Employee Relations and Well-being

Significance

Importance To Berry Global and our Stakeholders

Our employees are always our number one priority, and their safety, well-being, and professional and personal growth is critical for our business to succeed.

Creating a safe and healthy work environment fosters employee satisfaction and loyalty, directly impacting our overall productivity, product quality, and operational efficiency. Additionally, employee engagement and development initiatives not only empower our employees to contribute effectively but also promote innovation and continuous improvement. Engaged employees are more likely to identify opportunities for operational enhancement and provide valuable insights into product development, driving business growth and competitiveness.

A strong engagement and development program also contributes to our employee well-being, helping us attract top talent and maintain a skilled workforce, as well as enhancing employee morale, reducing turnover, and creating a positive workplace culture essential for our long-term business success. Recruiting diverse, skilled individuals who align with our company's values and goals enables us to meet our commitments, and community partnerships allow us to demonstrate these commitments externally, benefiting our local communities and strengthening our relationship with our stakeholders.

Our Customers: The satisfaction, safety, and well-being of our employees is important to our customers. Our strong employee relations reflect our customers’ values and negate potential concerns about ethical and sustainable practices. Furthermore, our engaged and skilled workforce helps productivity and can enhance service quality, creating a more satisfying customer experience.

Our Investors: Employee relations directly influence operational efficiency, risk management, and financial performance. By prioritizing a content and engaged workforce, we improve productivity and reduce turnover, showcasing our operational adaptability and enhancing investor confidence.

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Our Approach

We are committed to cultivating a people-first culture that attracts, develops, and retains a high-performing workforce reflective of the communities in which we operate. Furthermore, we are dedicated to creating meaningful societal impact through philanthropic partnerships, charitable contributions, and employee volunteerism.

We recognize the intrinsic connection between employee satisfaction and safety, and overall business success. Our ultimate goal to achieve zero safety incidents is underscored by our robust Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) Management Framework, encompassing hazard identification, risk assessment, and control strategies to help ensure employees are equipped with the knowledge and resources to maintain a secure working environment.

Beyond physical safety, we place a strong emphasis on employee well-being by offering resources to support employees with their personal and professional challenges and development courses and management processes emphasizing goal setting and growth.

Our approach to employee relations and well-being is comprehensive and underscores our dedication to fostering a harmonious workplace that benefits our employees and communities.

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Highlights and Target Progress

Target	2023 Progress
Injury free workplace; to reduce our total recordable incident rate to below 0.70 in 2023	We fell short of the ambitious goal of 0.70, but achieved a 10% reduction in our rate to 0.81.
Expand training and development opportunities.	We continue to expand training and development opportunities for all employees, and in 2023 we increased the average individual training hours to 57.5 hours per employee.
Increase engagement survey participation to 85% globally by 2025	In 2022 we achieved engagement survey participation rate goal, with 86% of employees globally participating in the survey. We continue to work with all facilities to ensure that the results of our surveys, which are completed on an 18-month basis, are assessed to facilitate improvement actions.
Ensure 100% of locations provide engagement survey feedback and action planning
Make certain that 100% of our facilities coordinate annual employee volunteer events	90% of all facilities completed an annual community volunteer program. We continue to grow our community partnerships and philanthropy programs to create meaningful societal impact.
Grow global philanthropy with strategic charitable initiatives linked to UNSDGs

Key Metrics

The below metrics are based on Berry's fiscal years unless otherwise noted.

