Ensuring safe working conditions for our own employees and hundreds of thousands of indirect employees at our manufacturing partners is an ethical imperative, but also makes good business sense. In 2015 we set a target of zero fatal accidents and aimed to reduce the number of work-related accidents. In 2021 we revised our suppliers OHS handbook, requiring them to conduct an OHS risk assessment and we published the PUMA OHS policy for our own employees.
*High risk countries are defined by building safety index which is based on instances of non-compliances associated with building approval, multi-tenants building, structural integrity, ventilation/ heating, and warehouse related.
At the headquarters level, we operate an occupational health and safety committee, which includes a specialized labor physician, a health and safety technician and employee representatives.
In 2022 we asked our larger subsidiaries to start their own health and safety committees at country level.
Since 2015 we have been able to record zero fatal accidents at our own entities. We also kept the lost time injury rate below 0.5 since 2019, meaning that per 100 full-time employees, less than 0.5 accidents were recorded.
In 2022 this target was supported by further rolling out our Occupational Health and Safety e-learning. Over 15,000 PUMA staff members participated in health and safety training to prevent injuries or work-related negative health effects.
In addition, we are offering sports facilities, canteens with balanced food and work-life balance courses at our major offices globally.
For more information on employee wellbeing please refer to the Our People section of this report.
Apart from our ongoing auditing program that includes occupational health and safety assessments, we implement our Building Safety Assessment Program in countries where we identified risks. We also set up professional risk assessments at all our major manufacturing partners. Despite these preventive measures, in 2022 unfortunately two employee deaths resulted from work-related accidents in Bangladesh in two different factories. We will keep our focus on Occupational Health Safety accident prevention.
In 2021 we updated our OHS Handbook to provide guidance on processes and tools for OHS risk assessment to the factory management and OHS person in charge. We trained our core Tier 2 factory management on how to perform an OHS risk assessment.
In 2022 OHS Risk Assessment Training was conducted for 404 participants from 170 core Tier 1 and Tier 2 factories, focusing on the importance of OHS risk assessments, main elements of such an assessment and PUMA’s expectation on OHS management in general. Following the training, our suppliers conducted their own risk assessment. We followed up on progress with an on-site visit by a third-party auditing company. Overall core Tier 1 factories had an injury rate of 0.3 in 2022. However, suppliers’ knowledge still needs to be further strengthened, so we will keep our focus on OHS risk assessment training in 2023.
From 2015 to the end of 2022, our Building Safety Assessment Program covered Bangladesh, India, Indonesia and Pakistan.
| Country | Number of factories | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Bangladesh | 26 | Part of our ongoing membership of the Bangladesh Accord |
| India | 6 | In partnership with AsiaInspection or Elevate |
| Indonesia | 3 | In partnership with AsiaInspection |
| Pakistan | 4 | In partnership with Elevate |
A safe workplace is a top priority at PUMA and we continuously carry out building safety inspections among high-risk factories in our supply chain. In 2021 we were able to conduct the structural/fire/electrical safety inspection at three suppliers from Pakistan and India. Two of them have been assessed in the past; we saw improvements in electricity safety, however, structural safety findings increased due to the extended audit scope. In 2022 we conducted the structural/fire/electrical safety inspection at four suppliers in India. One of them was assessed in 2021 under the same criteria, and we saw improvements in electricity and fire safety. Another three were inspected more than five years ago, while the inspection criteria cannot be compared. Moving forward we will follow up with these factories on their remediation.
None of our suppliers have been involved in any structural building safety incidents or factory fires since 2015.
Our factories under the ACCORD program in Bangladesh have a completion rate (initial findings) of 91%, the same as the average rate of all factories that are under this program. Nine out of 26 ACCORD active factories achieved 100% remediation of the initial findings. Another 9 factories achieved more than 90% remediation of the initial findings.
The three factories that were assessed in Indonesia are in the process of obtaining building safety certificates from the government. One factory has already obtained it.
In 2022 we recorded two factory employee deaths resulting from work-related accidents in Bangladesh in two different factories.
One store loader dropped a 20 kg fabric bundle mistakenly through an emergency window, while a worker was walking underneath. The fabric bundle hit the side of the carton the worker was carrying, causing him to fall and sustain fatal injuries.
A worker from the maintenance department was electrocuted in the generator room causing him to fall and sustain fatal injuries.
Both factories paid the legal compensation to the worker's family. PUMA collaborated with Better Work Bangladesh for joint monitoring and regular follow up on the actions taken to prevent future occurrence of such accidents. We deeply regret these tragic accidents.
| Country | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bangladesh | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.3 |
| Cambodia | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.5 |
| China | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0.5 |
| Indonesia | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Vietnam | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.3 |
| Average* | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.5 |
| Fatal accidents** | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
As we believe that the health and safety of the people working for PUMA and in PUMA production always come first, we will continue to work with our own entities and suppliers to avoid disease and accidents.
Early 2023, PUMA joined the Employment Injury Scheme (EIS) pilot in Bangaldesh, driven by German Development Agency (GIZ) and ILO.
In cases of work-related accidents, the EIS Pilot provides income replacements for the permanently disabled and the dependents of deceased workers, covering all factories contributing to the export-oriented ready-made garments (RMG) sector. This takes the form of periodical payments/pensions as top-ups for the lump-sum payments of the Central Fund, rendering the level of benefits compatible with ILO Convention No. 121. These payments are financed on a voluntary basis by international brands.
The EIS Pilot also includes a data-gathering and capacity-building component on occupational accidents, diseases and rehabilitation, based on a sample of approximately 150 representative factories. This will enable us to assess, based on reliable data, the feasibility, viability and cost efficiency of a comprehensive EIS in Bangladesh. The data-gathering and capacity-building component will thus ensure the affordability of employer contributions.
