Northport (Malaysia) Bhd (“Northport”), a member of MMC Group, was announced as one of the recipients of the British Safety Council’s prestigious 2023 International Safety Awards during the award presentation ceremony held at the Landmark Hotel in London on 19th May 2023. The Chief Executive Officer of Northport, Dato’ Azman Shah Mohd Yusof, was present to receive the award on behalf of the company from British Safety Council’s Chair of the Board of Trustees, Peter McGettrick.

The British Safety Council is a government-regulated awarding body that complies with a wide range of conditions set by the regulator so that rigor and consistency in the awarding of qualifications is maintained. Its International Safety Awards recognise and celebrate organisations from around the world which have shown a true commitment and dedication to keeping their workers and workplaces healthy and safe. The number of applications for the awards increased significantly from 647 in 2022 to 978 in 2023, reflecting the growing global recognition and esteem associated with winning the British Safety Council’s prestigious International Safety Awards.

“Our commitment to Health, Safety and Environment (“HSE”) is a top priority for Northport. This recognition is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our team, as well as our business partners and stakeholders. We take great pride in leading the way in promoting the wellbeing of our stakeholders, and we will continue to uphold the highest standards of safety on our journey towards HSE excellence,” said Dato’ Azman.

Northport’s journey towards HSE excellence began in 2012 with the ‘Transformation’ phase which aimed to promote mindset and behavioural change. In 2016, the focus shifted to ‘Effective Implementation’ to enforce all the actions aligned with HSE goals. In 2019, Northport embarked on ‘Sustenance and Continuous Improvement’ to strengthen the best HSE practices among its stakeholders. Finally, the ‘Business Resilience and Continuity’ phase was enforced in 2020 to seal the company’s commitment towards sustainable business continuity management.

The British Safety Council’s prestigious International Safety Award comes on the back of several other accolades Northport has received both locally and internationally in recent years for its HSE initiatives and programs.

In 2019, Northport became the first Malaysian port to be awarded the ISO 45001:2018 standard. The certification signified Northport’s commitment to operate its business and activities at the highest level of occupational safety and health management systems across the organization.

In May 2022, Northport was announced as the winner of the prestigious International Association of Ports and Harbors (“IAPH”) 2022 Sustainability Award under the Health Safety and Security category during the IAPH 2022 World Ports Conference held in Vancouver, Canada. With a project titled “Journey towards HSE Excellence”, Northport defeated two other finalists, Port of Montreal and Port of Amsterdam, in this category. Northport is the first Malaysian port to receive this prestigious international award.

In November 2022, Northport made a clean sweep of awards at the National Occupational Safety and Health Awards 2020/2021. The company took home three awards namely the CEO of the Year (Private Sector), Business Services and Mentor-Mentee (Mentor) awards. The event which was organized by the National Council of Occupational Safety and Health (“NCOSH”) is one of the most prestigious events in Malaysia to honour organizations and individuals with proven outstanding occupational safety and health performance.

“At Northport, we believe that HSE excellence is not just a goal, but a journey that requires continuous improvement and adaptation. We have come a long way since our Transformation phase in 2012, and we are grateful for the recognition from our peers and industry experts. This prestigious International Safety Award and other recognitions received by Northport are significant milestones in our journey towards sustainable growth, and we are excited to continue working towards a safer, healthier, and more resilient future for our employees, business partners and stakeholders,” concluded Dato’ Azman.