Workplace
We believe that all employees have the right to work in an environment where they are treated with dignity and respect. We have processes in place that support employees if they feel that they are being subjected to inappropriate or unacceptable behaviour.
We are committed to equality of opportunity for all employees and to creating a workplace where individual contribution is recognised. A diverse and inclusive workforce is an essential part in creating the necessary innovative and progressive culture to achieve competitive advantage. It also promotes the behaviours necessary to secure successful partnerships with our customers and suppliers.
Investing in the training and development of employees at all levels of the Group is key to us maintaining high performance. Training helps our people develop their skills and capabilities. It also enables us to keep pace with changing technologies and continue to improve our customer service.
In 2007 one of our corporate responsibility objectives was to ‘move towards establishing a workforce reflective of the national average in terms of gender mix and ethnic diversity, taking into account variations by region and industrial sector’. Each business developed an action plan which considered the demographics of the existing workforce, the surrounding communities and that of the populations from which we recruit. The cultural influences and heritage within our six home markets requires different emphasis to achieve our overall aim. For example, our diversity plans in South Africa are aligned with the Black Economic Empowerment Agenda; our focus in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is on Saudisation of our workforce which is a programme for transferring skills from expatriates to local employees. By the end of 2007 our Saudi workforce comprised more than 53% Saudi nationals.
Our diversity objectives for 2008 include awareness training for senior leaders and the launch of a women’s network. This will provide support for women across BAE Systems enabling them to share ideas and experiences and develop their careers.
Health and safety
Our approach to safety is one of zero tolerance of an unsafe workplace and unsafe working practices. Safety is one of our key corporate responsibility priorities for 2008. Our goal is to be amongst the leaders for high safety standards both within our industry and measured against leading companies in other industrial sectors.
We recognise the risks associated with the variety of operations we conduct and aim to minimise these as far as possible. All sites are required to comply with our Safety, Health and Environment policy and to demonstrate continuous improvement in performance through the setting and monitoring of targets. Performance is reviewed through our business assurance processes and overseen by the Executive Committee and the Corporate Responsibility Committee on behalf of the board of directors.
In November 2007, a tragic incident during a flight testing exercise resulted in the death of one of our employees. We are working with the investigative authorities in connection with this incident.
Case study: In our Hattiesburg site in Mississippi, US, all employees have been appointed safety officers as part of a programme to raise awareness and encourage employees to report potential hazards. Everyone in that business is now responsible for their own safety and the safety of those around them. In 2007, there were more than 180 potential hazards reported and corrected each month. This contributed to the site recording no injuries in 2007.
Ethical business conduct
Ethical business conduct is fundamental to the reputation and success of BAE Systems. We will not compromise on our ethical principles and policies.
In 2007, we invited Lord Woolf, the former Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, to head an expert independent review committee to study and report on our policies and processes and make recommendations aimed at achieving a leadership position in ethical business practice amongst corporate industry peers. More information on the Woolf Committee can be found on The Woolf Committee page.
We have training and awareness programmes in place to ensure that employees understand how we do business and what is expected of them.
We continue to roll out ethical awareness training to employees worldwide through brochures, online training, DVDs and classroom sessions. At the end of 2007 training had been completed in Australia, South Africa, the UK and the US. Our ethics DVD and online training have been translated into Arabic and are being rolled out in Saudi Arabia. A Swedish translation has been developed and will be introduced in 2008.
We changed our policy in 2007 to ensure new recruits receive ethics awareness training within one month of joining the Group and employees of newly acquired businesses receive an ethics guide promptly after acquisition and our ethics awareness training within three months of joining the Group.
All staff involved with business development are required to undertake a training course on the prevention of corruption and refresher training every two years. Over 5,500 employees have undertaken this training since 2001. Training is tracked to help ensure compliance.
In 2007 we initiated a review of our ethical code of conduct to ensure it remains appropriate for our changing business. We will act on any recommendations from the Woolf Committee and plan to introduce a revised code of conduct at the end of 2008.
Case study: We are members of the UK Defence Industry Anti-corruption Forum and, in the US, the Defense Industry Initiative (DII) on Ethics and Business Conduct. In the UK, the Anti-corruption Forum has been developing common anti-corruption industry standards for the Aerospace and Defence Industries Association of Europe. This year in the US, we participated in the DII working group, which includes the co-ordination of the Defense Industry Benchmark ethics survey.
Community and education
We play an important role in the communities in which we operate. In 2007, we invested approximately £6.1m in local communities around our sites, supporting charities and educational establishments. During 2007 our employees volunteered 4,310 days supporting local community projects.
An area that is critical to the future sustainability of our business is education, specifically in the fields of science and engineering. Every year the Group supports a wide range of education projects. In Australia, the UK, the US, and Saudi Arabia we run educational programmes that encourage young people at all stages of education to take an interest in science and technology.
Case study: India partnership – We have pledged £100,000 and committed to support the UK India Education & Research Initiative. The initiative has been designed to give students in both India and the UK a better understanding of science and engineering. Helping improve education links between the two countries will hopefully encourage greater economic collaboration.
Environment
We operate globally, with operations and customers in many countries. Stakeholders, particularly our employees, expect us to understand and respond to global challenges such as climate change and sustainable development.
Our manufacturing and engineering operations, offices and products have an impact on the environment. This includes the use of natural resources and raw materials as well as waste generation and emissions. We are committed to managing and minimising these impacts wherever practicable.
We have taken positive steps in relation to the management of environmental issues most notably to Product Environmental Protection, which has been incorporated in the Company’s Lifecycle Management process. This helps to ensure that the design of a new product considers the environmental impact that it might have and that steps are built into the design phase to mitigate the potential impact through the product’s lifecycle.
A specific area of focus for the Group is the REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemical Substances) legislation which although EU-based will also affect our US products which come to the UK. We are working with our customer, the UK Ministry of Defence, to share an understanding in this area and develop a common approach.
We are placing a specific emphasis on reducing our greenhouse gas emissions and have developed a number of energy reduction initiatives that include employee engagement, engineering initiatives and improved manufacturing efficiencies. Our primary contribution to greenhouse gases is through the use of energy.
We participate in national initiatives to reduce defence sector impacts on climate change. We have nine sites in the UK which participate in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme and in 2007 we externally traded 4,500 tonnes of carbon. A key focus of our partnering approach with the UK Ministry of Defence will be the sustainable development of defence products and services.
Case study: To help reduce emissions in our UK Land Systems business, every employee has been asked to ‘Pledge A Tonne’ and a range of communication material has been provided to engage and educate employees and their families. People are asked to ‘sign up’ to make simple but effective changes to the way they conduct their day-to-day life, both at home and at work. Daily actions such as leaving lights and heaters on, the way employees travel to work or travel whilst at work and how employees control the environment they live in, all contribute to the carbon footprint of each individual and the business.
Climate change is an important issue for all businesses, particularly those operating globally, and one which the Group needs to address. In 2008, we will measure our carbon footprint and establish a formal position as to actions we would seek to take in reducing this footprint.
Working with others
We recognise that our responsibilities extend beyond our own employees. This includes contractors working on our sites, our suppliers and partners. We aim to work with all groups to mutually improve standards. A key area of focus in 2008 continues to be safety performance of contractors on our sites. We intend to include this in our future external reporting on safety performance.
Case study: In the UK we are part of the 21st Century Supply Chain (SC21) initiative. The objective of the initiative is to get all customers and suppliers throughout the defence and aerospace industry to collaborate by using the same tools to improve performance and modernise working practices. This approach, where we are working closely with our industry peers, avoids duplication in key areas and will help us to achieve an improved working culture based on openness, honesty and trust.
