AWE WINS UK’S PREMIER SAFETY AWARD 

15 April 2002

AWE plc has won the 2002 Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents “Sir George Earle Trophy” - the United Kingdom’s premier award for occupational health and safety.

AWE plc manages and operates the Atomic Weapons Establishment on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

The award recognises AWE plc as the top-perfoming company in the United Kingdom in the field of health and safety.

The competition for the Sir George Earle Trophy is organised each year by the Royal Society (RoSPA) as part of its Occupational Health and Safety Awards Scheme to promote improved standards. It is open to companies and organisations of all sizes and from all sectors of industry, commerce and public utilities.

RoSPA says that one of the best ways of raising health and safety standards is to encourage and reward those who head the field and lead by example and the Sir George Earle Trophy is the ultimate testimonial of a company’s commitment to health and safety.

This year AWE has won the Trophy in competition with more than a 1,000 companies and other organisations from the United Kingdom and overseas.

In previous years the Company has won two RoSPA “gold” awards and last year was the winner in the Public Administration and Defence Sector.

Having won this sector again this year, it was selected with two other companies for consideration for RoSPA’s highest award, which is judged on the basis of five years’ continuous performance.

Last week a RoSPA expert spent two days auditing AWE’s safety management system, facilities and health and safety performance. This week an AWE team, led by AWE’s Assurance Director Alan Brandwood, gave a final presentation to a panel of RoSPA judges comprising safety experts and representatives of industry.

Malcolm Hutchinson, Chairman of AWE plc, said today: “We are delighted to have won this prestigious trophy. It provides everyone at AWE and the outside world with a clear recognition from a very respected independent body of our outstanding progress in all areas of health and safety.

“It is the result of a great deal of hard work by all of our employees, trades union representatives and contractors. It is only with the enthusiasm, ideas, co-operation and commitment of everyone at each AWE site that such a major achievement could have been made.

“We have always said that nothing is more important to us than health and safety. This demonstrates that we mean what we say.

“We will not be resting on these laurels, however. We will continue to work to improve in all that we do.”

The Trophy will be presented at the 2002 RoSPA Award Ceremony Banquet on the evening of Wednesday 15 May at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole Hotel.

Contact:
Mark Douglas: +44 (0)20 7798 2888

For further information: AWE Page