Health and Safety through the Certificate of Recognition (COR)
Workplace health and safety (“H&S”) is all about managing risks to protect both your workers and your business, and any serious H&S program demands strong leadership and cooperation at all levels of an organization. Here at Valley Waste & Recycling, there is nothing more important than the safety of our workers and our customers and we believe that leadership in this regard starts with action, not words.
The Certificate of Recognition (“COR”) is a voluntary incentive program that recognizes companies with health and safety plans that meet—or exceed—their industry’s standards. The program seeks to reward and recognize employers who are going above and beyond to reduce both the human and financial costs of workplace injuries.
COR is nationally trademarked and provides employers with an effective tool to assess their entire health and safety management system. The program started in Alberta about 20 years ago and was originally specific to the construction industry, but that has changed as more and more businesses—including waste management businesses—have demonstrated their willingness to engage strategically with improving their health and safety plans.
COR focuses on two key areas:
- Driving positive workplace behaviour. Here at Valley Waste and Recycling, we recognize that any positive change in workplace culture might be directed by an owner or a boss, but it’s the workers who have to buy in and make it happen.
- Improving performance. COR wants any change in practices to lead to improved performance. In other words, COR re-enforces the idea that better health and safety plans create a happier and more productive workplace.
Why COR Matters
By achieving a COR, a business proves to its customers that their health and safety management system has been developed, implemented, and evaluated thanks to rigorous internal and external audits. This is good news because more and more projects and employers are now seeing COR as a prequalification to doing business, not just a perk.
If you’d like to talk to us about our own culture of health and safety or specific aspects of our health and safety plans, don’t hesitate to ask. Safety is everyone’s responsibility, and we take out commitment to it—and to our customers—seriously.