Occupational health & safety policy

RB is committed to the health, safety and welfare at work of its employees, complying with applicable health & safety legal requirements and the continual improvement of its health & safety control arrangements and performance.

Specifically, the Company is committed to providing and maintaining:

• control of the health & safety risks arising from work activities

• a safe place of work with safe means of entry and exit

• safe plant, equipment and systems of work

• a safe and healthy working environment

• arrangements for the safe use, handling, storage and transport of articles and substances

• necessary information, instruction, training and supervision to protect safety and health at work

We consider the health, safety and welfare at work of our employees to be an essential part of being a responsible and productive company that manages business risks and delivers long-term shareholder value.

RB’s overall health & safety (H&S) objective is to prevent accidents, injuries and occupational ill-health at all locations under Company management control.

Specifically, it is the Company’s objective that the following ‘minimum control arrangements’ are in place at all Company locations: 

a)  employee access to and basic understanding of this OHS policy document 

b)  documented responsibilities for H&S at work 

c)  up-to-date H&S risk assessments and fire risk assessments 

d)  the provision of necessary H&S information, instruction and training 

e)  the provision and use of necessary personal protective equipment (PPE) 

f)  arrangements for emergency response/evacuation, first aid and occupational health 

g)  documented procedures/safe systems of work, where necessary to establish and maintain a safe and healthy working environment 

h)  H&S control arrangements for contractors and visitors 

i)  communication and consultation with employees on H&S issues 

j)  monitoring, investigation and reporting of any incidents, accidents or occupational ill-health 

k)  corrective and preventative actions where any incidents, accidents or occupational ill-health

occur

“Everyone is responsible for health & safety”.

Employee (and Contractor/Visitor) Responsibilities

It is the duty of every employee while at work, and of any contractors/visitors at Company facilities:

• to take reasonable care for the health & safety of themselves and others who may be affected by their acts or omissions
• to cooperate with colleagues, line management and the Company on health & safety matters
• not to misuse or interfere with anything provided in the interests of health, safety and welfare
• to report any health & safety concerns to their line manager and / or the site H&S Coordinator/Manager

Line Management Responsibilities

Effectively establishing and maintaining day-to-day health & safety (H&S) at work is a line management responsibility. At each location where the Company has management control, responsibility for H&S follows the line management structure; from the site’s senior manager to the site senior management team, through middle managers/supervisors/team leaders, to individual employees.

It is the responsibility of all levels of management and supervision to:

• implement this OHS policy document in the area(s) under their responsibility / control
• ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that the ‘minimum control arrangements’ (items a)– k) in section 2 above) are in place, understood and implemented in the area(s) under their responsibility / control
• make adequate resources available for the management of health & safety at work

Site-level Responsibility

At all locations where Company employees work or to which they report (e.g. factories, warehouses, research & development centres, offices and any associated field or home-based employees), the management of health & safety at work is the ultimate responsibility of the senior manager at that location. Day-to-day responsibility for the management of health & safety should be delegated through the line management structure, as outlined above.

Health & Safety Coordinator/Manager

All locations where the Company has management control shall have an identified Health & Safety Coordinator/Manager, whose job function includes the coordination of health & safety control arrangements at that location. However, this position does not remove or substitute for others direct and delegated H&S responsibilities as outlined above.

Group-level Responsibilities

It is the responsibility of:

• the Senior Vice President, Human Resources and the Vice President, Sustainability to establish and maintain this policy document and other Group-level OHS control arrangements as defined below
• Executive Committee members to implement this policy document within the geographical areas/functions under their responsibility/control
• the Board to undertake an annual review of sustainability and corporate responsibility issues, including OHS policy, control arrangements and performance; the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is the Board member with specific responsibility for sustainability and corporate responsibility policies and performance
• the Vice President, Internal Audit to periodically review the Company’s OHS control arrangements and performance, and to report on these to the Board’s Audit Committee  

Group-level control arrangements

RB shall have in place and shall maintain a Group Occupational Health & Safety Management System (OHSMS), comprising:

• this policy document and its definition of OHS Objectives, Responsibilities and Control Arrangements
• an up-to-date Global OHS Hazard and Risk Assessment
• Group ‘Health & Safety Key Items’, an OHS Manual / Guidelines, and Safety Standards
• global improvement programmes and targets
• global performance monitoring, auditing and reporting arrangements

Site-level control arrangements

All locations under Company management control shall have in place and maintain necessary health & safety control arrangements; as required by this policy document, the nature of and hazards posed by their operations, and applicable legal requirements.

Specifically, the Company’s ‘minimum control arrangements’ (which comprise items a) – k) in section 2 above) shall be established and maintained at all Company locations.