Our people

Across CLP’s markets in Hong Kong, Mainland China and Australia, the total number of employees increased though the total workforce slightly dropped, which is due to lower contractor activities primarily in Hong Kong and Australia. Utilisation of service contractors is lowered, reflecting our projects in the pipeline and outsourcing of activities with higher productivity driven by process optimisation and digitalisation. 

CLP’s human resources policies and procedures are intended to ensure compliance with all local laws and regulations relating to employee compensation and dismissal, recruitment and promotion, working hours, rest periods, equal opportunity, diversity, as well as laws combating discrimination and, sexual and non-sexual harassment and those covering benefits and welfare. CLP takes immediate action to investigate and address any suspected breaches or issues that are brought to its attention.

Standards and procedures

Beyond compliance, CLP recognises its responsibility to respect human rights at work, as laid out in international principles, standards and laws. CLP is a signatory of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development’s (WBCSD) Call to Action for Business Leadership on Human Rights and of the Good Employer Charter established by the Labour Department of Hong Kong, in which it pledges to be an employee-oriented employer that implements good human resources management practices.

Human rights and labour standards

In addition to local legal compliance, CLP respects internationally recognised human rights relevant to its operations and requires its business partners and suppliers to do the same.

The commitment to upholding human rights is outlined in CLP’s Group Labour Standards. Referencing the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and other international standards, they set company-wide minimum standards on critical working conditions and the basic rights of employees in the workplace.

CLP’s commitment is also integrated into its Value Framework and Responsible Procurement Policy Statement and Supplier Code of Conduct (SCoC). EnergyAustralia also has its own SCoC and reports annually on the risks of modern slavery in its operations and supply chains, as well as the actions taken to address those risks.

CLP’s Group Labour Standards outline CLP’s commitment to international principles and conventions. They also provide details of how CLP delivers on this commitment through company-wide minimum standards on critical working conditions, including fair and decent work and working hours and the basic rights of employees in the workplace. These standards have also been embedded into procurement requirements for labour suppliers in Hong Kong and CLP has strengthened the tracking and monitoring of its temporary manpower resources. Relevant expectations of labour practices and human rights have been embedded in the Supplier Code of Conduct and communicated to CLP’s suppliers.  

In 2024, CLP did not identify any operation or supplier as having a significant risk of child labour, young workers exposed to hazardous work, or forced or compulsory labour and no breach of laws and regulations in relation to child labour and forced labour was recorded. Additionally, no Group operation was identified in which the right to exercise freedom of association and collective bargaining was violated or at significant risk. 

In Australia, in line with its obligations under the Australian Modern Slavery Act 2018, EnergyAustralia submitted its fourth Modern Slavery Statement to the government. In 2024, EnergyAustralia implemented a Supply Chain Risk Management tool, Trust Your Supplier (TYS). This tool allows new suppliers to be onboarded and existing suppliers to be invited through registration, and includes questionnaires about employment standards and human rights. The tool provides ongoing risk monitoring for all suppliers referencing data including adverse media, sanctions and regulatory action. Modern Slavery Risk continued to be low in EnergyAustralia’s operations. 

With the launch of its refreshed performance management system, in 2024, CLP further strengthened its wage communications with employees in Hong Kong and placed greater emphasis on the linkage between rewards and performance. CLP regularly reviews its remuneration policies and practices to ensure competitive and fair pay. This is achieved through independent external assessments of job size and complexity together with external pay range benchmarking, allowing pay differentials to reflect only each employee’s experience, performance and certain market factors. Performance and pay outcomes are reviewed internally and externally for gender bias and differences in the average pay between females and males are moderate, except for some technical roles which are typically dominated by male team members with higher length of service. CLP offers entry-level salaries that are well above statutory minimums, demonstrating our commitment to providing wages that support employees and their families.

As CLP has continued to evolve with an expanding geographic footprint and increasing diversity in its technologies, products and services, employee base, customers and communities served, the Group Diversity & Inclusion Strategy has been refreshed to enhance its alignment with evolving organisational needs, market conditions and stakeholder expectations.

