The CLP Group’s HSE Improvement Strategy is based on five pillars, they are:

• Uplifting the safety culture

• Rethinking risk

• Involving stakeholders

• Maintaining a healthy and engaged workforce

• Ensuring environmental sustainability.

Each pillar emphasises a key fundamental principle for effective HSE management. It aims to uplift the Group’s safety culture across all operating regions, promote more proactive risk management, and engage employees, contractors and other key stakeholders in collectively implementing changes to improve safety performance.

As part of Enterprise Risk Management, consistent standards continued to be implemented across the Group for risk management, including the identification of risks and opportunities.

Goals and targets

CLP is committed to ensuring all activities and operations result in zero harm for employees, contractors, customers and the public. The Group’s goal is zero fatalities and zero serious injuries for employees and contractors. CLP aspires to meet this target as part of its commitment to creating a healthy and safe workplace.

Monitoring and follow-up

The CLP Safety Performance Monitoring and Reporting Standard sets out the safety performance indicators and requirements of safety data reporting. It utilises indicators to show trends which may require more attention to prevent an incident from occurring.

Safety performance is reported internally on a monthly basis. Safety performance data is collected and presented in the monthly meetings between the Group Operations Leadership Team and the Global HSE Team. The data is also reported on a quarterly basis to the Group Health, Safety, Security and Environment (HSSE) Committee Meeting which is chaired by the Chief Executive Officer.

CLP’s revamped Incident Management Standard sets out the minimum requirements for the implementation and maintenance of a safety incident management system across the Group. In the event of a major incident, the CLP Group Incident Investigation Panel (IIP) and Investigation Report Format Standard are followed. The IIP, chaired by senior members of staff from outside the business unit in which the accident occurred, conducts a thorough investigation. The IIP’s reports are critically reviewed by the Group Chief Operating Officer and the regional Managing Director. The intention is to identify root causes and contributing factors in relation to every incident and ensure they do not occur again.

Training and awareness

Personnel will only be asked to do work in areas in which they are deemed capable and competent to perform their roles. This requires the careful selection, placement, training, ongoing competency assessment and authorisation of employees, with third-party independent assessment where appropriate. A system is in place to identify and deliver the training necessary to ensure an individual's competence and knowledge in understanding the hazards, risks and control measures associated with their work.

At the asset level, employees have the flexibility to structure their own Health and Safety organisations and to design more specific approaches in providing relevant health and safety training, as well as monitoring the percentage of contractors who have undertaken their training. Safety training requirements are in all contracts and all contractors are expected to undergo safety training relevant to their duties. Spot checks are conducted to ensure compliance.

Continuous improvement

Thorough investigations are conducted into all incidents that have the potential to cause serious injuries. The aim is to identify the root causes. CLP is also committed to understanding how decisions and actions would be made by employees at a particular point in time of their work. CLP is committed to learning from those closest to the work, to understand their challenges and respond by maximising the use of passive systems of defence, where possible.

CLP is committed to ongoing efforts to find new and better ways of working, by learning from investigations into incidents, as well as the adoption of best practices. For instance, the Group conducted a significant overview of its operations which involve underwater diving, with the express goal of eliminating such activities where possible. Major progress has been made in both the adoption of technology and the use of redesigned systems and equipment. In addition, principles for Human and Organisational Performance were supported through both leadership training and through less formal channels to help support their uptake and set expectations for all levels of the organisation.

There was an observable improvement in several key safety metrics when comparing the Group’s 2020 performance against 2019. This is summarised in the table below.

Regional safety performance (employees/contractors)

Improving HSE management

There are five pillars in the HSE Improvement Strategy, which emphasise key fundamental principles for effective HSE management. The critical theme across all pillars is a focus on reducing the number of serious incidents. Each pillar contains a number of elements which work together to deliver the Strategy in a cohesive manner. The Strategy is being implemented over a three-year period, with the focus initially on putting enablers in place, followed by the embedding and review of actions.

CLP has made progress towards achieving the necessary changes set out by the HSE Improvement Strategy. In 2020, CLP closed significant gaps in the implementation of the five-pillar approach. Some advanced areas of implementation in the regions began to focus on the effectiveness of the established groundwork. In this effectiveness stage, post-implementation work continues to realise the purpose of the Strategy.

The table below summarises the year's activities:

Uplifting the Safety Culture

Group-wide: Managers received training in leadership values and engagement skills to support them in driving cultural changes within their businesses. The “Engaging Minds” training workshop was further developed to a “train the trainer” approach to allow regional business units to take ownership. The workshop also targeted leaders of mega projects teams to support them in driving project success.

