Today the Empresa Segura (Safe Company) distinction was awarded to the “Marinela Occidente”, “Bimbo Villahermosa” and “Sanissimo” plants by the Mexican Secretariat of Labor and Social Welfare (STPS). In addition, the “Bimbo Azcapotzalco”, “Bimbo Santa María” and “El Globo” plants were enrolled in the Program for the Self-Management of Safety and Health in the Workplace (PASST). The Program recognizes companies that implement preventive programs to protect their employees by reducing accidents and illnesses, as well as to ensure compliance with regulations related to safety and health in keeping with national and international standards.

In the presence of authorities such as: Mr. Roberto Rafael Campa Cifrián, Secretary of Labor and Social Welfare; Mr. David Arellano Cuan, Deputy Secretary of Social Welfare from the Mexican Secretariat of Labor and Social Welfare; Mr. José Manuel Gil Padilla, Federal Labor Delegate in Mexico City; and Dr. Vidal Llerenas Morales, Mayor of Azcapotzalco, Bimbo, headed by Miguel Ángel Espinoza Ramírez, confirmed its commitment as an ethical company that protects the welfare of its employees through the implementation of safety programs.

Bimbo joined this program in 2006 with the goal of protecting the welfare of those that work at the company. In 2015, it signed an unprecedented agreement by being the first private company to enroll all of its plants in this initiative. To date, 32 of its job sites, in which over 20,000 people are employed, have joined the PASST program. Of these, 16 have received the Empresa Segura award.

Miguel Ángel Espinoza, CEO of Bimbo México, emphasized, “At Grupo Bimbo, we know that our most important asset is our employees. That’s why we established a safety model through an ethical approach that first and foremost aims to protect the well-being of everyone who works at the company.” Secretary of Labor and Social Welfare Roberto Campa Cifrián noted, “These awards are given on the basis of a rigorous methodology involving analysis and continuous and ongoing work.” He added, “It’s a way of guaranteeing that standards are followed, and it’s the best way of doing so.”

The Empresa Segura award and the enrollments enable their job sites to:

• Promote frameworks for self-evaluation of compliance with workplace-safety and health regulations implemented by the job sites with the involvement of employers and employees.

• Encourage ongoing improvement in the management of workplace safety and health with the participation of employers and employees, in a particularly systematic and consistent fashion.

• Reduce workplace accidents and illnesses.

• Strengthen the leadership of employer organizations, employees, and business groups for the promotion, training of human resources and compliance with the Self-Management of Safety and Health in the Workplace Program.

One of the factors that the STPS evaluates to grant this distinction is the accident rate, which must be no more than 0.73 accidents for every 100 employees. Bimbo has managed to achieve a rate that is below this number, with only 0.40 accidents for every 100 employees. In this regard, and in its pursuit of cultivating a culture of safety among all of its employees, the commitment is for all of its job sites to be enrolled in this program by 2020.

It is of note that in 2018, seven Grupo Bimbo job sites have received the Empresa Segura distinction and two more have advanced to the highest distinction level as part of the accomplishments and initiatives related to ongoing improvement in safety and health.

As such, Grupo Bimbo continues adding initiatives that positively impact the quality of life of all of its employees in an effort to reinforce its primary safety objectives: to achieve zero accidents and to cultivate a culture of safety on a daily basis.

Furthermore, the development and well-being of individuals are supported by implementing campaigns for the prevention of illnesses, having designated areas for physical activity, and providing the certification of balanced-meal cafeterias for their job sites. This is in addition to promoting programs that encourage employees to adopt healthy lifestyles as well as having a road traffic safety model that implements driver training, safety devices in vehicles, rigorous fleet maintenance programs, and being the first company in Mexico to certify its road safety model through the Road Traffic Safety Management ISO 39011 Standard.

With safety and welfare as the foundation of its daily actions, the world’s largest bakery will continue moving towards its purpose of “building a sustainable, highly productive and deeply humane company.”