In the short, grey days of winter, it is important to remember that psychological factors can be as damaging as physical health and safety problems in the workplace. However, their effects can be assessed and controlled in the usual way, reports Jon Herbert. What are psychological risks? Psychological risk factors are elements at work that   Read More …

As 2020 unfolds, the UK and EU are both fleshing out new low-carbon visions for the environment. Will the two separate post-Brexit strategies prove compatible or exclusive for business and trade? Jon Herbert looks at some of the issues. How will the environmental future of post-Brexit Europe be shaped? The EU has been quick to   Read More …

Many business organisations have been busy making plans to recognise World Cancer Day on 4 February. This year is the mid-point of a 2019–2021 drive to increase long-term cancer awareness and encourage more positive action in society and the workplace. Controlling exposure to hazardous substances is one significant step employers can take, reports Jon Herbert.   Read More …

Modern health & safety practice in education should boost exciting learning opportunities and not create legal tripwires as many urban safety myths suggest, says the official regulator which is keen to help school employers, managers and staff. Jon Herbert begins a new series looking at realistic risk management. Term-time is demanding enough without the further   Read More …

Arable farming forced to move, flood plains expanding and more tree planting needed – climate change is making subtle but rapid changes to the fertile, green and often rather wet landscapes that have shaped Britain’s traditional identity, as Jon Herbert discovers. The rolling shires and water meadows of ‘olde’ rustic southern England — plus the   Read More …

Research shows that global warming is increasing flood risks rapidly across northwest Europe. Jon Herbert asks how the urban environment can cope with larger and more unpredictable volumes of water. Key flood water management advice for site operators and property-owners is often summarised as preparation, preparation and preparation. The goal is to minimise immediate damage   Read More …

By destigmatising the harsh realities of mental stress, October’s World Mental Health Day broke taboos around discussing why many people take their own lives. It is part of a wider drive to reassure those under duress, firstly, that they are not alone and, secondly, that help is not far away, writes Jon Herbert. People suffering   Read More …

Fashion may be fickle but its impacts are large and global. However, sustainable fashion is increasingly adding another low energy, low waste, low transport and low raw-material-use word to the circular economy’s four “Rs” — reduce, reuse, recycle and recover. Upcycling. Jon Herbert reports. Whether a dedicated follower or not, no-one can dispute that “the   Read More …

Innovation may once have been the product of good luck plus “one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration”. Now it is a strategic element of economic successes that must deliver continuously. Which means that innovation itself is undergoing a make-over, reports Jon Herbert. Forget absent-minded professors — although deeply pensive academics do qualify. Innovation that   Read More …

However politicians play their cards in the weeks ahead, preparations are being made across UK industry and the supporting regulatory sector for the possibility of an abrupt “hard” Brexit departure from the EU. This includes REACH, writes Jon Herbert. REACH is the European Regulation 1907/2006 covering chemicals and their safe use. At present it applies   Read More …