For impacts on air quality, see section 3.3.1.6 “Air quality”.
The mapping of risks to the health and safety of employees and service providers is carried out by the Health and Safety Division, which is responsible for health and safety management, on the basis of risk analyses carried out by the Group’s various entities and subsidiaries, in line with the Group’s risk mapping system (see section 2.2. “Risks to which the Group is exposed”). Salient risks to the health and safety of employees and service providers are connected to the operation of industrial facilities (see section 2.2.4 – 4C “Occupational health or safety violations (employees and service providers)”) and include:
The risks concerning consumers and local residents are linked to the operation of the industrial facilities (see sections 2.2.4 - 4E “Hydraulic safety violations”, 2.2.4 - 4H “Industrial safety violations and impact on environmental assets, including biodiversity”, 2.2. 5 -5C “Nuclear safety violations during operation resulting in nuclear civil liability”). Those risks mainly concern:
To prevent and mitigate risks of serious harm to the health and safety of its employees and subcontractors working on its sites, the Group relies on a Health and Safety policy adopted in 2018 and updated in 2021. This Group policy applies to all the companies controlled by the EDF group, in all the countries in which EDF operates. It concerns both its employees and its subcontractors.
The priorities of the policy are primarily to eradicate serious and fatal accidents, and secondarily to reduce the number of accidents and to fight against absenteeism. The policy aims to anchor throughout the Group the foundation formed by the Group’s 10 key rules and the BEST (“Building Excellence in Safety Together”) health and safety management reference framework, enhanced with new practices that have proved their worth in several entities. This policy is accompanied by a roadmap that mobilises the Group’s entities to achieve the objectives set. The Executive Committee reviews health and safety figures and monitors action plans regularly (see section 3.3.1.3.1 “Health and safety policy”).
10 key rules were identified following an analysis of fatal accidents in the EDF group over the last 30 years. The review organised in 2021 by the Health and Safety Strategic Committee showed that 100% of the Group’s scope had carried out a self-assessment of its health and safety management system according to the BEST reference framework. In October 2022, the Strategic Health & Safety Committee conducted a specific review of Health & Safety requirements regarding relationships with service providers, highlighting the progress made by entities. Among other measures, this review led to the publication of an action plan on how to take greater account of health & safety in the purchasing process (see section 3.9.6.4.2 “Main prevention, mitigation and monitoring measures implemented”).
When safety conditions related to key rules are not met, a “NoGo” must be activated to correct the situation before starting. In the same way, when unforeseen circumstances no longer allow the safety rules to be respected, a “safety STOP” should be marked. On 13 October 2022, a pause was observed throughout the Group for each team to discuss how to adapt the new policy to their own situation and ensure its adoption. Service providers are included and involved in major engagement and awareness events organised by the Group. In order to ensure the continuous improvement loop, and to maintain risk awareness, High-Potential
Events (HPE) are collected, analysed, and shared throughout the Group. Nearly 72% of these HPEs are near-misses or dangerous situations. Particular emphasis is placed on those related to the Group’s 10 key rules. In 2022, the safety criterion of the EDF profit-sharing agreement focused on developing analyses of accidents requiring shutdown and reducing the number of accidents classified as HPE requiring shutdown or not. Moreover, audits are carried out each year throughout the Group, in particular in the form of site visits. These visits are written up in a site visit report shared locally with the audited teams.
EDF is committed to improving the physical and psychological health of its employees at work: both on-site and remotely. Making progress in this field requires the long-term involvement of medical teams, social workers, social partners, managers, prevention specialists and human resources managers in a multidisciplinary approach.
Prevention of anxiety- and depression-related disorders, stress and musculoskeletal disorders (MSD), the three main causes of absenteeism, are regularly targeted by prevention initiatives. The development of team empowerment projects also led to a significant drop in absenteeism among the employees of the teams involved, due to the positive health impacts of the improved quality of life in the groups and the increased levels of commitment.
This approach is illustrated by the social agreements that include a large part of health. Accordingly, there were further changes to work management and organisation methods in 2022, particularly based on changes introduced during the sanitary crisis and the roll-out of the company-wide agreements signed in 2021 at various Group companies. The aim of this change is to find a fresh balance between research and performance, increase group cohesion, and develop the well-being of every employee. For EDF, a “Travailler Autrement, Manager Autrement” (“Work Differently, Manage Differently”) agreement was signed at the end of 2021. This global agreement includes a process to make teams accountable plus new working arrangements (updating of the coherence framework for remote working with a maximum of 10 days/month of remote working authorised, increasingly flexible hours by adjusting working hours to best meet employees’ needs if necessary, provided the work team’s level of performance is unaffected, starting work straight on site). To assist staff with this change, the Group also set up 2 financial aid schemes for remote working: an allowance of up to €20/month (employer contribution to home occupancy fees) and help with purchasing hardware to work remotely under good conditions. EDF also raised awareness among its employees on how to adjust their behaviour and posture when working remotely by publishing a health & safety guide issued in accordance with the “Work Differently, Manage Differently” agreement.
Awareness-raising activities are regularly organised to continue the prevention of cardiovascular risk, a major cause of death by heart attack, as well as the prevention of addictions, including the implementation of drug testing.
The operational departments’ risk assessments take into account musculoskeletal disorders and exposure to noise, hazardous chemicals, ionising and electromagnetic radiation, and biological agents, depending on the nature of their activities, and they implement local measures to prevent occupational illness. Based on its assessments, Framatome developed exoskeletons to reduce both hard working conditions and their impacts on musculoskeletal disorders.
The prevention of psycho-social and socio-organisational risks is based on the use of the employee perception survey (MyEDF) read at all levels of the organisation, providing a precise risk assessment highlighting the strengths of the organisation and team, as well as its weaknesses. This makes it possible to establish local action plans adapted to the situations encountered.
The EDF group has drawn up a guide for its entities so that they can develop the retention and return to work of employees who may have experienced health problems. This approach, which is based on the implementation of pre-return visits with medical teams and the holding of return interviews between employees and managers, is aimed at preventing the risk of occupational deintegration.
