Starch Europe Charter on Safety
12 March 2019
Starch Europe is the trade association which represents the interests of the EU starch industry both at European and international level. Its membership comprises 26 EU starch producing companies, together representing more than 95% of the EU starch industry and, in associate membership, 7 national starch industry associations.
In 2017, from 75 starch production facilities in 20 of the 28 EU Member States, the European starch industry processed about 24 million tonnes of agricultural raw materials, roughly split between wheat (9 million tonnes), maize (8 million tonnes), and starch potatoes (7 million tonnes) transformed into 11 million tonnes of starch and 5 million tonnes of co-products.
Starch Europe highlights the commitments of the EU starch industry in improving safety in its sites, with the creation of a dedicated Working Group, that gathers experts of Member companies, meeting on a regular basis to develop good practices, share experiences and reflect on ways towards a Zero Injury objective.
The first achievement of the Safety Working Group is the launch of the Safety programme in 2014, to reflect the engagement of the EU starch industry in improving safety policies. Each year, the Year Award and the Million Hour Award are granted to eligible plants to highlight their achievement on safety.
To improve safety practices across the sector, the EU starch industry relies on 2 key safety principles which are promoted among Starch Europe Members:
- Safety is led from the top management across the sector. Company directions drive policies, provide resources and monitor mechanisms to continuously improve the implementation of safety measures and behaviours to reduce risks.
- To apply appropriate precautionary measures, the analysis of vulnerabilities is the prerequisite. Internal policies are constantly adapted, to incorporate learning from incidents and apply preventive measures accordingly.
As such, Starch Europe Member companies commit to:
- Identify hazards and prevent risks, by setting up and promoting best practices;
- Involve employees in encouraging right behaviours, implementing procedures and develop skills, and continuously train personnel exposed to ensure a safe work environment and enhance safety awareness.
- Share experience and learn from incidents within the sector to prevent recurrence, and ensure improvements of safety policies.
