EHS Policy & Management Systems
Governance
The Pfizer UK Ltd Board has the primary responsibility for all environmental, health and safety matters in the UK. The Board sets policy and provides resources to ensure the requirements of policy are met.
This is supported by a Safety, Health and Environment (SHE) Board, which is chaired by a member of the Pfizer Ltd Board and comprises senior UK staff including the heads of the divisional EHS departments. The SHE Board monitors EHS performance, reviews detailed EHS technical matters and makes recommendations to the Pfizer Ltd Board regarding, amongst other matters, policy review and development. At operational level, Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) committees, comprising departmental staff, review day-to-day EHS performance.
Policy
The EHS policy reflects our core Purpose, Mission and Values and has been set by the Pfizer Ltd SHE Board to be applied equally to each operating division. It gives our Commitment to EHS matters as a highest priority, placing legislative requirements as a minimum standard.
Our Management techniques include adopting industry best practice to prevent accidents and maximise protection of the environment. We strive for Continual Improvement through adoption of an effective integrated EHS management system including the setting of improvement objectives and targets where appropriate. Not least is the vital part people play in delivering excellence in EHS, including our employees and contractors.
Our policy reflects the need to provide effective communication, systems of works and training. Furthermore, we recognise the need to communicate with parties that have an interest in our activities such as local communities and it is our policy to maintain a dia¬logue with them. The policy has recently been revised to meet the requirements of the Environmental Management Standard ISO 14001 and the Health and Safety Management Standard OHSAS 18001.
Management Systems
Our EHS management systems follow a set of guidelines established at the Pfizer corporate level. These have been implemented locally, taking into account UK legislative requirements as a minimum and in many cases exceeding these requirements.
Our systems include aspects such as compliance with statutory requirements, minimising and managing waste, process safety, occupational health, energy conservation, protection of ground and surface water and community outreach. Audits are carried out, with regard to the implementation of the guidelines, by both site-based EHS staff and our Corporate Head Office.
During the last five years, reviews carried out by our Corporate Audit teams have confirmed that our facilities continue to be managed and operated to very high standards. The corporate team audited our manufacturing operation during 2005, Walton Oaks in 2006 and our Sandwich R & D facility in 2007 and again noted excellent compliance standards in addition to strong management system programmes.
In 2006 we were successful in building on the accredited EHS Management Systems held by our operations at Sandwich by the addition of OHSAS18001 by our Manufacturing Division, completing dual accreditation to IS014001 (Environmental) and OHSAS18001 (Health & Safety) for all operations at Sandwich. These continue to be subject to six monthly surveillance audits by external auditors.
These formal accreditations not only demonstrate a high level of EHS performance but are also a commitment from management and staff to maintain that performance and continuously look for improvements in the way we manage EHS.