Group diversity, equity and inclusion key focus areas

The refreshed Strategy has three pillars with greater weight given to continuous improvements in gender diversity, encouraging female participation in STEM-related roles, diversity of thinking and local understanding, meritocracy and a ‘safe to speak up’ culture. These changes reflect CLP’s evolving business nature, talent market conditions and the desire of team members for fairness and opportunities to progress.  

Metrics, targets and disclosures will be aligned accordingly in the next reporting cycle, in line with market practice and the refreshed direction. From January 2025, CLP will measure and report: 

• Continuous improvement in Women in Leadership (actual percentage, year on year progression) 
• Continuous improvement in Women in STEM roles (actual percentage, year on year progression) 

Reporting on family-friendly and employee wellbeing practices will be enhanced. CLP’s focus on equal pay for equal work and wage fairness will be maintained and measured through external Fair Wage reviews, internal reviews of merit increase and bonus practices, and consistent externally-facilitated job evaluations.  

Policies & Practices

Investment in and commitment to progress will continue through targeted programmes encouraging more young women to move into STEM careers, getting more women into the workforce, as well as wellness and family-friendly policies to help employees better integrate their work-life commitments.

Standards and procedures

CLP is a signatory to the International Energy Agency’s Equal by 30 initiative, a commitment by public and private sector organisations to work towards gender equality in the energy sector by 2030 and to the Women’s Empowerment Principles established by the UN Global Compact and UN Women in India. Local Diversity and Inclusion Councils operate in Hong Kong, India and Australia to drive the Company's efforts on diversity.

CLP’s human resources policies include initiatives to encourage the retention of employees, such as flexible work arrangements, maternity leave and other family-friendly policies and benefits. CLP’s recruitment processes are designed to be fair and non-discriminatory. In Hong Kong, its processes follow the Equal Opportunities Commission Code of Practice and include the use of consistent selection criteria. In other parts of the Group, CLP complies with local legislation and codes of practice on recruitment. When conducting senior level searches, CLP also requires external recruitment firms to identify candidates with diverse backgrounds, in line with the Group's values.

Monitoring and follow-up

Gender diversity progress is reviewed as part of CLP’s regular general management and engineering talent reviews. The Board Human Resources & Remuneration Committee reviews progress against diversity targets annually. CLP also conducts regular reviews to identify any gender pay gaps and to ensure equal pay for work of equal value.

As of the end of 2024, the percentage of Women in Leadership roles was slightly increased (2024: 30% vs 2023: 29.1%), while Women in Engineering was maintained (2024: 13.3% vs 2023: 13.3%). Over the past two years, the number of female graduate trainees recruited in Hong Kong has nearly doubled as part of an enlarged intake. Many female graduate hires had previously participated in CLP’s Female Engineering Student Mentoring Programme or had received an Engineering Study Award to support their final-year studies.

The percentage of women identified in succession pipelines, high potential pools and development programmes was around 30%, in line with last year. In Hong Kong, an empowerment programme for women leaders called ‘Taking the Stage’, aimed at building confidence and executive presence, has continued. In addition, selected female executives participated in Board preparation programmes and career facilitation dialogues. CLP also empowered employees to lead a Gender Equity support network to increase peer-to-peer engagement and topical learning.

New initiatives included the first ‘D&I awareness week’, which saw over 4,500 staff participating in various events, including workshops and learning sessions, with topics ranging from ‘inclusive languages’ to navigating careers through different life-stages. A new ‘Male Allies’ programme has been launched to help male colleagues develop greater awareness, new mindsets and skillsets in relevant areas. 

Across the Group, EnergyAustralia continued to conduct activities to foster diversity, equity and inclusion as part of its Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Strategy. EnergyAustralia has maintained its partnership with the Champions of Change Energy coalition and contributed to key initiatives including efforts to close the gender pay gap, strategies to increase female representation in traditionally male-dominated fields and enhancing gender balance within its talent pipeline. Since 2018, EnergyAustralia has continued to maintain a zero gender pay gap across all like for like job roles, reflected in its annual Workplace Gender Equity Agency reporting and analysis.