Employee Engagement & Development
		2020		2021		2022
Employee Engagement Survey¹		Number of Employees and Participation Rate Percentage
		Number	Percentage	Number	Percentage	Number	Percentage
Total Company		No Data	-	35,447	75%	39,092	86%
Corporate		No Data	-	No Data	-	3,130	93%
Consumer Packaging International (CPI) Division		No Data	-	No Data	-	15,678	84%
Consumer Packaging North America (CPNA) Division		No Data	-	No Data	-	7,790	72%
Flexibles Division		No Data	-	No Data	-	5,404	74%
Health, Hygiene & Specialties (HHS) Division		No Data	-	No Data	-	7,090	92%
		Engagement Score By Gender and Age
		% of Responses	Score	% of Responses	Score	% of Responses	Score
All Employees		No Data	-	No Data	-	100%	54%
Male		No Data	-	No Data	-	61.7%	54%
Female		No Data	-	No Data	-	27.2%	62%
Transgender		No Data	-	No Data	-	0.4%	39%
Non-Binary, Gender Fluid, Gender Neutral		No Data	-	No Data	-	0.4%	36%
Gender Identity Not Listed		No Data	-	No Data	-	0.3%	27%
Prefer Not to Answer		No Data	-	No Data	-	9.9%	33%
Boomers (Born 1946-1964)		No Data	-	No Data	-	10.1%	57%
Gen X (Born 1965-1980)		No Data	-	No Data	-	34.8%	56%
Millennials (Born 1981-1999)		No Data	-	No Data	-	39.2%	55%
Gen Z (Born 2000 - present)		No Data	-	No Data	-	4.4%	58%
Prefer Not to Answer		No Data	-	No Data	-	11.3%	41%
		2021		2022		2023
Employee Training Hours		Development Hours
Average Development Training hours per FTE		36.9		54.2		57.5
Employee Development		Self Development Course Data
Number of Participants		19,545		9,211		5,472
Participation level (% of employees utalizing self development programs out of total with access to programs)		No Data		No Data		22%
Module Completions		45,360		142,391		90,774
Completion Hours		23,012		30,431		20,036
Talent Acquisition and Management
		2021	2022	2023
Employee Hires		Employee Hires by Gender
		Total	Total		Male	Female	Total
Total Company		13,920	15,552		7,719	3,423	11,142
North America		9,845	11,217		5,587	2,518	8,096
South America		167	210		119	59	178
EMEIA		2,710	3,101		1,525	631	2,156
Asia		1,198	1,024		288	215	503
Consumer Packaging International (CPI) Division		No Data	6,367		1,696	911	2,607
Consumer Packaging North America (CPNA) Division		No Data	3,716		3,030	1,480	4,510
Flexibles Division		No Data	1,694		1,854	594	2,448
Health, Hygiene & Specialties (HHS) Division		No Data	3,650		1,088	411	1,499
Corporate		No Data	125		51	27	78
		Hires by Ethnicity (US Operations Only)
		Total	Total		Total
White		No Data	No Data		3,633
Black or African American		No Data	888		2,324
Hispanic or Latino		No Data	565		1,213
Indigenous or Native		No Data	60		119
Asian		No Data	80		181
Other Ethnic Minority		No Data	125		338
		2021	2022	2023
Employee Turnover		Employee Turnover Metrics by Gender
		Total	Total		Male	Female	Total
Total Company	Total Departures	No Data	No Data		9,480	4,153	13,633
	Employee Turnover (%)	-	-		21.1%	9.2%	30.3%
	Voluntary Attrition Rate (%)	-	22.0%		11.8%	5.4%	17.2%
North America	Total Departures	No Data	No Data		6,373	2,824	9,197
	Employee Turnover (%)	-	-		29.7%	13.2%	42.9%
	Voluntary Attrition Rate (%)	-	31.9%		17.1%	7.7%	24.7%
South America	Total Departures	No Data	No Data		186	55	241
	Employee Turnover (%)	-	-		16.5%	4.9%	21.4%
	Voluntary Attrition Rate (%)	-	6.1%		4.5%	1.7%	6.2%
EMEIA	Total Departures	No Data	No Data		2,248	830	3,078
	Employee Turnover (%)	-	-		12.3%	4.6%	16.9%
	Voluntary Attrition Rate (%)	-	11.5%		6.6%	2.7%	9.2%
Asia	Total Departures	No Data	No Data		673	444	1,117
	Employee Turnover (%)	-	-		16.3%	10.8%	27.1%
	Voluntary Attrition Rate (%)	-	21.9%		10.2%	6.4%	16.5%
Consumer Packaging International (CPI) Division	Total Departures	No Data	No Data		2,427	1,300	3,727
	Employee Turnover (%)	-	-		12.7%	6.8%	19.5%
	Voluntary Attrition Rate (%)	-	14.0%		7.1%	3.8%	10.9%
Consumer Packaging North America (CPNA) Division	Total Departures	No Data	No Data		3,377	1,711	5,088
	Employee Turnover (%)	-	-		32.0%	16.2%	48.2%
	Voluntary Attrition Rate (%)	-	34.4%		17.2%	9.0%	26.2%
Flexibles Division	Total Departures	No Data	No Data		2,245	690	2,935
	Employee Turnover (%)	-	-		32.2%	9.9%	42.1%
	Voluntary Attrition Rate (%)	-	36.7%		21.3%	7.0%	28.3%
Health, Hygiene & Specialties (HHS) Division	Total Departures	No Data	No Data		1,351	414	1,765
	Employee Turnover (%)	-	-		18.0%	5.5%	23.5%
	Voluntary Attrition Rate (%)	-	13.2%		8.5%	3.1%	11.6%
Corporate	Total Departures	No Data	No Data		80	38	118
	Employee Turnover (%)	-	-		9.5%	4.5%	14.0%
	Voluntary Attrition Rate (%)	-	6.5%		4.0%	1.8%	6.2%
		Turnover by Ethnicity (US Operations Only)
		Total	Total		Total
White	Total Departures	No Data	No Data		4,254
	Employee Turnover (%)	-	-		22.1%
	Voluntary Attrition Rate (%)	-	-		12.5%
Black or African American	Total Departures	No Data	No Data		2,343
	Employee Turnover (%)	-	-		12.2%
	Voluntary Attrition Rate (%)	-	-		6.6%
Hispanic or Latino	Total Departures	No Data	No Data		1,378
	Employee Turnover (%)	-	-		7.2%
	Voluntary Attrition Rate (%)	-	-		4.7%
Indigenous or Native	Total Departures	No Data	No Data		115
	Employee Turnover (%)	-	-		0.6%
