Operations and EHS Standards
Our high-performance standards for environmental, health and safety (EHS) encourage going beyond merely complying with EHS laws and regulations. Our EHS assurance manual outlines Caterpillar’s EHS Management System and establishes fundamental requirements for all workplaces globally, including majority-owned subsidiaries and majority-owned joint ventures.
The health and safety of our employees is an important focus at Caterpillar, and we strive to continuously reduce serious injuries. Safety is forefront in our strategic goals and metrics, with visible commitment and support by leadership. In addition to metrics, we believe the best way to drive a culture of safety excellence is to create an environment where our team works to prevent serious injuries by learning and improving and demonstrating care for one another.
To help us achieve our safety culture and goals—and building upon our past successes and learning from thought leaders and other companies on similar journeys—we developed our Safety Driven strategy and its three outcomes:
- Preventing Serious Injury Is Critical
- Learning and Improving Is Vital
- Demonstrating Care Is Our Foundation.
Many of the learnings that informed our Safety Driven strategy are aligned to the Human and Organizational Performance (HOP) principles. HOP is a philosophy centered around how humans and organizations interact to accomplish work and understand the context and conditions of work. This strategy will help us continually improve for the future and supports our relentless focus on ensuring our workforce returns home safely every day.
We encourage facilities to implement their own initiatives to improve operational efficiency, including decreasing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, conserving water and reducing waste. Caterpillar has a continuing commitment to contributing to a safe environment as an integrated neighbor in communities where we operate. Therefore, we establish and adhere to environmentally sound policies and practices in product design, engineering and manufacturing.
Our employees are engaged in identifying and managing risk and are active participants in continuously improving the EHS of our operations. Our EHS Professionals play a key role in providing expertise and support to Caterpillar leadership around the world, and leaders regularly receive training on their role in EHS compliance and setting an example.