Corporate Social Responsibility - compliance solutions
In Brief
December 2025
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has launched a consultation on proposals to improve the application of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 and guidance around asbestos management. The consultation runs until 9 January 2026, being particularly relevant to dutyholders, asbestos analysts, asbestos removal contractors, asbestos surveyors and associated professions including facilities management and construction:
An investigation has been launched after the death of a worker on the Valaris 121 jackup drilling rig on Shell’s Shearwater platform 140 miles east of Aberdeen on 14 November. Lee Hulse, 32, fell from a crane. On 22 January 2023, 50-year-old Jason Thomas went missing from the Valaris 121. It is likely he fell through a hole in the deck after a grating was dislodged. His body was never found:
Shell UK Limited failed to properly maintain pipework on its Brent Charlie platform in the North Sea for seven years, as well as failing to maintain ventilation fans. That led to the release of 200kg of gas and 1,550kg of crude oil in May 2017. The company pleaded guilty to two charges under the Offshore Installations (Prevention of Fire and Explosion, and Emergency Response) Regulations 1995 (PFEER):
The BSI has published the first British Standard dedicated to addressing the risk of suicide and its impact in the workplace (BS 30480). The standard provides practical guidance for organisations of all sizes and sectors on how to prevent and respond to suicide risk:
Engineering services firm Doosan Babcock Ltd (now Altrad Babcock) has been fined £900,000 plus a £67,500 victim surcharge after a rigger suffered serious head and shoulder injuries when he was struck by a 130kg metal coil while he refurbished a furnace at the ExxonMobil's Mossmorran Fife Ethylene Plant, near Cowdenbeath, in July 2021:
The latest Health and Safety Executive 2025 report has shown that 511,000 UK workers are suffering from a work-related musculoskeletal disorder, resulting in 7.1 million lost working days in 2024/25. This comes as Bupa research highlights a growing health epidemic, with those suffering from back pain doing so for a staggering 106 days – that’s 3.4 months – every single year, with one in five (18%) blaming their back pain on prolonged sitting at work:
hse.gov.uk & wellbeingnews.co.uk
Manufacturing company Penn Elcom Limited has been fined £80,000 plus £4,537.32 in costs after a visiting lorry driver sustained life-changing head injuries when he fell from a trailer during loading operations at a site in County Durham on 18 November 2024. The company pleaded guilty to breaches of sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health & Safety at Work etc. Act 1974:
His Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) has released its inspection report on the HSE. While it recommended areas for improvement, it also commended the high-quality of its casework:
The launch of England’s first Men’s Health Strategy for England has highlighted persistent health inequalities among men. Howden Employee Benefits (Howden) is urging employers to respond, as men continue to seek less mental health support than women and need better workplace provisions:
HSE statistics show there were 6 fatalities in the waste sector over the past year – three workers and three members of the public. The causes were being struck by a moving vehicle or a falling/flying object, and by electrocution. The fatal injury rate in the waste sector is 3.29 per 100,000 workers, which is around 8.2 times the all industry rate. Only the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector are higher:
Manufacturer A J Wells & Sons Ltd, of Newport, Isle of Wight, has pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, fined £200,000 plus £9,056 in prosecution costs. This follows an employee losing a lower leg after heavy metal sheets fell on him in August 2023. A similar incident occurred in November 2021, but despite this the task of moving heavy sheet metal had still not been adequately risk assessed:
A new BSI Standards Publication - BS 8460:2025 - has been published, titled “Safe use of mobile elevating work platforms (MEWPs) - Code of practice”. The revised British Standard replaces BS 8460:2017 and has been fully updated to reflect BS EN 280-1:2022 and BS EN 280-2:2022:
The Health and Safety Executive is hosting a webinar on process isolations in the offshore oil and gas sector, aimed at driving improvement in this critical safety area. The free online event will take place on 4 December 2025 from 10:30 to 11:30:
November 2025
New research from Instant Offices has revealed that UK sick leave has hit alarming new levels, costing businesses over £20,000 per long-term absence and £13,800 per short-term case. Mental health is now the leading cause of long-term absence - accounting for 41% of all cases:
The UK's largest power plant, Drax, is facing worker lawsuits after the HSE dropped criminal charges over biomass dust in 2023, a Land and Climate Investigation reveals:
landclimate.org/asthma/ & theguardian.com
Knowles Logistics Limited, of Cambridgeshire, has pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 after an employee suffered multiple injuries from a fall from a sugar beet conveyor in November 2023. The company was fined £133,000 plus £5,438 in costs:
Western Business Media has announced the launch of the Women in Safety & Health Awards, which will become a key part of the Health & Safety Matters portfolio. The first awards ceremony will take place on 15 October 2026:
