Health and Safety

Ensuring the Health and Safety of the Group’s employees and partners is one of the primary objectives of HELLENiQ ENERGY. Undoubtedly, this area poses both threats and opportunities and significantly affects the Group’s business continuity.

The Group has long fostered a culture of safety and well-being for employees at all levels, contributing to the prevention of accidents, reduction in the number and duration of downtime, improvement in workforce productivity and overall protection of the health and safety of employees, partners, and the local communities where it operates.

The Group has long fostered a culture of safety and well-being for employees at all levels, contributing to the prevention of accidents, reduction in the number and duration of downtime, improvement in workforce productivity and overall protection of the health and safety of employees, partners, and the local communities where it operates.

Moreover, the Group has Internal Contingency Plans for each facility (e.g. to tackle incidents such as fires, marine pollution, malicious acts, etc.), which are annually reviewed and revised to ensure continuous improvement. These plans are inextricably linked to the Holistic Safety Management System, which also serves as the framework for the operation and management of the integrity of systems and processes.

Additionally, the potential impact and likelihood of Major Industrial Accidents that could damage the reputation or financial standing of the Group or its individual subsidiaries and cause (in greater or lesser degree) significant impacts on local communities and the environment, are considered for all incidents. The nature of each incident and the manner in which it is addressed by the Group are taken into account.

It is worth noting that HELLENiQ ENERGY’s four main lines of action on Health and Safety are:

• Leadership and commitment.
• Adoption of a safety culture.
• Improving performance and using safety indexes.
• Leveraging experience from incidents, implementing actions and corrective measures.

By prioritising Health and Safety to enhance its positive impact on employees and partners, HELLENiQ ENERGY has created a working environment where risks are identified, assessed, and evaluated, with a constant focus on preventing and eliminating them. As a leader in the energy sector, the company aims to provide a working environment with zero accidents and no occupational diseases in all its facilities. In this respect, the Group:

• Continuously strengthens measures to prevent and mitigate potential risks.
• Commits to ensuring and providing the necessary resources for achieving Health and Safety objectives and the continuous improvement of the Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems of the Group’s individual companies. It also commits to developing and expanding the implementation of its Holistic Safety Management System, thus providing a comprehensive framework of procedures for safeguarding health and promoting safety in the working environment of all Group companies.
• Consults with all stakeholders and ensures the satisfaction of society’s needs.

The above three principles are clearly reflected in the Group’s “Sustainability Policy” and are a commitment of the Group’s Management.

As part of its occupational risk management, HELLENiQ ENERGY applies the Preventive Principle to identify, assess, and contain all potential risks to Health and Safety.
HELLENiQ ENERGY companies implement Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems, the majority of which are ISO 45001 certified, covering all employees and partners. The core of these Systems is “Risk Management”, which is supported and updated through procedures, inspections, and training.

Identifying, recognizing, and effectively assessing threats (e.g. deteriorating relationships with key stakeholders, resolving disputes likely to arise within the petroleum production, refining, and marketing industry) and opportunities (e.g. employee well-being, safety and welfare, etc.) contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the external factors affecting Health and Safety issues in the Group. This allows HELLENiQ  ENERGY to devise proper strategies and make decisions that lead to the preservation and/or improvement of working conditions.

Potential occupational hazards are identified, assessed, controlled, and contained in accordance with the standards set by Greek legislation, European and international regulations, and best practices. All Group operations employ Occupational Risk Assessment Studies, which also include the measures taken to eliminate or control identified risks and to keep them at very low levels.

In addition, HELLENiQ ENERGY applies a Holistic Safety Management System, initially implemented in its industrial facilities and extended to the rest of its operations. This system aims to provide rapid – immediate in most cases – information, effective prevention, and timely response to hazards that may affect the health and safety of employees, partners, and local communities, as well as the protection of processes.