	Voluntary Attrition Rate (%)	-	-		0.4%
Asian	Total Departures	No Data	No Data		185
	Employee Turnover (%)	-	-		1.0%
	Voluntary Attrition Rate (%)	-	-		0.7%
Other Ethnic Minority	Total Departures	No Data	No Data		340
	Employee Turnover (%)	-	-		1.8%
	Voluntary Attrition Rate (%)	-	-		1.0%
		2021	2022	2023
Employee Retention		Percentage (%) of employees who remain employed over the fiscal year (By Gender)
		Total	Total		Male	Female	Total
Total Company		No Data	No Data		79.6%	91.0%	70.6%
North America		No Data	No Data		71.0%	87.1%	58.1%
South America		No Data	No Data		83.8%	95.2%	79.0%
EMEIA		No Data	No Data		87.9%	95.5%	83.4%
Asia		No Data	No Data		84.7%	89.9%	74.6%
Consumer Packaging International (CPI) Division		No Data	No Data		87.7%	93.4%	81.1%
Consumer Packaging North America (CPNA) Division		No Data	No Data		69.0%	84.3%	53.3%
Flexibles Division		No Data	No Data		68.9%	90.5%	59.4%
Health, Hygiene & Specialties (HHS) Division		No Data	No Data		82.4%	94.6%	85.4%
Corporate		No Data	No Data		90.8%	95.6%	86.5%
		Retention Rate by Ethnicity (US Operations Only)
		Total	Total			Total
White		No Data	No Data			78.5%
Black or African American		No Data	No Data			88.2%
Hispanic or Latino		No Data	No Data			93.0%
Indigenous or Native		No Data	No Data			99.4%
Asian		No Data	No Data			99.1%
Other Ethnic Minority		No Data	No Data			98.3%
		2021		2022		2023
Employee Appraisals				Total
Percentage (%) of Salaried Employees Receiving Regular Performance Reviews		99% U.S 40% Rest of World²		99%		99%3
Employee Well-being, Health and Safety
		2021		2022		2023
Third Party Health and Safety Certifications		Number and Percentage of Total Facilities
		Number	Percentage	Number	Percentage	Number	Percentage
ISO 45001		No Data	-	24	9%	29	11%
		2023
Function Specific Safety Training		Number of Employees			Course Completions
Total Function Specific Safety Training		17,953			175,752
Slips, Trips & Falls		4,776			8,000
Lockout/Tagout Safety		2,881			4,667
Electrical Training		2,383			7,678
Hearing Conservation		4,348			4,817
Hazardous Materials Safety		3,249			3,932
Powered Industrial Truck Safety		2,520			3,096
Hazard and Risk Identification		2023
		Percentage
Facilities with Health and Safety Risk Assessment Completed		100%
		Number
Observations Completed		314,223
Good Catches		143,312
Near Misses and Hazards		125,021
Health and Safety Committees		2023
		Percentage
Facilities with Health and Safety Committees in Place		100%
		2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
Safety Incident Recording		TRIR and LRFR by Region & Division
Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) Total of work-related injury and Illness, multiplied by 200,000, divided by total labor hours	Whole Business	1.17	1.11	0.92	0.84	0.81
	Temporary Employees4	Not Tracked				0.87
	North America					1.07
	South America					0.13
	EMEIA					0.87
	Asia					0.13
	CPI Division					0.5
	CPNA Division					1.15
	EM Division					1.32
	HHS Division					0.9
	Corporate					0
Lost-time Frequency Rate (LTFR) (per 1 million labor hours) Number of cases with lost time, multiplied by 1,000,000, divided by total labor hours	Whole Business	1.95	2.6	1.96	2.04	2.18
	North America	Not Tracked				1.9
	South America					0.34
	EMEIA					3.78
	Asia					0.43
	CPI Division					2.18
	CPNA Division					1.67
	EM Division					4.21
	HHS Division					2.16
	Corporate					0
		Rates and Totals for Other Key Safety Incident Metrics (Whole Business)
Lost-Time Injury Severity Rate Total number of workdays lost, multiplied by 200,000, divided by total labor hours		14.28	14.49	14.33	15.86	16.2
DART Rate Cases Total number of Days Away and Restricted or Transfer cases, multiplied by 200,000, divided by labor hours		0.76	0.87	0.71	0.57	0.6
DART Rate Days Total number of Days Away and Restricted or Transfer cases, multiplied by 200,000, divided by labor hours		31.17	34.36	27.6	27.6	24.77
SIF RATE (per 1 million labor hours) Total number of Serious Injuries or Fatalities, multiplied by 1,000,000, divided by labor hours.		No Data	No Data	0.17	0.2	0.15
High-Consequence Work-Related Injuries Total number of work-related injury that results in a fatality or in an injury from which the worker cannot, does not, or is not expected to recover fully to pre-injury health status within 6 months.		No Data	No Data	No Data	No Data	5
Work-related Fatalities A work-related incident resulting in death		1	0	1	1	1
Fatality Rate Number of work-related fatalities, divided by labor hours, multiplied by 200,000		0.004	0	0.002	0.002	0.002
		2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
Ill Health Incident Recording		Totals for Key Ill Health Incident Metrics
Incidents of Work-related Ill Health An Illness that is caused or contributed to by an event or exposure in the work environment		3	12	1	0	2
Number of Fatalities as a Result of Work-related Ill Health		0	0	0	0	0
Community Partnerships
		2021		2022		2023
Community Events		Percentage of Facilities Who Conducted at Least One Community Event
Facilities Participating		No Data		75%		90%