Hong Kong: The Hong Kong team created four tailor-made safety foundational courses titled: "Working Safely", "Supervising Safely", "Managing Safely" and "Leading Safely". The courses received accreditation from the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health for use at CLP Power.

Australia: The EnergyAustralia team implemented a new science-based safety programme called "Advanced Error Reduction in Organisations (AERO)". AERO provides tools to help employees understand their personality tendencies, so that they can more easily recognise and manage error traps associated with certain tasks.

Rethinking Risk

Various approaches are being adopted across the Group to bring fresh perspectives to removing risk.

Safety in Design (SiD) aims to identify and eliminate risks at the early design stage, as well as enable safer operational design features to be incorporated sooner, so as to minimise reliance on post-design mitigations. The approach is being adopted in phases, with Phase 1 and 2a completed in the year. Phase 1 established the Group framework for SiD and eight supporting tools. Phase 2a developed three training courses to support the framework implementation and utilisation by the regions. The teams in Australia, Hong Kong and China all started implementing SiD principles into their respective regional projects.

A bowtie risk assessment is a risk evaluation method used to demonstrate causal relationships for high-risk scenarios in a visual way, which clearly articulates plausible accident scenarios that could exist. A significant number of bowtie risk assessments were conducted across the regions.

The creation and rollout of an internal NEBOSH Process Safety course across the Group further enhanced CLP’s capability of rethinking risk.

CLP’s Data Science Team employed their analysis and data mining techniques to further improve incident reporting and investigation content. The team has built a damaging energy analytics tool to monitor damaging energy sources. It provides valuable risk insight, and allows CLP to better manage its resources in terms of time, people and investment.

Involving Stakeholders

Involving stakeholders is a top priority of CLP’s multi-disciplinary team. Many contributors either make or influence decisions that have the potential to impact workers’ safety. It is important that the interests of stakeholders are understood, and proper consultation and engagement processes are established. This can ensure that decisions made in response to key stakeholders’ interests are consistent with the highest standards of safety. Work will continue to focus on establishing human and organisation performance capabilities within CLP, allowing clearer visibility on work performed while leveraging frontline knowledge to find solutions.

In Hong Kong, the team conducted a series of Safety Alignment Workshops for new contracts to align safety values and solicit safety leadership commitment from contractor partners.

In March 2020, EnergyAustralia started comprehensive peer-to-peer safety checks designed to keep people safe when working from home. Well over 1,000 Working from Home checks have been completed.

Maintaining a Healthy and Engaged Workforce

2020 marked a significant change with the onset of COVID-19 across the globe. Employee health and wellness was promoted through flexible working arrangements, equipment setups for remote working, regular communications, as well as health and wellbeing bulletins. Each region responded comprehensively in supporting their employees, particularly in respect to mental health and ergonomics.

In 2020, CLP also established its new online Health and Wellness portal, Virgin Pulse, for launch in 2021. The portal has significantly built CLP’s capacity to deliver targeted work-related health programmes. By using the portal, employees can choose the personal wellness journey that suits them.

The Hong Kong team implemented a return to work (RTW) programme entitled 'Rehabilitation, Recovery'. An external provider was appointed to equip Human Resources and HSE employees with the necessary knowledge and skills to support the programme.

An Employee Assistance Program has also been initiated across CLP's business in Mainland China to support staff and their families through channels including a consultation hotline, monthly health newsletters and quarterly thematic workshop.

Ensuring Environmental Sustainability

CLP is committed to operating in an environmentally responsible manner. Read more in the Environment section of this report.

Ensuring employees' health and safety during the COVID-19 outbreak

CLP explored the best ways to continue operating in order to deliver optimum service to customers whilst keeping its employees safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is discussed in the Keeping people safe and well section of this report.

Different business units have also implemented tailored initiatives to cater for local needs. For instance, the Pandemic Response Team in EnergyAustralia conducted ergonomic and safety checks for employees working from home. In India, the 'Together@Home' contest helped connect employees by encouraging them to share lockdown stories related to themes such as positivity, creativity and kindness.

While the Group’s HSSE Management System Standard sets out an overarching approach to managing the safety risks in operations, responsibility is also taken for preserving public health and safety, including for people who work or live in proximity to electricity supply lines.

