Focus Topics – Employee-related issues
Occupational health and safety
Impacts, risks, and opportunities
Impacts
Zehnder Group’s activities have both positive and negative impacts on OHS, influencing the economy, environment, and people. On the positive side, Zehnder promotes a strong safety culture across its operations, which promotes employee well-being and reduces accident rates. By maintaining high safety standards, the company boosts productivity, lowers absenteeism, and improves employee retention. However, manufacturing operations, particularly those involving the production of radiators and ventilation systems, entail risks related to the use of hazardous materials, heavy machinery, and energy-intensive processes, which can lead to potential workplace accidents or long-term health issues if not managed properly.
Risks and opportunities
From a risk perspective, failing to maintain high health and safety standards could result in operational disruptions, legal liabilities, reputational damage, and increased costs associated with workplace incidents or regulatory non-compliance. Occupational health risks are also heightened by changes in regulations or increased scrutiny by stakeholders on safety practices. Continuous improvement in safety measures, combined with employee training and engagement, can foster a safer working environment for employees and contribute to overall business sustainability. Additionally, aligning with global standards for health and safety can strengthen relationships with external stakeholders, particularly regulators and investors, who place growing importance on companies with robust safety performance.
Management approach
Zehnder Group has established a comprehensive management approach to address OHS, aiming to ensure a safe and healthy working environment across all its operations. The Group’s policy goes beyond mere legal compliance, striving for zero fatalities and serious work-related injuries.
At Group level, the COO Radiators EMEA oversees OHS, supported by a structured reporting process planned for full implementation by 2025. Each production site has a designated OHS manager responsible for gathering KPIs and ensuring compliance with safety standards. Regular internal and external audits, along with certification processes, are key components of Zehnder’s due diligence efforts to manage safety risks.
Occupational health and safety management systems
To monitor the effectiveness of our OHS initiatives, we track specific KPIs, such as the rate of work-related injuries and certification coverage. In 2024, the percentage of employees that were covered by an OHS management system slightly increased to over 84%, with a decrease in the rate of work-related injuries from 11.7 to 10.71. These results demonstrate the overall positive impact of the Group’s measures, although a continued focus on achieving zero injuries remains.
A key policy for preventing accidents is the ISO 45001 certification of our production sites with complex manufacturing processes by 2025 in Europe. This applies specifically to our radiator production site, as well as all other sites where metal forming or injection moulding processes are carried out. This international standard provides a robust structure for preventing accidents and managing workplace risks.
1The 2023 figure has been restated due to an adjustment in the calculation formula to align with ESRS requirements. While GRI allows flexibility in basing the rate on either 200,000 or 1,000,000 hours worked, we initially chose 200,000 hours and have now updated it accordingly for this year. The original reported figure for 2023 was 2.3.
Implementation and outlook
To implement the above management approach and policies, we set an ambition that is underpinned by two targets and monitored via specific KPIs.
Targets
Ambition: Create an environment in which we promote occupational health and safety across the organisation
Target: Obtain ISO 45001 certification (or equivalent) of all production sites where metal forming or plastic injection process take place
- Status: Our production site in Lahr (Germany) is fully prepared for the ISO 45001 audit; however, the December audit was cancelled due to capacity constraints. The audit has been rescheduled and is expected to take place in early 2025. As of the end of 2024, five sites – Bolesławiec (Poland), Gränichen (Switzerland), Manisa (Türkiye), Maidstone (Great Britain), and Vaux-Andigny (France) – are ISO 45001 certified.
- Outlook: Certification for Production Lahr (Germany) is anticipated in early 2025. The target is that all our production sites where metal forming or plastic injection processes take place (except Caladair and Siber) will be certified according to ISO 45001 (or equivalent) by 2025. This will include three North American production sites.
Target: Create and implement an Occupational Health and Safety Group Directive
- Status: Following the identification of the need for Group-wide coordination on OHS, we began developing a comprehensive OHS Group Directive to standardise practices across all entities and enhance safety standards throughout our operations and supply chain. The development is still in progress, with efforts focused on ensuring a cohesive approach across all Zehnder entities.
- Outlook: Our objective is to finalise and implement the OHS Group Directive by 2025. This directive will establish a unified OHS management system for Zehnder Group, incorporating compliance with international OHS standards, such as ISO, alongside mandatory training programmes and ongoing monitoring of OHS incidents.
Key elements of the directive will include developing safety guidelines, conducting risk assessments for machinery and processes, and analysing all work-related accidents to prevent recurrence. Solutions will range from technical improvements, such as setting minimum machinery safety standards, to improving work organisational practices.
