Effective from 6 January, the approvals followed a detailed audit by the NSI which looked at how G4S manages its environmental and Health and Safety issues through the application of an efficient Environmental Management System and Health and Safety Management System across sites all over the UK.
The audit confirms G4S’ compliance with environmental legislation and its commitment to measure and improve performance and reduce environmental impact in all areas, including energy and vehicle usage. It also verifies the company’s provision for employees of Health and Safety standards over and above the legal requirement.
In particular, the NSI has recognised the increased training and awareness given to managers, how risk assessments have been made more effective and that the reporting of incidents is now more accurate than ever.
Issues to be taken seriously
Speaking about this achievement (which only a handful of security companies have thus far attained) Doug Hewitson – group managing director at G4S Security Services (UK) – explained: “Health and Safety and environmental management are both issues that we take very seriously. This approval reflects our continued efforts to develop industry-leading systems and solutions.”
Hewitson added: “Though this approval recognises the high standards we already work to, we are looking to continually improve the systems we have in place. To this end, we have initiated a further programme of training and awareness-raising among all our employees.”
G4S will be formally presented with the certificates of approval by the chief executive of the NSI, Andrew White.
Security sector has a role to play
White told SMT Online: “We’re delighted to award approval to G4S Security Services (UK) in both of these areas. Environmental issues are a very real concern, and it’s vital that the security industry plays a responsible role in managing its environmental impact.”