New Orleans, LA—The National Safety Council announced today that it will award its 2005 Green Cross for Safety Medal to Liberty Mutual Group and its Chairman, President and CEO Edmund F. Kelly. The award recognizes organizations and their leaders that have distinguished themselves over a period of years for outstanding achievements in safety and health, community service, and responsible citizenship. The Medal will be presented to Kelly and Liberty Mutual Group at a gala on March, 31, 2005. The selection of Liberty Mutual was announced today by NSC President Alan McMillan during the Opening Session of the Council's 92nd Annual Congress & Expo being held in New Orleans.
"From the very inception of the company in 1912, Liberty Mutual Group has been dedicated to its mission of helping people live safer, more secure lives," McMillan said. "In 1912, the company's leaders expressed their belief that the prevention of industrial accidents was more important than any other phase of work upon which they were engaged. The company has lived this creed throughout its 92 years by serving its customers and the world with knowledge, education, training, inventions, research collaborations and loss prevention."
"Everything we do is rooted one way or another in our mission to help people live safer, more secure lives. So this recognition from the National Safety Council is especially gratifying, and we thank the Council," said Liberty Mutual Group Chairman, President and CEO Edmund F. Kelly. "While many things have changed since 1912 and will change in the future, one thing that will never change is Liberty Mutual's commitment to the aggressive pursuit of the causes of worker injury and effective prevention strategies."
Liberty Mutual has a long history of safety firsts that include publishing the first handbook on Industrial Accident Prevention, establishing the first on-site aid facilities in industrial operations and creating the first rehabilitation centers for injured workers. In addition, the Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety has developed numerous safety inventions, including machine guards, escalator emergency shut off switches, horizontal pull slipmeters that measure slippery floors, automotive safety advances, a battery-powered prosthetic elbow, ergonomic guidelines for manual materials handling and hand tool kits.
The Research Institute has collaborated with several other prestigious organizations to advance the cause of scientific knowledge about injury prevention. Among the collaborations are programs with the Harvard School of Public Health, Scotland's University of Aberdeen, the British Health and Safety Laboratory, China's Fudan Medical University, and Tsinghua University. One example of the value of these collaborations and academic partnerships is the co-sponsoring of an annual SafeWork Forum with China's State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS). Each year for the past four years, more than 300 Chinese business, government and academic leaders have attended the SafeWork Forum to discuss work safety and occupational health to promote improvement of work safety management methods in China.
There are many examples of the safety contributions made by Liberty Mutual's consultants around the world. Consultants work with thousands of customers to identify, assess and help control hazards and prevent accidents. Actuarial studies have consistently shown statistically significant reductions in customer incident rates when Liberty Mutual Loss Prevention consultants are involved.
The Green Cross for Safety Medal award was established in 1999. Liberty Mutual Group will be the first insurance company to receive the award. Previous honorees are AK Steel Corp. and its Chairman and CEO, Richard M. Wardrop, Jr (2000).; Intel Corp. and its President and CEO, Craig R. Barrett (2001); Ryder System, Inc. and its President and CEO Gregory M. Swienton (2002); Kenny Construction Company and its CEO, Gerard M. Kenny (2003); and the Chrysler Group of DaimlerChrysler and its CEO Dieter Zetsche (2004).
Boston-based Liberty Mutual Group ( www.libertymutual.com) is a diversified international group of insurance companies, with 38,000 employees in 900 locations across the globe. LMG offers a wide range of insurance products and services, including personal automobile, homeowners, workers compensation, commercial multiple peril, London Market, commercial automobile, general liability, global specialty, group disability, assumed reinsurance, fire and surety.
The National Safety Council is a nonprofit, nongovernmental, international public service organization dedicated to protecting life and promoting health. Members of NSC include more than 45,000 businesses, labor organizations, schools, public agencies, private groups and individuals. Founded in 1913, and chartered by the U.S. Congress in 1953, the primary focus of the NSC is preventing injuries in workplaces, in transportation and in homes and communities.
For Immediate Release, September 13, 2004
Contacts:
Media Contact: National Safety Council 630-775-2307 media@nsc.org
Adrianne Kaufmann Liberty Mutual Group 617-574-5983
