Protecting the planet and its people: how do interventions to promote environmental sustainability and occupational safety and health overlap?

PROBLEM

The challenges of both occupational safety and health and environmental sustainability require large-scale behavior change for meaningful improvements to occur. Environmental sustainability, or the 'green movement' has received far more attention recently, and certain strategies and recommendations from interventions designed for promoting pro-environmental behaviors may inform efforts to intervene on critical behaviors for improving occupational safety and health.

METHOD

A survey of the literature regarding behavioral interventions for both environmental sustainability and occupational safety and health was conducted. Several theoretical approaches are reviewed, and successful approaches from each domain are identified, as well as parallel challenges and points for crossover. Recommendations are provided for adapting environmental sustainability intervention approaches for occupational safety and health applications.

IMPACT ON INDUSTRY

Safety and health leaders may achieve sustainable improvements in worker safety and health by harnessing the momentum of the green movement and adapting successful intervention approaches from the environmental sustainability domain.