H15. Health and safety

Essity’s Group target is to decrease the accident frequency rate by 50% in the 2014–2020 period. In 2018, the accident frequency rate declined by 1% year-on-year to 3.8 (3.8, 4.1) and 39% compared with the base year of 2014.

In 2018, Essity developed a tool to measure and assess physical, mental and social health. The tool compiles local reactive, proactive and preventive efforts and provides feedback with practical improvement proposals. The tool will be launched worldwide in 2019.

Group-wide key performance indicators (KPIs)

In recent years, Essity has worked intensively to systematize and improve its safety work. Essity uses the following Group-wide KPIs:

• Number of Lost Time Accidents (LTA): accidents that result in an employee missing the next regularly scheduled work day or shift.
• Days Lost due to Accidents (DLA): number of work-days lost due to an LTA.
• Accident Severity Rate (ASR): The DLA / LTA.
• Accident Frequency Rate (FR): LTA / 1,000,000 hours worked.
• Incidence Rate (IR): LTA / 200,000 hours worked.

Sickness absence

Using information supplied by 15,884 employees, average sickness absence in 2018 was 4.92%. The corresponding figures for 2017, 2016 and 2015 were 4.86% (15,962 employees), 4.88% (16,258) and 4.95% (16,367), respectively.