Health & Safety International Award Confirms IOSH As A Global Player


Alan Stevens is pictured with IOSH CEO Vanessa Harwood-Whitcher and the ORP award.


The global influence of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) in securing a safer, healthier world of work has been confirmed by a prestigious international award.


As the world-leading chartered professional body for people responsible for safety and health in the workplace, with more than 48,000 members in over 130 countries, IOSH has been presented with the International ORP Award 20221


.


This is the highest recognition offered by the International ORP (Occupational Risk Prevention) Foundation, with previous winners from 2018-2021 including ICOH (International Commission on Occupational Health), WHO (World Health Organization), ILO (International Labour Organization) and ISSA (International Social Security Association).


The award, which was presented to IOSH Head of Strategic Engagement Alan Stevens at


the Foundation’s 22nd annual


congress, held this month in Colombia, recognises outstanding commitment to safety, health and well-being at work and active contributions to the promotion and development of a global prevention culture.


ORP President Hans-Horst Konkolewsky praised IOSH’s “long- standing commitment to promote safety, health and well-being at work, both in the UK and internationally and its important role in capacity building, including specialised training to support the implementation of the Vision Zero mind-set.”


He highlighted, “IOSH’s leadership and staff for its impressive commitment and outstanding work in the service of prevention.”


Alan Stevens was clear on the significance of the ORP award to IOSH’s development: “This honour shows just how much our global influence has grown over recent years and how much we’ve become respected on the world stage.


“Our innovative approach to social sustainability and human capital through our Catch the Wave2


initiative, for example, is


resonating hugely, not just within the OSH profession but with governments, investors, trade unions and the United Nations entities, bringing these groups together in the common cause of preventing workplace harm,” he added.


1: https://fiorp.org/en/orp-international-award/ 2: https://iosh.com/businesses/iosh-for-business/catch-the-wave/


BESA Puzzled By Missed Opportunity To Mandate Clean Air


The Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) says it is surprised that changes to pollution laws announced by the government ignore the importance of indoor air quality (IAQ) and do not reflect the latest advice from the World Health Organisation (WHO). The Association welcomed new measures from the Department for Food, the Environment and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) aimed at helping local authorities create clean air zones under the terms of the new Environment Act, but said it was “puzzled” by the failure to include IAQ.


“BESA, along with other industry bodies and many health professionals, has been urging the government to use its new powers under the Act to mandate higher standards of IAQ – so this is another missed opportunity,” said Nathan Wood, chair of BESA’s Health & Well-being in Buildings group.


“There is now a wealth of guidance freely available to help building managers achieve healthier and safer indoor environments quickly and cost-effectively. It is hard to understand, therefore, why this is not being mandated particularly considering all that we learned during the pandemic about the importance of good ventilation, for example.”


BESA has published three pieces of free guidance1 outlining


practical measures to tackle the specific challenge of reducing airborne contaminants inside buildings. It points out that, as people spend more than 90% of their time indoors, it is increasingly urgent that more time and money is spent on addressing IAQ.


1: https://www.thebesa.com/iaq fmuk 17


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