For HELLENiQ ENERGY “Safety is Everyone’s Business”. In an open and accessible learning environment of high credibility, the company ensures that both Management and employees are strongly committed to following procedures and achieving targets. The contribution of staff in Health and Safety risk management is acknowledged and rewarded.

The reporting and investigation of incidents, near misses, and unsafe situations by employees are strongly encouraged. Through this process, immediate protective measures are taken, and corrective actions are implemented to prevent future incidents.

HELLENiQ ENERGY conducts Health and Safety programs and activities, such as preventive health monitoring of employees and regular safety awareness campaigns at facilities, as well as other activities aimed at stakeholders.

This reinforces and consolidates the long-term benefits of the Occupational Health and Safety Management System, such as the shaping of a health and safety culture and the achievement of high performance in all relevant indicators.

Employee Health in the Workplace

Providing for the health of employees is a key element of HELLENiQ ENERGY’s strategy. The Group implements the Health Supervision Procedure, under which employees receive periodic medical examinations based on their job position, age group, and gender.

In addition, the Group employs Occupational Physicians who offer their services to employees and partners, wherever and whenever needed.

In 2023, approximately 17 million euros was invested in safety improvement projects at all of HELLENiQ ENERGY’s facilities, both in Greece and abroad.

These fixed investments do not include the supply of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) against COVID-19, the supply and maintenance of safety instruments and equipment, or the provision of firefighting materials and other consumables.

The Health and Safety of the Group’s employees and partners is a top priority for HELLENiQ ENERGY. In this regard, the company conducts trainings aimed at further strengthening and consolidating a shared safety culture at all Group facilities.

To this end, it implements a common basic training process (fire safety, rescue techniques, first aid, etc.) and organises leadership seminars at all hierarchy levels.

The training extends to those employed via contractors, as well as to customers, transporters, and fuel station operators.

More specifically, those employed through contractors attend mandatory training by Safety Technicians and then sit for written examinations at accredited training centres (KEK), as only successful candidates are eligible to work in the Group’s industrial facilities.

In addition, visitors are informed about the safety instructions for a given facility through printed materials.

In 2023, 75,344 man-hours of training were provided on Health and Safety issues for employees and contractors.

HELLENiQ ENERGY sets annual measurable targets to improve its Health and Safety performance overall and per facility. Reporting against the targets is done on a monthly and annual basis, with a report being presented to the Management.

One of the Group’s most important objectives is to achieve zero Major Industrial Accidents with no impact on the environment and/or people.

For another year this objective has been achieved, proving the excellent organisation, up-to-date, and efficient processes and reliable Crisis Management and Business Continuity plans adopted by HELLENiQ ENERGY.

In addition, the Group cooperates with the European organisation CONCAWE and participates in the annual survey and benchmarking of Health and Safety performance.

Specifically, in 2023, out of a total of 14,749,338 manhours1 worked, there were 26 accidents resulting in absence from work (HELPE R.S.S.O.P.P., EKO, KALYPSO, Headquarters) among employees and partners.

¹ Significant increase in man-hours compared to the year 2022 due to improved recording of Domestic Marketing operations and man-hours.

In 2023, the Lost Workday Injuries Frequency (LWIF) index and the All Injury Frequency (AIF) index – which are key indicators of employee safety – decreased by 28.7% and 22.8% respectively compared to last year and in contrast to the corresponding European indicators which showed a significant increase.

In addition, the Process Safety Event Rate (PSER) – which is the key indicator of process safety – showed a 14.7% decrease compared to the previous year, following the trend of the corresponding European indicator, which showed a slight decrease.

The following charts show the evolution of the most important indicators of the Group (HELPE R.S.S.O.P.P. & EKO¹) compared to the corresponding CONCAWE² indicators for the last 6 years.

¹ The safety perfomance of KALYPSO KEA S.A. is included.
² CONservation of Clean Air and Water in Europe (European Organisation for Helath, Safety and the Environment in the oil sector).
Note: CONCAWE data for 2023 will be available in July 2024.