The UK’s largest independent steel stockholder and processor Barrett Steel Limited has been fined £266,000 after an employee was crushed between two lorries, sustaining life-changing injuries at Kass Steel Stockholders in Scunthorpe in February 2022. Barrett pleaded guilty to breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act:
Senior safety professionals who can influence culture, lead transformation, and align health and safety with wider business goals are in growing demand by employers, particularly in construction, infrastructure, and manufacturing, the recruiter Irwin & Colton have said. Hybrid HSE and ESG roles are also on the increase, with roles a blend of safety with environmental and sustainability responsibilities:
Automotive components manufacturer Autostructures UK Ltd has been fined £1.3 million following the death of a maintenance technician at its Telford factory in December 2018. The employee was hit by a 10-tonne flywheel that had been operating without a protective guard for at least two years. The company was fined £1.3mn plus court costs:
Independent consultants Eunomia and the Environmental Services Association (ESA) are calling for government to press ahead with its proposal to introduce a mandatory, producer-funded universal kerbside collection regime for both portable batteries and waste electricals. They claim the scheme would reduce the number of waste fires to just over 100 incidents a year from the current figure of more than 1,200:
Waste and recycling company Stonegrave Aggregates Limited of Pocklington has pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 after an employee was severely injured while cleaning a waste picking line in March 2023. The company was fined £270,000 plus full costs of £15,637:
ExxonMobil has been fined £176,000 over a “preventable and unacceptable” week-long period of continuous flaring at its Mossmorran Ethylene plant in Scotland in 2019, exceeding pollution limits and failing its own standard procedures:
Waste management company Biffa Waste Services of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire has pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 5(1) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 after a worker was killed by a reversing skip wagon in August 2023. The company was fined £2.48 million plus full costs of £5,768.06:
fleetnews.co.uk & ioshmagazine.com
October 2025
The British Standards Institution (BSI) has published a new standard, BS 30417 Provision of Inclusive Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), to help employers ensure PPE fits all workers, addressing long-standing safety, health and retention risks linked to poorly designed kit:
A look at the hazards to employees and complex challenges for health and safety professionals posed by solid particles in industrial and manufacturing environments:
An HSE inspector explains the failings that led to the death of a contractor at Tata Steel’s Port Talbot site on 25 September 2019, and the lessons for industry:
The HSE has announced the launch of a Call for Evidence (CfE) to review the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (LOLER) and the Pressure Systems Safety Regulations (PSSR). Input is requested from industry stakeholders, professional bodies, and organisations with relevant experience and expertise, with a deadline of 11 November 2025:
In its third webinar in a series on industrial pollution prevention and control, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) explores how Best Available Techniques (BAT) are being used to reduce industrial emissions in the cement production and waste incineration sectors. Watch the replay:
Global glass bottle manufacturer O-I Glass Limited has been fined £600,000 after a worker was burnt by molten glass and hot water at the Glasshouse Loan site in Alloa on 3 February 2024. The company pleaded guilty to Regulation 5 (1) of The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 and section 33(1) of Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974:
A look at workplace carcinogens, including asbestos, benzene, diesel emissions, wood dust, formaldehyde, and solar UV radiation, and the need to. implement strong controls:
Sign-fitting company WH Metals Limited of Preston has pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and fined £45,000 plus costs of £4,826 after a worker fell to his death in November 2022. The company’s director pleaded guilty to breaching Section 37 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and was given a 26-week custodial sentence, suspended for 12 months:
A new report by the Fabian Society, Nye’s Lost Legacy – Towards a National Occupational Health Service to Keep People Well in Work, calls on the government to create a new Occupational Health Authority within the HSE alongside the introduction of a new growth, skills and health levy to incentivise and support employers to invest in occupational health:
A back-to-basics look at Respiratory Personal Equipment (RPE), air purifying respirators and breathing apparatus:
One in four UK workplaces recorded noise levels that required mandatory hearing protection, yet more than 75% of employees lacked basic knowledge of how to store their equipment, check for damage, or report faults, according to the HSE:
Two companies have been fined following failures at a high-containment facility in Axminster, Devon: Lab 21 Healthcare Ltd, and the site’s previous operator Omega Diagnostics Ltd. Both companies carried out work with high hazard infectious organisms such as Salmonella typhi without providing legally required advanced notification to the HSE. Both pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 7(10) Schedule 3 as well as Regulation 9(1) and 9(2) of COSHH 2002 (as amended):
September 2025
