The European campaign Healthy Workplaces Manage Dangerous Substances was a 2-year campaign coordinated by the European Agency for Health& Safety at work(EU-OSHA)  in 2018 – 2019. 

The campaign had the following objectives: 

• Raise awareness of the importance of managing dangerous substances 

• Promote risk assessment, elimination and substitution and the hierarchy of prevention measures 

• Increase awareness of the risks linked to exposure to carcinogens at work 

• Target workers with specific needs and increased levels of risk (women, migrants and young people) 

Cosanta is proud to be an official campaign partner of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work and is committed to support the EU-OSHA Healthy Workplaces campaigns.  As part of the Manage Dangerous Substances campaign Cosanta organised events and gave open free trainings on occupational safety and health, REACH compliance for downstream users and chemical risk assessment. The events took place in The Netherlands, Austria, Denmark, Germany, Portugal and Italy and were organised in cooperation with the Cosanta’s scientific partners (ISAB members), local authorities and the EU-OSHA focal points.  

The campaign was launched at a press conference in Brussels on 24 April 2018 by European Commissioner Marianne Thyssen, the Bulgarian EU-Presidency and the EU-OSHA Executive Director Christa Sedlatschek. 

Various events were scheduled during the campaign. The European Week for Safety & Health at Work took place in October 2018 and 2019. During the first quarter of 2019, Healthy Workplaces Good Practice Exchange event was organised. A special highlight was the ceremony on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of EU-OSHA's campaign partnership scheme and hand-over of certificates. In November 2019, the campaign was closed with the Healthy Workplaces Summit. Leading OSH experts and decision makers from across Europe join forces with EU institutions and EU-OSHA’s national focal points, official campaign partners, media partners and social partners to reflect on the achievements of and lessons learned from the 2018-19 campaign Healthy Workplaces Manage Dangerous Substances. In doing so, they have shared knowledge and best practice and explored future strategies for the effective prevention and sustainable management of dangerous substances. Cosanta, together with Air Products contributed to the event by sharing a best practice on sustainable dangerous substances management at the industrial gas industry. It was concluded that this was the most successful campaign up to date. 

Christa Sedlatschek, EU-OSHA’s Executive Director, highlights the Agency’s determination to create a risk prevention culture and how this has been reflected in the success of the campaign: 

‘There has been an unprecedented level of engagement with the 2018-2019 campaign. More than 350 activities have been organised by EU-OSHA’s focal points in over 30 countries involving over 17,000 participants. The Healthy Workplaces Summit marks the end of this successful campaign, which will be carried further by providing practical tools and guidance to our audiences and by our ongoing involvement in the Roadmap on Carcinogens action plan.’ 

 

EU-OSHA partners certificate awarding during the 10th EU-OSHA’s campaign anniversary and Good Practice Exchange event in Brussels 5-6 March 2019. Erika Ustailieva, Cosanta’s International Business Developer (right), Christa Sedlatschek, EU-OSHA’s Executive Director (middle), Jan Michiel Meeuwsen, PEROSH’s European Affairs Coordinator (left). 

The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work ( EU-OSHA) contributes to making Europe a safer, healthier and more productive place to work. The Agency researches, develops, and distributes reliable, balanced, and impartial safety and health information and organises pan-European awareness raising campaigns. Set up by the European Union in 1994 and based in Bilbao, Spain, the Agency brings together representatives from the European Commission, Member State governments, employers’ and workers’ organisations, as well as leading experts in each of the EU Member States and beyond. More information you can find at http://osha.europa.eu