The American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) has published the fourth installment of a corporate safety insight report that contains firsthand views and experiences of business leaders from all industries. Environmental health and safety (EHS) professionals can use these key observations to make strategic decisions that drive improvements at their companies and around the globe.
Valuable feedback and context from seasoned executives is gathered each year through ASSP鈥檚 Corporate Listening Tour, an activity that helps inform and direct ASSP as a trusted advisor as well as corporate initiatives that protect worker safety, health and well-being. The project is led by CEO Jennifer McNelly, CAE, who meets with a broad range of safety executives to discover trends impacting their companies and the safety profession.
鈥淚nvesting in safety is a direct investment in people, business sustainability and long-term success,鈥� McNelly said. 鈥淭he latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that nearly 5,300 fatal work injuries occurred in 2023, meaning that a worker died every 99 minutes. That鈥檚 not acceptable. On-the-job fatalities are preventable.鈥�
ASSP鈥檚 2025 report from its Corporate Listening Tour describes EHS as a business imperative and identifies three鈥痠nterconnected themes鈥痶hat shape workplace safety today:
- Workforce Challenges: The Shifting Labor Market. This theme explores workforce instability and retention; the development of company leaders; and mental health and psychological safety.
- Aligning Safety With Business Strategy. This theme examines leadership commitment and decision-making; risk management and connecting safety to the bottom line; and going beyond legal compliance.
- Safety Leadership and Culture. This theme involves moving from compliance to influence; using safety as a competitive advantage; and strengthening employee engagement.
鈥淭he report proposes a set of questions to help spark discussions among safety teams and with their colleagues and corporate leaders,鈥� said ASSP President Pam Walaski, CSP, FASSP. 鈥淚t鈥檚 through proactive conversations about trends and potential risks that we can better integrate program improvements to reduce worker injuries, illnesses and fatalities.鈥