COVER STORY
SMARTER RISK, STRONGER RESILIENCE
Ian Cooke, Audit, Consultancy & Culture Change Director at British Safety Council (BSC), explores why organisations must rethink how they assess risk, prioritise safety, and invest in culture to stay resilient in an increasingly unpredictable world.
REGISTERING RISK
https://www.thebci.org/resource/bci-horizon-scan-report-2025.html
I read some really interesting research recently by the BCI, which shows that, in terms of cumulative results, the most frequent disruptor for organisations is safety incidents – ahead of cyber attacks, fraud, security incidents, or extreme weather events.
However, the same report shows that in terms of planning ahead, safety incidents only feature in sixteenth place of planning priority. To me, this feels like a major disconnect – could it be a lack of understanding or perception around risk and impact on an organisation?
Forward-thinking organisations regularly update their plans for responding to events likely to pose major business disruption, but traditional data sets and recent patterns may no longer provide the strong indicators leaders have long relied on. The use of data is clearly still important, but how we use it now becomes even more so. Modelling and scenario planning remain key but can only be truly effective if they combine industry insights with a deeper understanding of potential impacts.
“SAFETY INCIDENTS ARE THE MOST FREQUENT DISRUPTOR, YET REMAIN A LOW PLANNING PRIORITY.”
For Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) professionals, this is our skill set. We have the experience to identify foreseeable risks, to consider how they might impact operations and, most importantly, the people who conduct the work. And once identified, HSE professionals can provide the control mechanisms needed to mitigate the impacts of disruptive events.
We live in a world where uncertainty and change are commonplace, and the impact disruptions can have on a business are both significant and sustained. Senior leaders and decision-makers are faced with an economic climate which makes decision making and long-term planning more complex.
For many years, there has been healthy debate about the value businesses get from investing in health, safety and environmental (HSE) initiatives. Is it a good investment? What are the returns? Does it increase profitability? Does it drive revenues or just reduce potential costs associated with work-related injuries and fatalities?
I believe that sound, proportionate and focused investment into HSE brings numerous benefits and adds measurable value to any organisation. The evidence
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would agree; good risk management is synonymous with properly planned works.
In turn, this improves efficiency and productivity, and creates a working environment that maintains high levels of employee performance and profitability. Sound investment into HSE makes business sense and can improve margins.
The evidence is clear that investing into HSE yields returns in many ways, through productivity, profitability and, most importantly, through our people.
But how can organisations drive more value from their investment into HSE?
AUTHENTIC TRAINING
By addressing risks associated with the physical, mental, emotional or even social aspects of your people, you will be able to tackle and prioritise broader issues and make your organisation more sustainable, inclusive and a better place to work.
There is no ‘one size fits all’ business in terms of employee training. Rather, organisations should consider what the
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