Sword and Globe of Honour awards encourage higher standards

As one of the world's leading advocates of workplace health and safety, the British Safety Council strongly believes that excellence in the management of health, safety and environmental risks should be recognised and rewarded, not just to salute the achievements of proven leaders in the field, but also to act as a powerful motivator for other organisations to improve their health, safety and environmental performance, saving lives and raising standards across the board.

As a result, we offer two prestigious award schemes that recognise the achievements of organisations around the world that have proved themselves to be the 'best of the best' in the fields of health, safety and environmental management. Known as the Sword and Globe of Honour, the awards represent pinnacles of achievement in the world of health and safety management and environmental management respectively, and are highly sought after by British Safety Council member organisations around the world.

Alex Botha, British Safety Council chief executive, says: "Health, safety and environmental awards are widely recognised as powerful motivators for encouraging organisations both large and small to improve their own standards in these areas, and our Sword and Globe of Honour have the same effect. The select band of organisations that win the Sword and Globe of Honour each year have proved themselves to be at the forefront of health, safety and environmental management, but their achievements also act as an spur to others to ensure that health, safety and environmental risks are properly managed.

"Our vision is that no one should be killed, injured or made ill by their work, and awards such as the Sword and Globe of Honour have a big part to play in achieving this goal by inspiring employers everywhere to match the high health, safety and environmental standards of the winners." Inaugurated back in 1979, the Sword of Honour celebrates organisations that have achieved the highest standards of health and safety management, while the Globe of Honour, now in its second year, rewards only the most environmentally conscious organisations; those which have demonstrated best practice and set exemplary standards in environmental management.

To be eligible to apply for a Sword or Globe, an organisation must first have achieved the maximum five stars in the British Safety Council's five star occupational health and safety or five star environmental management audit at one or more of its sites and must then go on to prove it is among the 'best of the best' to an independent adjudicator. Eligibility criteria is strict and there are rigorous processes in place to ensure that all applications are marked to the same standard by the adjudicators, who are all senior health, safety and environmental professionals.

Indeed, the challenging nature of the Sword and Globe of Honour awards is such that just 38 Swords and five Globes were awarded to organisations worldwide in 2010.

Alongside the much sought-after independent endorsement of their health, safety and environmental systems and practices as 'best in class', organisations that have won the Sword and Globe report a number of business benefits, including heightened prestige, increased competitive edge and higher staff morale.

Construction company Mace Technology, which won the Globe of Honour in 2010, said the award "demonstrated that as a group we are committed to achieving the highest standards possible and in leading the way in construction best practice".

Oliver Ridley, Mace Technology's environmental and sustainability manager, added: "As an environmental manager, it makes me extremely proud that we're pushing the boundaries of best practice environmental management, not only to demonstrate our capabilities, but to help lead and guide an industry towards building sustainable futures." Meanwhile, Jyothimurugan Mudhaliar, from ITC Paper Division in India, which won the Sword of Honour in 2010, said: "We are very proud to have been successful because the British Safety Council's five star health and safety audit is very stringent. We have to make sure that our standards improve with every audit, as recommended by the audit report. It is a good process of improving our standards of health and safety." This year's Sword and Globe of Honour awards are now open for applications, and organisations that achieved five stars in our audits at one or more of their sites between 1 August 2010 - 31 July 2011 are eligible to apply. The results will be announced in October and the winning organisations will have the opportunity to celebrate their achievements at a stylish luncheon and presentation held in November at the splendid Goldsmiths' Hall in the City of London.

Alex Botha adds: "The Sword and Globe of Honour are a powerful endorsement of the winners' health, safety and environmental achievements but they also motivate other companies and public and third sector organisations to hit similar heights. If we are to keep everyone safe and healthy at work and ensure sustainable business practices, we need more organisations achieving best practice in these areas." For further information on the Sword and Globe of Honour awards, please visit www.britsafe.org, call +44 (0)20 8741 1231, or email customer.service@britsafe.org