PEOPLE

EMPLOYEE HEALTH
AND SAFETY

From discussions with external and internal stakeholders we observed a shared interest in how we address employee health and safety in the workplace. As a result, we have continued to place great emphasis on these issues in the workplace, because the success of our business depends fundamentally on our employees. So we focus on the wellbeing and health of every employee, ensuring a safe working environment and minimizing any potential risks.

The Occupational Health & Safety (H&S) team is the primary responsible for managing these issues in accordance with applicable legal requirements and voluntary initiatives implemented by the organization, including group guidelines and standards of OHS and International Standardization Organization (ISO). The overall aim is to achieve zero accidents at work, and our principles and rules apply to our own sites and to partner companies with whom we collaborate for various production services.

Since 2005, we have been continuously implementing the H&S management system as per OHSAS 18001 (Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series) criteria, undertaking the series of recertification and surveillance audits for conformity. Our H&S management system meets the ISO 45001:2018 requirements. This certification is valid until 2024 for the following locations of operation: the breweries in Buzău, Brașov, Timișoara and the four distribution centers in Timișoara, Buzău, Brașov and Cluj-Napoca.

The H&S management system covers actions, people and processes involved in production, packaging and storage of beer, meaning all activities carried and controlled in our locations. The management system is coordinated by Ursus Breweries internal H&S professionals. Additionally, we work along an external business partner specialized in H&S services that provides relevant support to our offices across the country, especially our commercial offices.

We still face challenges in achieving our vision of ‘zero accidents’ in operations, which requires sustained employee engagement and initiatives to achieve these results. These initiatives and efforts to improve capabilities, technology, accountability, communication are common to all employees. Here are only a few examples:

Risk assessments are conducted considering normal operational situations as well as non-standard events such as maintenance, shutdowns, maintenance activities and emergency situations.

Usually, the person who manages the operational process with the support of an H&S professional handles the risk assessment process, which is performed every time one of the following situations occurs:

Upon completion of such processes, when work-related hazards are identified, then specific control methods occur, which frequently fall into one of the following categories:

The risk assessment outcomes follow the PDCA cycle. Action plans are developed to implement control/ mitigation measures and are reviewed regularly. Audits are conducted annually for progress monitoring. All safety incidents are reported according to the internal policy and regulations.

The procedure, which applies to all incidents occurring in the workplace, describes the activities deployed, the responsibilities for internal and external reporting of work-related incidents, and the responsibilities for registration and reporting of incidents in order to identify the causes that contributed to their occurrence and to set out appropriate preventive and corrective actions..

The following principles are observed in the internal reporting:

All incidents reported are recorded in the incident database and are followed up with specific action plans. Depending on the severity of the incident, the procedure describes precise flows of communication for major to minor incidents. In case of disabling injuries, an official report of investigation is prepared and submitted to the Local Labor Inspectorate in due legal term.

Each Ursus Breweries employee must immediately inform the head of workplace and stop the work upon occurrence of a work accident imminent hazard. All Ursus Breweries employees have to behave in full accordance with the mentioned procedure, including providing support to the event investigation team, as needed. The investigation team is appointed by the decision of the site official representative.

H&S event investigation is conducted according to the legal requirements in force at the time of the incident occurrence. Based on three levels of investigation depending on the severity of the event (i.e. from major to minor incidents), the process is described by internal regulation. All incidents are communicated thorough safety alerts to the employees for shared learnings and further actions, if needed. Action plans are monitored regularly.

Employees are encouraged to report all minor incidents and hazardous events using a specific reporting form. These types of incidents are recorded and discussed with the management team on a quarterly basis to find appropriate solutions for improvement and prevention of serious events. A scheme of reward and recognition is applied for reporting of dangerous situations.

The Behavior-Based Safety program provides management and employees with an additional opportunity for reporting on unsafe behavior and workplace conditions. Employees have access to a reporting tool (BBS e-tool) designed for such purpose. These reports are monthly monitored along with the action plans and targets set to complete the actions.

As per internal regulations and the legal requirements, all employees have the general obligation to conduct their work in accordance with their professional background, training, and instructions provided by employer, so as not to expose themselves to risk of injury or occupational disease, and others who may be affected by their actions or omissions during the work process. Such general obligations are stated in the employee's job description form. They are also presented to each employee during the induction training on employment and furthermore during regular H&S training courses at workplace.

