Safety in numbers

December 17, 2009

This year’s Campbell Award winner proves that safety is a cornerstone of business success.

You won’t see it on a balance sheet, but it’s there.

A company’s safety, health and environmental (SH&E) performance is as much a cornerstone for business success as its financial discipline, employee talent and product quality.

Just ask Schneider Electric’s North American Operating Division, winner of the 2009 Robert W. Campbell Award. 

This international award, presented by the National Safety Council (NSC) and ExxonMobil, recognizes companies that incorporate SH&E management into their operations — and improve business performance as a result.

To win the award — named after a pioneer in workplace safety and the first president of the NSC — companies undergo a rigorous application and field audit process that factors in every measure of safety, from the level of management support to the actions taken by employees and contractors.

Schneider Electric, with its 14,000 employees in North America, won the award for its strong SH&E leadership and its employee-centered innovation in implementing effective safety, health and environmental systems. Since 2002, their efforts have reduced the number of safety and medical-related incidents by 70 percent. Those improvements have also generated more than $10 million a year in direct savings. 

The successes of Schneider Electric in North America prove that investing in SH&E is good for business. The company’s best practices will be captured as case studies used to educate future leaders at top business and engineering schools across the country.

The business of safety is an important lesson. Just like other factors that impact the bottom line — sales, purchases, investments — SH&E performance must be measured, reported, evaluated and continuously improved. Employees are subsequently safer, healthier and more productive, and the business is stronger as a result.  

How much stronger? The Occupational Safety and Health Administration found in 2007 that companies that implement effective safety and health programs can reduce injury and illness rates by 20 percent or more — and generate a return of $4 to $6 for every $1 invested. 

The next time you look for the hallmarks of a successful company, take a closer look at how its excellence in safety, health and environmental performance flows directly to its balance sheet.  There truly is safety in numbers.