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News release

16 June 2011 - NR 31/11

Project launched to link health and safety with long-term business survival

A Leicestershire-based health and safety body is joining forces with two American organisations to find new ways of safeguarding workforces.

The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) is one of the partners involved in the new global Center for Safety and Health Sustainability (CSHS). And chief executive Rob Strange OBE and president Steve Granger took part in its launch in Chicago this week, at the American Society of Safety Engineers’ (ASSE) Conference 2011.

CSHS aims to raise awareness of the ways health and safety can secure the future of businesses, making them more sustainable for the future.

ASSE, which began the partnership after seeing a need to embed health and safety in business and public policy, joined with IOSH and the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) to bring the project to life.

Mr Granger said: “IOSH is very pleased to be part of this new centre, which is about our three organisations working together to improve the lives of people who are at, or affected by work.

“Sustainability is now firmly placed on the corporate agenda, and, in fact, we view the protection of the workforce as a key part of what it involves. Achieving high standards for health and safety reduces unnecessary wastage of resources in terms of staff turnover and health, as well as damage or loss to physical assets.”

The president of Illinois-based ASSE, Darryl C. Hill, said: “The case to be made for safety and health as an integral part of organisational sustainability is a compelling one.

“Every year more than two million people die worldwide from occupational accidents or work-related diseases, and there are several millions more cases of non-fatal occupational accidents and diseases – yet, work safety and health play a relatively small role in defining business sustainability today. We need to act now.”

The three organisations together represent approximately 80,000 safety and health professionals around the world.

AIHA executive director Peter O’Neil said: "This collaboration will greatly add to the depth of our industry, promoting businesses to focus on protecting worker health and safety while addressing policies which encompass global sustainability.”

This Center will provide new insights into the measurement, management, and impact of safety and health sustainability, with the goal of being a recognised thought leader for sustainability and corporate social responsibility. It is also a stakeholder of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) – a network-based organisation that pioneered the world’s most widely used sustainability reporting framework.

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Notes for editors:

IOSH is the Chartered body for health and safety professionals. With more than 40,000 members in 85 countries, we’re the world’s biggest professional health and safety organisation.

We set standards, and support, develop and connect our members with resources, guidance, events and training. We’re the voice of the profession, and campaign on issues that affect millions of working people.

IOSH was founded in 1945 and is a registered charity with international NGO status.