CLP has a comprehensive training and development framework in place, aligned with its business objectives, to help employees perform competently in their current roles and prepare them for future business challenges and opportunities. Investment is also being made in helping young people to develop and in building future energy industry capability that is inclusive and accessible to all.

Standards and procedures

CLP seeks to attract, retain and develop a diverse and multi-generational workforce, to develop new skills and share talent effectively across its portfolio of businesses. Internal development efforts are supplemented by external recruitment for new-to-CLP skills focused on capabilities in innovation, digital and renewables.

Investing in youth and early careers

To address the need for future skills and an adequate supply of talent in a competitive labour market, CLP must offer an attractive employment proposition and invest significantly in efforts to attract young people to the energy industry and invest in careers at CLP across different functional disciplines and levels.

CLP provides meaningful work, training and development opportunities and an open inclusive supportive workplace. Opportunities for young people to accelerate their careers in Hong Kong including mentoring programmes, partnerships with local and overseas institutions for work placements for secondary and tertiary-level students, internships for fresh and recent graduates across a range of disciplines, technical apprenticeships, operational cadetships and the CLP Graduate Trainee Programme. 

The CLP Power Academy in Hong Kong also offers programmes for school leavers and working adults looking to pursue careers in the energy industry. CLP participates in youth development schemes such as the HKSAR Government’s Greater Bay Area Youth Employment Scheme. In Mainland China, CLP supports the efforts of local technicians and engineers to attain professional engineering qualifications offering upward talent and social mobility opportunities. To date, CLP has helped more than 2,500 students through the Academy since it was founded in 2017.

Enhancing performance management as part of building a high-performing organisation

CLP has revised its performance management system in core markets, to provide enhanced feedback to team members to support their development as well to increase performance differentiation. 100% of CLP’s employees are covered by annual appraisal review processes. Leadership expectations and competencies have also been refreshed to set out guidance on the behaviours and capabilities expected of employees.

Maintaining core skills and developing new skills for the future

Skills and safety training is provided to develop technical and functional competencies and behaviours. All CLP employees participate in an annual performance and development cycle which provides ongoing feedback and coaching and delivers clarity in terms of expectations of their behaviour and performance, understanding of how they contribute to CLP’s objectives, and support for individual development needs. Cross-functional and 360-degree feedback is included where appropriate. Through this process, CLP also recognises and rewards individual performance and success. Employees have the opportunity to continuously learn and build skills via online and face-to-face learning resources and programmes and can access company support for employee-initiated self-development, including support for job relevant degree programmes or certifications.

Developing leaders

CLP's corporate strategy execution requires a diverse, resilient and agile leadership team with strong stakeholder management and change leadership skills to deliver growth, and high-quality succession planning in place for leadership roles. CLP remains committed to filling most of its leadership roles internally.

Strategic, general management and talent development programmes are used to develop future leaders. Additionally, digital online development programmes are accessible for managers. Externally CLP has key partnerships with leading academic institutions, including the International Institute for Management Development (IMD), the Tsinghua School of Economics and Management, the Chatham House and L'École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in developing senior leaders. Expert briefings and workshops are conducted on the latest global economic, political and technological trends, including those relating to energy transition, digital disruption, wellbeing and resilience.

Monitoring and follow-up

CLP conducts regular talent and capability reviews, underpinned by employee analytics, focused on general management, engineering and digital streams. These reviews monitor and follow up on actions to address current and future gaps and opportunities, including the progress of development programmes, recruitment campaigns, initiatives to strengthen gender diversity and cross-business assignments.

The effectiveness of this approach is measured against a range of key performance indicators, including retention of key talent, turnover, diversity and employee engagement measures, using developed employee analytics tools. The Board Human Resources & Remuneration Committee reviews talent and capability progress annually.

CLP continues to invest in youth development, core skills training, leadership development and talent pipeline programmes, in training systems and frameworks, ensuring future talent and skills supply.

CLP maintained its recruitment channels with a diverse pool of local, overseas and Mainland China institutions, resulting in significantly higher numbers of applicants from Mainland graduates. Inducted trainees participated in comprehensive training and other practical learning from internal mentors, senior leaders’ interactions and job rotations.

