February 2024 International Blog – Positive directors’ OSH duties
“Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose…”
Cynics might roll their eyes at images of protesting French farmers blockading roads with tractors, however 2024 started with extraordinary scenes of farmers from the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Poland, Spain, Italy, Germany, Romania and Greece following their lead. Protests have been triggered by concerns over low wages, high costs, heavy regulation – especially environmental - and cheap imports.
The Purpose Dividend
An interesting piece by cross-party think-tank Demos recently warned about the UK (in my view, other countries too) walking a financial and economic tightrope.
Their report The Purpose Dividend emphasised the need for balancing increased investment, productivity and higher levels of economic growth against the need to achieve a rapid transition to Net Zero, spread prosperity more evenly throughout society and bring the country back together.
Demos claim that a nationwide shift to “purpose-led businesses” – i.e. companies that put people and planet at the heart of their operations – will secure a game-changing UK Purpose Dividend of:
- a 7% boost to GDP,
- Seven-fold increase in R&D expenditure,
- Four percentage points higher levels of capital investment,
- £5.3bn pay rise for the lowest paid.
The flip side of this coin is public perception of corporate greed over car manufacturers falsifying diesel emission figures, Grenfell Tower cladding fire, Rana Plaza collapse, Post Office/Horizon scandal, Qatar football stadium construction deaths, and any number of fires, explosions, capsizings, and so forth that you see reported from time to time in Arinite’s blogs.
Directors’ duties – but do they go far enough?
The Halloween crush in South Korea prompted Arinite to pen another blog about directors’ duties – but this time with an overseas perspective.
Since then, my research suggests that at least Australia, Canada, the EU, New Zealand, Singapore and the USA have followed the UK lead in issuing guidance to directors on how to ensure effective H&S governance.
The problem is that such guidance is really all about preventing a negative, that is to say stopping accidents and ill health. What about promoting worker health safety and wellbeing as a benefit to the planet?
Perhaps the EU has the right approach?
The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive requires 50,000 larger EU companies to report to start reporting this year on economic, social and governance issues of sustainability such as:
- Environment,
- Social matters such as the company's impact on society, employment policies, working conditions, human rights, diversity and inclusion,
- Governance and ethics.
(Lest Brexiteers cheer too loudly, from 2028, the Directive will also apply to non-EU companies with a turnover of at least €150 million and a subsidiary or branch operating in the EU with a net turnover of at least €40 million).
My prediction is that throughout this decade, “Positive directors’ OSH duties” and the “Purpose Dividend” will start to form part of our lexicon.
Watch this space: you heard it here first!
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Further information can be obtained from Arinite’s webpages: International Health and Safety and International Health and Safety Legislation.
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