TAURON Group’s WHS Policy

TAURON Group’s Work Health and Safety (WHS) Policy is a set of regulations aimed at continued improvement of work (occupational) health and safety standards. By applying the provisions provided therein TAURON Capital Group steadfastly seeks to eliminate work related accidents as well as minimize the occurrence of occupational diseases and the number of potentially accident-prone incidents. The safety of employees, customers, contractors, guests and the other stakeholders is an absolute priority that has a significant impact on the decisions and actions taken by TAURON Capital Group’s subsidiaries.

The policy defines the principles of operation, as well as the rules of conduct that serve the implementation of TAURON Capital Group’s four basic goals with respect to work health and safety (WHS), i.e.:

• eliminating accidents at work of all persons employed by and working for the benefit of TAURON Capital Group’s subsidiaries and any other persons in the area where the subsidiaries are conducting their operations,
• ensuring optimal working conditions for all persons employed by and working for TAURON Capital Grou,
• raising the qualifications of the employees of TAURON Capital Group, aimed at increasing competences with respect to improving their safety and the safety of other employees as well as persons who find themselves in the area of their work,
• improving an effective work health and safety (WHS) management system.

DUE DILIGENCE PROCEDURES AND INTERNAL REGULATIONS

Work Health and Safety (WHS) Policy is the overarching, binding for all entities present on TAURON Capital Group’s sites, document describing the Group’s uniform system of occupational health and safety.

As part of the Group’s Work Health and Safety (WHS) Policy, each of the subsidiaries, due to the specifics of its operations, has its own regulations in this area, which are fully compliant with the requirements and applicable laws. In addition, the work health and safety (WHS) regulations are adapted to the nature of the work and tasks performed. At the subsidiaries whose operations profile involves production and distribution, i.e. TAURON Wydobycie, TAURON Wytwarzanie, TAURON Ciepło, Kopalnia Wapienia “Czatkowice”, TAURON Ekoenergia and TAURON Dystrybucja – the issues related to the protection of the health and life of employees are of particular importance, which is expressed in extensive safety systems, as well as inspections of working conditions, compliance with the work health and safety regulations and rules at the individual work stations.

The most important documents regulating the work health and safety (WHS) issues include TAURON Wydobycie’s Integrated Work (Occupational) Safety and Health Management System, TAURON Ciepło’s Work (Occupational) Health and Safety Management Procedures or TAURON Wytwarzanie’s Quality, Environment Protection and Work Safety Policy.

External entities that carry out work at the Group’s subsidiaries are also obliged to comply with the applicable procedures, including with respect to health and safety of employees. The employees of external companies (contractors and subcontractors) are also required to have up-to-date medical examinations (clearances) as well as appropriate qualifications and authorizations for the works performed. Some of TAURON Capital Group’s subsidiaries (especially those where working conditions are particularly dangerous) also introduce additional requirements and training for external entities.

ACTIONS TAKEN AND RESULTS ACHIEVED

Due to the steadfast pursuit of an improvement of work safety, information and educational activities are intensified at TAURON Group. They include the campaigns conducted in 2020:

• „TWOJE bezpieczeństwo w TWOICH rękach” (“YOUR safety in YOUR hands”) (TAURON Ciepło).

During the project, the employees repeated appropriate behaviors and correct rules of conduct at a given position multiple times. All of the actions undertaken as part of the Campaign were to lead to the elimination of the threats at source, developing safe work habits in employees and shaping a safety culture at the company,

• „Wróćmy szczęśliwi do domu” (“Let us come back home happy”) (TAURON Serwis) – information campaign,
• Work Health and Safety Knowledge Competition conducted on-line (Tauron Ciepło),
• Modular training for people managing employees with respect to safe work organization and fire safety (TAURON Ciepło),
• Implementation of the Work Health and Safety (WHS) Improvement (TAURON Ciepło, TAURON Wytwarzanie, TAURON Ekoenergia, TAURON Obsługa Klienta, TAURON Wydobycie, Wsparcie Grupa TAURON),
• Thematic campaigns (TAURON Obsługa Klienta) related to:
  • Ergonomics Day,
  • Road Traffic Safety Day,
  • World Day without a mobile phone,
  • World Safety Day,
  • World Eyesight Day,
  • World Diabetes Combating Day
• 10 main rules of work health and safety (WHS) (TAURON Wytwarzanie),
• Continuation of activities undertaken as part of the “4Z” program – raising the employees’ awareness of safety when operating belt conveyors, expanding knowledge with respect to threats occurring at work stations and developing the ability to identify them, along with the introduction of elements aimed at improving the safety culture of the employees (TAURON Wydobycie);
• ”5 minut dla bezpieczeństwa” (“5 minutes for safety”) (TAURON Wydobycie),
• Launching the ”1 Minuta na BHP” (“1 Minute for WHS”) series (TAURON Polska Energia);
• Promoting the ”Zero wypadków” (“Zero accidents”) idea (Wsparcie Grupa TAURON),
• Searching for and implementing new technologies and working methods in terms of work health and safety (WHS) (Wsparcie Grupa TAURON).

