Health and safety

Health and safety is a constant priority at ST. We protect our employees and contractors by preventing work-related injuries and illnesses and providing a safe working environment. We believe it is essential to invest in healthcare and the well-being of our people for a positive and productive workforce. These values are shared and reinforced across all our sites.

We have implemented a robust health and safety management system throughout our Company. In 2003, we were one of the first semiconductor companies to be certified OHSAS 18001 at our main manufacturing sites. This has now been replaced by ISO 45001.

Our performance and management systems are evaluated annually through third-party surveillance audits, and certifications are renewed every three years. All sites follow our corporate occupational health and safety policy, which aims to establish and maintain best practices. This can be found at www.st.com.

In 2023, we continued our internal corporate Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) audit program that aims to assess a site’s performance against EHS objectives, programs, and procedures. This year, we audited nine sites. Our site certifications are available at www.st.com. 3-3

Health

Promoting employee health

We believe adopting a healthy lifestyle is fundamental for an engaged and productive workforce. To support our employees, our various sites design health programs adapted to local legislation and requirements. Many sites offer regular medical check-ups and vaccinations. We take a preventive approach and also offer blood analyses, x-rays, and cancer screening, among other things, to facilitate early detection of illnesses.

To further support employees, our various sites offer targeted health initiatives or awareness campaigns. For example, our Catania site (Italy) ran a two-year voluntary health plan between 2021 and 2023 focusing on medical evaluation to prevent metabolic syndrome, a cluster of conditions that can lead to heart disease, diabetes and other serious illnesses. Nearly 2,000 employees participated in the program, which led to new diagnosis of conditions such as type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol. It also led to greater awareness and acknowledgement of non-critical health indicators.

At our Muar site (Malaysia), regular doctor-led health seminars are organized as part of the health program. Topical issues are covered, such as a presentation on nasopharyngeal cancer, focusing on early detection and treatment of the disease.

Well-being

In 2020, we launched our STCare program to support the well-being of our employees. We take a proactive approach and have implemented measures to reduce risk and assist our people. Every quarter, we monitor four key metrics globally and regionally to ensure they meet our defined standards of acceptability:

• stress levels
• anxiety levels
• depression levels
• risk of burnout

To provide additional support we partnered with Eutelmed, a healthcare platform which provides 24/7 access to dedicated confidential assistance. Nearly 16,000 connections to the platform have been registered since it opened in 2020. A network of over 300 psychologists and other specialists is also available to employees and their families.

We have taken practical steps to promote employee well-being across our sites. This includes e-learning for employees and managers, and prevention and well-being webinars and workshops on a range of topics. In total, more than 4,500 managers have attended awareness sessions on psychosocial risk prevention and quality of life in the workplace since 2021. In 2023, almost 2,500 employees completed self-assessment evaluations which have helped them gain a better understanding of their well-being and take appropriate actions where necessary.

In 2023, we created a well-being index to gain insights into employee well-being and productivity across our sites. This tool enables sites to assess themselves and identify areas for improvement. It is based on 10 criteria including working environment, people, culture, working time, and workload management. Going forward, we intend to organize sharing sessions to promote best practices and raise awareness of relevant topics.

Safety

Through the collective efforts of our sites, we maintained strong safety performance results in 2023. Our employee recordable injury case rate was 0.10, better than our target of 0.13.

Employee recordable case rate⁽¹⁾ – injuries 403-9

Employee severity rate⁽¹⁾
 

The total recordable case rate was 0.14, which also exceeded our 2023 target of 0.16. This includes injuries and occupational diseases and covers both employees and contractors.

The severity rate related to employees’ and contractors’ injuries and illnesses was 2.80, a slight increase from 2.70 the previous year. We will continue to enhance communication and collaboration on safety between our sites to further improve our results.

Martine Druges

EHS Director, Crolles (France)

My top priority is to ensure a safe working environment on site every day. This requires anticipation, dialogue, and training for all employees, partners, and suppliers. In 2023, we received an ST safety award in Crolles, which I view as a testament to our hard work and collaboration. I’m proud of the team for this achievement, which shows commitment to our strong safety culture and an innovative approach to changing behaviors. Safety is everyone’s business, and we all have to get involved every day!

FOCUS

Preventing risks for construction workers

Many of our sites have ongoing construction work which has led to an increase in contractors on site. Our sites have adapted their procedures accordingly to prioritize communication, knowledge transfer, and awareness.

