Corporate guidelines are provided to support implementation of our SHE policy and standards. These explain in more detail, the key principles of good practice that should be incorporated into local procedures. We have eight SHE standards which cover the following disciplines: 1. Responsibilities and Commitment
The lifecycle management of Safety, Health and Environmental (SHE) issues must be integrated into all areas of business activity. All AstraZeneca employees must be included within a locally maintained SHE Management System based on applicable legislation and AstraZeneca requirements.
Accountability and responsibility for compliance with these Standards is embedded within the line management of both the Senior Executive Team and the Heads of National Operating Companies.
They must ensure that an appropriate organisation, with defined responsibilities and accountabilities, is established and that the skills and resources necessary to implement the SHE Policy and Standards are in place. The Company's SHE Policy shall be clearly communicated to all employees.
All employees must demonstrate, through appropriate performance measures and other methods, personal responsibility for, and commitment to, compliance with the SHE Policy & Standards.
In the absence of relevant legislation or internal requirements, all employees of AstraZeneca must act responsibly and ethically and ensure that industry good practice is applied.
2. Management of SHE
Training
All employees must be trained to have the understanding, skills and behaviour necessary to ensure that all work is carried out in accordance with the SHE Policy & Standards.
Investigating & Reporting Accidents, Occupational Illnesses, Incidents and Complaints
Arrangements must be in place for investigating accidents, causes of occupational illness and complaints from regulatory authorities or members of the public. In addition, all incidents that could have resulted in serious consequences for people, the environment or the business must be investigated.
Appropriate action must be taken to help prevent recurrence, and to retain and share any relevant information.
All facilities and functions must maintain records of their SHE performance, provide regular SHE reports to line managers and ensure proper and timely notification of accidents, incidents and other SHE events in accordance with regulatory and AstraZeneca requirements.
3. Communications and Consultation
AstraZeneca will communicate openly with stakeholders to enable a mutual understanding of AstraZeneca operations and stakeholder concerns. AstraZeneca will provide regular information and performance reviews on progress in meeting policy commitments, objectives and targets.
Arrangements must be established to ensure that information on the SHE effects of AstraZenecas materials, products and activities is made available to the public in a transparent way.
Employees should be regularly consulted on SHE matters in order to encourage their involvement and commitment and to provide them with information.
4. Risk Management
There must be a process at all facilities , and within all functions, to identify significant SHE-related risks that arise from all activities undertaken. This process must include periodic reviews and account for business and process changes.
The threats and opportunities associated with identified risks must be assessed in terms of the potential consequence to people, the environment and the business; and the likelihood of them occurring.
Appropriate procedures and arrangements must be put in place to assess and manage these risks responsibly so that unacceptable risks are avoided.
Sufficient documentation should be maintained to enable periodic review of the rationale behind risk management decisions and actions.
The nature and scale of potential emergencies must be separately identified and formal plans put in place to manage them. These plans should be periodically tested. Emergencies must be managed in a manner that places the highest priority on the protection of people and the environment.
The SHE implications of any planned business acquisition or divestment, including licensing or collaborative agreements, must be evaluated and appropriate responsibilities agreed in a timely and comprehensively manner.
5. Sustainability
All facilities and functions must identify significant opportunities to improve the sustainability of all their activities and produce appropriate implementation plans. These should include the more efficient use of materials and energy, the substitution of hazardous materials where feasible and the optimisation of materials reuse and recycling.
Sustainability impacts must be considered during the development, acquisition and marketing of new products and services.
6. Outsourced activity
There must be an exchange of relevant SHE information and requirements between AstraZeneca and its contractors . Processes must be in place to ensure that requirements are being met and that the health & safety of workers and the protection of the environment are being effectively managed.
Where materials are developed or manufactured by third parties on behalf of AstraZeneca there must be procedures in place to ensure that SHE is being managed to a standard consistent with the AZ SHE Policy & Standards.
7. Monitoring and Auditing
Regular monitoring and auditing are fundamental to continuous improvement of the SHE management system and must be applied at both local and global levels.
Monitoring and auditing programmes must be able to confirm the existence of effective controls for preventing harm to people and the environment and detect deviations from internal and external SHE requirements.
Audit programmes must include reliable systems that ensure that findings are addressed in a satisfactory and timely manner.
8. Annual Review and Improvement Plans
All AstraZeneca facilities and functions must have arrangements in place for regularly assessing, in co-ordination with the line management of both the Senior Executive Team and the Heads of National Operating Companies, the overall effectiveness of their management system.
This must include a formal annual review, which examines all aspects of SHE performance, including the results of local audits, compliance with legal and company requirements and progress against objectives. This review must provide sufficient information to enable the formulation of local objectives and the development of improvement plans and associated key performance indicators.
On an annual basis, each facility must provide sufficient information to the Vice President, Global Safety, Health and Environment to enable the Senior Executive Team and Board of Directors to carry out an assessment of performance against the Policy and Standards and determine future SHE priorities for AstraZeneca. |