UK: The Event Supplier and Services Association’s quality assurance programme, Accredited, has accrued 25 member companies since its launch in November.
ESSA Accredited is an annual company level health & safety qualification – independently audited and providing demonstrable proof that a member company is operating at the required level to meet agreed industry standards. Whilst for those companies involved in construction, it additionally measures against stage one requirements of assessing competence under CDM 2015.
ESSA director, Andrew Harrison, commented: “We had a strong indication that members were keen to start the process of becoming accredited, however, I was not expecting such a rapid take-up over the festive period.”
The association has recently appointed Josh Taylor to the position of health & safety project manager and Taylor will be managing the accreditation process.
ESSA plans to roll out requirements for its members’ sustainability credentials to align with those of ISO20121 (Sustainability in Event Management), for which event businesses are increasingly being asked, including policy statements on the environment and inclusivity. ESSA Accredited is not only for design & build and construction related members, but it also provides for those member companies that are not involved in construction related activities; they can apply for a ‘non-construction related’ accreditation.
