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 [email protected]