Other development programmes for engineers and managers at other career levels progressed, strengthening CLP’s career pipelines. Engineering talent rotations across Hong Kong and Mainland China have continued, while CLP's Energy Transition Experience Programme continued to give exposure to our people about the changing landscape of the energy business and opportunities in Mainland China.

To support the development of CLP digital talents and build their capabilities, targeted initiatives such as Digital Talent Day and the Digital Trainee Programme were organised. In addition, #Leaders of Future, one of CLP’s leadership development programmes, has widened its scope to develop engineering, digital and commercial talent and now provides diverse developmental training by IMD faculty and other experts on situational leadership, strategic thinking and change topics.

Equipping our workforce with the skills necessary to thrive in the future is increasingly important. Reflecting CLP’s commitment to building a sustainable and future-ready workforce, following the holistic review of CLP’s sustainability targets in 2024, CLP has determined to commence tracking the percentage of training resources specifically devoted to upskilling and reskilling initiatives. This new metric will come into effect in 2025 and be tracked across CLP's businesses. This ensures CLP’s employees are not only prepared for the challenges of tomorrow but are also empowered to excel in their current roles and future career paths. As a first step, figures for 2024 are being reported and are available in the ESG Data Hub.

The Company places significant emphasis on managing various human rights matters, such as occupational health and safety, child labour, labour union engagement and diversity, and equity and inclusion (DEI). In its investment decision-making processes, CLP conducts thorough due diligence, including assessments of human rights considerations.   

In 2024, CLP raised the bar by undertaking a comprehensive due diligence process to assess human rights risks across functions and regions in accordance with the United Nations Guiding Principles. This assessment evaluated non-financial impacts in areas like employment practices, environmental concerns, community relations and other stakeholder impacts. Subsequently, action plans were developed to mitigate the identified risks effectively.

Human rights assessment process overview

Human rights risks were assessed and mapped through extensive desk-based research, based on an analysis of CLP’s current human rights management status quo. Interviews with internal stakeholders were conducted to review and gather perspectives on the initial findings with the aim of identifying salient human rights risks for prioritisation. 

A total of 12 salient human rights topics were mapped across CLP’s value chain. These topics underwent detailed risk assessments, providing valuable insights for developing risk management measures. Below is a summary of the salient topics identified, and respective level of management systems currently in place:

Salient human rights topics identified

Evaluating the mapped human rights impacts enables the identified topics to be prioritised for developing follow up action plans based on their relative saliency. Saliency is determined by considering the scope, scale, remediability and likelihood of potential harm. High saliency of a human rights topic means that the topic is particularly prominent due to its potential for negative impact. In the table above, the order of the identified human rights topics in each category is based on the priortisation of saliency across CLP's value chain.

Furthermore, there is an additional layer of analysis of organisational capacity for impact mitigation, which reflects CLP’s ability to mitigate salient human rights impacts. This is based on how closely the company is connected to the impact, the level of control over key factors influencing the impact, and current management practices.

Based on the due diligence results, the key highlights and action plans formulated to manage human rights-related risks are as follows:

• Establish a standalone policy on human rights and just transition
  In 2021, CLP implemented Group Labour Standards to define its commitments regarding critical working conditions and basic rights of employees in the workplace. This standard is intended to align CLP’s operation to international standards, namely, the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, International Bill of Human Rights and International Labour Organisation’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.
  
  Given that three community-related and three cross-cutting topics have been identified among the 12 salient human rights risks, it has become evident that it is appropriate for CLP to develop a standalone Group-level policy on human rights. This policy will ensure that human rights matters are addressed clearly and comprehensively as part of due diligence efforts. The standalone policy will align with UN Global Compact principles inclusive of just transition elements and taking into account local context. In addition, detailed local implementation strategies will be formulated to ensure robust tracking, assessing and feedback mechanism are in place.
  
  Occupational health and safety is identified as the most salient labor rights topic due to the nature and potential workplace hazards in the context of power generation operations, servicing and maintenance of electricity lines, and other similar activities. This aligns with CLP’s priorities to have put in place a robust safety management for its own operation. Meanwhile, CLP will also emphasise the management of third-party workforce labor conditions at all CLP sites in the standalone human rights policy.