Businesses worldwide are increasingly recognising the benefits of investing in Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) measures as a way to protect workers and the environment, boost commercial value, and bolster organisational resilience. However, many are failing to build it into longer-term strategies and could be missing out on huge gains, according to the latest EY Global EHS Maturity Study:
Dundas Chemical Company (Mosspark) Limited has been fined £100k after a worker was permanently scarred from scalding steam during a night shift in 2019. The company pleaded guilty to breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974:
Research conducted by RRC International amongst health and safety professionals has found that one fifth chose to work in health and safety after a negative personal incident to either themselves, a colleague or someone they knew:
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is developing plans to allow workers in manual labour jobs to temporarily stop work during heatwaves when temperatures exceed a certain level, with employers required to provide extra support like rest breaks and access to shade and water. Unions are pushing for a maximum working temperature of 30°C generally and 27°C for manual jobs:
A new British Standards Institute (BSI) white paper, ‘Enabling the Provision of Inclusive PPE’, warns that PPE often fails women and minority groups due to ill-fitting design and unconscious bias in manufacturing and procurement, and offers pointers on how to better equip and protect a diverse workforce:
A review by Dr David Thomas, a senior lecturer in OSH at Middlesex University, of ‘Celebrating 50 years of The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974’. The book describes some of the many events over the fifty years since 1974, with chapters on leadership, major hazards, work and health, construction, public safety, and the politics of OSH here and in Europe:
The HSE issued a safety notice on 8 August to highlight the risks of potentially fatal gangway accidents to offshore workers. Serious risks have been identified where motion compensated gangways retract without warning due to power failures or control system errors:
In the sixth revision of the Carcinogens, Mutagens and Reprotoxic substances Directive (CMRD), the European Commission has proposed strengthened protections for workers against hazardous chemicals. This is expected to prevent about 1,700 lung cancer cases and 19,000 other illnesses over the next 40 years, saving €1.16 billion in health-care costs:
The UK Material Handling Association has published a paper with advice on how to improve the safety of warehouse operations:
nationalforkliftsafetyday.co.uk
The use of artificial intelligence in industries regulated by the HSE – and how it could affect workers – is the focus of a new report based on approximately 250 cases of AI being developed and deployed:
An article by Dr Keith Whitehead, British Safety Council, on the major revisions to key ISO management standards setting out best practice frameworks for effectively managing occupational health and safety, environmental and quality risks and opportunities. Businesses must start planning now to meet the new requirements in order to maintain their certifications under the relevant standards:
August 2025
A damning indictment by George Monbiot of Labour's proposals on deregulating chemicals - we will all suffer the consequences:
Our collective future depends on eliminating waste through circular systems and reimagined transition pathways. As stewards of shared resources, we must repair our relationship with nature and operate within planetary boundaries:
An analysis of studies incorporating data from almost 30 million people, led by researchers at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge has highlighted the role that air pollution – including that coming from car exhaust emissions – plays in increased risk of dementia:
Textile manufacturer The British Millerain Company Limited in Rochdale has been fined £220,000 after one of its directors was killed by a reversing HGV. The company pleaded guilty to breaching section 33(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974:
In a similar incident related to workplace transport arrangements, JMP Wilcox & Co Limited of Bilston, West Midlands which reclaims and processes textiles, has pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health & Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 after a worker was hit by a telehandler. The company was fined £300,000:
IOSH Magazine is calling for new editorial contributors: “Have you encountered a technical issue in your work – a near miss, an engineering oversight, or a challenge overcome with smart safety thinking? Maybe you’ve developed a new process, discovered a better method, or just have a practical insight worth sharing”:
Data from Health, Safety, and Environmental (HSE) training and consultancy service Astutis have revealed that a growing number of UK employees are funding their own health and safety training from their own pockets. The white paper reveals the priorities, challenges and aspirations of HSE professionals across the globe:
A look at psychological health and safety – a critical, yet historically overlooked, component of a healthy and high-performing workplace:
West Bromwich chemical manufacturer Robinson Brothers Ltd has been fined £100,000 after failing to protect employees from the health risks associated with the use of vibrating tools. The company pleaded guilty to breaching Regulations 5(1), 6(1), 7(1) and 8(1) of the Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005, and was fined £100,000:
A look at the implications of a growing global proportion of older employees. The ageing workforce brings with it a wealth of experience, commitment, and stability, but also critical health and safety concerns:
The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) has called for joined-up action to prevent people from being harmed by climate change while at work, and for businesses to ensure they have climate-related risk management in their internal policies and systems:
Download its white paper The heat is on: protecting worker health and safety from the impacts of climate change
Resource management company Veolia has launched its biggest UK plastics recycling project with a £70 million investment which will include the country’s first “tray to tray” closed loop PET recycling facility in Battlefield near Shrewsbury, Shropshire:
July 2025
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published its latest annual fatality statistics, covering April 2024 to March 2025. 124 workers at work died in work-related incidents; a further 92 who were not at work were killed in work-related incidents. There were 2,218 mesothelioma deaths in 2023 through past exposure to asbestos:
Ithaca Energy (UK) Limited has admitted to breaching regulation 4(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations, and section 33(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work Act after three offshore workers were trapped in a flooded lift shaft inside a platform leg on a floating production facility in December 2020. The company was fined £300,000:
Research funded by Draeger Safety UK reveals that a broad majority (96%) of people feel safe at work, but that physical safety risks are growing due to multiple factors:
Hybrid working is now “the new normal” for over one in four UK workers, according to ONS data reported by Britsafe. Organisations should update policies and risk assessments to address home-based hazards and ensure consistent safety culture across locations:
Malaysia has banned plastic waste imports from the U.S. because of America’s failure to abide by the Basel Convention treaty on international waste transfers. The U.S. is one of just a handful of countries, including Fiji and Haiti, that hasn't signed the pact:
The latest tribunal statistics have been released covering January to March 2025, revealing that Employment Tribunal claims are continuing to rise. At the end of March the open caseload sat at 45,000 claims, an increase of 32% on the same time last year. Disability discrimination claims saw the biggest increase:
Research and Development in Opening Gates Limited, of Lea Bridge Road, London has pleaded guilty to breaching Sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 after multiple occasions during which its standard of health and safety management fell significantly below legal requirements. The company was fined £80,000, plus £7,495.72 in costs and a £2,000 victim surcharge:
The Sentencing Council for England and Wales has amended its guidelines for health and safety offences, corporate manslaughter, food safety and hygiene offences in a move that some commentators argue could result in very large organisations (VLOs) being handed heavier fines:
A feature on how health and safety professionals can protect hands in different working environments:
The Teesside Gas Processing Plant (TGPP), operated by px Group on behalf of North Sea Midstream Partners (NSMP), has received the Oil and Gas Sector Award from The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) in recognition of its health and safety performance in 2024:
www.hydrocarbonengineering.com
In their “All inclusive: Neurodiversity and safety” piece, RoSPA has highlighted the importance of adapting health and safety systems to accommodate neurodiverse employees, noting that inclusive measures benefit the entire workforce:
CSR Performance is totally focused on assisting companies and corporations to meet their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) targets. It does this by providing software solutions which assist the management of CSR issues at all levels within the organisation and which measure CSR performance against targets for defined indicators.
With over 20 years experience to call upon, it has long been recognised by our customers and ourselves that our software products are used and are capable of use to manage much more than the daily operations of health, safety, quality and environment. Changes and extensions to our core product modules and to the investigation, performance and reporting tools and techniques that they use and support, now make a routine contribution to the management of Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR, in its widest sense and to the measurement and reporting of CSR performance.
We therefore thought it was time for a change, with a fresh look at our company and product focus and direction. We will shortly be making several announcements regarding new products and services which are natural additions to our existing, CamHealth® software product range.
CSR Performance Ltd provides systems solutions for CSR. Our services involve the provision of systems for planning, delivery and measurement. We provide analyses of workflow, provision of information, management of operations, measurement of performance and management of corrective actions.
The company is independently owned and operated from the UK. with offices in North America and S.E Asia.
Useful Links
Accountability
www.accountability.org
CSR Europe
www.csreurope.org
CSR Network
www.csrnetwork.com
EA (UK)
www.environment-agency.gov.uk
EPA (USA)
www.epa.gov
EU - CSR
ec.europa.eu/
employment_social
EU - Environment
ec.europa.eu/environment
EU - SHaW
osha.europa.eu/en
GRI
www.globalreporting.org
HSE (UK)
www.hse.gov.uk
OSHA (USA)
www.osha.gov
Responsible Care
www.responsiblecare.org