An important element in promoting the work health and safety (WHS) rules is continued raising of the awareness of the employees and subcontractors, mainly through dedicated training courses, which in 2020 were conducted in the form of online meetings and workshops, as well as via an interactive e-learning platform.

Accident frequency rates

214 accidents occurred at TAURON Group’s subsidiaries in 2020, leading to the total of 218 persons getting injured. There was 1 fatal accident among them.

The total number of accidents increased by 12 incidents in 2020 as compared to 2019. The number of the most tragic accidents, i.e. fatalities, decreased from 2 incidents in 2019 to one case in 2020. However, the number of minor accidents increased from 200 in 2019 to 211 accidents in 2020. As compared to 2019, when 4 larger scale (group) accidents were recorded, in which the number of persons injured was 8, in 2020, there were 2 such accidents in which 4 persons were injured. As compared to the previous year, no major (severe) accidents were recorded in 2020.

The accident frequency rate was 8.3 in 2020. The accident frequency rate was 7.8 in 2019. The employee accident rate (accident frequency rate) broken down by gender (Injury rate – IR) is presented below.

Due to the steadfast pursuit of a decrease in the number of accidents, activities promoting safe behavior at the workplace are continuously intensified. They include numerous training courses, covering both the employees as well as external entities performing work for TAURON Capital Group’s subsidiaries.

TAURON Wytwarzanie has in place an applicable internal normative act regarding the hiring of external companies, with respect to the application of the provisions and rules of Work Health and Safety, which includes, inter alia, the requirements for training the employees of external companies. Pursuant to those provisions TAURON Wytwarzanie conducts training for the supervision personnel of the external companies with respect to threats to safety and health occurring at workplace, as well as aimed at familiarizing them with the internal regulations in force at the company, with regard to work health and safety as well as fire safety.

Contractors, on the other hand, are obliged to train persons performing the subject of the contract/order with respect to threats to safety and health occurring at workplace and during the performance of the works, as well as familiarize themselves with the internal normative acts in force at TAURON Wytwarzanie, with regard to work health and safety as well as fire safety, in accordance with the scope of work. Every time in case of subcontractors, the Contractor is obliged to fulfill the obligations described above. Conducting the above mentioned trainings is confirmed in writing.

At TAURON Wydobycie all employees of external companies, i.e. contractors and subcontractors, attend additional WHS training under the Geological and Mining Law Act, before starting work at the company’s coal mines. The above-mentioned trainings are conducted with respect to work health and safety, running coal mine operations as well as fire safety, occurring threats, work order and discipline, rescue plan, communication and alerting rules, knowledge of the work area, as well as reporting accidents and threats.

PROCEDURES FOR COUNTERACTING SARS-COV-2

TAURON Group’s obligation to ensure safe and hygienic work conditions during the SARS-CoV-2 virus pandemic led to the establishment on March 11, 2020, of the Team for monitoring the impact of the epidemiological situation on TAURON Group’s operations. Similar dedicated crisis management teams were set up at the Group’s individual subsidiaries. Their main tasks included and include:

• monitoring of the state of the epidemiological threat and the ongoing monitoring of the availability of the employees and services provided by TAURON Group’s subsidiaries,
• developing and recommending solutions aimed at reducing the risk and their effects on TAURON Group’s resources,
• keeping the employees informed on an ongoing basis by means of adequate messages distributed throughout the organization or at the individual subsidiaries.

Preventive actions – SARS-CoV-2

TAURON Capital Group has undertaken a number of preventive organizational and tangible actions aimed at protecting the employees of the individual subsidiaries and maintaining the continuity of the operations of the critical infrastructure. Due to the emergence of the epidemic threat, all of TAURON Group’s subsidiaries have introduced new solutions, depending on the specifics of their operations. The most important of them include:

• introducing lists of key and critical employees for the operations of the given subsidiary and the ongoing monitoring of their availability,
• preparatory actions in the event of the need to lodge (accommodate) the employees operating the critical infrastructure on site;
• broader (frequently even unlimited) introduction of remote work opportunities based on providing adequate security and the development of the IT infrastructure and VPN connections,
• restricting the movement of the employees to the necessary minimum, as well as face to face (direct) meetings with the customers and contractors (counterparties), and recommending the use of videoconferencing (also by restricting the use of company cars),
• providing the employees with personal protective equipment such as masks, disposable gloves and hand disinfectants, and additionally at the entrances to TAURON Group’s facilities, an obligation to measure the body temperature of people entering was introduced,
• from the beginning of the epidemic, where possible, multiple disinfections of premises and offices,
• introduction of the rules of conduct (procedures) at all of TAURON Group’s subsidiaries in the event of the appearance of infected people or persons required to quarantine.

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