Health, Safety, and Well-Being

Material Topic: Health, Safety, and Well-Being

Reducing health and safety risks for OMV employees, customers, and third parties, such as communities, and promoting physical and mental health in an integrative way

Key GRIs

• GRI 403: Occupational Health and Safety 2018
• GRI 416: Customer Health and Safety 2016

NaDiVeG

• Employee and social concerns

Most relevant SDGs

Ensuring the health, safety, and security of our employees, contractors, and assets is essential for OMV. Employee health and well-being are the foundation for successful company performance, as they are core elements of ensuring the ability to work. OMV aims to adhere to the highest standards to provide its employees and contractors with a safe workplace.

OMV’s HSSE vision is “ZERO harm – NO losses.” This vision is embedded in the HSSE Policy, which is OMV’s public commitment to health, safety, security, and the environment. Our chemicals subsidiary, Borealis, is committed to implementing the guidelines of the Responsible Care Global Charter, which is the chemical industry’s voluntary initiative aimed at continuous improvement in health, safety, and environmental performance.

HSSE management is governed by the internal HSSE Directive, which defines key expectations in compliance with internal HSSE regulations at various levels of the organizational structure, as well as across Group and local functions. This internal Di­rective sets out the principles and rules for the management of HSSE-related risks and activities throughout the life cycle of the Group’s business and activities, including capital projects, mergers, and acquisitions. The Directive also defines key HSSE responsibilities for all OMV Group employees, partners, and contractors. It additionally stipulates the continuous improvement of HSSE performance. The HSSE Directive defines core aspects of HSSE management, grouped into twelve elements revolving around the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle. For each element, the HSSE Directive defines the approach to follow for effective HSSE management.

Core Aspects of HSSE Management

Other corporate regulations governing the topic are HSSE Risk Management, Process Safety Management, Occupational Safety Management, Contractor HSSE Management, Management of Hazardous Substances, and Personnel Transportation, as well as Reporting, Investigation, and Classification of Incidents, which together provide the framework for safety management. Our Major Accident Prevention Policy sets out the overall aims and guidelines for controlling the risk of a major accident as part of the OMV Group’s operations. Acknowledging that the risk of major accidents in onshore or offshore operations related to oil and gas extraction, transportation, refining, and distribution activities is significant, and recognizing that such major accidents can have severe consequences for the environment and affected persons, OMV firmly believes that a strong safety culture is the foundation for all its operations and relationships with contractors. Our Contractor HSSE Management Standard defines the minimum requirements for integrating HSSE issues into all phases of the contract life cycle and into the contractor management process. This standard aims to define a structured process for the HSSE management of contractors, from selection through contract close-out. In 2022, all 15 Group HSSE regulations were also implemented at Borealis, following an intensive alignment process conducted in 2021.

Core Aspects of HSSE Management

Governance

The health and safety of the people who work for us are key priorities at OMV. The HSSE strategy and its implementation are aligned with and fully embedded in the corporate strategy and the corporate governance structure. Leadership responsibility is assigned to the members of the Executive Board. The Executive Board’s remuneration is subject to a Health & Safety Malus (read more in Sustainability Governance). In 2022, we defined focus areas related to safety, with an Executive Board member assigned as the owner of each. For instance, one OMV Executive Board Member serves as the focus topic owner for process safety performance in the OMV Group. In regular update meetings, the owners discuss updates on process safety challenges and achievements.

Group HSSE is responsible for coordinating health and safety topics across the Group. Group HSSE is led by the VP HSSE, who reports directly to the Chief Executive Officer. The OMV Group HSSE department is organized into specialized teams with experienced experts in the following areas:

• Development and implementation of OMV’s HSSE strategy, regulations, and processes
• HSSE risk assessment
• Incident investigation
• HSSE data analysis and reporting
• Health management
• Occupational safety management
• Environmental management
• Process safety management
• Security and resilience management

This is supplemented by local HSSE officers at each site, along with local subject matter experts. For example, at each refinery, we have a dedicated employee who heads the process safety management. This individual is in direct contact with and actively collaborates and communicates with all departments that manage process safety as part of their daily business. This individual also receives process safety guidance from a centralized Process Safety Advisor overseeing the whole of the Refining business unit.

In addition, there are HSSE departments at OMV Petrom and Borealis that oversee their specific issues and coordinate their local HSSE officers and experts. The OMV Petrom and Borealis HSSE departments report functionally to the VP HSSE at Group level.

In line with the HSSE Directive, clear roles and responsibilities are defined for all staff, line management, and senior management. Line management is responsible for ensuring that HSSE issues are integrated into all business decisions and activities. They are required to demonstrate commitment and leadership by acting as role models and taking appropriate measures to control and manage all HSSE risks in their spheres of responsibility. OMV’s HSSE management includes interaction with employees or their representatives (works councils, trade unions) as a channel of engagement regarding issues that are particularly important and necessary for improvement. For instance, Borealis has HSE Forums at each location, where employee representatives are consulted and informed about the HSE management system. The HSSE department organizes HSSE Days for OMV’s various units to inform employees about HSSE topics.