1. Employee engagement surveys are now completed on an 18-month cycle, with our next survey being completed during our 2024 fiscal year.
2. Employees from facilities acquired as part of the 2019 RPC acquisition did not have a regular performance review structure in place.
3. We are transitioning to a new online performance management system in Fiscal Year 2025 in connection with the ongoing upgrade of our existing Human Capital Management system, so reported data for 2023 is an estimate. Berry strongly believes in ensuring that employees are involved in regular performance management/coaching conversations with their direct supervisor.
4. Our safety incident recording metrics do not include data on contractors. In 2023, we had one high-consequence work-related injury involving a contractor, and 0 contractor fatalities.

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Key Strategies

Sustainability encompasses care for our employees and communities. By providing support where we can help the most – through donating time, resources, knowledge, and expertise – we are dedicated to creating a positive impact within our manufacturing and innovation center communities across the globe.

As an organization, we continually work to ensure that the unique identities, talents, skills, and experiences of our employees are welcomed, respected, and fully utilized, not only as an employer of over 43,000 people around the globe, but also for the growing expectations of our global account customers and other key stakeholders. Our company’s Social Strategy helps us further build and support a people-first culture through our commitment to diversity and inclusion, talent strategies that attract and foster a diverse, skilled workforce, and impactful philanthropic initiatives in our communities.

Employee Health, Safety and Well-Being

Our number one core value is safety, and our ultimate safety goal is to achieve zero incidents of any type across all locations. No job is so urgent, and no schedule so rigid, that work cannot be completed in a safe manner. Each employee is given the knowledge, skills, and understanding of their responsibility to take care of themselves and their teammates while at work. Worldwide, we recognize teammates looking after teammates. We are proud of this culture and see it as a key differentiator and an anchor for our Health and Safety program.

With safety as our number one value, we are driven by the nine key Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) Principles:

• Each of us is responsible for the safety and health of ourselves and others.
• Each of us is responsible for our impact on the environment.
• We only carry out tasks that we have been trained and authorized to do.
• We do not take shortcuts that compromise safety.
• We never operate unsafe equipment.
• We report and resolve hazards that could affect health, safety, and the environment.
• We challenge anyone not behaving safely.
• Wherever personal protective equipment is needed, we wear it at all times.
• We ensure visitors and contractors know and follow our rules.
  
