The Safety Professional’s Role in Sustainability – A BDA Conversation

November 7, 2025

Let’s be honest, the word sustainability carries real weight today. But within our industry, it’s no longer a “nice to have.” It’s fast becoming the measure by which our clients, regulators, and the communities we serve, judge success.

As Chair of the BDA Health & Safety Sub-Committee, and as a Director responsible for Safety and Sustainability in my own organisation, I’ve seen first-hand how expectations around health and safety continue to rise – and how our profession is now firmly at the centre of driving that change.

In ground engineering, drilling, and geotechnical operations, safety has always been at the heart of what we do. Every shift, every project, every site visit comes down to managing risk, implementing controls, and learning from experience. Sustainability challenges us to take that same structured, disciplined approach and widen the focus.

It’s no longer just about preventing harm, it’s more about how we use resources, how we treat people, how we impact the environment, and how we build resilience for the future.

The good news is that safety professionals are already wired for this. We’ve been wearing multiple hats for years from Quality & Environmental through to Security & Facilities, and now Sustainability joins that list. Our understanding of risk management, control measures, and continual improvement gives us a strong head start. Sustainability simply broadens what we consider risk and, crucially, what we define as opportunity.

Instead of only measuring incident rates, we’re now looking at emissions, resource efficiency, social value, and mental wellbeing. It’s the same mindset, just applied to a wider horizon.

For the BDA, this evolution is an opportunity to lead. Our members work on the front line of construction and infrastructure, which are both sectors where sustainability is under more scrutiny than ever. By embedding sustainability within our core safety culture, we can ensure our industry continues to set the standard for professionalism, responsibility, and innovation.

Because sustainability isn’t just about carbon, it’s about people, process, and purpose. It’s about drilling safely and efficiently, yes, but also protecting the environment, supporting communities, and investing in our people. These ideas have always been part of good safety management; we’re now simply expanding their reach.

As the BDA develops new guidance and training, we’ll continue to align safety and sustainability so members can meet these challenges with confidence. The principles are familiar. The tools are already in our hands. The opportunity lies in how we use them to build a safer, stronger, and more sustainable industry.

By embracing sustainability as an extension of safety, we’re not just meeting expectations, we’re redefining what responsible drilling looks like.

Author: Paul Breslin, Chair of the BDA H&S Sub-Committee