the framework for ensuring excellent occupational health and safety at Borealis.

Health and safety experts in all Borealis locations provide health and safety competence and expertise. They ensure standards are applied, develop risk management tools, share experience, develop best practice and train both Borealis employees and its contractors. Read more about Borealis' Health & Safety performance in the Annual Report.

Employee wellbeing

The Borealis Wellbeing programme is an integrated and comprehensive approach, focusing on the four core areas of health, job engagement, competence and work & private life balance. The programme identifies and builds on best practices available in the organisation and sets shared goals and minimum standards.

Borealis offers a range of health services to its employees such as physical examinations voluntary health counselling programmes and periodic workplace health surveys. Alongside the prevention of health and safety risks, occupational illnesses and accidents, the surveys place considerable focus on the psycho-social aspects of the work and work-life balance.

Process safety and asset integrity

Borealis' petrochemical operations handle flammable materials under high pressure and temperatures. Leaks, fires and explosions can have a major impact on employees, their families, the community and the environment. Process safety is therefore of prime importance to ensure the health and safety of Borealis' employees, neighbouring communities and the environment. Borealis acknowledges its responsibility to invest in preventing process safety incidents and ensure that its plants are properly designed, maintained and operated to avoid accidents. Read more about Borealis' Process Safety performance in the Annual Report.

Product Safety

Borealis is committed to Responsible Care® and wants its products to pose no risk to people or the environment, at any stage of their life cycle. To ensure this, Borealis applies strict chemicals management rules and enforces high Product Stewardship standards. Borealis has adopted a hazardous chemicals strategy, which takes into account the level of hazard, risk, regulatory developments and stakeholder concerns. Open and transparent communication with stakeholders is one of the cornerstones of Responsible Care®.

You can find complete information on substances that Borealis has banned for use in its production processes and products, as well as examples of successful substitutions of hazardous chemicals below. To learn more about Borealis’ chemicals safety management please visit the Chemicals Safety section, read the Annual Report or contact us.

Our product innovations

Bormed™ - Because we care

The world's population is growing and ageing, leading to the need for more accessible, convenient and safer medical applications. From disposable syringes to new injection devices for insulin, unbreakable transparent bottles to one-dose packaging eye treatments, advanced polyolefins are making healthcare packaging and applications safer, more affordable and easier to use for patients and professionals. Borealis offers a dedicated grade range of Bormed™, providing high-quality, lightweight and aesthetic polyolefins solutions for medical devices, pharmaceuticals and diagnostic packaging with superior technical performance.

Visico™ flame retardant compounds for safer cables

Fire safety in buildings is vital for protecting people’s health and safety and giving them peace of mind. Borealis lauched Visico™ FR (Flame Retardant), the first material for low-voltage cables which was approved by the US Underwriters Laboratories for UL44 wires – free from harmful and corrosive gas emission and with a low fire hazard.

© Borealis

First ADCA free material for data cables

© Borealis

The European Chemical Agency classified azodicarbonamide (ADCA) as a “Substance of High Concern”, due to its respiratory sensitising properties. In 2017, Borealis launched the first ADCA-free material solution for data cables.

Sustainability

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