The perception of the impact of certification on organisational culture relative to the environment and occupational health and safety
The perception of the impact of certification on organisational culture relative to the environment and occupational health and safety
The uncertainty of the days and the existing challenges urge us to know the reality of the industry. The recent awareness of environmental changes and the concern for health and safety at workforce organisations focus on meeting the applicable legal requirements. These requirements mitigate humankind’s harmful effects on the environment and its quality of life. The Management Systems and, in particular, Environment and Occupational Health and Safety are tools that allow organisations to counteract these harmful effects and reduce their impacts to become more competitive.
However, this requires the involvement of the entire organisation, intending to create ethical, consensual and widely disseminated codes of conduct that become part of the company’s organisational culture.
Purpose – This paper aims to report the first part of a research project to obtain a portrait of industrial companies with one or more ISO certifications from the district of Aveiro relating to Environment and Occupational Health and Safety (OHS).
Design/methodology/approach – This field study implied a survey using a primary database (2020) of the Portuguese Institute of Accreditation (IPAC) with all the Aveiro’s certified companies by at least one ISO management system (ISO9001 – Quality; ISO14001- Environmental; ISO45001- Occupational Health and Safety).
Findings – From an initial total of about 500 certified companies, 101organisations responded to the survey, constituting about 20% adhesion. Organisations, especially certified ones, should have an encouraging culture of openness to the scientific community to fieldwork. Several questions were
addressed that allowed for a perception of organisations’ policies, strategies, and measures in environmental and social sustainability and occupational health and safety as essential vectors in improving organisational performance.
Practical implications – Most organisations have external health and safety services that may help explain the relatively low adhesion. The vast majority do not follow or implement any health and safety at work referential standard. Nevertheless, they find it essential to guarantee better health and safety conditions, legal requirements, and decreased sinistrality. Despite near-miss reporting being a proactive and fundamental indicator to help improve work conditions, most companies referred to not doing it. Concerning the environment, about 40% of the organisations are certified by the ISO 14001:2015 standard. About 70% of the respondents allege external motivations for implementing environmental practices, namely legal requirements and market demands. The energy area is the one that deserves greater attention from organisations. About 79% have objectives to improve energy efficiency.
Value- This study contributes to the knowledge of the organisational culture in the environment and OHS of the Portuguese industry certified with one or more management systems.
Paper type: Research paper
Environment; Occupational Health and Safety; Certification; Management systems; Organisational culture.
