EHS Month 2023 roundup: More interaction, more engagement, and more relevant than ever

With a broader scope than previous programs, EHS Month 2023 brought fresh perspectives on what it means to sustain a safe workplace that protects the health and wellbeing of our people, our communities and our planet.

As well as covering more ground, teams also got inventive, with more interactive activities and some amazing entries to our global competition highlighting the personal motivations behind Beckers EHS culture.

Here’s a little roundup of some of the highlights.

Health and Wellness

Body and mind were in the spotlight with workshops on mental health and counselling sessions, as well as yoga classes, stretching exercises and ergonomic training. This year, we were also able to offer Flu vaccinations and medical exams at many of our sites.

Plus, we partnered up with local providers to run healthcare projects and directed colleagues to resources about such topics as health and dental insurance.

Safety Training and Drills

Safety training sessions were a core part of every site’s EHS Month programs, with firefighting and fire protection a major focus. This included practical demonstrations, evacuation plans and tests for emergency response teams.

Specialized activities included chemical drills and spill prevention, active shooter demonstrations, winter weather emergency response drill, an escape room and a smoke tent experience.

Emergency Response

As well as first aid and CPR training, we had mock drills and emergency practice scenarios. We embraced technology employing Virtual Reality glasses in our Safety awareness programs and education activities. We also reminded ourselves of the duties and responsibilities of Emergency teams, and there were exercises in crisis management.

CO₂

Sustainability initiatives and impulses were incorporated, including a CO2 impact assessment and games that helped make the data more meaningful and the impact of our actions easier to grasp.

Waste

There were waste sorting workshops, deep diving into the practicalities and associated behaviors that are crucial to achieving our local and Group-wide recycling goals and strengthening our hands-on for the planet culture.

Spills – Local pollution

As part of our environmental risk awareness program, we looked specifically at how we can avoid and eliminate chemical spills and the damage that these can cause to local ecology and ecosystems.

Training and Education

In recognition of the central role leaders play in delivering strong safety culture, there were safety audits of the management team, plus: ATEX demonstrations and risk projection training, spot the hazards activities in different areas (lab, production, warehouse), and sessions on new safety equipment, tools, and PPE.

Community Involvement

We reached out to the wider community at many of our sites, for example collaborating with local fire departments and retired fire service personnel. We also benefited from the expertise of trade and industrial department representatives in activities like chemical drills.

Employee Wellbeing

Nutrition was very much on the table at the many special team lunches and brunches that ran through the month. Meanwhile, competitions provided a chance to come together on a shared platform and there were local initiatives such as D'Vida Wellness and Synergy Physiotherapy. We even got some t-shirts made.

Finally, we enjoyed some terrific lunchtime presentations from colleagues sharing their hobbies and passion projects as part of World Mental Health Day.

EHS month lives on

Finally, resources and materials created for EHS month can now be accessed all year round by colleagues across the Group via a dedicated section on the Rainbow, Beckers’ global intranet. Meanwhile, follow-up work has begun, with local and site-specific projects planned for 2024 as we seek to embed EHS culture at every touchpoint.