• Continue to strengthen supply chain risk management as a part of its 3-year roadmap on sustainable procurement
  Another result of the analysis is that most topics with the highest salience levels are mapped under the supply chain. This is because, in the electric utilities sector, sourcing of fuels and certain procurement categories, such as electronic components, are particularly exposed to human rights impacts. CLP is committed to collaborating with its suppliers to meet its expected standards in human rights. The Company also outlines requirements in its Supplier Code of Conduct (SCoC) that suppliers must adhere to, particularly on topics with high saliency, such as occupational health and safety, the prohibition of forced and child labor, and non-discrimination. With approval from the Sustainability Executive Committee, a sustainable procurement programme spanning year 2024 to 2026 is underway to advance supply chain sustainability. For more details, please refer to the Supply chain sustainability management section.
• Review our engagement activities with third-party contractor workforce and wider community in project sites 
  CLP believes in the importance of minimising any adverse impacts or potential effects on local communities living near CLP’s project sites and the third-party contractors working at these locations. Existing processes for engagement activities with contractors and local residents will be further reviewed to ensure proper management of labour conditions, land use, construction activities, as well as the topics mapped with high salient level.
• Invest resources in developing human rights knowledge
  Recognising the importance of human rights-competence within its workforce, CLP will allocate resources towards developing human rights expertise and bolstering capacity across the Group. This aims to cultivate a foundational grasp of human rights principles and business responsibilities among a broader set of internal stakeholders, facilitating their ability to effectively implement and reinforce the human rights-related best practices.

Offering flexible, family-friendly working arrangements

CLP aims to support employees through all their life stages, from those starting their careers to those reaching retirement.

In recognition of its efforts in providing sustainable retirement benefits, CLP also received awards for “Hong Kong Best ORSO (Occupational Retirement) Scheme” and “Hong Kong Best Member Communications” in 2024, by Asia Asset Management. These awards are given to companies in the Asia Pacific region for their excellence in managing retirement benefits for employees. CLP has been a winner for several consecutive years. CLP was pleased to receive the Best All-round MPF Employer Award from the Hong Kong MPF Authority last year. Together with other recognitions received, these reaffirmed CLP’s continuous efforts to support the financial wellbeing of its employees through the retirement schemes and services. 

People at different life stages benefit from different working arrangements. To this end, CLP promotes family-friendly leave policies and flexible working arrangements and offers a range of leave options to help its people achieve a good work-life balance. These include parental and adoption leave, volunteering leave and study leave. Where practicable in CLP’s offices and premises, lactation facilities are provided for mothers in the workforce.

CLP has been implementing various family-friendly measures that help its staff achieve a healthy work-life balance, including implementing flexi-hours, creating a part-time working policy and a working from home policy, and providing various leave entitlements beyond the statutory requirements, such as wellbeing leave, marriage leave, maternity leave, paternity leave and adoption leave. 

CLP has enhanced its flexible work policies and online collaboration tools to enable new ways for employees to connect virtually and perform their roles better. Working options have been made more flexible, resulting in an increased take-up of new part-time work options and work-from-home arrangements.

CLP continued to provide flexible working arrangements and family-friendly leave options for employees. In 2024, CLP introduced a wellbeing leave policy in its Mainland China operations. Across the Group, CLP recorded over 6,700 employees utilising various types of wellbeing leave during the year. CLP’s parental leave offerings are also vital in helping employees balance personal and professional responsibilities, with close to 550 employees taking parental leave (maternity, paternity and even adoption leave where applicable) during the year. Notably, almost 97% of those who took leave returned to work afterwards. This high return rate underscored the effectiveness of CLP’s support for employees at different life stages, reflecting both its commitment to their wellbeing and the dedication of its workforce.

Investing in health, wellbeing and strengthening resilience

CLP provides comprehensive support for its employees’ physical, social, financial and mental wellbeing. CLP is working towards initiatives to manage psychological risk at work and promoting mental health to all levels of staff. Confidential employee assistance programmes are also offered to assist employees encountering work or personal issues and needing professional support.

