Overall, 1996 was a successful year for Bethlehem Steel in making significant progress toward our safety, health and environmental program goals. These goals are closely aligned with our corporate strategic vision and objectives, especially increasing shareholder value and being a good citizen.
The implementation of the Employee Safety Process (ESP) is proceeding on schedule. Initial results of ESP, a value-based “actively caring” philosophy that promotes employee participation at all levels in maintaining a safe working environment, are very favorable. In the past two years, our safety performance has improved substantially — a 40-percent reduction in incidence rates for lost workday cases and 30-percent reductions for both all-injury and OSHA total recordables. These results indicate employees accept the safety leadership challenge issued by Roger Penny, Bethlehem's president and chief operating officer, in 1995. While these improvements are commendable, we recognize that zero injuries and incidents is the only acceptable goal for a premier company. We will continue to strive for continuous and significant improvements in performance toward this goal.
We are implementing a value-based approach to environmental management in which priorities are set on potential impact on shareholder value and the amount of regulatory discretion we have in dealing with various environmental problems. In all activities, we strive to protect shareholder value by assuring compliance and performance, add value by leveraging assets and enhance value through leadership initiatives. To ensure ongoing compliance and continuous improvement, we are developing and implementing environmental management systems and practices at all locations, consistent with international standards such as ISO 14000.
Bethlehem's vision of being the premier steel company is predicated upon continuous improvement in all aspects of our business, and safety, health and environment are no exceptions. We will continue to focus on promoting excellence in safety, health and environmental performance as a fundamental corporate value that cannot and will not be compromised. To promote that value, we completed the first phase of our environmental awareness and stewardship training program for employees at the business divisions, and we presented the second annual Environmental Achievement Awards to 10 teams of employees. As part of our stewardship initiative, we also established community outreach programs at our Burns Harbor and Sparrows Point Divisions as a two-way exchange of information and ideas with the community on both environment and plant operations.
Bethlehem's endorsement of the CERES Principles in 1995 signified our commitment to continuously improve and to become publicly accountable for our environmental performance. Consistent with that endorsement, we recognize that the key to excellence in safety, health and environmental performance is team effort, which will require more hard work and increased emphasis in the future. As our program enters its second 50 years in 1997, we believe we are on target to achieve our vision of safety and environmental excellence and to support our corporate vision of being the premier steel company.
Dr. Augustine E. Moffitt, Jr., Vice President
Safety, Health and Environment
Safety, Health and Environment Department
1170 Eighth Avenue, Martin Tower, 12th Floor, Bethlehem, PA 18016-7699.
For further information, send mail to [email protected]
1996 Environmental Report Table of Contents
