OREANDA-NEWS. November 26, 2014. Tonight BHP Billiton announced the recipients of the Company’s Health, Safety, Environment and Community (HSEC) Awards for its employees at a ceremony in Melbourne.

BHP Billiton’s HSEC Awards showcase innovative projects from across the Company that enhance commitment to health, safety, the environment and the communities that host our operations.

From a water management program in the Pilbara to an education program in rural Pakistan, this year marked the 15th anniversary of the global internal awards program.  This year, the Company received a total of 100 entries across the four Awards categories.

The ceremony was attended by 24 awards finalists, BHP Billiton Chief Executive Officer Andrew Mackenzie, BHP Billiton’s Group Management Committee, employees and partners.

Mr Mackenzie said the awards gave deserved recognition to some of the most talented and passionate people in BHP Billiton.

 “We believe that operating sustainably is the right thing to do and that it makes good business sense,” he said.

“To successfully deliver on our strategy, we must maintain our focus on the health and safety of our people, continue to support our host communities and protect the environment, today and for the long term.

“We commend the outstanding work of our Finalists for their contributions to the people and environments around them as well as the benefit they bring to our Company.

“By creating an environment where people contribute ideas, we are able to implement best practice improvements across the organisation and potentially the broader resources industry.”

The Excellence Award in the Health category went to Ben Mason from Illawarra Coal for the program ‘Delivering in the Dyke – Dyke Occupational Hygiene improvement project.’ Ben and his team achieved significant exposure reductions in noise, diesel particulate matter and vibration for operators through equipment assessment and replacement, engaging with original equipment manufacturers, and redesign of work.

Nathalie Robert from the Jansen Potash project in Canada was the Excellence recipient in the Safety category, for the project ‘Prevention through Design Program for the Jansen Potash Project.’ Nathalie developed a database which recorded ideas for safety improvements, resulting in the elimination of 13 risks which could result in fatalities.

The Excellence Environment Award was received by Blair Douglas from Western Australia Iron Ore for the project ‘Pilbara water resource management strategy.’ The project developed a simple, standard and scalable catchment-wide water management strategy to address the hydrological changes associated with their operations, which provides a leading practice framework for cumulative impact assessment and risk management.

Finally, the Community Excellence Award went to Humera Malik from BHP Billiton Petroleum in Pakistan for the program ‘Provision of quality education.’  The program was developed to improve local education and literacy rates, with a focus on girls’ education in the communities near the company’s Zamzama gas field in Dadu, Sindh province, Pakistan.

Recipients of the Excellence, Highly Commended and Merit Awards received USD20,000, USD 10,000 and USD 5,000 respectively to donate to a not-for-profit organisation of their choice.  In total, BHP Billiton will be donating USD220,000 to a range of charities globally.