Fostering a Culture of Health & Safety

At Beyers Koffie, fostering a safe and healthy working environment is not just a legal obligation, it’s part of our culture. Our approach to Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) is designed to protect people and the planet, while ensuring compliance, transparency, and continuous improvement across our operations. 

We spoke with Marc Devliegher, QESH Coordinator at Beyers Koffie, to gain a deeper understanding of how local EHS practices are implemented on the ground and how they align with Sucafina Group’s broader sustainability governance. 

1. How does Beyers Koffie assess and manage EHS risks? 

Environment (the ‘E’ in QESH) at Beyers Koffie means ‘working in line with Flemish environmental legislation and within the agreed framework of the environmental permit’. This permit prescribes our processes, materials, storage facilities, energy needs, water use and discharge, and CO2 and N-compounds produced. As Beyers Koffie is low risk for environmental impacts, most of our work is administrative, such as putting together the Environmental Coordinator’s half-yearly report and keeping records of waste disposal. 

Health & Safety (HS, or the ‘SH’ in QESH) is much more of a day-to-day topic. HS falls under the Belgian legislation of ‘Wellbeing at Work’ and needs permanent attention. Responsibility for HS lies with the company’s executive management. My role as HS Advisor is to advise our CEO and management on the four main work-related domains: psychosocial wellbeing, ergonomics, occupational hygiene and safety at work. In addition, I work with the company doctor on occupational health.  

Working on ergonomics and safety requires daily visits to the shop floor, analyzing work processes, assessing the safety of existing and new machines and production lines, among other monitoring activities. It also requires the investigation of accidents or near misses, accident prevention and managing the required administration for the monthly HS Committee meeting. All risks must be assessed regularly and if there were a serious accident, Labor Investigation would investigate whether relevant prevention measures had been taken. We also manage HS training for new employees, safety campaigns and making sure that safety instructions are clear and accessible. 

2. What are some concrete ways that you align local EHS practices with Group-level governance priorities and policies? 

Environment at Beyers Koffie is very different from Sustainability in our Group origin operations – it’s more closely linked to Belgian legislation. The work environment (a coffee roasting factory) is also very different to many of Sucafina’s other operations. Nonetheless, our work at Beyers Koffie ensures that the Group remains compliant with local health and safety regulations everywhere. 

3. How does Beyers Koffie track and monitor EHS performance indicators and integrate these insights into decision-making? 

We have HS performance indicators, primarily tracking the number of accidents, incidents and days lost. The CEO is notified should any accident occur, and it would be discussed during a daily operational meeting to identify root causes and establish preventive measures. These insights are further reviewed in our monthly HS Committee meeting, where employee and employer delegations discuss relevant topics, including incidents, root causes and actions taken. I act as an independent HS advisor during these meetings, and official meeting reports are displayed in the offices and canteen, ensuring transparency and keeping all stakeholders informed and involved in continuous improvement. 

4. Can you describe a recent situation where an EHS protocol helped to prevent an incident or reduce a risk? 

During our last evacuation drill, we noticed that a fire door was not closing automatically when the alarm went off – it stopped part-way down. As these gates remain in an open position during working hours and only come down in case of a fire alarm, it is only during drills that things like this are visible. Our HS procedures helped us identify and mitigate a significant risk in this case.