Annual Report 2015
The Group carried out a range of CSR activities during the year,
with specific focus on health and safety, biodiversity and charity
involvement.
The Group recognises the obligations
that come with Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) and aims to be
responsible and accountable in the
way that we operate. In 2014/15,
our CSR focus has remained on our
employees, the environment, the
communities in which we operate,
and of course our customers.
Employees
The Group has around 2,500
employees, all of whom are critical
to our continued success and
development. All of our businesses
continue to invest in their people,
their health, safety and wellbeing and
we aim to ensure South Staffordshire
Plc remains a safe Group to work
for and to provide a good working
environment for everyone.
-Health and safety
The effective management of health,
safety and wellbeing of our employees
is of paramount importance to the
Group.
Each business takes responsibility
for the health and safety of all of its
34
employees. A Group level Health
and Safety Strategy Forum, led
by the Group Chief Executive and
supported by the Group Health and
Safety Manager, continues to oversee
activities in this area of the business.
During the year, the Group established
a long term Health and Safety Strategy,
aimed at a year-on-year reduction in
workplace accidents. The strategy
covers five elements: Leadership,
Management Reporting, Workforce
Involvement, Risk Reduction and
Accident Reduction.
Several initiatives were highlighted
during the year, including:
• The implementation of online
driver licence checking within the
Group’s fleet;
• The design and development of
a Group Accident Database for
the collation and reporting of
all accident data, which should
improve our response to accidents
and help reduce them in future;
• Wellbeing weeks were run at
various Group businesses;
• In OnSite, employees were engaged
through a health and safety poster
competition for their children;
• The introduction of Hydrosave’s
one minute safety check for van
drivers provided a good visual
communications safety campaign.
The majority of our businesses
have external accreditation for their
health, safety and environmental
management systems. For
example, IWS has been awarded
five consecutive RoSPA Gold Medal
Awards for Occupational Health
and Safety, and in 2014 was a
winner of the British Safety Council
International Safety Awards. Many
Group companies also hold ISO 9001
quality management and OHSAS
18001 Occupational Health and Safety
management accreditations, and are
part of the Safe Contractor schemes.
All employees have access to
specialist health advisors who can
provide proactive health surveillance
and advice.