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Nine Multi-National Companies Join Growing “World Safety” Coalition at DuPont Leaders Forum on Safety and Performance


WEBWIRE

Five Companies Earn DuPont Safety Award

GENEVA, Switzerland, November 21, 2005, Nine multi-national companies joined a growing coalition of diverse companies from around the world in the first-ever “World Safety Declaration: Global Industry Commitment to Workplace Safety” during the 2005 DuPont Leaders Forum on Safety and Performance here. Also at the forum, five companies earned the DuPont Safety Award for individual and collective safety initiatives in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

In its third year, the Leaders Forum is part of DuPont’s safety leadership initiatives to foster strong actions about safety at work and at home. Participants examined how significant differences can be made by embracing safety leadership as a strategic business value. Speakers included former astronaut Neil Armstrong, DuPont Safety & Protection Group Vice President Ellen J. Kullman, and CEO Bruno LaFont of Lafarge, one of the world’s leaders in building materials.

Senior leaders from Nestlé, Sonae, Fortum,MOL, SUAL, Borealis, Plastic Omnium, Kone and Ciba signed the World Safety Declaration at the forum. The declaration, which was unveiled September at the XVII World Congress of Safety and Health at Work, calls for participating companies “to affect real-world change to achieve an attainable goal of increased safety and injury reduction.” One of the declaration’s goals is to recognize that safety enhancements in workplaces and homes are achievable objectives that can be defined, evaluated and measured – despite the differences of geographies and environments around the world. The companies also committed to reporting their progress, successes and challenges over the next three years at the 2008 World Congress on Safety and Health at Work.

The 15 founding organizations of the “World Safety Declaration” headquartered in various regions around the world from a broad scope of industries -- ranging from entertainment to mining -- include DuPont, General Electric, British Petroleum, BE&K, TATA Steel, TATA Chemicals, Fluor, Rohm & Haas, Evergreen Aviation Technologies, Yantai Wanhua Polyurethanes, Reliance Industries Limited, Aker Kvaerner, Hindustan Lever, CEMEX and Calvert.

“The World Safety Declaration is striking a chord with leaders in industry,” Kullman said. “While the challenges we face as senior executives vary, the safety and well-being of employees is a fundamental responsibility we all share.”

The DuPont Safety Award was presented to AMEC Group Limited, Alcoa, Mondi Packaging Paper Steti, Borealis and Aluminium Norf. The DuPont Safety Award recognizes significant projects in workplace safety or society at large that have been led by individuals, companies or organizations in the areas of innovative approach, performance improvement, felt leadership, business impact and cultural evolution.

“The common thread among these winners is that they understand the strong link between business performance and creating a safer workplace,” said Mathieu Vrijsen, president, DuPont Europe, Middle East and Africa. “Each of these companies has shown exceptional dedication and innovation in reducing injuries and creating a safety culture.”

AMEC Group Limited, an international project management and services company, was recognized for its creation and implementation of First Step and Safety Watch programs. These programs, which are being adopted by several of the company’s clients, resulted in excess of 4.5 million hours over a continuous 12 months period with zero lost time injuries.

Alcoa, the world’s leading producer of aluminium products, was recognized for its Fastening Systems business in Europe for significantly improving performance in the area of environment, health and safety for 2,000 employees in different countries with programs adapted to each country.

Mondi Packaging Paper Steti, a member of the Anglo American/Mondi Group of Companies located in the Czech Republic, earned its recognition based on management efforts to transform the company’s culture as the country moved from a centrally planned economy to a market economy. The result includes 1,294 days without a lost time injury and a change into a world-class operation in safety, health, environmental and financial performance

Borealis, a leading provider of plastics solutions, which saw total recordable injuries decrease from 6.9 in 2001 to 1.7 in August 2005, was recognized because of its “Step Change in Safety” program. In addition to the dramatic decrease in injuries, the program also resulted in greater employee satisfaction, improved operational performance and stronger financial performance.

Aluminium Norf was recognized for its significant increase in employee involvement in safety management. The aluminium rolling mills created working groups of employees who designed and implemented the 24/7 Safety process. The result was a reduction in accident figures by strengthening safe behavior, improving communication and ability to work in a team toward creating a new corporate culture.

DuPont is a science company. Founded in 1802, DuPont puts science to work by creating sustainable solutions essential to a better, safer, healthier life for people everywhere. Operating in more than 70 countries, DuPont offers a wide range of innovative products and services for markets including agriculture, nutrition, electronics, communications, safety and protection, home and construction, transportation and apparel.



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