Other measures which are seen as helpful when it comes to improving compliance include the use of new technology, which has increased from 23 to 25 per cent, and a greater focus on mental health support.
This, however, is seen as less likely to have an impact than it was a year ago; 15 per cent of respondents felt it would be helpful compared to 31 per cent a year ago. This could reflect a greater need for mental health support 12 months ago, as people wrestled with the aftermath of the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis. PPE investment is also on the agenda, with nine per cent believing this will help compliance, compared to 11 per cent the previous year.
External support
One element those working in EHS could make more of is the potential of outsourcing, which organisations currently use only in a limited way, and generally around specific use cases. The most common service outsourced to a third party is cable recycling, but even here just 45 per cent make use of this, with 41 per cent choosing to do it in-house. It’s a similar story with battery recycling, which is outsourced by 43 per cent of organisations, with 42 per cent managing it internally.
Using the services of a reputable third party to recycle batteries makes sense, says Dr Karen McDonnell, Occupational Health and Safety Policy Adviser at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA). “Recycling lithium-ion batteries in particular reduces energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, and results in significant natural resource savings when compared to landfill,” she says.
“Understanding the lifecycle of a battery is important not only at work but at home,” she adds. “This ranges from the risk of button batteries being ingested to batteries being disposed of in domestic waste bins, which contributes to about 700 fires a year in waste recycling plants across the UK. Segregating waste such as batteries and recycling is beneficial from an environmental and safety perspective.”
There are other areas relating to health and safety where more organisations could potentially benefit. Just 43 per cent currently use third parties to provide bundles of products related to a particular application to help maintain a healthy building, such as ventilation, pest control or water quality, with 41 per cent handling such efforts internally.
A third (33%) outsource HSE training solutions, compared to 60 per cent which prefer to deliver this in-house. And just 26 per cent currently use external organisations to track and report their Scope 3 emissions, with 48 per cent taking this on internally.
Organisations themselves also appear open to the idea of outsourcing. Three in 10 (30%) say PPE recycling would help their business, while 27 per cent believe they would benefit from assistance around Scope 3 emissions tracking and reporting. Energy reduction (19%), cabling recycling (18%) and battery recycling (16%) are also areas where outsourcing is seen as having the potential to make a difference.
Plummer believes there’s huge potential for organisations to make more of outsourcing, but stresses that it’s still early days in some areas. RS has recently teamed up with textiles recycling firm Avena to encourage customers to recycle PPE when it reaches the end of its life. “It does require us to work together, and for end-users to put garments into certain recycling containers, but it means things like single-use gloves can be turned into other products,” he says. “Partnering is a strong way to make some inroads into this.”