  

Employee safety is managed through our EHS Management Framework and supported by our EHS policy. In addition, we have implemented an EHS vision and nine EHS principles to further mitigate the risk of on-site safety incidents.

We continue to work towards our ultimate goal of zero incidents. That said, when incidents do occur, we conduct a detailed data analysis to help prevent recurrence. We track eight key performance indicators relating to employee and contractor safety and publicly report five years’ worth of company-wide data.

We track our Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) as our key performance indicator for our health and safety disclosures. Our recordable incident rate is calculated using U.S. OSHA’s classification criteria. Industry average is based on the incident rate of nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses for Plastics Product Manufacturing (NAICS 3261) as published by the United States Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

After reducing our TRIR to 0.84 in 2022, we set an ambitious target of 0.70 for 2023. While we ultimately fell short o f the target, we once again improved our year over year rate by 10% to 0.81, which now lies well below the industry rate of 3.5. Additionally, 112 of our facilities (41%) achieved zero recordable incidents of any kind in 2023, reflecting the success of our EHS framework and the dedication and leadership of all our employees to help ensure the safety of themselves and others.

Environmental, Health, and Safety Policy

Our company-wide EHS policy enforces strict adherence to external, industry-wide safety standards and outlines the additional high standards we expect in our business. Observance to this policy helps us implement actions in a practical and timely manner to reduce hazards and help ensure all departments across our plants and offices are considered safe working environments.

While our business leaders are accountable for implementing and supporting the EHS policy across our operations, each employee is an active participant in supporting their own personal safety and the safety of their colleagues. Through personal ownership, every Berry employee understands their responsibility to take care of each other while at work. Safety is a condition of employment and integral to our business.

EHS Management Framework 

Our EHS framework provides a stringent, comprehensive, and global Health and Safety Management System that covers all employees and external workers within our operations. The framework features 20 elements divided into three areas: foundational EHS, hazard management, and special risk areas. Together, they form a roadmap for all our facilities to meet internal and external expectations for EHS standards and excellence.

We complete internal framework audits and accompanying guidance and training regularly to ensure compliance with the company’s EHS vision and help identify areas for improvement. We also complete regular assessments of facilities’ compliance with the framework to ensure it is being accurately implemented across all operations. In addition to our company-wide Health and Safety Management System, we support and encourage facilities to achieve the international standard for occupational health and safety management, ISO 45001. To date, 29 facilities have achieved this certification, up 5 from 2022.

Employee Training 

In order to implement our framework effectively, employees must not only understand their responsibilities, but also be well trained and knowledgeable about safe-working practices and hazard prevention.

Depending on their specific role and responsibilities, we provide all employees with assigned, role-based training, such as fall protection, slips trips and falls, lockout/tagout, and electrical training. We also provide additional training on safety absolutes through our training development platforms. In addition to assigned training, in-person and on-the-spot safety training is used to reinforce our safety vision and framework and help ensure working environments remain safe.

All training is provided at no cost to the individual. New hires complete relevant training prior to working at our facilities and receive further training on our company specific EHS Policy, Vision, and Procedures. In 2023, over 175,000 function-specific safety courses were completed across our business by almost 18,000 individual employees.

EHS Committees 

As part of our EHS framework, all facilities across our business are expected to have an EHS Committee in operation, with representation from all levels and departments. The goal of these committees is to ensure employees can provide input into how the EHS program is implemented at that facility and lead actions to improve employee health and safety. Committees meet frequently and track attendance, process, and responsibilities through EHS Committee charters.

Hazard & Risk Identification 

Identifying and managing potential risks and hazards on-site are key to preventing injuries and successfully implementing our EHS framework. We work to ensure all team members across our facilities are trained to identify risks, recognize hazards, and understand their role in the risk management process.

Our risk management process provides team members with working knowledge of our risk management model of hazard identification, risk assessment, prioritization, control, monitoring, and review. All team members complete mandatory training on our EHS risk management process to understand the hierarchy of control, which helps ensure consistent processes are used to determine the most effective solution for mitigating identified hazards. Hazard elimination is always the most effective control to help eliminate the risk of injury, and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is the final defence to create safe working environments.

