CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--UL’s Integrated Health & Safety Institute (IHSI), the first private sector not-for-profit institute dedicated to advancing the integration of health and safety programs within corporations around the world, today announced that it has published a new standard to address how closely aligning health and safety strategies can yield measurable benefits.
The Standard for Integrating Health and Safety in the Workplace, UL 904Z, was developed in collaboration with key industry stakeholders and received unanimous approval for publishing. It offers organizations a set of components that should be considered as part of integrated health and safety programming.
Although a growing body of research conceives that establishing a culture of health, safety and wellbeing for workers is dependent on the integration of health and safety efforts, the number of employers actively implementing this concept remains small.
The standard provides guidance for organizations to operationalize integrated health and safety programming, and using IHSI’s Integrated Health and Safety Index, organizations will be able to measure the effectiveness of their integrated health and safety strategies. Developed by UL and ACOEM (American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine) and based on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, the IH&S Index allows companies to translate the impact of employer health and safety programs in three core dimensions: economic, environmental and social.
“Over the last several decades, health and safety workplace activities have evolved in tandem, but they have operated mostly independently, with separate work teams and organizational reporting structures,” said Todd Hohn, IHSI’s global director. “The standard for integrating health and safety in the workplace offers organizations the guidance necessary to fully integrate their health and safety programs, maximizing employees’ health and productivity, while improving both programs’ effectiveness and reducing costs.”
Of particular interest to the insurance and investment communities, the standard provides an improved method to assess an organization’s ability to keep its employees safe and healthy while working.
To view IHSI’s Standard for Integrating Health and Safety in the Workplace (UL 904Z), visit www.comm-2000.com.
About UL’s Integrated Health and Safety Institute
Founded in June 2015, UL’s Integrated Health & Safety Institute (IHSI) is the first private sector not-for-profit institute dedicated to advancing the integration of workplace health and safety programs. IHSI provides world-class research, guidance, standards, and education to assist employers in integrating their health, safety and worker well-being initiatives. For more information, visit http://www.ulworkplace.com/blog/workplacesafety/accelerating-the-integration-of-health-and-safety/.
About UL
UL is a premier global independent safety science company that has championed progress for more than 120 years. Its nearly 11,000 professionals are guided by the UL mission to promote safe working and living environments for all people via two distinct entities: Underwriters Laboratories Inc., a 501(c)3 public charity, and UL LLC. UL uses research and standards to continually advance and meet ever-evolving safety needs. We partner with businesses, manufacturers, trade associations and international regulatory authorities to bring solutions to a more complex global supply chain. For more information, visit http://www.UL.com.
