Syngenta Seeds sites achieve 2019 safety recognition

Date:12-11-2019

Syngenta Seeds facilities in Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska and North Carolina have been recognized this year for outstanding safety performance in the workplace. Site safety performance was achieved as part of the Syngenta Goal Zero safety initiative, a drive to eliminate incidents and injuries across its operations.

For the third year in a row, the Jefferson, Iowa, Syngenta Seeds production and supply facility was honored by the Iowa-Illinois Safety Council, achieving 2019 recognition for hazard control excellence, an innovative ergonomics project and community enrichment.

Also, for the third consecutive year, the Slater, Iowa, Syngenta Seeds development site was honored by the Iowa-Illinois Safety Council, achieving 2019 recognition for hazard control excellence.

Earlier this year, employees at the Syngenta Seeds production and supply facility in Pekin, Illinois, marked 11 years without an injury in the workplace. This achievement represents more than 700,000 hours safely worked, and earned the Pekin site a Superior Safety Performance Award from the National Safety Council for organizations that have achieved 10 or more years without an occupational injury or illness resulting in days away from work.

The Syngenta Seeds Pekin site was also recognized by the Iowa-Illinois Safety Council for hazard control excellence and community enrichment.

The Minnesota Safety Council recognized the Syngenta Seeds Amboy and Dassel, Minnesota, production and supply facilities with its highest level of recognition, the Governor's Award of Honor. This is the fourth consecutive Award of Honor for Amboy and its ninth since 2004. Dassel has been recognized with the Award of Honor for nine consecutive years, and has gone 16 years without a lost time incident and 13 years without a recordable injury.

The Stanton, Minnesota, Syngenta Seeds research and development site was also recognized with the Governor's Award of Honor, its eighth since 2006. This is the 22nd consecutive year that the Stanton site has been honored by the Minnesota Safety Council.

Earlier this year, the Syngenta Seeds production and supply facility in Danvers, Minnesota, marked 17 years without a workplace accident (for both lost time and recordable injury).

Syngenta's seed corn facility in Waterloo, Nebraska, was recognized as a "Nebraska's Safest Company with Distinction" for 2019 by the National Safety Council, Nebraska. This is the fifth consecutive year the Waterloo site has been honored. The Waterloo site has remained accident-free for more than three years, representative of more than 300,000 hours safely worked. Additionally, the site has not reported a lost-time injury for more than 12 years, translating to more than 1 million hours worked without a lost-time injury.

The Syngenta RTP Innovation Center was recognized earlier this year by the North Carolina Department of Labor, receiving a Gold Award for its low illness and injury rate. The site also received the Department's Million Hour Award for having no lost time injuries or illness for over 11 million hours.

According to Ana Davis, head of Health, Safety, Environment and Security for Syngenta, site safety achievements at these locations demonstrate that Syngenta employees put safety at the start of everything they do, all year long.

"The health and safety of our people is a core value at Syngenta," Davis said.

"As a leading global company committed to sustainable agriculture, we have a responsibility to protect the environment, and to ensure the health and safety of our employees, customers and the communities in which we operate. To improve health, safety and environmental (HSE) performance, we are empowering and equipping leaders to take ownership of HSE in their areas of responsibility, making it part of everyday business. We are backing this approach with training and new tools.

"These site milestones are aligned with Syngenta efforts to safely address the global food security challenge," Davis added. "They are a direct example of how Syngenta is bringing to life The Good Growth Plan, a framework of six ambitious commitments designed to increase productivity while using fewer resources, by helping people stay safe."