Safety Council Launches "Safe NE" Initiative

KFOR NEWS May 21, 2020) The National Safety Council, Nebraska Chapter (NSCN), in collaboration with the Greater Omaha Chamber, Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Lincoln Chamber of Commerce has launched an initiative focused on the safety of all Nebraska companies, their employees and their customers. The voluntary process, called Be Safe Nebraska, will allow companies to pledge to adopt best safety practices focused on keeping their employees, customers and partners safe during the COVID epidemic.

Participating companies who have reviewed and implemented the risk assessment document and taken the pledge will receive a Certificate of Commitment and “I Pledged” material that can be used to notify their employees, customers and suppliers of their commitment. The pledge can be completed at BeSafeNebraska.com. This commitment will provide the confidence that the business is working diligently to protect stakeholders. NSCN has established a public website in which companies taking the pledge will be
listed (SafeNebraska.org/WePledge). This will be useful for consumer-facing companies, giving the public confidence that they are not incurring undue risk by patronizing a business. This confidence is key to the broader goal of returning Nebraska to economic normalcy safely.

“This collaboration with the Omaha, Lincoln and State of Nebraska Chambers will help us share safety resource information to all Nebraska companies allowing them to show their commitment to keeping their employees safe.” said Eric Koeppe, National Safety Council, Nebraska President/CEO. “It is our hope that companies who pledge to keeping Nebraskans safe during the COVID pandemic, will maintain that same level of commitment towards safety moving forward.”

“There are two factors that greatly affect the speed of economic recovery and businesses’ ability to put Nebraskans back to work:

1) our ability to safely do business while protecting employees and customers

2) the return of consumers’ comfort and willingness to ‘buy Nebraska’ and support their community businesses,” said Bryan Slone, president of the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

“The Nebraska Chapter of the National Safety Council has helped push us forward on both needs, giving businesses more comfort in the measures they must take and letting citizens know they can trust those measures.” “Recovery is going to rely on employee and customer safety,” said David G. Brown, president and CEO, Greater Omaha Chamber. “All the relief and stimulus funds in the world won’t matter if people don’t feel confident going back out into their communities. The Be Safe Nebraska program is a first step toward providing transparency and building trust in a post-COVID-19 world.”

“Businesses are facing new challenges and questions as they look to reopen and a return to normal. With safety as a top priority, businesses can protect their employees and customers by adhering to local and federal guidelines that instill confidence and promote safe environments,” says Wendy Birdsall, President of the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce. “We encourage our businesses to take the pledge and help keep Nebraskans safe during the days and weeks to come.”