As part of our process to identify on-site hazards before an accident takes place, we complete regular team member observations. This gives team members an opportunity to provide feedback on their environment, and through these observations, unsafe acts or conditions that have the potential to cause harm or damage can be caught and corrective action can be implemented in a timely manner. Identifying potential risks is referred to as a “good catch.” In 2023, team members completed over 314,000 observations, with 143,000 good catches” identified. Tracking these key performance indicators allows us to determine focus areas for hazard elimination, minimizing the risk of recordable incidents.

We also track “near misses and hazards” across all our facilities. These are site incidents that had the potential to lead to injury, but no property or personnel were injured. Tracking “near misses and hazards” allows us to implement corrective action to mitigate future risks from similar scenarios. In 2023, we identified over 125,000 “near misses and hazards”, around 3,000 fewer than in 2022, and we are working to reduce the number of near miss events going forward to help ensure a safe working environment for our team members.

Contractor Safety 

Contractors and subcontractors performing work within our operations are covered by our contractor EHS program. The program is set up to ensure contractors understand and maintain the high standards of our facilities with regard to the Environment, Health, and Safety, so they can perform their work safely. Contractors at our facilities have responsibility for the safety of Berry employees, their own employees, and themselves. Our program ensures all parties involved are aware of their defined responsibilities, understand the required procedures, and have completed relevant training and documentation.

Responsibilities:

Berry’s EHS group approves and maintains an accurate list of qualified contract companies, conducts periodic audits of on-site contractor safety performances, and ensures project managers understand contractor accountability.

Berry Project Managers provide the contractor companies with Berry’s safety manual and contractor EHS questionnaires and confirm approval of completed questionnaires with the EHS group. Project managers inform contractors of job-specific procedures and hazards, ensure they have completed applicable training, located safety equipment, and complied with site EHS policies.

The Contract Company is responsible for obtaining relevant site permits and ensuring contractors are qualified to work on-site, have been medically evaluated, and are provided with appropriate PPE.

Procedures: 

Contractor(s) must understand the site EHS policies and complete relevant EHS training. They must act responsibly and complete work within the guidelines of Berry’s safety manual. 

Contract qualification and selection: Before a work contract is awarded, contractors must complete a contractor questionnaire to be reviewed by our team. Contractors with a poor safety record or program may be disqualified from completing work. Criteria for approval may include, but are not limited to, the documentation of past safety performance, up to date EHS training, and evidence of appropriate EHS procedures. 

Work Monitoring: The Project Manager and EHS personnel must conduct routine inspections of the contract work activities. Evidence of failure to comply with facility EHS policies may result in the removal of offending personnel from the site and termination of work contracts. 

Training: 

Contractor Oversight requires contractors to report injuries or accidents to the Project Manager immediately, regardless of severity. Additionally, contractors must conduct accident investigations of any injuries that occur on site.

EHS Orientation: Prior to work being undertaken, evidence of annual EHS orientation training must be presented, including training on basic OSHA safety topics, Berry EHS policies and expectations, and incident, near miss, and hazard reporting. 

Qualified or Certified Training: The contract company must ensure contractor employees are trained appropriately for their work tasks, meeting minimum Federal and State regulatory requirements, including training on lockout/tagout, fall protection, electrical safety, and hot work.

Health and Well-Being 

We operate in an industry where, in addition to workplace safety hazards, hearing and respiratory hazards can lead to the potential ill health of employees. At Berry, we work to eliminate these hazards. Where elimination is not possible, we have implemented a Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Policy. The policy outlines our commitment to protecting the health of our employees and provides all employees with information and guidance to help prevent incidents of ill health. As outlined in the policy, and our EHS framework, appropriate hearing protection must always be worn in required areas, and facilities must implement specific respiratory protection programs (RPPs) for mitigation of respiratory risks. 

After several incidents of work-related ill health in 2020, we made significant efforts across the business to protect the health of our employees, and consequently only three further incidents have been recorded from 2021 to 2023. There have continuously been no fatalities from work-related ill health within our operations. We are also committed to supporting the physical and mental well-being of our employees by providing the necessary support infrastructure. Our total well-being program, available to all Berry employees, includes country-specific coverage for physical, emotional, and financial well-being and support for a healthy work/life balance. We are proud of our employees and work to provide them with flexible resources that suit their individual needs.

Employee Engagement 

We are committed to fostering a culture of highly engaged employees who are given the opportunity to pursue personal development and ultimately achieve their career goals. We accomplish this by providing a variety of development opportunities (both online and instructor-led training) and helping ensure all team members can have their voice heard through our annual employee engagement survey.

