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Environmental, Social and Governance
Environmental, Social and Governance
VME believes it’s possible for everyone around the world to have access to clean, affordable and sustainable energy. We call this vision Energy for Everyone, and it’s why we help energy companies meet the world’s energy needs by supplying:
- technology and process
- modular equipment
- surface facilities
- engineered solutions
- after-market services
These services are essential to our world today and tomorrow, building economic development and improving standards of living.
However, sustainability doesn’t end there. It also means protecting people, caring for the environment, and ensuring that our business ethics protect the well-being of the communities in which we operate.
Take a closer look at our Environmental, Social and Governance actions:
Environmental
At VME, we believe our children and grandchildren have a right to enjoy the earth and its natural environment. Together with our clients and partners, we strive to be good stewards of the earth’s resources and stress conservation of resources where possible. To that end, we’re committed to either enhancing or unchanging every environment we work within – regardless of each one’s unique challenges.
Driving our initiatives is our compliance to the ISO 14001 family of standards, which ensures that on every project our engineering and design, processes and operations care and respect our environment.
Additionally, we’ve implemented carbon dioxide recovery technology to reduce harmful emissions, and we encourage low-carbon natural gas and renewable energy where possible.
Every action leads to a domino effect of positive impact. See more of what we do to maintain environmental integrity here:
VME’s environmental management focuses on:
- environmental risk mitigation
- reducing impact on the environment
- raising all employees’ awareness and understanding.
It’s integrated from the ground-up with the selection of process and equipment, process safety systems, fabrication and site facilities, licenses and pollution management (including air, liquids, wastes and spills).
And it’s woven throughout every project – from feasibility phase through Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) to Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Commissioning and Startup (EPC)
Nothing is excluded from our environmental ethos. We care.
VME supports research to understand the scale of human impact on our planet and climate change.
We respond by:
- following recognized global standards during the development and execution of all our projects.
- delivering sustainable projects that minimize carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions to mitigate negative effects on the environment.
VME employs a continuous improvement culture and one evidence of this is the product life cycle. From development, commercialization, and aftermarket support, we strive to incorporate new technology and know how to improve our separation and treatment systems, reducing waste, undesirable effluents, and emissions from the production of Oil and Gas.
Hazardous waste comes in many forms, including liquids, solids, sludges and gases. Examples of common types of hazardous waste include:
- Used motor oil
- Spent fluorescent and other lamps
- Mercury-containing equipment
- Aerosol products
- Electronics waste
- Rechargeable batteries
- Wastes containing solvents, acids, bases, or other chemicals
- Leftover oil-based or alkyd paint and used thinners
VME Tyler facility falls under the guidelines of Small Quantity Generators (SQGs) and abides by the regulations set by 40 CFR part 262. All employees are responsible for ensuring that any hazardous waste produced is managed. The HSE department is responsible for monitoring the hazardous waste program and approving vendors for the pickup and transport of the waste and maintaining documentation of hazardous waste leaving the facility.
VME’s recycling program reduces the amount of waste sent to landfills, prevents pollution by minimizing the need to collect new raw materials, and helps create jobs in the recycling and manufacturing industries. Some of the recycling you can find at VME include: Aluminum Cans, Plastic, & LED light bulbs. On average, recycling equates to 1.17 jobs per every 1,000 tons of materials recycled. Together we can make a difference.
VME is committed to minimizing the risk of exposure to infectious diseases which may affect employees, customers, and guests present at any of our facilities. VME articulates the requirements for immunization, screening, infection control practices and management of pandemics or disease outbreaks in order to minimize the risk of exposure to infectious diseases. This practice helps VME create a safe and healthy environment. We abide by these responsibilities to demonstrate our commitment to all relevant laws, legislation, medical policies and recommendations handed down by the CDC.
Social
The foundation of VME’s success is our people, technology and integrity. All three are fundamental to VME’s mission and vision but – without people – VME would not exist.
People are our most valuable asset, and we are committed to their safety and development above all else.
The investment in safe environments and career development provides an improved workforce, better prepares us for tomorrow’s new and complex projects, and reinforces a culture built upon the pillars of people, technology and integrity.
We also want to care about the people around us. Our corporate and regional subsidiaries across the globe have supported many communities and charities, including schools, developments and awareness programs.
See more of what we do to maintain social integrity here:
VME’s purpose is to Know. Serve. Grow. PEOPLE. How do we do this? We build genuine relationships. We strive daily to live out our Core Values – Integrity, Responsibility, Fairness and Clarity – leading by example from the top and uniting our employees around those values, creating one team whose main goal is to meet the needs of PEOPLE – customers, employees, vendors, suppliers, owners and community.
Every employee represents VME to our customers and to the public. The way we do our jobs presents an image of our entire organization. We assist every customer or potential customer while being courteous, friendly, helpful, and prompt in the attention we give them with the goal of building fair, honest and impartial relationships.
VME is committed to fair and honest treatment of all employees. We respect each other’s rights and culture. We maintain a globally diverse workforce by recruiting, employing and advancing people based on objective criteria, job-related experience and initiative. We believe our working conditions, wages and benefits are competitive within our location and industry. Employees are strongly encouraged to voice any concerns openly and directly to their supervisor and/or Human Resource Management.
All company purchases of goods and services are based solely on quality, service, price, and suitability. We establish mutually beneficial, long-term relationships with our suppliers and vendors but do not favor a firm when purchasing materials or services based solely on its customer status.
