World Day for Safety and Health: A Look Into Gildan - Seite 2

Esther: As the lead of the Human Capital Management ESG committee, I work with various teams across operations to drive our Next Generation ESG strategy target of obtaining the ISO 45001 certification at all our facilities.

Can you tell us more about the ISO 45001 certification? Why did Gildan choose to align itself with this standard?

Mike: The ISO 45001 is an industry-recognized, global management system which promotes H&S among factory employees through a high degree of collaboration between workers and senior management.

Esther: The great thing about the ISO 45001 certification is that it has a laser focus on H&S, so it really pushes us to take a deep dive into our existing health and safety procedures, and make meaningful improvements, tailored to our employees' actual needs. As a Company for which the well-being of its workers is an important priority, ISO 45001 is the ideal standard against which we can enhance our existing systems.

What were some notable changes brought about by the ISO 45001 certification in the facilities in the Dominican Republic?

Esther: At Gildan, we have long encouraged a collaborative approach to H&S management. In all our manufacturing facilities, we have joint management-worker H&S committees which are responsible for reviewing safety performance and identifying opportunities and solutions for improvement.

Yet, one of the most pleasantly surprising developments resulting from the ISO 45001 certification process was an even stronger cultural shift - from factory floor to management - in how H&S was perceived by our people.

As part of this process, plant managers and senior managers engaged in Gemba walks, walking through the factory floor and interacting with employees to learn about the experiences and challenges they face in their day-to-day. This open dialogue facilitated awareness towards the importance of H&S and the ISO 45001 certification, fostering employee engagement and a sense of responsibility among people to maintain a safe work environment, all of which fed into the organization's culture.

Mike: In addition to having our health and safety systems reviewed by external consultants, we trained internal auditors who are now equipped to consistently monitor our processes. The ISO 45001 certification has enhanced our self-sufficiency to make improvements to our H&S measures.

What are some of the challenges you face when standardizing health and safety, across your global supply chain?

Mike: With a supply chain that's global, each of our facilities is at a different stage when it comes to H&S. While some are greenfield projects, others have been acquired, and so our focus has been to create a strong, standardized foundation for H&S.