Employee Engagement Survey 

To help meet the needs and expectations of all our team members, we conducted our second annual global engagement survey in 2022, and will complete surveys on an 18-month basis going forward. The goal of the survey was to better understand the strengths and opportunities for Berry as a whole, as well as for each division, location, and team. A total of 39,092 team members – 86% of our global workforce – responded to the survey, an increase compared to the 2021 survey participation rate of 75%. The survey included questions related to individual engagement, as well as flexibility, meaningful recognition, and understanding how everyone’s work contributes to the success of the company. Additional areas of focus included leadership behaviors, opportunities for personal development, and inclusion.

Employee Communication Outreach 

A robust and effective internal communication program is essential to allow meaningful engagement with and among our team members across the globe. We have introduced numerous key communicators and multiple communication vehicles–spanning electronic, print, and face-to-face - that provide colleagues with information such as business initiatives, company performance, benefit offerings and development opportunities. Through these platforms we can also celebrate individual successes and provide a focal point for OneBerry to support each other, our communities, and our world.

Employee Development

On-Demand Learning

Berry’s myDevelopment learning management system provides access to more than 1,500 self-development and skill-development courses in multiple languages. Because we continue to see significant utilization of this development tool, more courses are being added in the near term. Of our workforce who had access to the program, 22% utilized at least one course in 2023; 5,472 participants completed 90,774 individual courses.

Employee Training

Understanding Berry’s global organization and business strategy is important for every role within our company. Through a variety of training programs, we provide our team members across the globe with Berry-specific skills and capabilities and custom development courses in sustainability, project management, and Lean Six Sigma to help progress their personal and professional goals. In 2023, we achieved an average of 57.5 training hours per our more than 43,000 team members, resulting in a total of 2.5 million training hours completed. These training hours included instructor-led sessions, various online learning platforms, and new-hire onboarding.

Talent Management and Acquisition

The continued growth and evolution of our OneBerry team are integral to our success and ability to deliver against business objectives. Our talent management process creates a level platform to assess the behaviors and capabilities of our team by providing a common language to describe “what good looks like” in Berry leadership. Our ultimate goal is to support and advance the careers of the critical team members who will champion the growth of our business and lead the organization into the future.

Annual Performance Process

Annual performance reviews are a key part of our talent management process. Designed with employee development and motivation in mind, we believe that goals and performance assessments are critical to the accountability process. Goal setting allows our team members to maintain focus on key performance metrics and identify strategic imperatives that move the organization (and their careers) forward, increase motivation, and foster a personal sense of satisfaction. Each site analyzes their respective survey results and is tasked with putting together action items to address identified improvement opportunities. These improvement plans vary by site, with the goal of continuously improving overall employee engagement by recognizing and acting on opportunities identified through the survey process.

While we transition to a new online performance management system in Fiscal Year 2025, we estimate that Ninety-nine percent of manager-band and above employees have completed the annual performance management process.

Each year, employees work with their managers to set three to five strategic goals specific to their role and responsibilities. In addition, they agree upon one to two individual development goals to further their career and personal objectives. Targets for each leadership team member are cascaded from the organizations goals and mission to align with the overall business strategy.

At the beginning of the goal-setting process, each manager explains the overall company, division, or location objectives and then works collaboratively with their team members to set individual SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound).

Hope Away From Home

In partnership with local agencies, such as Catholic Charites and Della Lamb, we provide more than simply employment to hundreds of refugees across our global sites. In 2023 alone, more than 150 refugees have been placed in our growing refugee integration program across the United States – with many coming from East Africa, Afghanistan, and Ukraine. Our immersive and inclusive refugee hiring program offers financial independence, long-term career growth, and a culture that celebrates each individual so they can feel welcomed, valued, and respected at work. All of this is accomplished while helping overcome barriers along the way to self-sufficiency. Individuals may come in as refugees, but once they arrive, they are part of a OneBerry family.

Community Partnerships

With the goal of growing our business in a way that is responsible for our people, society, and the environment, we proudly support nonprofit organizations that help create or support community resilience and growth.

Beyond the products we make, we value strong, sustainable partnerships within our communities around the globe. Partnering with our communities is of top importance to our employees and, in turn, our teams have partnered with their local communities to make a positive impact. In 2022, employees participated in community events ranging from environmental clean-ups, holiday toy collections, and donations of thousands of dollars to those in need.

