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Health & Safety at Bakelite

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Occupational Health and Safety

To promote our employees’ health and safety, we have an EHS (Environmental, Health and Safety) Policy that lays out our guiding principles and leadership expectations around EHS.

This policy is the foundation of our EHS Standards and Programs that guide our actions and track key indicators to drive enhancement of EHS performance. Creating and maintaining EHS awareness is crucial to ensure our associates and contractors understand risks and adopt safe behaviors. These programs promote a culture of safety, where everyone is engaged and accountable for safe work practices and responsible environmental behaviors.

DOWNLOAD EHS POLICY

Our Key Focus Areas

We have numerous programs to support and educate our employees including:

  • Both corporate and local, tailored safety training
  • Job Risk Analysis (JRA) and Last Minute Risk Analysis (LMRA) tools and training
  • Life Saving Rules which support EHS awareness and engagement
  • Recognition, Observations, and Concerns (ROC)
  • Job Stop Trigger
  • EHS Calls and EHS Alerts
  • EHS Dialogues
Our Key Focus Areas

Protecting People. Promoting Well-being. 

At Bakelite Synthetics, safety is more than a priority—it’s a core value. We are committed to fostering a culture where every employee, contractor, and visitor returns home safely every day. 
Workplace Safety

Our approach to safety is proactive, data-driven, and people-focused: 

  • Global Safety Management System
    Standardized across all sites to ensure consistent practices and compliance. 
  • Behavior-Based Safety Programs
    Empowering employees to identify and mitigate risks in real time. 
  • Incident Prevention
    Focused on leading indicators, near-miss reporting, and root cause analysis. 
Product & Process Safety 

We ensure the safety of our products and operations through: 

  • Responsible Care® Certification at all U.S. sites
  • Process Safety Management (PSM)
    Applied at high-hazard sites to prevent incidents and protect communities. 
  • Regulatory Compliance
    Adherence to global standards including REACH, TSCA, and OSHA. 
Continuous Improvement 

We are always learning and evolving:                                                                

  • Safety Leadership Training
    Delivered to more than 200 leaders globally in 2025. 
  • Global Safety Week
    Annual event to reinforce safety culture and celebrate achievements. 
  • Life Saving Rules
    Strengthened implementation of Life Saving Rules across all regions.

Safety Milestones

In addition to a significant reduction in OIIR in 2025, nine sites reached notable safety milestones without a recordable incident.

  • 20 or more years
    • Beaver Creek, MI, USA
  • 10 or more years
    • Acme, North Carolina, USA
    • Botlek, The Netherlands
  • 5 or more years
    • Cowie, UK
    • Crossett, AR, USA
    • Decatur, Georgia, USA
    • Kitee, Finland
    • Lantaron, Spain
    • Solbiate, Italy

25 for ’25 EHS Challenge

Company-wide challenge resulted in 67% global engagement among Bakelite associates surpassing the 25% goal. The purpose was to proactively identify hazards through increased use of ROCs (Reports of Concern) to drive preventative action and improve local hazard controls. 

Leadership-driven safety culture reinforced through a variety of local and global initiatives, and reinforced through frontline safety coaching.