ICL’s Unique Approach to EHS Management: A Path to Excellence through Vision, Framework, and Innovation

05 September 2024, Israel: In today’s rapidly evolving industrial landscape, Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) management is a fundamental element of sustainable business operations. Companies that prioritize EHS are not only protecting their people and the environment, but also fostering resilience, driving innovation, and ensuring long-term success. 

ICL, a leading global specialty minerals company and one of the largest fertilizer manufacturers in the world has made EHS a core component of its operations, integrating safety, environmental stewardship, and health into its everyday mission.

ICL is a world leader in its approach to excellence in EHS management and environmental responsibility. Leading this initiative is Dr. Lior Eli, Vice President of EHS at ICL, along with his dedicated team of experts. Together, they have developed a comprehensive EHS framework and policy that goes beyond compliance, creating a culture of proactive risk management, continuous improvement, and innovation. 

This collaborative approach is central to ICL’s success in maintaining high safety standards and advancing sustainable practices. In this second part of our series, we will explore the vision and structure behind ICL’s EHS excellence, demonstrating how this collective effort safeguards the present while building a foundation for a sustainable future.

ICL’s Revolutionary EHS Strategy and Framework

“Safety is at the heart of our operations and the well-being of our people. We are striving to adopt best-in-class standards and implement a culture of accountability to ensure every employee returns home safely.” 

Meir Mergi, President of ICL’s Potash Division and Global EHS

ICL’s EHS strategy is successful for several reasons. First and foremost, the company views its people as its greatest asset, taking the concept of the “ICL family” seriously. This deep commitment to its workforce ensures that safety is not just a priority but a core value embedded throughout the organization. ICL’s approach to EHS reflects this philosophy, emphasizing that the well-being of every individual, internal or external, is essential to the company’s overall success.

Additionally, ICL’s EHS framework benefits from the company’s ability to draw upon its extensive experience across various fields. By leveraging past achievements, ICL develops comprehensive and holistic strategies tailored to meet new challenges. This approach ensures that ICL’s EHS framework is both robust and adaptable, continuously evolving to uphold the highest EHS standards in the industry.

The Four Fundamental Pillars of ICL’s EHS Strategy

ICL’s EHS strategy is anchored by four fundamental pillars that form the backbone of its Operational Excellence Management System (OEMS-EHS). These pillars work in tandem, sometimes overlapping, to create a holistic and integrated approach that positions ICL as a global leader in EHS management. Each pillar represents a critical area of focus, ensuring that ICL not only meets but exceeds industry standards in safety, health, and environmental stewardship.

1. Human and Organizational Performance (HOP) 
2. Methodology Process Safety Management (PSM)
3. Emergency Response and Preparedness
4. Industry 4.0 and Innovative Technologies

Pillar #1: Human and Organizational Performance (HOP)

There’s an old adage that says: failure is the stepping stone to success. This is especially true in a dynamic corporate culture like ICL that prizes innovation and rewards employee initiative. Human and Organizational Performance (HOP) seeks to eliminate avoidable mistakes and mitigate their consequences. This principle is central to ICL’s Human and Organizational Performance (HOP) pillar, which emphasizes the importance of understanding human behavior and organizational dynamics to drive EHS performance. 

At the heart of HOP is employee engagement. An environment that emphasizes responsibility, learning, and improvement, rather than apportioning blame encourages openness and identifies weaknesses before they become problems. 

ICL focuses on building operational and site resilience through its culture of openness and places high value on approachable leadership, with prompt and effective engagement when things go wrong. ICL has integrated the basic HOP principles into its daily routines and operations. The goal is to eliminate preventable workplace accidents and procedural errors.

The principles guiding HOP at ICL include:

• People make mistakes: Acknowledging that errors are part of human nature.
• Blame fixes nothing: Focusing on solutions rather than assigning blame.
• Context drives behavior: Understanding that behavior is influenced by the environment and circumstances.
• Learning and improving is vital: Committing to ongoing learning and improvement.
• Leader’s response matters: Ensuring that leadership plays a critical role in how the organization responds to issues.

Pillar #2: Process Safety Management (PSM)

Process Safety Management (PSM) is aimed at preventing catastrophic events arising from hazardous materials and processes found on the company’s sites, through a systematic process that includes 20 management elements that include systematic (and ongoing) risk analysis, risk assessments, implementation of controls and defenses, and emergency planning.

The main goal of ICL’s adapted PSM methodologies is to identify, assess, and control risks within the workplace and from external sources, including natural disasters and malicious factors that may cause process failures.

The basic goal – first and foremost – is to protect the lives and well-being of ICL employees and stakeholders. The next priority is the protection of property, assets, and systems.

The key to a successful PSM is to optimally apply the components of the unique management system for process safety and to understand that the workplace is constantly evolving and therefore controls and defenses must be adjusted. 

PSM must be a continuous process that is transparent, inclusive, and subject to control processes. This starts with regular factory workers being alert, aware of their surroundings, and having a formal mechanism and encouragement to raise issues and flag concerns.