Ursus Breweries collaborates with a qualified occupational health service provider to conduct health care program for employees. Part of the prevention program for the workforce, these initiatives are related to the identified risks for each workplace and role of our employees. Data is collected and processed by the health care service contractor in line with the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) and other regulations regarding data privacy. Employees have access to the medical provider in all our locations across the country.

The SSC operates on the basis of appointment decision and follows its own rules. The employer or its legal representative (local director) acts as the president, while the secretariat is covered by the H&S specialist (H&S Manager).

The employees’ representatives are members of the trade union, selected according to the law as well as internal regulations of the union. The trade union is also involved in the annual negotiation process for the establishment of the collective labor agreement at the company level.

The Committee meets quarterly and whenever necessary. The SSC secretary convenes the meetings by written informing the SSC members at least 5 days prior the date of the meeting. The SSC meeting is considered to be legally constituted when at least half plus one of its members are present. Each meeting ends with a formal minute taken by the SSC secretary and signed by all members who are present. The SSC’s decisions are considered valid with the vote of at least two-thirds of the members present. Copies of the minutes are displayed in visible places for all employees and are circulated to the local Territorial Labor Inspectorate within 10 days from the date of the meeting.

To ensure continuous training of the employees on H&S topics, a series of specific Occupational Health & Safety (H&S) and Emergency Situations (ES) training courses were elaborated and are carried out during working hours (by law, their duration counts as working time).

H&S & ES training includes four main modules:

Types of H&S & ES training courses conducted within the organization:

Ursus Breweries collaborates with qualified occupational health services to provide health care programs for its employees. Thus, all employees have access to:
• medical prevention subscription • detailed brochure about current medical plan(s), which details a specific package offer • two additional medical plans dedicated to prevention at a preferential cost for both the employees and their family

Reports in this section have been calculated based on 200.000 hours worked.

During the reporting period we did not register any fatalities as a result of work-related ill health or cases of recordable work-related ill health nor among our employees, nor the workers who are not employees but whose work and/ or workplace is controlled by our organization.

Following the hazard identification processes carried out during the reporting period, situations posing a risk of illness in the workplace were identified and managed.

HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT & WORKFORCE TRAINING

To maintain high levels of productivity and innovation in the company it is essential to have an educated and skilled workforce, and providing adult learning opportunities plays a crucial role. A well-trained workforce ensures business continuity and growth, so the way we develop employee learning and evaluation programs can have a major impact on business performance.

Through our training programs and education initiatives we are committed to developing the skills and knowledge of our employees to reach their full potential. Education and training is central to our strategy, impacting the entire organization, from full-time and part-time employees to management and even our outsourced employees.

Continuous development, both personally and professionally, is a priority for us, and the flow of learning and development is crucial to achieving our business goals and strategies. We are committed to maintaining a healthy work-life balance for our employees and helping them discover and develop their strengths by providing lifelong learning opportunities. This way, we offer our colleagues a development framework to help them grow and develop in their careers.

The training activities are managed by the Learning & Development (L&D) team within Human Resources department and the plans are developed annually, based on development and training needs identified within the organization.

To identify the most relevant and needed topics for these programs, we conduct training needs assessments throughout the organization, which then are aligned with our regional, local and business goals. Thus, the programs cover a wide range of topics that address the variety of our colleagues’ professional and personal development needs, whether they are new employees, non-managers or senior and executive managers.

These include: onboarding aspects, managerial and leadership skills, digital and functional abilities, and wellbeing topics.

The programs are delivered through face-to-face or virtual interactions, e-learning platforms, self-study or short videos. In order to monitor and keep up to date the skills of our employees, starting in 2021, all learning and development opportunities in digital/e-learning format have been integrated in a dedicated module within the HOPS human resources platform. This platform includes, among other things, a goal setting system, performance management and evaluation, continuous feedback, career opportunities, employee information etc.

Depending on the type of program, employees are either invited to participate in trainings specifically designed for them, or they can opt in for certain programs with general access. The majority of our initiatives – wellbeing sessions, professional upskilling, certain workshops related to leadership – are open to all employees who are free to register and participate without prior approval from their manager.

The development strategy has three lines of action:

All our employees have free access to a mentoring program. They also benefit from English classed to strengthen their foreign language skills. The course is available to all employees as long as the request is grounded by a business reasoning.

In terms of personal wellbeing and growth we have a well-designed program which is ongoing in the organization since 2017. It has continuously developed over time and it has been adapted to fit the evolving wellbeing needs of our colleagues. Starting with 2021, we went a step further and developed a regional wellbeing strategy which started to be implemented locally in 2022.