In 2021, we announced our goal to make certain that 100% of our facilities coordinate annual employee volunteer events. In response, 75% of facilities hosted a community event at their facility in 2022, and 90% in 2023. Over the last two years, employees in Suzhou, China have worked together to clean up litter from their local environment, and employees from two locations in Brazil collected and delivered toys to less fortunate children for the holidays. In Spain, employees participated in clean-up events in honor of Clean Beaches Week and World Environment Day.

Employee Benefits

Wellness and mental health continued to be a focus globally for our Benefits and Human Resources teams throughout 2023. Recognizing this, Berry placed a high priority on the holistic care of employees and their families. We continue to provide our Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to more than 43,000 employees in 33 countries. Our EAP provides access to professionals that can assist team members facing challenges that could impact work or home life, such as stress and anxiety, family concerns, or legal issues.

Example U.S. Benefits

Regular, full-time employees or part-time employees working at least 30 hours per week enjoy a variety of benefit offerings, including:

• 401(k) retirement plan 
• Medical plans, including prescription drug coverage 
• Variable performance-based component to pay 
• Dental plans 
• Vision plans 
• Life insurance 
• Global Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Communications, including email, in-app communication cards, communications toolkit, digital monitors, and monthly newsletter 
• Well-being program 
• Fertility benefits 
• Prudential Financial Wellness program
  
  

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Disclosures

Contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 1: No Poverty

The provision of fair wages, benefits, and opportunities for skill development contribute to lifting employees out of poverty and increasing prosperity. As a global employer of over 40,000 people, we are committed to ensuring all our employees are fairly compensated for their work.

SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being

By prioritizing the health, safety, and well-being of our employees and visitors, we establish a safe work environment, reducing risks, accidents, and illness.

SDG 4: Quality Education

Our employee training and development programs provide opportunities for skill enhancement, training, and personal and professional growth, contributing to a skilled and educated workforce. We continuously aim to train, develop, and educate our employees at all levels to progress their careers.

SDG 5: Gender Equality

We champion advancements in gender equality in the workplace through robust talent acquisition and management practices that promote diversity and inclusivity and provide equal access to development opportunities. 

 

SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

We operate robust programs to improve employee well-being, emphasizing decent working conditions, fair wages, & growth opportunities. These practices contribute to creating a motivated workforce & align with the goal of promoting sustained, inclusive, & sustainable economic growth & decent work for all.

SDG 10: Reduced Inequality 

By providing equal opportunities for employment, development, and well-being to all current and potential employees, we contribute to eliminating inequality.

SDG 11:  Sustainable Cities and Communities

As part of our social responsibility commitments, we provide a robust employee relations program that includes working in partnership with local communities to provide societal benefits and enhance social cohesion.

SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions

We are committed to promoting a positive work environment and respecting workers' rights in alignment with the goal of fostering peaceful and just societies. We provide employee training on global anti-corruption and provide mechanisms for all employees to report ethics violations.

SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

Actively engaging with employees, local communities, and other external stakeholders helps us build resilient, inclusive communities. Furthermore, investing in employee training, development and talent management helps lead to further knowledge sharing that is vital for fostering effective partnerships.

GRI and SASB Alignment

GRI 401(3-3) Employment
GRI 401-1 New Employee Hires and Employee Turnover
GRI 401-2 Benefits Provided to Full-Time Employees That are Not Provided to Temporary Employees
GRI 403 (3-3) Occupational Health and Safety
GRI 403-1 Occupational Health and Safety Management System
GRI 403-2 Hazard Identification, Risk Assessment, and Incident Investigation
GRI 403-3 Occupational Health Services
GRI 403-4 Worker Participation, Consultation, and Communication on Occupational Health and Safety
GRI 403-5 Worker Training on Occupational Health and Safety
GRI 403-6 Promotion of Worker Health
GRI 403-7 Prevention and Mitigation of Occupational Health and Safety Impacts Directly Linked by Business Relationships
GRI 403-8 Workers Covered by an Occupational Health and Safety Management System
GRI 403-9 Work-Related Injuries
GRI 403-10 Work-Related Ill Health
GRI 404 (3-3) Training and Education
GRI 404-1 Average Hours of Training Per Employee
GRI 404-2 Programs for Upgrading Employee Skills and Transition Assistance Programs
GRI 404-3 Percentage of Employees Receiving Regular Performance and Career Development Reviews

Last updated: December 14th 2023