Judith Phiri recently in VICTORIA FALLS
OCCUPATIONAL Safety and Health (OSH) professionals have been urged to take environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting seriously and position themselves at the forefront of corporate sustainability initiatives, leveraging their existing expertise in risk management, regulatory compliance and environmental protection.
As sustainability reporting increasingly becomes an important component of corporate governance, investment decisions and international trade, OSH practitioners have been encouraged to recognise their strategic role in helping organisations meet evolving ESG requirements.
The call comes amid growing recognition that ESG reporting frameworks are not entirely new concepts but built on established management systems, including International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) standards, national legislation and regional and international policies.
Speaking at the 63rd National Conference on Safety and Health at Work (SHAW) 2026 in Victoria Falls on Saturday yesterday, Dr Tatenda Nyenda, from SHEMS Consultancy, who is also the Zimbabwe Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (ZIOSH) president, said OSH professionals already possess competencies in, environmental risk assessments, which is a critical component of ESG implementation.
“ESG reporting frameworks did not appear in a vacuum; they shared direct lineage and structural logic with ISO management-system standards, local legislation and regional and international policies.
“The Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle is the common skeleton beneath both Global Reporting Initiative(GRI), European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) and ISO 9001/14001/45001,” he said.
“What is genuinely new is, to some extent, double materiality, mandatory disclosure and investor-grade external assurance, not the underlying management logic.
“Organisations with mature ISO-certified systems hold a structural head start on ESG compliance readiness.”
He said the most defensible position, ESG reporting is an evolution and re-scoping of established management-system thinking, not a standalone invention.
Dr Nyenda said it taps a lot from the context of the organisation, RA, Artificial Intelligence Impact Assessment (AIIA), needs and expectations of interested parties and communication, leadership and compliance obligations and monitoring, measurement, analysis and reporting.
“The next steps for the Safety, Health and Environment (SHE) or ESG Practitioners is that you are already doing much; you need to recheck your job description (JD) and track record. Accept that you do not need to knock at the ESG door; you are already in,” he added.
“Perform an IFRS S1 and S2 (global sustainability reporting standards) or GRI gap analysis. Compare current sustainability disclosures with the standards, identifying missing information, processes and controls.”
He said closing the gaps, strengthening existing systems and identifying material risks was important.
Dr Nyenda said OSH professionals should consider climate, environmental, social and governance matters that could affect the company’s prospects, access to finance or cost of capital.
