The common thread running through our 2006-2009 action plan is to forge a strong safety culture embraced by all of our employees and partners. The plan emphasizes the role played by management and calls on all employees to play a part in enhancing safety.

A Group-wide safety policy

Issued in late 2004 and deployed in 2005, Group Safety Guideline No. 6 is designed to enhance Total's safety culture. The guideline highlights the importance of management setting the example and being present on the front line, and calls on everyone to take part in the safety process. Employees and partners are encouraged to behave responsibly and proactively, in particular by reporting any potentially hazardous situation.

For the past few years, the annual performance reviews have included discussions of safety objectives. Supervisors can now use recommendations published in 2005 to set targets with the employees.

Initiatives taken by the businesses

A number of safety behavior initiatives have been undertaken to achieve this objective. For example, in 2006, a group of units—including petrochemical plants, a highway service station network, fuel subsidiaries and logistics depots—launched a wide-reaching Culture-Based Safety program under the guidance of Dr. Marcel Simard, a professor of industrial sociology at Université de Montréal in Canada. An employee perception survey serves as the starting point for the program, which is based on two fundamentals—management commitment and employee participation.

Cooperation with external organizations and experts

Discussions on this topic also take place through the Industrial Safety Culture Institute and with leading experts in this field, resulting in the introduction of training and research programs.