Corporate responsibility: HSC/E's drivers

A strategy for workplace health and safety in Great Britain to 2010 and beyond

This Health and Safety Commission (HSC) strategy was published in February 2002, and seeks to motivate and encourage employers to work towards taking greater responsibility for managing risks to occupational health and safety. The strategy (MISC643) has four strategic themes:

• to develop closer partnerships with stakeholders in other organisations;
• to help people benefit from effective health and safety management;
• to focus on making changes where we can make an impact in reducing workplace injury and ill health;
• to communicate the strategy.

An early deliverable has been the publication of case studies to demonstrate the business benefit of effective management of occupational health and safety.

Revitalising Health and Safety

The Revitalising Health and Safety (RHS) strategy statement was published in 2000 to inject new impetus into the health and safety agenda. It was launched jointly by the Government and HSC.

This 10-year strategy seeks to gain significant improvements in workplace health and safety by motivating and encouraging employers to work towards taking greater responsibility for managing risks to occupational health and safety. It sets challenging targets aimed at:

• reducing the number of working days lost from work-related ill health and injury by 30% by 2010;
• reducing the number of new cases of work-related ill health by 20% by 2010;
• reducing the number of fatal and major injuries by 10% by 2010.

HSC had identified a number of measures as vital to achieving these targets, including:

• action point 11 - encouraging CEOs and directors to provide leadership and direction on health and safety;
• action points 2 and 13 - encouraging large employers and public bodies to publicly report on health and safety.