Chr. Hansen has been granted this year’s Safety Transformation Award by The British Safety Council. This international award acknowledges health and safety initiatives and results for the calendar year 2019. Last year, Chr. Hansen had its lowest ever number of incidents. Over the past 5-7 years, the company has managed to reduce work accidents by 90%, while it has added close to 100% new capacity to its production network.
“This is a great recognition of all the initiatives put in place by our Environment Health & Safety team – but also of the commitment to safety by every employee, every day. This has been definitely a challenge when a big part of our employees have come to work at sites that were literally, because of the expansions, huge construction sites for a long time,” says Torsten Steenholt, executive vice president, Global Operations, Chr. Hansen. “As a company with global production sites and offices that employ around 3700 people, we are responsible for creating a safe work environment. We have several safety initiatives implemented to ensure that safety always comes first,” Steenholt explains.
“This award comes at a time when focus on employee health and safety has been even more prominent, due to the coronavirus pandemic. Thanks to our underlying safety DNA, we have been able to adapt and ensure business continuity, while also implementing new protocols and even stricter safety measures. We consider this award as a fantastic acknowledgment of being on the right path. But you can never tick off safety and declare that we're 100% there. We are highly aware of not getting complacent. This is also why we have a strategy in place towards 2025 with a number of new initiatives that will further assist in developing the mindset and the tools to help keeping each other safe,” says Peter Ibæk, director, Environment Health & Safety, Chr. Hansen.
Now in their 62nd year, The International Safety Awards recognize and celebrate organizations and individuals from around the world who have demonstrated to the satisfaction of the scheme’s independent judges their commitment to preventing workplace injuries and work-related ill health during the previous calendar year.
Mike Robinson, Chief Executive of the British Safety Council, congratulated Chr. Hansen on their success in being crowned overall Transformation Award Winner in the 2020 International Safety Awards. “The British Safety Council commends Chr. Hansen on their achievement. The award is in recognition of their commitment and efforts to keep their employees and workplaces free of injury and ill health”.
Chr. Hansen is a global, differentiated bioscience company that develops natural ingredient solutions for the food, nutritional, pharmaceutical and agricultural industries. At Chr. Hansen we are uniquely positioned to drive positive change through microbial solutions. We have worked for almost 150 years to enable sustainable agriculture, better food and healthier living for more people around the world. Our microbial and fermentation technology platforms, including our broad and relevant collection of around 50,000 microbial strains, have game-changing potential. Matching customer needs and global trends we continue to unlock the power of good bacteria to respond to global challenges such as food waste, global health and the overuse of antibiotics and pesticides. As one of the world’s most sustainable companies, we touch the lives of more than 1 billion people every day. Driven by our legacy of innovation and curiosity to pioneer science, our purpose – To grow a better world. Naturally. – is at the heart of everything we do.
