Last week, Barbour EHS hosted a webinar exploring psychological safety and why under-reporting of health & safety incidents continues to challenge organisations, even those with mature safety systems.

The webinar brought together Elizabeth Hyde, Director at Hesper GRC, and Sophie Parkin, Senior Associate in the Environment, Health and Safety team at Eversheds Sutherland, for a discussion that combined legal, psychological and practical insight.

The session was based on Elizabeth’s first-of-its-kind report, From Silence to Safety: Psychological Safety’s Role in Preventing Workplace Incidents, and it drew a significant audience from across sectors. Many participants shared their own experiences of speaking up, or hesitating to do so, in their workplaces.

Below, we recap the background, what the data means, and the practical steps for improving psychological safety and incident reporting.

Understanding psychological safety

Elizabeth explained that psychological safety is “the belief that you can speak up with ideas, questions, concerns or mistakes without fear of negative consequence.” Originally developed through research by Professor Amy Edmondson at Harvard Business School, the concept focuses on interpersonal risk rather than physical or organisational risk.

In practice, this means ensuring employees feel confident to raise issues, challenge unsafe practices, or admit errors without fear of blame or embarrassment. In psychologically safe environments, near misses and minor incidents are reported early, allowing organisations to act before problems escalate.

Elizabeth highlighted that while compliance systems and procedures remain essential, they do not guarantee that people will use them. “Psychological safety,” she said, “is the final safety net that encourages people to speak up when something isn’t right.”

The role of leader behavioural integrity

The webinar also explored the concept of leader behavioural integrity, described by Elizabeth as “leaders who walk the talk when it comes to safety.” It refers to the consistency between what leaders say and what they do, and their ability to follow through on safety promises.

When employees perceive that their leaders genuinely prioritise safety – allocating time, resources, and attention accordingly – they are far more likely to report concerns. Research cited during the session demonstrated a strong correlation between leader integrity and employees’ willingness to speak up.

Lessons from research

“Where leaders were perceived to ‘walk the talk’ on safety, reporting rose sharply from 71% to 90%.

Elizabeth’s own study, conducted with two FTSE 250 companies, examined levels of psychological safety and leader behavioural integrity among 273 frontline employees across logistics, distribution and manufacturing. Despite both companies having robust health and safety functions, around 35% of incidents went unreported.

The data showed that workers who felt psychologically safe with their supervisors reported up to 85% of incidents, compared with 74% where that relationship was weaker. Where leaders were perceived to “walk the talk” on safety, reporting rose sharply from 71% to 90%.

This reinforces the importance of line-manager behaviour in shaping a culture of openness. As Sophie noted, “Low reporting doesn’t always mean you’re safe; it might mean people don’t feel able to speak up.”

Building a culture of openness

Elizabeth and Sophie shared practical steps for improving psychological safety and incident reporting.

  • Surveys and focus groups can help identify baseline levels of psychological safety and reveal barriers to speaking up.
  • Workshops and team charters encourage teams to define what enables or discourages open communication.
  • Regular check-ins, retrospectives and 360-degree feedback signal that input is valued and that leaders are listening.
  • Simplified reporting tools, such as QR codes or mobile apps, can make it easier for employees to log near misses and safety observations anonymously.

Crucially, when someone does raise a concern, managers must respond constructively. Elizabeth emphasised that how a leader reacts to a first report often determines whether that employee – or their peers – will speak up again.

“Targets focused on reducing incident numbers can make teams reluctant to log near misses for fear of ‘spoiling’ good statistics.”

Balancing metrics with mindset

A number of attendees raised concerns about performance indicators that may unintentionally discourage reporting. Targets focused on reducing incident numbers can make teams reluctant to log near misses for fear of “spoiling” good statistics.

Elizabeth and Sophie advised reviewing KPIs to ensure they support learning and transparency rather than silence.

Sophie also highlighted emerging international developments, including new laws in Brazil mandating the assessment of psychosocial hazards. While the UK has not yet followed suit, she predicted growing attention on this area alongside ISO 45003.

Continuing the conversation

The strong audience engagement and volume of shared experiences during the webinar underline how widely the topic resonates across the profession.

As Elizabeth concluded, creating a workplace where people feel safe to speak up is not a one-off exercise: “It’s a journey that takes consistent effort, integrity, and genuine curiosity about what your people have to say.”

We’d like to say a huge thank you to Elizabeth and Sophie for their time and expertise on this webinar – it made for a fascinating conversation.

For those who missed the live session, the full recording and Elizabeth’s report, ‘From Silence to Safety: Psychological Safety’s Role in Preventing Workplace Incidents’, are available here.

Rebecca May | 7th October 2025

In the demanding and ever-changing world of Environment, Health, and Safety (EHS) compliance, balancing day-to-day operations with the rigorous requirements of ISO accreditation is no mean feat.

Recently, Teresa Dier from Barbour EHS sat down with Matt Egeland, Senior EHS Manager at New Balance, to discuss the company’s journey and commitment to its ISO certifications, implementing best practices internationally, and the invaluable lessons learned.

About New Balance

New Balance, headquartered in Boston, MA, has the following purpose: “Independent since 1906, we empower people through sport and craftsmanship to create positive change in communities around the world.”

New Balance employs 10,000 associates around the globe, and in 2024 reported worldwide sales of $7.8 billion. New Balance owns five athletic footwear factories in New England and one in Flimby, U.K. New Balance MADE U.S. footwear contains a domestic value of 70% or more and makes up a limited portion of New Balance’s U.S. sales.

To learn more about New Balance, please visit www.newbalance.com; for the latest press information, please visit http://newbalance.newsmarket.com.

Why pursue ISO accreditation?