CLP has received various awards in Hong Kong and Mainland China in recognition of its efforts to promote employee wellbeing, including Best Corporate Health Initiative awarded by the National Health Commission of China for the launch of innovative initiatives with measurable impacts on employee health and productivity, the Mindful Employer Award from the Mental Health Foundation, and the Excellence Award at the 19th Occupational Health Award, given by the Occupational Safety and Health Council in Hong Kong.

Keeping everyone informed and engaged

CLP’s employee relations approach focuses on establishing and maintaining strong working relationships with employees, being proactive in consulting on any workplace changes and providing opportunities for employees to raise concerns. CLP employees have the right to join organisations and professional bodies of their choice. CLP respects and fully complies with all legal requirements with regards to union membership and collective bargaining. In Australia, CLP engages in collective bargaining with nearly 800 employees through certified enterprise bargaining agreements approved by the independent workplace relations tribunal, the Fair Work Commission. These agreements cover most terms and conditions of employment, including notice periods, provisions for consultation and dispute resolution.

To better understand its employees’ views, CLP commissions independent external consultants to conduct regular employee engagement surveys. CLP strives to create a great place to work where everyone feels engaged and can participate fully. Towards the end of 2024, CLP conducted an all employee listening survey in Hong Kong and Mainland China, which enjoyed an industry-leading participation rate of 92%. The learnings from this will inform CLP's culture and engagement plans in 2025.

In Hong Kong, joint consultative committees have been established which act as an additional channel of communication between the Company and employees’ representatives. Employee benefits are regularly benchmarked to ensure that appropriate remuneration packages and staff support are provided.

Developing a more agile organisational culture through new ways of working day-to-day is critical for future success. The launch of CLP’s refreshed Value Framework and ‘new ways of working’ campaign in 2024 were key to activating such a culture and mobilising change in Hong Kong and Mainland China.

Culture roadshows and workshops were delivered to targeted employees, providing opportunities to engage and learn how to exercise ‘Care, Excellence and Responsibility’ daily, and embedding new habits across CLP’s operations. As part of the change, new office environments in Hong Kong have become available that facilitate greater collaboration in the workplace.

Supporting employees and communities affected by energy transition or business restructuring

CLP provides comprehensive support to employees whose jobs are affected by business change or restructuring. Support is tailored to individual needs and includes training and skills development, career planning, assistance in redeployment and financial counselling. To this end, CLP has actively engaged with local stakeholders from employee representative organisations and local educational institutions to ensure that study opportunities are available to help meet the needs of its people and the region's new and emerging industries.

Following the announcement of the 2028 closure of Yallourn Power Station in 2021, EnergyAustralia implemented the Yallourn Workforce Transition Programme to provide career transition support to employees. The comprehensive support programme includes components covering employee engagement, training, re-skilling and accreditation, financial advice, job search skills and other specialist support.

In 2024, the Yallourn Transition Team continued to provide comprehensive support to employees. Key highlights included a well-attended Careers & Training Fair, attended by over 300 workers from the station and mine who engaged with training providers and potential job partners. To date, close to 250 Individual Transition Plans have been created and over 600 1:1 career coaching sessions have been held. The year 2024 saw the highest number of learning and training requests received, and so far, the number of training activities endorsed and financially supported under the Transition programme has reached 120. Progress and support will continuously be managed to facilitate the transition.

CLP remains committed to continually improving its HSE performance by building capabilities and capacities to prevent harm to its people, assets and the communities in which it operates in.

CLP has an integrated HSE Policy which in turn drives the Group’s HSE Management System (HSEMS). The CLP HSEMS covers four areas:

• Leadership and commitment;
• Planning and support;
• Operational enablers; and
• Monitoring, learning and improving.

HSEMS core components and relationships

The diagram above shows the core components of the Group's HSEMS and their interrelationships.  

CLP’s HSE Policy lays out the strategy, direction, and vision for its HSE performance. Developed in line with the HSE Policy, the HSEMS enables CLP to manage risks in a planned and systematic way while continually improving its HSE performance.