Another long-term program refers to our community of internal trainers. Initiated in 2017, the community kept expanding, proving to be an important resource in delivering training within the organization. The internal trainer role is voluntarily covered by colleagues from various departments that have the required skills gained through participation in train the trainers programs.

Other ways to register comments are through the managers and HR Business Partners or via the specific training email address. All opinions are reviewed and the training initiatives are adjusted accordingly. Internal trainers are fully involved in the review and revise process.

Professional and personal development is deeply embedded within the organization through the yearly career development discussions. These are another way to monitor and maintain up-to-date skills of our employees. All employees and their managers follow this process to identify future career and development aspirations, and the steps required to achieve that objective.

In 2021-2022 we continue to give importance to mental and emotional health of our colleagues. We have supported them to work remotely/ online during the pandemic, we increased the number of learning initiatives, and our e-learning curricula on Learning Management System (LMS) was extended, the integrated online platform being live as of mid-2021.

No matter the context, the health and safety of our employees is of outmost importance. During the reporting period we organized defensive driving trainings for all our colleagues driving company cars, both online as well as face-to-face, regular health and safety sessions and Alcohol Behavior and Communication (AB&C) training courses. For more information on these topics go to the Employee Health and Safety chapter and Responsible alcohol drinking and healthy lifestyle.

We also address specific individual development needs expressed by our employees, such as coaching or other types of requests that reach our learning and development team through the HRBPs and managers. In managing these needs, we have a flexible and open approach, permanently trying to find ways to accommodate them.

The time for employee goal setting is flexible to allow alignment with business dynamics and/or type of work. Our learning and development framework has been designed to meet the needs of different job roles and levels. Our leadership team supports an inclusive working environment in which all our employees are treated equally, enjoying equal development opportunities and fair performance management.

Leaders are trained to act as role models and inspire others to take individual responsibility in our diversity and inclusion initiatives. Inclusive leadership is part of our core competency model and of our required competencies, such behavior is a part of advertised job descriptions, assessed during performance reviews, supported by learning and development, role-modelled by management.

Transparent goal setting is part of our standard performance management approach. This includes sharing individual performance goals with peers, as well as individuals' direct reports.

Senior managers drive the change towards a performance development culture (e.g. continuous alignment on performance expectations and goals, ongoing informal performance conversations/ feedback). Moreover, to encourage performance and increase motivation, we have developed a recognition program, through which any employee has the opportunity to propose for awarding team colleagues they admire, who proved exemplary behavior and whose involvement has led to exceptional achievement of objectives. Through this program, every month, colleagues are rewarded both individually and as a team.

DIVERSITY

We face a diversity challenge in our industry because it is less attractive to women. For this reason, one of our sustainability goals at company and group level is to promote gender diversity.

We regularly reinforce transparent communication to all employee groups about the organizational strategy through face-to-face meetings and various media channels. We inform employees well in advance of implementation about organizational and/or high-impact changes. We have defined our desired performance development culture (including required behavior of employees and managers).

Thanks to the attention we pay to our employees, we have managed to get the Top Employer Romania certification for three years (2021, 2022, 2023).

We were the first Romanian brewer to obtain this certification offered by the independent organization ‘Top Employers Institute’ in the Netherlands, which has developed a complex process of auditing companies to identify the opportunities and experience they offer to their employees.

Our continuous efforts are focused on ensuring a safe and inclusive work environment, so that each employee feels that is treated with respect and care. We listen to the voice of our employees through specific surveys.

At Asahi Group level, every two years, we conduct a Global Employee Satisfaction Survey and in the years without this survey, we have a Global Pulse Survey. There are also various focus groups with brewery employees and the sales force or discussions during the collective labor contract negotiations.

In 2021, the Global Employee Satisfaction survey was dedicated to all members of Asahi Europe and International group and implied consultation on 18 topics (e.g. leadership, communication and collaboration, talent and performance management, health and wellbeing, innovation, sustainable involvement, operational efficiency, ethics and integrity, strategic approach etc.).

The LEAD organization aims to facilitate attracting, keeping and promoting women in the retail and consumer goods industry, through education, leadership and professional development.
Also, in 2022, we signed the Romanian Diversity Charter, a collaborative platform for action, debate and exchange of best practices related to diversity management.

A Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee has also been set-up, a multi-disciplinary working group dedicated to best practices and exploring initiatives to raise awareness of diversity, equity and inclusion issues within the company.
As active advocates of gender balance, our target is to have 50-50% men and women in top management at local and group level by 2030.