Pillar #3: Emergency and Crisis Management

A prompt and effective response to an emergency or crisis can save lives, prevent material damage, and avert significant financial losses. ICL recognizes that many emergencies spiral out of control due to a lack of training, inadequate situational awareness, or hesitation to act. To combat this, ICL places a strong emphasis on preparedness, investing heavily in employee education, regular risk assessments, and comprehensive emergency drills.

ICL’s approach to Emergency Response and Preparedness is proactive. EHS risk and compliance processes are meticulously designed to prevent emergencies, but the company also prepares for the unexpected. Site managers are trained to uphold the highest EHS standards, ensuring a quick and coordinated response when crises arise. The company’s integrated emergency and crisis management systems empower employees to take immediate action, reinforcing the belief that they are the first line of defense and its EHS systems empower them to report issues and hazards.

In 2023, ICL conducted nearly 1,000 emergency drills, addressing a wide range of scenarios, including extreme climate events like floods, heat waves, and other environmental hazards. These drills are a testament to ICL’s commitment to preparedness and its dedication to safeguarding both its people and its operations.

Pillar #4: Industry 4.0

The integration of smart technology is a recurring theme in ICL’s EHS management strategies. It’s a facet of EHS that can’t be overemphasized and is enabling improvements that would have been inconceivable a generation ago. Industry 4.0 is bringing AI, the internet of things; drones, robotics, and smart sensors into the workplace in a safety role. One of the big leaps forward is in the ability to implement real-time monitoring and automatically record and flag incidents and near-misses—or even just stresses to the system or part wear and tear.

Data analytics allow mapping and analysis of events to create a global picture of threats, vulnerabilities, and faultlines within ICL plants and operations (these include research labs, offices, warehouse and vehicle fleets, etc.) ICL is committed to acquiring and developing new technologies to make all its workplaces as safe as possible. 

Key Focus Areas

ICL’s EHS strategy is supported by several key focus areas that ensure the effectiveness of the four foundational pillars:

1. Engagement and Commitment: Active involvement of both management and employees in EHS initiatives is crucial. This ensures that everyone in the organization is aligned with the company’s safety goals.
2. Competence: Continuous training and development are essential to equip all employees with the knowledge and skills necessary to manage EHS responsibilities effectively.
3. Risk Management: Proactive identification and mitigation of risks help prevent incidents before they occur, safeguarding people and operations.
4. Learning Organization: A culture of continuous learning and improvement is fostered by sharing both successes and failures, allowing the organization to evolve and adapt.
5. Safety Management System (SMS): A robust safety framework underpins all EHS activities, ensuring that best practices are followed consistently across the organization.

The Role of Advanced Technologies in EHS

ICL has consistently embraced advanced technologies, seamlessly integrating them into its processes to enhance safety and operational efficiency. As previously mentioned, AI, drones, and smart sensors are pivotal in transforming ICL’s EHS program. These technologies are not just tools—they are catalysts for a safer and more efficient working environment.

Key examples of our technology applications include:

• Enablon: Enablon is an integrated EHS management solution that covers a broad spectrum of processes, from event recording and corrective actions to regulatory compliance and sustainability metrics. This comprehensive tool ensures that ICL’s EHS activities are consistent, transparent, and aligned with the company’s long-term goals.
• CERES: This collaborative SaaS platform enhances chemical emergency response by offering real-time modeling, risk assessments, and situational awareness. CERES provides critical decision support during hazardous material incidents, enabling ICL to manage chemical emergencies with greater precision and speed.
• AI and Robotics: ICL uses AI for real-time fire detection and risk assessment, enabling swift hazard identification and response. Drones and robots inspect confined or hazardous spaces, gathering critical data without exposing personnel to danger. These technologies enhance safety, reduce human risk, and improve operational efficiency, aligning with ICL’s commitment to maintaining high safety standards.
• GoArc EHS Platform: As a real-time EHS application, GoArc integrates multiple modules to support proactive safety measures, emergency preparedness, and crisis management. This platform aligns with ICL’s global OEMS methodology across all four EHS pillars, reinforcing the company’s commitment to safety. Since its implementation, GoArc’s user base within ICL has grown significantly, from 1,200 users in 2020 to over 8,300 today.

“We are one of the first companies in the world to implement this innovative approach. Today, most of our sites use smart drones and robots to conduct confined space or mining inspection processes instead of humans, significantly enhancing safety by reducing human exposure to hazardous environments,” says Dr. Lior Eli.

Conclusion

New technologies play a vital role in reducing workplace risks to employees. Recent advances in drones, sensors, robot tools, and cameras (and real-time data feedback mechanisms) are allowing detailed inspections of confined spaces and hazardous locations that were previously handled by lone workers. 

Similar innovations are applied to smart systems for forklifts and trucks, as well as ergonomic solutions to prevent injuries. AI also plays a pivotal role in fire prevention, as Dr. Eli notes: “We are developing a unique AI algorithm that can recognize fires and other risky situations on its own.”

ICL has embedded EHS into its corporate DNA, integrating it into daily operations and the broader employee mindset. This evolving EHS culture has become a strategic asset for the company. 

Join us in Part Three, where we’ll dive deeper into how ICL’s EHS practices are shaping a sustainable future, focusing on sustainability, employee engagement, and the ambitious goals driving ICL forward.

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