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Safety and environment
The safety of our operations and of all our stakeholders is a vital aspect at ExxonMobil and is in our DNA. We are based on the three pillars of sustainability: environmental, social and governance performance (ESG) to achieve operational excellence.
In order to achieve Operational Excellency, ExxonMobil goes beyond the applicable environmental laws and regulations, and, thus, adopts high safety standards and state-of-the-art technology in its operations, always keeping the focus on people and on preserving the environment.
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We pay special attention to how our products and operating units might impact employees, neighbors and customers. When used correctly, our products provide enormous benefits to society. To this end, we invest a significant amount of time, effort and capital.
We are mindful of managing the business in order to prevent incidents and to control spills and losses, and also to respond quickly and effectively to incidents resulting from operations, while cooperating with industry organizations and authorized government agencies.
As a major energy supplier, we seek to maximize our contributions to economic growth, environmental protection and long-term social welfare.
Health and safety
The success of ExxonMobil’s operations depends on a healthy and competent workforce. Our health policy communicates corporate expectations for identifying and managing health risks related to our operations. The company remains focused on achieving a work environment where Nobody Gets Hurt, a global campaign.
Safety is a core value at ExxonMobil. We operate in a manner that helps protect our employees, contractors, customers and the communities where we operate. Our approach to safety includes identifying possible risks, implementing measures to prevent potential incidents, and educating employees and contractors about unsafe behaviors. For 27 years, our Operations Integrity Management System (OIMS) has established a set of worldwide expectations for addressing risks inherent to our business, including safety risks. Our work procedures embed OIMS into our everyday work processes at all levels of the organization.
Operations Integrity Management System (OIMS)
We have an unwavering commitment to helping protect our people, the community and the environment by seeking to manage the risks inherent to our operations. Our Operations Integrity Management System (OIMS) serves as the foundation for managing process safety risks and establishes clear process safety expectations, which are distributed throughout our management systems. The safeguards needed to protect against process safety risks are built into OIMS and integral to the way our facilities are designed, operated and maintained. We verify and rigorously maintain these safeguards to prevent or mitigate the consequences of a process safety event.
The system is based on 11 elements:
- Management leadership, commitment and accountability
- Risk assessment and management
- Facilities design and construction
- Information/documentation
- Personnel and training
- Operations and maintenance
- Management of change
- Third-party services
- Incident investigation and analysis
- Community awareness and emergency preparedness
- Operations integrity assessment and improvement
Alerta!
ALERTA! (WARNING!) - A prevention program adopted by ExxonMobil that acts based on the behavioral factors considered to be the main causes of exposure to risk in professional or personal activities. It is the result of over 25 years of international research and basically uses 5 tools to preserve the physical integrity of employees and contractors:
- Incident Investigation (II) - A process that ensures that all possible information about an incident is obtained, assessing the behavioral or work factors in order to prevent recurrence through the implementation of actions and communication of lessons learned.
- Near-Incident Investigation (IQI) - Similar to the previous item, differing only in the consequence of the event. Meaning the incident did not occur (“luckily”), there was no loss/damage to people or material, but there could have been, and for this reason it is also investigated.
- Observation for Incident Prevention (OPI) - A process that involves two people (observer and observed) in the execution of a task in order to identify inappropriate procedures, tools or behaviors from a safety perspective. After the observation, a meeting is held in which in the local managers participate and that will determine if there is need for any action to be put in place to eliminate possible risks.
- Self-Security Assessment (AAS) - A procedure that every employee must perform before carrying out a task. It is a mental and visual assessment to check safety conditions, both in relation to the procedure to be used or their own knowledge and/or skill. If the employee concludes that the conditions are not as desired, they should not start the task.
- Task Safety Analysis (AST) - A written procedure describing all the steps of a certain task, the risks associated with each of them and how to minimize or eliminate these risks.
Business conduct
The means by which we achieve our results are as important as the results themselves. For decades we have constantly communicated this message to our employees. Our ethics policy, as well as all of our other policies, is objective, direct, and applies to everyone, without exception.
Below is a summary of the main policies that must be followed by our employees and contractors:
Commercial conduct standards
The Commercial Conduct Standards are at the core of our control system. These policies were launched for the first time almost 40 years ago and have undergone continuous improvement over the years. The policies deal with business ethics, conflicts of interest, antitrust practices, equal opportunities in employment, workplace harassment and performance in the areas of safety, health and the environment.
Reevaluation of business practices
The managers also regularly reevaluate and discuss the Commercial Conduct Standards in meetings with employees who are encouraged to submit any problem, question, or concern to their immediate supervisors or to representatives of the Auditing, Human Resources, Legal or Comptroller Departments.
Compliance of safety, health and environmental standards
Many of our operating units and several of our products, though vital to global interests, involve potential risks to our employees and customers and to the community. Monitoring these risks is a crucial aspect of our business. In 1992, we developed the Operations Integrity Management System (OIMS), a comprehensive and structured process to manage these safety, health and environmental activities. As part of the OIMS, the management, with the support of technical specialists, regularly evaluate the operating units. Every year, about one-third of the company's main operating units is examined by experts from outside the unit under evaluation.
Alcohol and drug use
We are committed to a safe, healthy, and productive workplace for all employees. The Corporation recognizes that alcohol, drug, or other substance abuse by employees will impair their ability to perform properly and will have serious adverse effects on the safety, efficiency and productivity of other employees and the Corporation as a whole.
The misuse of legitimate drugs, or the use, possession, distribution or sale of illicit or unprescribed controlled drugs on company business or premises, is strictly prohibited.
Possession, use, distribution, or sale of alcoholic beverages on company premises is not allowed without prior approval of appropriate senior management. Being unfit for work because of use of drugs or alcohol is strictly prohibited and is grounds for disciplinary actions. While this policy refers specifically to alcohol and drugs, it is intended to apply to inhalants and all other forms of substance abuse.