Briefing: World Health Day – putting our planet and our health first

06 Apr 2022

World Health Day, which takes place on Thursday 7 April, serves as a reminder to ensure that we are doing all we can to protect the future of our workforce. Led by the World Health Organization, the 2022 version of the annual awareness day is based on the theme ‘Our planet, our health’, with a focus on clean air, water and food. It asks people to consider ‘What can you do to protect our planet and our health’? This briefing looks at what organisations can do to improve their employees’ health, and that of the planet too.

Switch off lights after working hours
Office equipment is the fastest growing energy user in the business world, consuming 15% of the total electricity used in offices. Annually, the cost of running this equipment is around £300m in the UK alone and this is increasing every year. Office lights lefts on overnight use enough energy in a year to heat a home for five months, whilst a single computer and monitor left on 24 hours a day will cost around £45 a year. Light pollution is also damaging to wildlife.

Support teleworking when possible
Flexible working – giving flexibility over where, when and the hours people work – is increasingly in demand. For employees it enables the management of caring responsibilities, and can help those looking for a better work–life balance.

Flexible working can also lead to direct and indirect business benefits. Direct benefits include savings on office space, for example, by using technological advances to allow remote working and hot desking. Flexible working also allows a better match between business resources and demand, for example serving customers on a 24/7 basis.

Flexible working can also reduce absence rates, allowing employees to manage disability and long-term health conditions, as well as supporting their mental health and stress.

All employees have the legal right to request flexible working – not just parents and carers.

Remove highly processed and packaged foods from the workplace
Food choices may be different from country to country, but everyone needs to have a healthy, balanced diet. With only a few minutes to take lunch, many workers opt to eat fast food. Since everyone needs to eat, employers can offer healthier choices.

A healthier approach to eating can be taken by:

Considering portion size and eating the right amount for your body’s needs.
Eating a balance of foods, including sources of protein and fruits and vegetables.
Avoiding super-size portions of low-nutrient food and drink – such as fizzy drinks – when eating out.
Selecting high-nutrient foods, such as choosing to snack on a piece of fruit rather than eating a bag of crisps or a chocolate bar.

Many workplaces provide free fruit once a week or on a regular basis, and/or access to free mineral water. Vending machines are a constant source of temptation when hunger strikes. Make sure a selection of healthier options, including fruit, cereal bars or lower-calorie alternatives are available alongside the normal chocolate, crisps and fizzy drinks for a quick snack.

A balanced and healthy diet nourishes both the mind and the body, so that it can work efficiently and effectively.

Reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of your activities
Buildings are responsible for approximately 40% of energy consumption and 36% of CO2 emissions in the EU. Whilst some new buildings might be designed to good energy-efficient standards, utilising new technology that reduces waste and saves energy, much of the UK’s building stock is less efficient.

In order to comply with worldwide targets to reduce the impact of climate change, buildings need to become more efficient. Increasing energy efficiency not only allows individuals and organisations to reduce their capital and operational costs, it can also help lower fuel consumption and reduce the emission of greenhouse gases.

The government will increasingly set more ambitious targets for energy efficiency in non-domestic buildings. The minimum ‘E’ rating is not enough to help meet the government’s 20% energy efficiency target.

Ensure safe water is accessible for workers
Anyone with responsibility for water systems in buildings needs to be aware of their responsibilities to ensure that people accessing water in a building do so safely.

Man-made water systems are a potential source for Legionella bacteria growth. Legionnaires’ disease is always serious and is fatal in approximately one case in eight. It is preventable.

Any water system that has the right environmental conditions could potentially be a source for legionella bacteria growth. There is a reasonably foreseeable legionella risk in your water system if:

Water is stored or re-circulated as part of your system;
The water temperature in all or some part of the system is between 20 and 45°C;
There are sources of nutrients such as rust, sludge, scale and organic matters;
The conditions are likely to encourage bacteria to multiply;
It is possible for water droplets to be produced and, if so, if they can be dispersed over a wide area, e.g. showers and aerosols from cooling towers; and
It is likely that any of your employees, residents, visitors etc are more susceptible to infection due to age, illness, a weakened immune system etc and whether they could be exposed to any contaminated water droplets.

Health and safety legislation requires the risk of legionnaires’ disease to be controlled and applies to employers, the self-employed or anyone in control of premises (the duty-holder). In the UK, the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (known as COSHH) require risk assessments to be carried out, and for suitable control measures to be put in place if the risk is deemed significant.

All of these issues and more are covered in International Workplace’s latest IOSH course, Managing Occupational Health and Wellbeing. Suitable for managers and supervisors working in any sector and for any organisation, it's designed to provide them with the tools and techniques to improve health and wellbeing.

The course is broken down into four main modules followed by a multiple choice online assessment and a workplace project, taking approximately six hours to complete.

It's accredited by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), the market-leading designer of manager courses for safety, health and wellbeing. Find out more here.