The authority, responsibility, and accountability for safety are as important as our business standards regarding quality, productivity, and costs. That’s why our objective is ZERO incidents and ZERO accidents by ensuring working environments that are safe and free from recognizable hazards – without compromising environmental responsibility. This is achieved by Safety Programs and procedures that assist and guide our People in their commitment to safety. These measures also include open dialogue which aims to solicit a direct response from our employees. The most important element of VME’s safety philosophy is that each individual is empowered to ensure safety in their own work practices. Executive Management fully supports these programs and will hold individuals accountable for working safely.
In response to the pandemic, VME’s leadership quickly pulled together and formed a COVID Task Force with representatives from corporate, operations, human resources, HSE and legal. The Task Force immediately created and implemented VME’s global COVID management protocol in compliance with local laws and regulations, as well as international agency guidelines, to help protect our people and their families, while continuing to serve our customers. The COVID Task Force continues to discuss and revise protocol as the pandemic evolves.
All employees are educated on COVID prevention guidelines of good hygiene, keeping proper distance and staying home if they are sick. VME has properly trained designated staff to assist affected employees through VME’s COVID reporting, quarantine and return-to-work procedures, as well as benefits provided through FFCRA, CARES Act and ARPA.
Developing skills and capabilities of our employees is a core priority to build a capable and effective workforce. VME provides expansive learning and development solutions to meet the development needs of our team, as well as proactively recognizing good work and supporting opportunities for growth and improvement.
Our short service program allows our workers to grow and develop skills and provides them the skills to perform those skills in a safe manner.
VME continues to invest in our employees through training programs, further education, performance management and talent management. Our employees are core to the success of VME.
VME believes in helping to restore brokenness, improve opportunities and progress advancement. That’s where VME SHARE comes in. Simply Helping Area Resources Exist (SHARE) is our vessel for coming alongside our communities and our employees in need. Just a few ways VME has provided financial assistance:
- United way
- Mentoring alliance
- Children’s Cancer Research Fund/Gold Network of East Texas
- Alzheimer’s Alliance
- Literacy Council of Tyler
- Tyler Hispanic Business Alliance
- PATH (People Attempting to Help)
- Salvation Army
- Toys for Tots
- East Texas Autism Network
- Community disaster recovery
Not only does our company provide financial support, but we also highly encourage our people to step up and do what they can to care for others. Some of the ways VME fosters employee participation in our community are:
- Carter BloodCare quarterly employee blood drives
- Habitat For Humanity
- Marine Toys for Tots
- Coats for Kids
- Community disaster recovery
- School supply drives
- Food pantry
- Blanket drives
- Fan drives
VME respects the personal data of all the people we work with, including our employees, customers, vendors, and suppliers. VME will not collect or maintain personal data that is not required by law or necessary to conduct our business.
Governance
VME’s Board of Directors are responsible for the oversight and development of all company activities on a global basis. This governance is essential for creating longterm viability of VME as well as the economic development of the communities where we operate.
VME’s Governance is about making sure every employee lives up to the high standards we set as a company – on health and safety, the environment, climate change, biodiversity and in our relationships with local communities.
All employees are expected to uphold the highest ethical standards of business integrity, complying with VME’s policies and all applicable laws where we work. Training for our employees includes:
- Business ethics
- Anti-corruption
- Code of conduct for our suppliers
- Reporting violations
- Conflicts of interest
- Open-door communications
VME is committed to doing business with integrity. This means avoiding corruption of all kinds and complying with all applicable anti-corruption laws, including the US Foreign Corrupt Practices act (FCPA).
Read more about our Governance categories:
VME believes the principles of fair dealing and ethical conduct are essential for successful business operations. VME follows the spirit and letter of all applicable laws and regulations, as well as holding our people to the highest stands of conduct and personal integrity. VME’s Business Ethics & Compliance policy is available upon request.
VME avoids corruption of all kinds. It is the policy of VME to comply with all applicable anti-corruption laws, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) and the local laws in every country in which we do business. In addition, VME prohibits corrupt business dealings between private persons and entities. VME’s Anti-Corruption Policy is available upon request.
VME’s Supply Chain maintains a reliable supply base through active supplier engagement and performance monitoring of quality, accuracy, and on-time delivery. Sustainability is at the core of supplier selection, procurement, and performance monitoring processes by adhering to our ISO Certification standards for risk management by means of questionnaires, evaluation, and site audits. Prospective suppliers are also assessed for their Health, Safety, and Environmental statistics as needed for the product or service they are providing. We enhance our processes through continuous improvement and audits to identify and manage potential risks. The Supply Chain further incorporates VME’s core values of Integrity, Responsibility, Fairness, and Clarity in all interactions with suppliers, not only ensuring our commitment to our suppliers but holding them to the same level of accountability.
VME implements layers of modern technology platforms to increase information security while decreasing risk to our customers, suppliers, and employees. We store our critical digital assets in a best-in-class cloud storage provider with additional security enhancements.
Our operational and financial transactions are conducted in a secure enterprise-class business system supported by a top software company. In line with our Responsibility core value, every employee at VME completes quarterly security training with the latest training material provided by a security awareness industry leader.
Lastly, VME conducts security social tests to ensure our employees remain diligent to new threats and are aware of how important digital security is to our business partners.