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Sustainability
Oxbow believes by combining sustainability with good business practices we have the ability to improve the health, safety and quality of life of our employees and the communities where they live. We are committed to delivering excellence both domestically and abroad. It is this commitment that propels us to look for innovative ways in which we can reduce environmental impact and partner with communities to ensure the health and safety of our employees. We go far beyond the minimum requirements and strive for continuous improvements in everything we do.
Environmental Sustainability
As a company, our commitment to the environment involves more than compliance with applicable state, federal and local environmental rules, regulations and standards. We have strong ethics regarding the protection of human health and the environment within the communities we operate, with a solid commitment to pollution prevention. Our fundamental policy is to conduct energy-related activities in a manner which protects our employees, public health and the natural environment.
Safety Workplace Initiatives
ThinkSAFE Global Campaign
Continuous improvement is a key driver for everything Oxbow does. As part of this commitment, a global initiative was launched to achieve and maintain a record of excellence and high safety across the company. During July 2014, the global campaign was introduced to the American and European operations. Oxbow facilities have a common set of descriptive materials such as posters and employee and manager cards as well as an introductory presentation. The rollout was reinforced with a quarterly message campaign that contained themed posters and supervisory/employee information brochures and pocket cards.
The premise is simple…..Create an environment where employees are comfortable raising issues about health and safety. Employees are encouraged to identify areas that need improvement and to remove the hazards that cause occupational injuries and illnesses.
ThinkSAFE has four main components:
Stop Work Authority – If you see that a work process has the potential to cause harm – STOP work immediately, take action if you can and report it to your supervisor.
Actively Report Near Misses and Hazards - There are many lessons to be learned from the reporting of events or conditions that could or have caused injury, illness or property damage. Every Oxbow employee should play their part in the prevention of accidents.
Frequently Inspect Work Areas – Poor housekeeping is one of many causes of industrial incidents such as slips, trips and falls. Keeping Oxbow’s work environment clean and organized, ensuring walking/working surfaces are free of hazards and access routes are clear is essential to maintaining safe work environments at Oxbow facilities.
Eliminate Hazards - Identifying workplace hazards through efficient local inspection processes is key to reducing hazards such as pinch points, slip and fall, and guarding hazards. Oxbow strives to aggressively remove and control such hazards by using engineering and administrative controls.
Safety Excellence Awards and Recognitions
Sulphur Group Wins 2015 CN Safe Handling Award
CN customers and employees work together to meet the day-to-day challenges of maintaining safe operations. The purpose of the CN Safe Handling Awards is to recognize customers for their outstanding achievements. The awards are determined based on the combined aggregate number of dangerous goods shipped by each company and those who meet the following thresholds:
• The program is intended for the rail shipper indicated on the waybill records and/or loader of railcars;
• The shipper or loader of railcars has to have shipped a minimum of 100 tank cars in the previous year; and
• Shipments have to originate on CN or affiliated companies.
Oxbow annually ships over 5,000 cars as the shipper of record without any non-accidental releases (NARs).
Southampton Site Receives 2016 Merit International Safety Award
The Oxbow sulphur pastillation facility in Southampton, United Kingdom won an International Safety Award with merit from the British Safety Council in recognition of its commitment to keeping its workers and workplaces healthy and safe during the 2015 calendar year. The Southampton facility is one of 241 organizations to win a merit in the 2016 International Safety Awards. Established in 1957, the International Safety Awards recognize and celebrate organizations from around the world that have demonstrated to the satisfaction of the scheme's independent judges their commitment to preventing workplace injuries and work-related ill health during the previous calendar year. These winning organizations span all sectors and are drawn from the United Kingdom, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Awards were given to 30 organizations for distinction, 241 organizations for merit and 165 organizations achieved a pass.
Mike Robinson, Chief Executive of the British Safety Council, congratulated the Southampton facility on their success in winning: "The British Safety Council commends the Oxbow Southampton facility on their achievement. The award is in recognition of their commitment and effort to keep their employees and workplaces free of injury and ill health. Our warmest congratulations. The British Safety Council's vision is that no one should be injured or made ill by work, anywhere in the world. Across all of the winning organizations are examples of dedication and hard work to ensure that the risk of injury and ill health is prevented. We commend the winning organizations and urge them to continue working with us to ensure that our vision becomes a reality."
Leveraging Technology
Continuing education and training are required components to help Oxbow achieve its goals. At Oxbow, safety is a shared responsibility in which everybody must contribute. In 2014, the United States and Canadian operations introduced computer-based training as a means to complement the existing face-to-face training processes used to achieve regulatory compliance. By leveraging technology, Oxbow has provided operations flexibility and consistency in the delivery of health and safety training topics while appealing to the technical nature of our growing workforce. In 2015, the United States and Canadian operations introduced the iAuditor app to add efficiency to traditional use of paper-based inspection and auditing forms.
Our Safety Success Record
Texas City Terminal – 18 years and 1.6 million hours without a lost-time incident
Enid Calciner – 5 years without a lost-time incident
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