Bottom Line

Everything depends on the bottom line - "what does it cost?". HESSME can bring savings and opportunities.

1. Reduced insurance costs due to better health and fewer accidents among a trained and motivated workforce. Insurance companies are looking much closer at health and environment risks following the claims over asbestos. In 2001, asbestos claims alone stood at $65 billion, up !5% a year over the past few years and likely to increase still further as asbestos-related deaths rise. Increasingly insurance is one of the main ways to control environmental and health risks. Insurance companies are learning more about climate change risks and how to quantify them. They are looking to see how you control your risks.

2. Reduced staff turnover and improved sickness absence rates. These costs include time off for illness and absenteeism, replacement and retraining costs, and chasing legal requirements.

3. Reduce 'Problems': One survey of small enterprises found that the "average" small company does not seem to have 'problems' with Safety Health and Environment aspects. However, the results indicate that 10-25% of the companies do have some problems - which adds up to a lot of companies. And a lot of costs for many of these companies. It is likely that the figures are higher than this as most companies will not want to "wash their dirty linen in public".

4. Enforcement costs are increasing. Some companies will avoid carrying out what they should only to find the costs rebound later. Increasingly the polluter will pay - whether pollution at work or pollution of the wider environment. Increasingly, it is not just a matter of a fine, but of adding the "cleanup" costs, which can be much more. Putting asbestos in the ground can result in companies being charged later for contaminated land.

©World Health Organisation 2002
Authors: Dr Charlie Clutterbuck & Dr Bogdan Baranski