Liontrust’s Michaelis on investing in better health and safety

As our economies and societies advance, we continually develop ways to reduce the likelihood of accidents – whether in daily life or at work. The degree of improvement achieved is remarkable and deserves to be celebrated. Sustainable investors also have an important role to play in encouraging further progress.

Progress in the workplace

Consider workplace accidents here in the UK. RoSPA (the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents) records that in 2000, there were 292 workforce fatalities and 1.1 million non-fatal injuries. In 2025, those figures stood at 124 and 680,000 respectively. When we factor in the expansion of the workforce – from 28 million to 33.5 million – the rate of improvement is even more striking.

Put another way, had accident rates remained at their 2000 levels, there would have been 211 additional fatalities and 660,000 additional injuries every year. Over 25 years, this represents a remarkable 5,000 lives saved and 15 million injuries prevented.

The construction sector has perhaps seen the most dramatic turnaround. In 2000, it accounted for around 100 deaths per year; now that figure is approximately 40. This has been achieved through integrating safety considerations at the early design stage, expanding off-site construction, and training workers to identify risks and empowering them to act before accidents occur.

We view worker safety as a key indicator of overall business quality. Companies that manage safety well tend to manage their broader operations well too.

One example is Berkeley Group, the UK housebuilder. Through its partnership with RoSPA, Berkeley has consistently maintained an AIIR (Annual Injury Incidence Rate) one-third below the industry average. We see a strong connection between this and the quality of its buildings, as reflected in a net promoter score of +81.6 from its customers.

Advanced Drainage Systems (ADS) has delivered meaningful and sustained improvements in workplace safety over the past three years, reflecting both the effectiveness of its operational strategy and a deepening safety culture. The company’s Total Recordable Injury Rate (TRIR) has steadily improved from 2.6 → 2.1 → 1.96 between FY2023 and FY2025, representing a 25% reduction over the period. This positions ADS well ahead of industry benchmarks, outperforming both the plastic pipe manufacturing industry average of 3.2 and the broader US manufacturing average of 2.8 in the most recent comparable year.

A significant driver of this improvement is ADS’ continued investment in safety-related operational enhancements. In the past year alone, the company invested $13.3m in environmental, health, and safety (EHS) projects across its manufacturing and logistics network, with a particular emphasis on automating downstream manufacturing tasks, a high-risk area for safety incidents.

The company has also implemented a comprehensive safety and health management system aimed at preventing, identifying and correcting hazards before injuries occur, underpinned by strengthened training, hazard-reporting processes and employee empowerment.

Progress on the roads

Progress beyond the workplace has been equally significant. Road fatalities in the EU fell from 50,000 per year in 2000 to 19,800 by 2024. It remains striking that figures of this magnitude do not command daily headlines – even the improved numbers are comparable with casualties in a major armed conflict. The FIA Foundation has campaigned consistently for a Vision Zero target, advocating for higher safety standards, better road infrastructure and lower speed limits as practical, proven solutions. More recently, advances in vehicle safety technology have added further tools to that effort.

D’Ieteren’s brands include Autoglass and Belron. In addition to repairing and replacing damaged windscreens, Belron recalibrates the sensors essential to collision avoidance and autonomous driving technologies. We also invest in Alphabet, which is transforming urban transport through its Waymo self-driving taxi service. Swiss Re estimates bodily injury accident rates for Waymo are an extraordinary 92% lower than those of conventional taxis.

The case for long-term commitment

None of this happens by accident, if you will excuse the pun. It is instructive that road fatality rates in the US have stagnated, with 39,000 deaths recorded in 2024, at a rate two to three times that of the UK. Sustained progress requires long-term planning and the determination to deliver incremental improvements year after year. UK workplace safety gains, for instance, trace back to the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, and have demanded decades of education, technological application and the sharing of best practice.

Equally important has been helping businesses understand that worker wellbeing is not merely a moral obligation, but a long-term driver of commercial success – a message that sustainable investors have long brought to company management. There remains a long way to go, but there is also much progress worth celebrating.