Metrics
GRI 403: Occupational Health & Safety 2018
Disclosure 403-8 Workers covered by an occupational health and safety management system
Indicator description | Unit of measure | 2024 | 2023 | Change from prior year | ||
Rate of all employees and workers who are not employees but whose work and/or workplace is controlled by the organisation, who are covered by an occupational health and safety management system | % | 84.1 | 83.6 | 0.5 | pp | |
Rate of all employees and workers who are not employees but whose work and/or workplace is controlled by the organisation, who are covered by an occupational health and safety management system that is internally audited | % | 47.3 | 54.5 | –7.2 | pp | |
Rate of all employees and workers who are not employees but whose work and/or workplace is controlled by the organisation, who are covered by an occupational health and safety management system that is externally audited | % | 56.0 | 52.5 | 3.5 | pp | |
Total number of employees, i.e. individuals who are in an employment relationship with the organisation: 3,527 employees in 2024 and 3,669 employees in 2023
Total number of workers who are not employees but whose work and/or workplace is controlled by the organisation: 242 workers in 2024 and 215 workers in 2023
GRI 403: Occupational Health & Safety 2018
Disclosure 403-9 Work-related injuries
Work-related injuries for all employees
Indicator description | Unit of measure | 2024 | 2023 | Change from prior year | ||
Total number of fatalities as a result of work-related injury for all employees | # | - | - | - | ||
Rate of fatalities as a result of work-related injury for all employees | # per 1,000,000 hours worked | - | - | - | ||
Total number of high-consequence work-related injuries (excluding fatalities) for all employees1 | # | 3 | - | n/a | ||
Rate of high-consequence work-related injuries (excluding fatalities) for all employees | # per 1,000,000 hours worked | 0.5 | - | 0.5 | ||
Total number of recordable work-related injuries for all employees2 | # | 67 | 73 | –8.2 | % | |
Rate of recordable work-related injuries for all employees3 | # per 1,000,000 hours worked | 10.7 | 11.7 | –1.0 | ||
Number of hours worked for all employees: 6,242,160 hours in 2024 and 6,231,245 hours in 2023
1High-consequence work-related injuries can include injuries, such as a deep cut, an injured hand, or a torn muscle, that require surgical intervention. Following these reported injuries, additional corrective and safeguard measures were implemented to prevent such accidents in the future. Additionally, retraining sessions were conducted to enhance awareness and to further reduce risks.
2The main types of work-related injuries are strains and sprains, cuts, bruises, and falls.
3The 2023 figure has been restated due to an adjustment in the calculation formula to align with ESRS requirements. While GRI allows flexibility in basing the rate on either 200,000 or 1,000,000 hours worked, we initially chose 200,000 hours and have now updated it accordingly for this year. The original reported figure for 2023 was 2.3.
GRI 403: Occupational Health & Safety 2018
Disclosure 403-9 Work-related injuries
Work-related injuries for all workers who are not employees but whose work and/or workplace is controlled by the organisation
Indicator description | Unit of measure | 2024 | 2023 | Change from prior year | ||
Total number of fatalities as a result of work-related injury for all workers who are not employees but whose work and/or workplace is controlled by the organisation1 | # | 1 | - | n/a | ||
Rate of fatalities as a result of work-related injury for all workers who are not employees but whose work and/or workplace is controlled by the organisation | # per 1,000,000 hours worked | 2.0 | - | 2.0 | ||
Total number of high-consequence work-related injuries (excluding fatalities) for all workers2 | # | 1 | - | n/a | ||
Rate of high-consequence work-related injuries (excluding fatalities) for all workers | # per 1,000,000 hours worked | 2.0 | - | 2.0 | ||
Total number of recordable work-related injuries for all workers3 | # | 11 | 8 | 37.5 | % | |
Rate of recordable work-related injuries for all workers4 | # per 1,000,000 hours worked | 22.4 | 19.5 | 2.9 | ||
Number of hours worked for all workers who are not employees but whose work and/or workplace is controlled by the organisation: 491,005 hours in 2024 and 410,749 hours in 2023
1Work accident caused by a third party and involving a subcontractor of Zehnder Group. An internal investigation is ongoing in order to establish the facts and conclude whether there are possibilities to further reduce the risk of such work accidents to the greatest extent possible in the future.
2Work accident of a worker in one of our production plants that led to injuries without full recovery to pre-injury health status. Additional machine safeguard measures were implemented upon recommendations by independent experts and a voluntary safety audit will be performed to further reduce this risk (such audits were already performed previously each year).
3The main types of work-related injuries are strains and sprains, cuts, bruises, and falls.
4The 2023 figure has been restated due to an adjustment in the calculation formula to align with ESRS requirements. While GRI allows flexibility in basing the rate on either 200,000 or 1,000,000 hours worked, we initially chose 200,000 hours and have now updated it accordingly for this year. The original reported figure for 2023 was 3.9.
GRI 403: Occupational Health & Safety 2018
Disclosure 403-10 Work-related ill health
Indicator description | Unit of measure | 2024 | 2023 | Change from prior year | ||
Total number of fatalities as a result of work-related ill health for all employees | # | - | - | - | ||
Total number of cases of recordable work-related ill health for all employees | # | 9 | 2 | 350.0 | % | |
Total number of fatalities as a result of work-related ill health for all workers who are not employees but whose work and/or workplace is controlled by the organisation | # | - | - | - | ||
Total number of cases of recordable work-related ill health for all workers who are not employees but whose work and/or workplace is controlled by the organisation | # | 2 | - | n/a | ||
Due to confidentiality and local legislation, not all details could be disclosed outside the local entity. However, cases that were reported with the cause were all tied to work-related stress.