CLP operates a transmission and distribution network in Hong Kong, as well as transmission networks in Shenzhen, Mainland China and Madhya Pradesh, India. Working near electricity supply lines can pose safety concerns. The Hong Kong and Mainland China operations conduct regular construction site inspections and provide cable plans and safety talks to road work contractors and site management personnel to enhance safety awareness at all locations. The Fangchenggang Incremental Distribution Network project commenced operation in January 2020. There will be continuous HSSE-related training and monitoring conducted throughout the project in reference to CLP’s safety philosophy and best practices.

EMF arising from power systems can be of public health concern. CLP power supply equipment fully complies with the guidelines issued by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection. Regular EMF measurements of power supply equipment are carried out jointly with the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department of the Hong Kong Government. The measured EMF levels are well below the guideline limits.

Regarding customer health and safety, CLP Power has customer service centres conveniently located in its supply areas in Hong Kong to provide assistance in regard to product safety, as well as advice on energy efficient products, energy saving tips and other account management issues. In 2020, there were no reportable cases of CLP products affecting customer health and safety in Hong Kong.

Since 1985, CLP has held a 25% equity share in the Guangdong Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station (GNPS), which provides roughly one third of the electricity supplied to CLP’s customers in Hong Kong. In 2017, CLP’s nuclear portfolio was expanded with a 17% equity investment in Yangjiang Nuclear Power Co. Ltd. which operates Yangjiang Nuclear Power Station (YNPS) in Guangdong. Nuclear power has proved to be a reliable, cost-competitive and clean source of energy. CLP continuously seeks investment opportunities for new capacity in low-carbon energies, such as nuclear and renewables, to realise the Group’s decarbonisation vision.

Nuclear risk management

The safe and steady operation of the two nuclear power stations is always the top priority. The defence-in-depth principle is applied across a full spectrum of areas from design, site selection, operation, radiation protection, environmental monitoring, to emergency preparedness. The safety principle of "As Low As Reasonably Achievable" (ALARA) is also applied to ensure robust radiation protection.

The two nuclear power stations have achieved good safety performance over the years, with no reportable incidences occurring in 2020. This achievement is a result of:

• Adopting best international practices, including the IAEA Nuclear Safety Standards, in its operation;

• A well-trained and qualified workforce;

• Well-established safety practices and procedures; and

• Comprehensive risk analysis and mitigation.

Nuclear waste management

GNPS follows national policy and international practices for nuclear waste management. The station stores its spent nuclear fuel onsite in dedicated storage facilities.

The back-end management of the fuel cycle remains on site for a number of years before being passed on to a service provider licensed by the Mainland Chinese Government for reprocessing. The service provider is supervised by the National Nuclear Safety Administration (NNSA) and its environmental impact is monitored by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE). The policy in Mainland China on reprocessing spent nuclear fuel is similar to that of a number of European countries.

As the minority owner of GNPS, CLP is not in a position to report the development of back-end management of the fuel cycle in China, including the status of the planned reprocessing plants for spent fuel.

Low- to intermediate-level solid radioactive waste is packed and stored in a dedicated facility on-site on an interim basis, and is secured to prevent unauthorised access. The waste is transferred to a final repository operated by a service provider, using the shallow burial method commonly adopted in the United States, France and the United Kingdom. The operation of the off-site repository is under the supervision of the national nuclear regulator and relevant nuclear safety regulations.

Monitoring and follow-up

Radiation exposure for workers is closely monitored and managed by plant operators both collectively and at an individual level as part of operating protocols. Workers incur most of their radiation dosage during planned refuelling outages, when much of the work is undertaken at the nuclear generating units. The level of radiation dosage is typically associated with the number of planned outages carried out at the units, which require inspection and maintenance activities in radiation-controlled areas.

Training and awareness

An on-site training school provides professional training on operational procedures for nuclear sites. The training aims to enhance nuclear safety and systematically minimise human error. There is a once-every-two-years requalification mechanism to ensure operator professionalism and competency in plant operation.

In line with good business practice, GNPS has also provisioned for the expenses associated with the future decommissioning of the plant as required by relevant laws and regulations.

The total quantity of nuclear waste from GNPS was lower in 2020 than in 2019 due to one planned refuelling outage carried out in the year, as opposed to two outages in 2019. The average dose rate in 2020 was less than 0.4 mSv per person per year. For the purpose of comparison, the background radiation dose rate for Hong Kong is 2.4 mSv per person per year from the natural environment.

The charts below show the amount of spent nuclear fuel and low- to intermediate-level radioactive nuclear waste from GNPS over the last several years. The amounts of both types of waste are related to the number of planned refuelling outages in each year.