Health and safety

Our approach

At Almarai, our dedication lies in establishing safe, healthy secure - conscious work environments for our employees and stakeholders. We are committed to conducting our operations in a manner that prioritizes the health and safety of our workforce, the environment, and the community. Our Occupational Health and Safety Management System is designed to actively prevent work-related injuries, illnesses, and minimize mental health incidents among our employees and stakeholders. We have three core components that make up our approach to cultivating a safety culture 'Safe Person, Safe Place, and Safe Practice Strategy,' which is embraced by everyone in the Almarai community and regularly updated by our Corporate Health, Safety, and Security Forums. These forums are responsible for ensuring adherence to international best practices and guidelines, playing a pivotal role in implementing our strategy across all business units. Our Leadership team supports and uphold our rigorous safety standards for both people and the environment, providing regular and ongoing training where necessary to enhance competencies across all facets, levels, and functions within our organization.

As we manage our safety processes, we are concurrently developing an occupational health and wellbeing program tailored for our employees. This initiative encompasses training modules covering various mental health issues, empowering individuals to recognize early signs and symptoms of mental health and implement preventive strategies through diverse digital resources. Employees will actively participate in awareness campaigns and events aimed at enhancing health, safety, and overall wellbeing. The program will offer access to health and safety professionals for guidance on a wide range of topics. We are also exploring innovative ways to incorporate technology, introducing virtual reality simulations, online courses, and interactive tools to make the program more accessible and engaging. Our commitment is unwavering in providing our employees with the necessary resources to maintain safety and wellbeing in their workplace. In addition to this, we are in the process of introducing an Employee Assisted Program (EAP) that will allow our staff to access 24/7 from anywhere in the world directly to a psychologist in various different languages to talk about any personal issues related to a wide range of subjects in total confidence.

To monitor and analyze incidents related to health, safety, and security, we have implemented an accessible incident reporting system for all employees. This system enhances our ability to prevent and manage incidents effectively by encouraging workers and stakeholders to report near misses, unsafe acts, and hazardous conditions. The reported data is then tracked and analyzed to identify potential trends and issues, facilitating evidence-based decision making. These insights gained enable us to develop targeted interventions to prevent the recurrence of incidents. Additionally, the system allows us to monitor the efficacy of implemented control measures, facilitating adjustments as necessary. Through this comprehensive approach, we can ensure the safety, health, and security of our employees and stakeholders in their work environment.

2023 performance and initiatives

Our mobile occupational health unit represents just one facet of our comprehensive efforts to realize our goal of providing an accessible occupational health and wellbeing program for all employees. Since 2020, we have consistently implemented additional health and safety measures, prioritizing the physical, emotional, and economic wellbeing of our workforce. Ensuring that our operations remain safe, healthy, and secure has been paramount to sustaining our business in a responsible manner. The challenges posed by the COVID pandemic underscore the importance of robust and efficient health and safety management systems. In our commitment to maintaining the highest international best practices, we continuously evaluate and improve our policies and procedures to adapt to the ever-evolving changes within the environment we operate in.

Health, safety, and security (HSS) committee welcomed 12 female employees as fire marshals and first aiders. Prior to the year 2022 there were no female members in their HSS committee. This aligns with increasing number of female employees to ensuring gender equality in our workforce with focus on talent development capabilities building, and opportunities.

The Almarai Leadership team is publicly committed to promoting a culture of health and safety. We are proud to announce our achievement of the ISO 45001:2018 certification for all our Business Units, a significant milestone attained in July 2023. Our ongoing efforts are directed at sustaining this certification across our Poultry and Dairy Farming Business Units as well as Supply Chain operations that already have ISO 45001:2018 certification. With this certification in place across all our manufacturing and supply chain sites under ISO 45001, we have aimed to set the foundation of a safety culture ensuring international best practices are adopted in a consistent and transparent manner across all our Business Unit operations.

Technology plays a crucial role in our efforts to manage and mitigate risks, promote best practices, and enhance training accessibility. In 2023, Almarai continued its commitment to digitalization projects, ensuring that our employees have access to cutting-edge resources. We expanded our near miss reporting web form, enabling employees to easily report incidents such as near misses, unsafe acts, and hazardous conditions. Additionally, our cloud-based online incident reporting system is accessible to all employees via smartphones. Digital awareness channels and events are also employed to keep everyone updated with the latest health and safety information. These digital systems are integral to Almarai's pursuit of achieving our sustainability goals.

Almarai’s commitment to producing “Quality you can trust” plays a vital role in enhancing the health and wellbeing of the Saudi population. This commitment aligns with the broader goals of Saudi Vision 2030, which emphasizes economic diversification and the improvement of public health standards.