"BOC INTENDS TO CONTINUE
TO FULFIL ITS WIDER RESPONSIBILITIES IN ALL THE SOCIETIES AND CULTURES WHERE IT OPERATES"
Until this year we measured ourselves mainly against a series of internal benchmarks. They gave us an understanding of how we were doing but were not ideal for reporting our performance externally. In 2004 we decided to take part in Business in the Community's corporate responsibility index having for a number of years taken part in the same organisation's environmental performance survey. This comprehensive and independent analysis allowed us to compare ourselves with 139 other UK companies, including 56 from the FTSE100. BOC came 25th with a score of 91.7 per cent. The completed questionnaire we submitted for assessment, all 96 pages of it, is available and can be viewed with a wealth of other information in the corporate responsibility section of our website, boc.com. As a sign of the general regard for our performance in this area BOC was voted Britain's most admired company for community and environmental responsibility in a poll conducted by Management Today magazine.
An organisation can be vulnerable if it does not manage its social, environmental and ethical risks, which is why in BOC we manage these risks in the same way as we do all other aspects of our business. We make clear to all our employees what is expected of them. Our Code of Conduct has been in place for over a year, we have trained all our employees on its contents and we ensure that all new recruits receive a full briefing.
We continue to expand our IMSS system that holds electronic copies of all our reference material, manuals, procedures and standards. Teams of experts have assembled our global knowledge covering every aspect of our operations and it is all available on IMSS. There is also a function called Traccess that lists which chapters of information each employee must know to do his or her job safely and shows graphically whether it has been successfully assimilated.
Our internal standards are based on external commitments. BOC has signed the UN's Global Compact that outlines nine principles supporting human rights, labour and the environment. These are embedded in our Code of Conduct. This year the UN introduced a tenth principle against corruption. We played a full part in the consultation process leading up to the adoption of this principle, which is also embedded in our code. If employees have concerns related to the likes of legal compliance, ethical conduct or adherence to our Code of Conduct we encourage them to raise them, with most issues being reported through line managers. But we also have a free confidential helpline to handle employees' questions or concerns. It is available at any time and is managed by an external agency.
Because we operate in a potentially hazardous industry our priority has consistently been the safety of our employees and all those with whom we work. Safety is always the first item on the agenda of the executive management board. While we continue to track lagging indicators of our safety performance, notably the number of lost time injuries, medical treatment cases, and passenger car and truck accidents, we are moving towards measuring a set of predictive or leading indicators such as how quickly investigation reports are finished, the effectiveness of our training, and how long it takes to complete corrective actions. This year we launched Safety in BOC following a detailed independent audit of our safety processes around the world. Our objective is very clear - at BOC we don't want anyone to get hurt - and we are concentrating on making safety an integral part of everyone's behaviour. The message is that safety must be 100 per cent of our behaviour, 100 per cent of the time.
In a communications survey conducted with 4,000 BOC employees this year the two issues they identified as being most important for them were safety and the Code of Conduct. In response to a further question, they rated their satisfaction with the way information on these issues was communicated to them higher than any of the other topics we measured.
BOC-developed technologies and products make important environmental contributions, whether they are reducing harmful emissions from combustion processes or dealing with the waste streams from a range of manufacturing processes. This year BOC and the Cardiff Harbour Authority in the UK won the IChemE's ABB-sponsored environment award for the Harbour Four oxygenation barge which ensures oxygen levels are maintained in Cardiff Bay during dry spells or periods of high temperatures. The environmental impact of our own operations is constantly monitored and continuous efforts are made to improve our performance. We collect environmental data on-line from around 550 of our industrial sites. Energy, particularly electricity, is one of our major costs and also a major environmental factor for us. We continue to apply new technologies to our air separation plants to improve energy consumption and thus reduce associated carbon dioxide emissions.
We also make an environmental contribution through the BOC Foundation for the Environment, which was established in 1990 with initial funds of £1 million and has since supported some 120 projects. Concentrating on scientific ideas to improve air or water quality, it helps take these to the stage where they can be practically demonstrated and widely adopted.
This year in the UK we re-launched our joint-giving scheme where we match the charitable donations of employees. We have similar schemes in other parts of the world supporting charitable and community projects. We also made our third annual BOC emerging artist award, worth £20,000 to the winner, to help launch a young artist on a successful career. During the year we hosted exhibitions of the work of the winner and the short-listed finalists in the atrium of the Group's headquarters at Windlesham.
Educating the scientists and engineers of the future is important for society generally and particularly for BOC as an employer that seeks highly qualified staff. We are continuing to build our education website as part of boc.com. There teachers and students can learn the properties and uses of gases and view videos of experiments undertaken by our employees who visit schools as members of the Science Ambassadors scheme.
BOC is a successful business and it understands the responsibilities that accompany this success. BOC intends to continue to fulfil its wider responsibilities in all the societies and cultures where it operates.
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