Five manufacturers receive DuPont Safety Awards

DuPont on October 26 announced the recipients of the DuPont Safety Awards at the 2006 DuPont Leaders Forum on Safety and Performance in Geneva, Switzerland. Groupe Danone/France; Nissan Motor Manufacturing (United Kingdom); OMV Aktiengesellschaft/Austria; Saudi Iron and Steel Company (Hadeed); and U.S. Steel Kosice/Slovakia were honored for their exemplary dedication to workplace safety and their outstanding leadership as demonstrated by projects and achievements focused on saving lives. The awards were presented by James Forsman, vice president and general manager, DuPont Safety Resources.

The Leaders Forum on Safety and Performance is one of DuPont's ongoing initiatives to expand thinking and foster collaboration and actions that promote safety in every corner of the world. The annual event offers an exclusive platform to discuss how a safety culture improves a company's performance and shareholder value. Seventy-three companies from 22 countries examined how embracing safety leadership offers strategic business value.

"We are delighted to provide a forum for our honored guests to share their experiences that reinforce the fact that safety is an integral part of a company's activity. We owe it to our employees that they can return to their families every day, safe and sound," said Ian Hudson, president, DuPont Europe, Middle East and Africa, and host of this year's forum. Hudson spoke to attendees about DuPont's commitment to sustainability and described how the company closely links safety with sustainability, given that there is no greater obligation to sustainability than sustaining human life.

In addition to Hudson and Forsman, keynote speakers were: Saverio Banchini, the CEO of HOLCIM Espana, who described his experience leading a corporate effort toward sustainable development and safety excellence; Robert Swan, the first man to walk both the North and South Poles, who shared his unique insights and lessons learned about motivation, communication and teamwork; and Alasdair Ross of The Economist Intelligence Unit who spoke about the strategic value of risk management.

The DuPont Safety Awards recognize outstanding achievement in fostering safety and protection at work and at home. Notable projects and programs are reviewed and adjudicated by a panel of impartial, distinguished experts in their respective fields. They look at entries for design, scope, replicatability, results, innovation and risk.

Awards are considered in five categories: Performance Improvement, Innovative Approach, Leadership, Business Impact and Cultural Evolution. The 2006 DuPont Safety Award winners by category were:

Performance Improvement: U.S. Steel Kosice/Slovakia, for their project "OHS Risk Management"

Innovative Approach: OMV Aktiengesellschaft/Austria, for their project "Think Ahead and Talk about It"

Leadership: Groupe Danone/France, for their project "World Wide Wise"

Business Impact: Nissan Motor Manufacturing (U.K.), for their project "Casting Shop Safety Quest"

Cultural Evolution: Saudi Iron and Steel Company (Hadeed), for their project "A Journey Toward World-Class Safety"