Human capital and Vision Zero

Sustainability and human capital are indelibly linked with safety and health. Development of the first concept started to emerge in the 1970s. Initially concerned with environmental sustainability, it gathered pace in 1987 with the publication of the United Nations' (UN) Brundtland Commission report, Our Common Future (bit.ly/30LjLQs). Although sustainability is commonly described under the headings of social, economic and environmental, the focus has been on the last one. Safety and health issues, which can be considered to sit under the social heading, have not received the same level of…

On 3 April 2019, the Center for Safety and Health Sustainability (CSHS) held its fourth Human Capital workshop in Paris. Created in 2011, the CSHS is a collaboration between IOSH, the American Society of Safety Professionals,  the American Industrial Hygiene Association and the Canadian Society of Safety Engineering.

I was invited recently to meet representatives of a global company with a household name. The business was working on its sustainability strategy and, under Chatham House rules, bravely sought the opinion of around 20 external stakeholders including IOSH.The opening statements made by the organisation were encouraging. Its investors and board had formulated a mechanism to measure return on capital for non-financial indicators, and were focusing particularly on gains from risk management and governance.