1. How does Beyers Koffie assess and manage Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) risks?
Environment (the ‘E’ in QESH) at Beyers Koffie – a leading sustainable coffee roaster in the Sucafina Group – means working in line with Flemish environmental legislation and within the agreed framework of the environmental permit. This permit prescribes our processes, materials, storage, energy needs, water use and discharge, and CO2 and N-compounds produced. As Beyers Koffie is low risk for environmental impacts, most of our work is administrative, such as compiling our half-yearly report and keeping records of waste disposal.
Health & Safety (HS, or the ‘SH’ in QESH) is more of a day-to-day topic that falls under the Belgian legislation of ‘Wellbeing at Work’ and needs constant attention. My role as HS Advisor is to advise our CEO and management on four main work-related domains: psychosocial wellbeing, ergonomics, occupational hygiene and safety at work. I also work with the company doctor on occupational health.
Working on ergonomics and safety requires daily visits to the shop floor, analyzing work processes, assessing the safety of existing and new machines and production lines, among other monitoring activities. It also requires the investigation of accidents or near misses, accident prevention and managing the required administration for the monthly HS Committee meeting.
All risks are assessed regularly and if there were a serious accident, Labor Investigation would check whether relevant prevention measures had been taken. We also manage HS training for new employees, safety campaigns and making sure safety instructions are clear and accessible.
2. What are some concrete ways that you align local EHS practices with Group-level governance priorities and policies?
Environment at Beyers Koffie is different from Sustainability in our Sucafina Group origin operations as it’s closely linked to Belgian legislation. The work environment (a coffee roasting factory) is also very different to many of Sucafina’s other operations. Nonetheless, our work at Beyers Koffie ensures that the Group remains compliant with local health and safety regulations everywhere.
3. How does Beyers Koffie track and monitor EHS performance indicators and integrate these insights into decision-making?
We have HS performance indicators, primarily tracking the number of accidents, incidents and days lost. The CEO is notified should any accident occur, and it would be discussed during a daily operational meeting to identify root causes and establish preventive measures.
These insights are further reviewed in our monthly HS Committee meeting, where employee and employer delegations discuss relevant topics, including incidents, root causes and actions taken. I act as an independent HS advisor during these meetings. Official meeting reports are displayed in the offices and canteen, ensuring transparency and keeping all stakeholders informed and involved in continuous improvement.
4. Can you describe a recent situation where an EHS protocol helped to prevent an incident or reduce a risk?
During our last evacuation drill, we noticed that a fire door was not closing automatically when the alarm went off – it stopped part-way down. As these gates remain in an open position during working hours and only come down in case of a fire alarm, it is only during drills that things like this are visible. Our HS procedures helped us to identify and mitigate a significant risk in this case.
Read Sucafina's 2024 Sustainability Report to learn more about how we’re turning ambition into action as we embed sustainability deeper into our operations and scale up our IMPACT Program.