At our Crolles site (France), the annual safety week was attended by over 1,000 ST employees and over 700 subcontractors, the highest number to date. Events were tailored to this demographic and included activities led by safety, medical, and fire teams, along with interactive sessions to cut risks on construction sites.

Our Kirkop site (Malta), introduced a new contractor management system for health and safety auditing. Under the new system, ST personnel conduct daily audits to assess the level of vigilance among contractors. The new system allows information to be digitally registered. This facilitates instant access to data, which can also be accurately communicated to health and safety managers on site. Where necessary, additional preventive measures can be put in place to reduce the hazards and potential risks related to construction work.

At our Shenzhen site (China), a contractor management system has been implemented to improve communication on the site. This includes daily ‘toolbox meetings’ conducted for contractors by EHS or facility guardians. A safety dashboard is updated on a weekly basis and shared with all construction project owners.

Overall, our efforts to improve contractor management and safety demonstrate our commitment to ensuring a safe working environment.

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Monitoring our performance

Everyone at ST is part of our shared vigilance approach and has a responsibility towards safety at work. To demonstrate visible involvement and lead by example, managers are encouraged to conduct regular safety visits and inspections. In 2023, we continued to improve our training for managers and offered coaching on conversation skills. This aimed to improve safety-related communications through positive reinforcement and by building engagement.

We also implemented more ambitious targets for site visits and internal audits. As a result, the number of safety field visits by managers increased to 57,400, a 17% increase on the previous year. We also increased the number of evacuation drills, which involved 92% of ST employees worldwide and 97% of employees at front-end and back-end manufacturing sites.

We encourage the reporting and investigation of near-misses, hazards, and unsafe behaviors and conditions as part of our proactive approach. Due to increased visits and investigations by managers, as well as improved hazard identification, more than 45,800 potential hazards were detected and investigated in 2023. It is our aim to conduct thorough, structured, and objective investigations for all incidents and share best practice responses across our sites.

To recognize the efforts of our sites, we held our third Safety, Environment and Corporate Social Responsibility awards ceremony in 2023. Our Shenzhen site (China) and Crolles site (France) won the safety awards for consistently pursuing effective prevention programs and strong teamwork dedicated to enhancing safety on site.

Advancing our practices

ST’s Safety First program was launched in 2013 based on the principle that 90% of accidents can be avoided. We believe safety is a value that must never be compromised. This commitment is endorsed throughout the Company and was renewed by senior management in 2023.

Within this program, we constantly strive to strengthen our safety culture by reinforcing safe behaviors and working conditions through visits, training, audits, communication, and best practice sharing. This year we provided an average of 6.7 hours of training per employee on EHS topics.

In addition, each year we organize numerous safety events across our sites that are open to all employees. These include safety weeks and diverse activities to promote continuous improvement. The overall aim is to raise awareness, explore new ideas, and share best practices, with a focus on prevention.

In 2023, our sites recognized world day for safety and health at work, an international celebration endorsed by the United Nations. Our sites in Japan organized an event focused on disaster prevention and emergency response, with the support of an external speaker. Similarly, our Ang Mo Kio site (Singapore) conducted a range of health and safety activities, including a chemical prevention workshop and personal protection equipment showcase. In Rousset (France), screen savers were an effective reminder to employees to prioritize good posture, with ergonomics workshops also supporting the initiative.

As part of our disaster prevention program, members of the emergency response team at our Kirkop site (Malta) received a minimum of 30 hours training from fire fighters to equip them with ‘first-level preparedness’ on site for emergency situations. This included laying and using fire hoses, controlling real fires, and a search and rescue operation in challenging conditions.

We actively search for new and innovative methods to promote a strong safety culture and bring new meaning to our safety initiatives. In 2023, we used drama and theatre techniques as a learning tool. Actors helped simulate real-life scenarios, humanize safety messages, and bring a fresh perspective to a serious topic. At our Crolles site (France), the ‘nudge’ theory, a strategy that influences behavior was introduced. Nudges were used to improve traffic circulation on site and promote safe behavior within the building for employees and visitors alike.

Contributing to the SDGs

Our commitments and programs described above contribute to UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):

SDG target 3.8 – Achieve universal health coverage, including access to quality essential healthcare services and access to safe, effective, quality, and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all.

SDG target 8.8 – Protect labor rights and promote safe and secure working environments for all workers.