Environmental, Health, Safety and Security
(EHSS) Strategy
At CPChem, we are committed to the health, safety and well-being of employees and contractors. We promote a positive safety culture through all facets of our business, and we are committed to doing the right thing, the right way, every time.
Environmental, Health, Safety and Security (EHSS) Strategy
Our Journey to Zero is more than a slogan for our EHSS strategy. It represents our commitment to each other, our employees, and the communities in which we live and operate. There are three major components of our strategy: caring for each other, driving safe and reliable operations, and improving the environment. The EHSS strategy serves as a blueprint for how we approach our work, emphasizing the importance of safety, reliability, and environmental sustainability. Our guiding principles and successful internal programs are imperative in Our Journey to Zero.
Guiding Principles
The safety of our employees and contractors is at the forefront of everything we do, and our safety culture is maintained through a set of guiding principles that provide direction in all circumstances, regardless of duty or position. These three principles emphasize the importance of holding unwavering operational discipline.
- Work safely or not at all.
- There is always time to do it right.
- If it’s worth doing, do it better.
Life Saving Rules
Our nine Life Saving Rules relate to activities that, if not executed correctly every time, have a high potential for serious injury or fatality. At CPChem, these Life Saving Rules reinforce our charge to get everyone home safely at the end of the day.
CPChem’s Commitment to Health and Well-being
CPChem contributed $100,000 to Sweeny Community Hospital Development Foundation in Sweeny, Texas, to support the construction of a new hospital. The donation reflects a commitment to the health and well-being of the surrounding community and to expanding access to high-quality, modern healthcare.
Tenets of Operation
CPChem’s Tenets of Operations are an extension of its values and principles and apply to all employees and contractors. Our Tenets provide a universal code of conduct to guide decision-making and risk management practices in the workplace.
Operational Excellence
CPChem takes pride in striving for Operational Excellence (OE), pushing to be the best company in our industry by doing the right things in the right way, every time. Our OE System is a risk management methodology which intends to standardize our global efforts, continuously improve and raise the level of operational discipline across health, safety, security, reliability, quality and environmental performance.
Voluntary Protection Program
The Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) is an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) program in which a facility takes responsibility for managing its safety through policies, programs and reinforcing behaviors to promote a safe working environment for employees, contractors and visitors. All 18 of CPChem’s eligible U.S. locations hold Star Status, the highest VPP certification awarded by OSHA.
Shaping the Future
CPChem hosted its 12th Contractor Safety Forum in October 2023, underscoring the pivotal role that contractors play in the safety and reliability of company operations. The forum serves as a collaborative space to come together to share experiences, exchange best practices, and reaffirm commitments to safety and responsible sourcing practices.
HOT Days
Last summer, nearly 600 employees across the organization gathered at our Cedar Bayou complex in Baytown, Texas, to share experience and expertise in a new type of training designed to heighten safety skills through tactile learning and peer interaction. Hands-On-Training (HOT) Days involve interactive training and refresher courses designed specifically for Operations and Maintenance personnel, encompassing respiratory protection, confined space operations, hazard recognition and fire extinguisher training.
Technology in Safety Forum
CPChem’s Sweeny, Clemens & Old Ocean Facilities joined nearly 30 companies at Brazoria County Petrochemical Council’s 2023 Technology in Safety Forum. Teams shared technology focused best practices and covered topics including the use of drones to perform inspections, issuing electronic safe work permits, remotely monitoring confined space ingress/egress and discussed how technology can be used to improve safety and reduce risks.
Human Performance
Human Performance (HP) is the next frontier of CPChem’s safe and reliable operations. HP is focused on building a better understanding of how work is performed before implementing more effective safeguards to mitigate consequences and continue operational discipline.
HP calls for a shift in mindset and challenges CPChem employees and leadership to comparatively examine how assignments are planned against how they are completed. This exercise is meant to identify and reduce potential risks of high consequence through skill-sharing discussions and guidance from teammates most experienced with the task at hand. We believe everyone at CPChem can leverage HP to lift trust and productivity in their teams, ultimately making it easier to succeed and harder to fail.
Walk the Line for Safety
Operators and technicians use “Walk the Line” tools like inspections, checklists and frequent communication to maintain alignment on the full scope and status of our processes and operations. “Walk the Line” tools help reduce process safety events by removing assumptions and verifying that critical information is received and relayed accurately and completely.
Assessing New Safety Metrics
As a part of the 2017 roll out of Our Journey to Zero, CPChem introduced a high consequence and high potential incident reporting program. Having extended our focus, we share lessons learned from high potential consequence incidents and install corrective actions to prevent their occurrence.
We are deploying an HP strategy which aims to improve performance in all areas with human engagement as well as target further reductions in incidents and unacceptable consequences. Using programs like Our Journey to Zero and Human Performance, we seek to continuously lift operational discipline and further equip CPChem employees to avoid and intercept unfavorable outcomes.
In 2023, CPChem performed in the top decile in industry for Total Recordable Incidence Rate with 23 work-related injuries or illnesses. Of these, fractures were the most reported injury in 2023. Last year, we placed a greater emphasis and awareness on these incidents and introduced a new metric, High Consequence/Potential Incident Rate (HIPO). This metric will provide valuable insight and help measure progress toward achieving our vision to eliminate high severity, high potential incidents altogether.
Recordable Injuries and Illnesses
Stepping Up Core Competencies
Three components of CPChem’s Process Safety Core Competencies program include eliminating high severity and high potential process safety events, strengthening process safety culture, and providing people with tools, training and experiences for development. Detailed figures on CPChem’s safety performance are available in Performance Data Tables.
2023 Process Safety Incidents
** Process Safety Event (PSE)
Process Safety Event Severity Rate (PSESR)
Safety Achievement Milestone
The Startex Performance Pipe facility celebrated 12 years of injury-free operations. OSHA representatives visited the site to commend employees for their impressive achievement. Safety is a daily commitment, and it is important to recognize and thank employees who make these milestones a reality.
People Before Production
When we noticed a rise in safety incidents in 2023, companywide safety reset and refocus sessions were held among all staff groups. During these critical sessions, we worked to identify potential distractions and improve safety performance. At CPChem, we put people before production, and we believe these sessions helped to fortify and realign all employees and contractors with our determined commitment to Our Journey to Zero and safe and reliable operations.
Top Safety Performance in Industry
American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers’ Safety Achievement Awards
- CPChem’s Bartlesville, Cedar Bayou, Conroe, Orange and Sweeny, Old Ocean & Clemens facilities earned a spot among the nation’s top safety performers.
American Chemistry Council Responsible Care® Awards
- CPChem’s Bartlesville, Borger, Conroe, Kingwood, Pasadena and Orange facilities were recognized in 2023 with American Chemistry Council Responsible Care® Safety Awards.
Texas Chemistry Council Safety Awards
- CPChem received 11 safety awards for our operational excellence and our commitment to reliable operations, safety and community support.
Singapore Chemical Industry Council Responsible Care Awards
- CPChem’s facility in Singapore was awarded the Excellence Award for Process Safety Code, as well as the Gold Award for Employee Health and Safety Code.
Award Winning Fleet Safety in North America
We work closely with transportation providers to safely move our products on roads, rail and water. In 2023, CPChem’s Borger Proprietary Fleet received the Grand Award for private fleets from the National Tank Truck Carriers in their North American Safety Contest. This award distinguishes companies with exceptional fleet safety performance, which the Borger Proprietary Fleet accomplished in 2023 by transporting odorant products across 800,000 miles and maintaining a perfect record through the Department of Transportation with zero reportable accidents.
