Safety and sustainability award

The opportunity for Australian companies to go head to head against the world’s best in safety and sustainability is lessening as the DuPont Safety and Sustainability Awards 2015 close for entry on 1 April.

The awards offer companies a chance to showcase their safety achievements over the past few years; achievements which are a signpost of impressive improvements throughout the region.

The most recent report by Citigroup in 2014 on the safety records of Australia’s top-performing listed companies found that in 2013-14, 65% of companies reported a decline in lost time to injury rates. (‘Safety Spot-light, ASX 100 Companies and More’, Citigroup, 2014.)

“Australia has made impressive progress in safety and sustainability over the past few years, and this is the opportunity to showcase that on a world stage,” said Rod Nelson, head of DuPont Sustainable Solutions Australasia.

Since its launch in 2002, the biannual competition has attracted a growing number of applicants, with entries for 2013 increasing by nearly 50% compared to 2011. Last year’s entries came from a wide range of industry sectors across EMEA - from the UK to Germany, Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, Turkey, France, the United Arab Emirates and Italy.

DuPont is also creating a new category for the awards this year - Operational Excellence.

“The addition of this category acknowledges the strong correlation between operational performance and corporate footprint reduction and looks to highlight the importance of an integrated approach,” said Nelson.

The award encourages entries from companies that can demonstrate significant achievements in the following categories: safety, sustainability or operations excellence.

Entries are now open for the 2015 awards, which will be judged by a jury drawn from a range of respected safety, health and environmental organisations. An application form should be submitted by 1 April 2015.

Awards will be judged on criteria including management commitment, cultural evolution, performance improvement, innovation and stakeholder engagement. Winners will receive a trophy and a certificate at the award ceremony. Further details, as well as the application form, can be obtained at www.dssa.dupont.com.