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In October 2024, once again won several British Safety Council awards recognising both the hard work of the operational teams on the ground and the tireless efforts of the SHEQ (Safety, Health, Environment and Quality) team in reinforcing and enhancing excellence in performance and behaviours across their business.

On receiving the award, Paul Stokes, Head of Safety, Health, Environment & Quality (SHEQ) said: “We are thrilled to have received these awards, taking us to an unprecedented 5 Swords of Honour. The team is committed to upholding the highest health and safety standards and we are proud to be recognised for all our hard work.”

But what is the story behind these successes?

FCC Environment first approached British Safety Council in 2016, because, as well as their ISO accreditations (45001, 14001, 50001, 9001) they wanted to specifically benchmark the health and safety standards in their 218 operational sites.

Working closely with British Safety Council’s dedicated account manager / auditor, they identified where they were, where they wanted to be and what it would take to get there. Paul Stokes continues, “British Safety Council have been fantastic with us, it’s great to have the dialogue where we exchange ideas as to what we need and what will work best rather than just look at an off-the-shelf solution.”

Since that first approach, FCC Environment has continuously developed its health and safety systems, working with British Safety Council to include environmental, sustainability, and wellbeing audits.

Victoria Traves, Lead EFW H&S Manager, says, “Our teams are looking to improve. There is a real keenness to have the external audits done, and to continually improve by implementing the recommendations made by the British Safety Council Auditors.

Paul Stokes sums up the FCC journey with British Safety Council by saying, British Safety Council is a world-renowned organisation, working with them has helped us to deliver a truly world-class management system.” From the time we underwent our first audits [with British Safety Council], I think we’ve worked hard to maintain that success. It’s great to know that our systems continue to operate at a premium all the time. It keeps our safety culture at the top of the safety maturity ladder and plus it's always nice to get some recognition.

This year, FCC’s Lincolnshire EfW facility in North Hykeham, and the Landfill & Quarries Division, were both awarded the ultimate prize, a Sword of Honour following maximum five-star audit results earlier in the year. This award is for companies which have demonstrated excellence in the management of health and safety risks at work.

The business was also one of only 9 winners, awarded a Globe of Honour for its efforts at its Eastcroft Energy from Waste (EfW) Plant, demonstrating they are the best of the best in environmental & sustainability,  as well as a five-star audit result at its Allington EfW plant in Kent, demonstrating its commitment towards the continual improvement of their health and safety management systems and associated arrangements, and reflective of a best practice organisation.