The HSEMS Standards are mandatory and assist in supporting the detailed requirements of the HSE Policy and Groupwide HSE risks. The HSEMS Directives supplement the Standards by determining how specific processes are conducted across the Group (e.g. Incident Management). The HSEMS Supporting Tools are not mandatory but provide further support or guidance on how to meet the HSEMS requirements. 

The HSEMS provides:

• Clear requirements and expected outcomes based on goal-oriented risk reduction;
• Process flexibility to cope with operational diversity (e.g. size, regions and nature of work conducted);
• Integration of the feedback loop between CLP Group requirements and work done by the frontline; and
• Less HSEMS clutter (e.g. minimising duplication, contradictory, or inconsistent requirements).

Strategies and procedures

To support safe operations, CLP has an HSE Strategy with clear objectives, focus areas and timelines, supported by input by HSE professionals and a suitable budget. 

In line with the Group's HSE Strategy, an annual improvement programme is developed, approved and communicated to staff and contractors in each business unit. Recommendations are implemented on agreed timelines and the programme progress is monitored.  

For more details, read the Occupational health and safety section. 

Operational responsibilities

The Group’s Health, Safety, Security and Environment (HSSE) governance involves the top-tier HSSE Executive Committee and monthly Group Operations Leadership Team (GOLT) meetings to review businesses' HSSE, Project Execution and operations. Bi-monthly global HSE Team meeting focus on knowledge sharing and safety culture, supported by various HSE committees at operational levels. The diagram below lays out the hierarchy of operational responsibilities. 

Hierarchy of operational responsibilities

To ensure consistent HSE management, the annual HSE Governance Declaration has been integrated into the General Representation Letter for Managing Directors of each Business Unit. Third-party verification of the HSE Performance Data declaration by Business Units required under the HSE Management Governance Document is administered by CLP Group HSE. CLP has also strengthened its review of the HSEMS by establishing an assurance programme covering CLP’s controlled Business Units.

Safety performance is reported internally every month and is housed on an open dashboard for on demand access. Safety performance data and associated insights are collected and presented in the monthly and bi-monthly meetings of the GOLT and the Global HSE Team. These are also reported on a quarterly basis to the Group HSSE Committee, chaired by the CEO. 

CLP’s HSE Incident Investigation and Reporting Standard sets out the standard for implementing and maintaining a safety incident management system across the Group. In the event of a major incident, the CLP Group Incident Investigation Panel (IIP) is provided with the output investigation provided in line with the Investigation Report Format Standard. The IIP, chaired by senior members of staff from outside the business unit in which the accident occurred, conducts a thorough investigation to identify factors contributing to the incident and actions required to prevent a recurrence. The IIP’s reports are reviewed by the Group Chief Operating Officer and the regional Managing Director.

Training and awareness

Personnel are only asked to do work in roles for which they are deemed capable and competent, based on careful selection, placement, training, ongoing competency assessment and authorisation of employees and third-party independent assessment where appropriate. A process is in place to deliver training to ensure individuals understand the hazards, risks and control measures associated with their work. 

At the asset level, there is flexibility to structure health and safety measures and design more specific relevant training. This includes monitoring the percentage of contractors who have undertaken training. Safety training requirements are included in all contracts and all contractors are expected to undergo safety training relevant to their duties. Spot checks are conducted to ensure compliance.

After a year of change, CLP will enter 2025 with a new Group HSE Strategy aligned with the priorities established under its new operating model. Group Safety led a workshop with the business units to develop the CLP Group 2025-2027 HSE Strategy, themed “Creating a Future Ready Business from Today’s Foundation", which emphasised reflection, learning and improving. Key stakeholders from the business units provided feedback on their current group/business unit strategies, considerations regarding the new CLP Group operating model, and future CLP directions. Areas for consideration included:

The CLP Group 2025-27 HSE Strategy sets out the key opportunities and a framework for working together to make CLP healthier, safer and more sustainable. The pillars and elements that define the strategy are as follows:

• Strengthening Capability & Capacity
  Strengthening capability and understanding our people’s capacity to deliver
• Risk and Resilience
  Resilience and resourcefulness in a changing landscape
• Strength in Synergy
  Collaborating for success from different lenses
• Reimagining Work through Technology and Digital Solutions
  Innovate, Integrate and Elevate
• Focus on Excellence and Emerging Themes
  Owning persistent and emerging challenges

CLP's future-ready Group HSE Strategy builds upon the foundation of people, data, technology and innovation to deliver value, enhance its customers' experience and foster a culture of learning and growth. Our approach is agile, dependable, environmentally sustainable and aims to empower our people to thrive in any scenario. A strategy for today and tomorrow.

CLP's HSE Performance Monitoring and Reporting Standard contains the safety performance indicators and the requirements for safety data reporting used by the Group. The safety performance indicators identify trends as well as areas which require attention. CLP has also used targeted engagements and worker insights to help develop comprehensive and effective incident prevention interventions. 

CLP continued to address serious injury and fatality risks, with a particular focus on gravitational energy, guided by a shift in approach to find improved ways of working across its operations. Businesses across the Group are implementing HSE measures guided by approaches based on principles of learning from normal work (LFNW) and human and organisational performance (HOP), which draw on the knowledge and experience of frontline workers to drive better and more dynamic safety management at all levels before incidents occur. These guiding principles are tailored to specific local business unit needs and backed by training and learning resources for employees. Additionally, in 2024, CLP introduced a new CEO HSE Award category, the “Fatality Prevention Award” to ensure its sustained attention and promote learning across business units. Submissions for this award showcased the application of technology, new working methods and greater workforce engagement through LFNW initiatives.

Progress continues on implementing the HSE risk management platform Enablon, promising future time savings through improved data entry, automation and streamlining within CLP. In 2024, the team successfully delivered the following modules, which are now operational: Management of Change (MOC), Occupational Health, Ergonomics Analysis (DSE), Management System Assurance and Independent Assurance Assessment. The CLP China team is now also using this platform. Mostly centralised data and automated services will, as we develop our use, provide dynamic insights, reducing time for data consolidation and daily tasks. Further enhancements are planned and budgeted for implementation through 2026.

Personnel tasked with conducting investigations underwent new training in TapRooT® Root Cause Analysis to support the updated methodology approach. Those responsible for leading investigations attended an intensive five-day instructor-led session, while investigation participants received a two-day overview. Senior management was also briefed on the new methodology to ensure alignment with the goals of moving beyond simply attributing incidents to human error and understanding the more complex latent conditions within the systems where people operate that contribute to such incidents. The Group believes that leveraging frontline knowledge will not only yield better solutions but also cultivate a sense of ownership among its workforce, fostering a culture of responsibility.

The Group remains dedicated to enhancing the safety of its people during daily operations. Major progress has been made both by adopting technology and redesigning systems work approaches. For example, CLP Power updated all 11kV and 3.3kV unit and station switchboards in Castle Peak Power Station B (more than 250 panels). These had been in service for over 30 years and were scheduled for replacement due to obsolescence. An innovative solution was implemented to improve safer operations and maintenance, such as mobile rack in/rack out and “Plug & Play” solutions through in-depth research and development efforts.

Energy Australia undertook a comprehensive project to improve the fabrication and installation processes by designing and manufacturing a hydraulic lifting device that also preset the element banks into vertical position. The rationale behind these enhancements was to minimise manual material handling of tube sections from fabrication to installation, to reduce the need for multiple mechanical lifts, to decrease welding time and exposure and to lower overall manufacturing and installation costs. These improvements have significantly streamlined our operations, reflecting our commitment to safety, innovation and efficiency.

CLP China inaugurated a Safety Skills Practical Training Centre to address business needs for both staff and contractors. The centre includes five areas: high and low voltage work skills, overhead line maintenance, safety skills experiential and general training. It covers "Safety Learning & Skills Enhancement & Operations Learning & Practical Training" using Virtual Reality (VR) incident simulations and multimedia education to improve safety knowledge and foster a safety-oriented culture.

2024 Safety performance

The key safety metrics are summarised in the table below.