Employee safety

This concerns the safety of all employees working at all Van Loon Group sites. This includes our own staff, temporary employees, and employees from external companies working at our sites. Workers employed within our value chain (upstream or downstream) fall outside the scope.

The aim of our safety policy is to ensure a safe working environment for all employees. Senior management fully supports this and promotes an open and transparent culture in which employees can report deviations with the assurance that these will be handled with integrity. Van Loon Group provides resources which enable all employees to easily report unsafe situations in order to prevent accidents. Every employee starting work in the morning should be able to return home at the end of the day in the same condition. The foundation of the Health and Safety Policy is the Risk Inventory & Evaluation (RI&E). We ensure this is kept up to date and that deviations are promptly addressed to eliminate health and safety risks to the greatest reasonably possible extent.

• ESRS S1 – In-house staff
• OESO-guidelines
• UNGP’s on Business and Human rights
• Declaration of the International Labour Organisation (ILO)

Safety is at the forefront of everything we do. We either work safely or we don’t work at all.

SHE-Manager

In 2024, we took significant steps to improve safety and reduce accidents. Our focus was on lowering the number of accidents (with as well as without resulting in absenteeism), encouraging the reporting of unsafe situations, and strengthening our safety culture. Our efforts delivered results: LTC (Lost Time Cases – accidents resulting in absenteeism) dropped by 30% in 2024 compared to 2023!

A key reason for this improvement was the launch of our “Road to Zero Harm” safety programme at the beginning of 2024. This programme primarily focused on preventing frequently recurring types of accidents. Analysis showed that cuts, falls, and collisions with electric pallet trucks were the most common categories.

We ran a safety campaign around the use of knives, which included employee training and toolbox sessions for team leaders. At our Son site, we purchased special holders for machine knives so they can be transported safely.
To prevent falls on stairs, we added warning stickers, handrails, and extra grip surfaces.

To reduce collisions with electric pallet trucks, additional training was provided to drivers. At our Best site, speed and acceleration of pallet trucks were reduced. A dedicated working group established new traffic rules and implemented these improvements. At the Denekamp site, pedestrian and transport routes were separated by introducing a new footpath.

Safety Flashes are created from incidents and shared across all sites. This enables teams to learn from each other and take preventive action more quickly.

To strengthen our safety culture, we increased the number of reports of unsafe situations by actively using our digital reporting system, Zenya. In 2024, we celebrated the 500th and 1000th report. This system led to improvements such as resolving respiratory irritation at the Beilen site by adding oil to the spice mix, and the modification of the mixer-grinder at the Best site to prevent entrapment.

Our Life Saving Rules were introduced through manuals, digital signage, and posters in working areas. Additional safety measures were implemented, such as a fixed staircase to the roof at the Oude-Tonge site and roof edge protection at the Denekamp site.

‘Accident signs’ were also introduced, displaying the number of accidents per site in real time. This provides immediate insight into our safety performance and supports ongoing improvement.

In 2024, we invested €545,000 in safer or more ergonomic machines and installations.

The “Road to Zero Harm” safety programme will continue through to 2027, with the objective of becoming the best in the industry. A key focus for 2025 is further strengthening safety culture. We are doing this by expanding and making safety observations measurable. Managers are being trained to actively engage in discussions about safety and to address improvement points immediately.

Employees are being trained in the application of the Life Saving Rules, with a focus on critical safety aspects such as work permits, securing installations, and working at height.
We are also implementing a standardised registration procedure for accidents and unsafe situation reports. This provides us with better insights into trends and bottlenecks, enabling us to take more targeted action. We aim for every employee to report at least one unsafe situation per year and continue to actively encourage follow-up. This contributes to creating a culture in which safety is always the main priority.

Another key area of attention is improving traffic safety within our sites. Although separating pedestrians from internal transport has already produced positive results, there is still room for improvement. Therefore, we are investing in structural changes and optimisation of traffic routes on site. This includes intensified training for electric pallet trucks and stackers, and we are launching a campaign focused on traffic safety around internal transport.

Falls on stairs also remain a point of concern. Despite the success of earlier measures, incidents continue to occur. In 2025, we will further investigate which additional actions we can take to reduce this risk and improve safety.

Regarding incident analysis, we are working on further improving our approach to incidents. Using the 5 Whys method, we will work with managers to delve into the root causes of accidents and ensure prevention of repeat incidents. Training for SHE (Safety, Health, Environment) personnel will be expanded and made available to managers in 2025.

In 2025, we will also take further steps in Risk Inventory and Evaluation (RI&E). We will update locations at which risk assessments are more than five years old and ensure updates in areas such as physical strain, explosion safety (ATEX), and the office workplace safety. We will also support fire safety risk analysis and ensure compliance with the requirements of the Dutch Building Decree (Bouwbesluit).