New Balance holds four key ISO certifications for different areas of the business in the UK:

•   ISO 9001:2015 – Quality management systems

•   ISO 45001:2018 – Occupational health and safety management systems

•   ISO 14001:2015 – Environmental management systems

•   ISO 50001:2018 – Energy management systems

Matt shared how the journey for New Balance began with a gap analysis in 2015, and while they already had strong processes in place, they recognised areas for improvement.

“The goal was to elevate our existing practices and maintain a culture where safety is everyone’s number one priority.”

“We made a three-year plan to get everything ready and align our management systems with ISO standards,” Matt explained. “This involved a lot of training, implementing procedures, and upgrading from an Excel-based system to a web-based platform. The goal was to elevate our existing practices and maintain a culture where safety is everyone’s number one priority.”

Matt had previously taken a business through ISO standards, so he knew what to expect and that it would be achievable for New Balance.

He explained that the motivation to align with ISO standards was driven not just by compliance, but also by a commitment to continuous improvement. This drive stemmed from both operational needs and leadership vision.

The challenges of implementation

Achieving ISO accreditation while managing day-to-day EHS responsibilities presented its challenges. Matt emphasised that an integrated management system was key to their success. By streamlining processes, New Balance could pursue ISO 45001 and ISO 14001 certifications simultaneously.

“Our integrated system allowed us to have one cohesive framework,” he said.

“For example, monitoring and measurement requirements are similar across standards, whether it’s tracking accidents, near misses, safety observations or environmental impacts. This approach made it easier to address multiple standards at once.”

“This approach made it easier to address multiple standards at once.”

They also needed to carefully consider which ISO standards would be most practical for the different types of sites they operate. For example, New Balance’s UK retail operations were incorporated into the ISO 50001 energy standard as they could realistically influence practical ways to improve energy use, such as efficient processes and store opening times.

In contrast, incorporating health and safety compliance under ISO 45001 presented unique challenges due to the diverse locations, structures, personnel, and operations of the stores.

Innovating and managing international compliance

As New Balance expanded its operations internationally, compliance with diverse legal and legislative frameworks became complex. Matt explained that when they began to expand into Europe, they started looking for a single source of information that would help them quickly understand different international regulatory landscapes and requirements.

“We were looking for a system that could provide not only UK compliance information that we could base our company standards on, but also international compliance information,” Matt shared. “Barbour’s platform gave us access to legislation and legal requirements across Europe, which is very difficult to get. You can search Google for hours, but you don’t get consistent information, and you don’t actually know if what you’ve found is correct. We have now saved ourselves those countless hours of research, and Barbour’s tools allowed us to build a robust legal register tailored to our needs.”

“We have now saved ourselves those countless hours of research.”

During their first day on the Barbour platform, they took advantage of the ability to centralise and simplify complex compliance data. “In just one day, the amount of information we got out of it was amazing, especially from the legal compliance side. We created a document that outlined legal requirements for each country we operate in. It was a game changer. It helped us to become compliant across Europe.”

They also found that they could streamline the task of keeping up to date with changing EHS requirements. What once took days of manual work was reduced to a quick weekly review over what he and his colleague call their “five-minute cup of coffee.”

By having a centralised place to access up-to-date and summarised information, Matt has empowered the area managers in each country to manage their compliance responsibilities for themselves, and they simply check in with him as they go.

“Everything’s there for you – they don’t have to go into every single piece of legislation to see what applies to us. It’s good for helping them to evaluate the legal requirements, and it gives them autonomy and a heads up.”

Lessons learned and looking ahead

When asked about lessons learned, Matt highlighted the importance of proactive planning and robust systems.

“The ISO journey taught us that preparation is everything. We’ve also seen the value of having strong partnerships, like the one we’ve developed with Barbour, to navigate evolving compliance needs. We’ve had some great comments from ISO auditors. They can see that we’re evaluating our compliance continually.”

“We’ve had some great comments from ISO auditors. They can see that we’re evaluating our compliance continually.”

Today, New Balance continues to uphold its ISO certifications while sharing best practices across its global network. “Our commitment to safety and sustainability is stronger than ever. With the right tools and a dedicated team, we’ve not only met the standards, but integrated them into the core of our operations.”

These certifications underscore New Balance’s commitment to excellence, and they also reflect the team’s dedication and strategy in achieving them. As their journey continues, New Balance serves as a powerful example of how determination, innovation and collaboration can drive lasting success in the world of EHS.

Department for Business and Trade | The UK Government has launched a major review of the parental leave and pay system, the first of its kind in Britain.

As part of its “Plan for Change,” this review will look at how to “modernise parental leave to support families and help grow the economy.”

The review is to look at the whole system, from maternity and paternity leave to shared parental leave, to see how it can work better for parents and employers.

Right now, the system is considered by many to be complicated and to not always give families the support they need. It is believed that one-in-three dads don’t take paternity leave because they can’t afford to, and take-up of shared parental leave remains low.

Research also shows that better parental leave can help close the gender pay gap and boost the economy by billions of pounds.

The review will gather views from parents, employers, and experts across the country and will end with a roadmap for possible reforms.

Opus Energy has agreed to pay more than £7 million in refunds, redress, and goodwill payments after overcharging almost 88,000 non-domestic customers between 2003 and 2023.

The supplier identified two billing system faults that temporarily placed customers on wrong tariffs or duplicated billing periods, affecting 87,825 accounts over 20 years. While most overcharges were under £50, one customer overpaid £102,000.

Opus Energy resolved the faults and will pay £5.5 million in refunds and £1.56 million in goodwill payments, and will not recover undercharged amounts. Current customers have been refunded; former customers owing £2.50 or more will be contacted. Unclaimed or smaller refunds will go to the Energy Redress Fund.

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