Principles of sensible risk management

With the help of research and the views of many organisations and individuals, we devised some simple principles of sensible risk management.

1. Sensible risk management is about:
   • Ensuring that workers and the public are properly protected
   • Providing overall benefit to society by balancing benefits and risks, with a focus on reducing real risks – both those which arise more often and those with serious consequences
   • Enabling innovation and learning not stifling them
   • Ensuring that those who create risks manage them responsibly and understand that failure to manage real risks responsibly is likely to lead to robust action
   • Enabling individuals to understand that as well as the right to protection, they also have to exercise responsibility
2. Sensible risk management is not about:
   • Creating a totally risk free society
   • Generating useless paperwork mountains
   • Scaring people by exaggerating or publicising trivial risks
   • Stopping important recreational and learning activities for individuals where the risks are managed
   • Reducing protection of people from risks that cause real harm and suffering

The principles were launched by Bill Callaghan, Chair of the Health and Safety Commission in August 2006

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