ITASCA, Ill. – The National Safety Council honored three organizations that have led the way in preventing injuries and saving lives with its renowned Green Cross for Safety® awards. Presented during the 22nd annual Green Cross Celebration, this accolade recognizes the best and brightest in three categories: safety advocacy, safety excellence and safety innovation.
Nine finalists for the three award categories were selected, reviewed and evaluated by an external panel. Finalists for the Safety Advocate Award were: James McGovern, the City of Houston – Houston Health Department, and Nutrien AG Solutions. Finalists for the Safety Excellence Award were: Berry Corporation, United States Steel Corporation and Murphy-Hoffman Company. Finalists for the Safety Innovation Award were: Central Plateau Cleanup Company, UPS and Amazon.
The 2021 winners are:
- Nutrien AG Solutions (Safety Advocate Award, sponsored by FirstGroup): Each year, Nutrien Ag Solutions employees handle nearly one million tons of fertilizing chemicals. Recognizing a need to improve their safety training, the company worked in tandem with front-line employees, subject matter experts and stakeholders to successfully redesign processes and employee trainings for transporting and handling hazardous chemicals. Since implementing the new program, Nutrien Ag Solutions has not had any incidents involving anhydrous ammonia exposure with workers who have completed the new training.
- Murphy-Hoffman Company (Safety Excellence Award, sponsored by UPS): Murphy-Hoffman Company (MHC) is the largest privately-owned heavy and medium duty truck network in North America. In 2014, MHC developed a comprehensive vehicle safety program to equip employees with the skills to keep themselves and others safe while driving, resulting in a 36% decrease in preventable collisions.
- Amazon (Safety Innovation Award): In 2019, Amazon challenged itself to leverage the company’s technology-driven culture to eliminate Powered Industrial Trucks (PIT) injuries. As a result, the company launched the industry’s first PIT solution with integrated semi-automatic controls, which eliminates many of the human factors that lead to PIT related incidents. This has not only significantly lowered injury rates at Amazon, but the company’s goal is to eliminate PIT-related severe injuries across the broader industry through this next-generation technology.
In addition to recognizing this year’s award recipients, the Green Cross Celebration helped raise more than $600,000 for mission critical initiatives, including safety research, education and advocacy. The benefit, co-emceed by Louis Bolden of Orlando News 6 and Courtney Hall of NBC Chicago Today, also featured a silent auction with incredible packages, inspiring stories from a survivor advocate, and informed audiences of the latest NSC efforts to save lives.
“I want to sincerely thank and congratulate the Green Cross for Safety® award winners for the incredible work they do to keep millions of people around the world safe — especially during a time when that’s more important than ever,” said Lorraine Martin, president and CEO of the National Safety Council. “It’s through their commitment and selflessness that people can live their fullest lives, on and off the clock.”
Visit greencross.nsc.org for additional information about each winner and finalist.
About the National Safety Council
The National Safety Council is America’s leading nonprofit safety advocate – and has been for over 100 years. As a mission-based organization, we work to eliminate the leading causes of preventable death and injury, focusing our efforts on the workplace, roadway and impairment. We create a culture of safety to not only keep people safer at work, but also beyond the workplace so they can live their fullest lives.
