Our idea of
Safe
is continually evolving.
Just a few decades ago, seat belts were an afterthought.
The sun was something to soak up.
Bike helmets were considered ridiculous.
Thankfully
This has changed
We now take great care to protect ourselves from a variety of hazards. Moreover, the concept of safety itself has expanded.
We can see how environmental conditions such as poor air quality and polluted waterways have long-term impacts to our wellbeing. Extreme weather events can have devastating consequences on our cities and communities. New technologies bring with them unknown safety threats, and effects that are oftentimes unpredictable.
Considering this wider definition of safety, how does education play a role in building a safer and more sustainable world?
At UL Education and Outreach, we focus on addressing the most persistent and difficult global safety challenges by implementing, inspiring, and supporting educational solutions across a broad range of themes.
1
Fire Safety
Injuries and deaths related to fire incidents are amongst the greatest threats to human life and wellbeing.
Parameter
Fire safety deaths in 2017
26,873
Source: UL Safety Index
Globally, our approach to fire safety education is to leverage the top minds in the fields of fire science, engineering, and safety research, and to transform their knowledge and expertise into science-driven, sustainable education programs.
2
Environmental Health and Sustainability
Hazards to environmental health such as air, water, and chemical pollution equally effect human health with long-term, persistent impacts.
Parameter
The World Health Organization estimates
7,000,000
premature deaths annually
Source: WHO
As a safe environment requires inter-generational vigilance, our focus is to support and recognize the critical work of non-profit organizations across the United States and Canada, who lead the way in scientific and technological innovation with a focus on solving environmental challenges.
3
Road Safety and Transportation
Road and transportation accidents are one of the world’s leading causes of death and critical injuries.
Parameter
Nearly
1,300,000
people are killed, with an additional 20 to 50 million critically injured or permanently disabled, from road crashes every year
Source: WHO
An ambitious agenda to drastically curb this trend requires sustained education and outreach across key road safety interventions. These methods must be effective in reducing road traffic fatalities and injuries, and in bringing desired behavioral change. At UL, we adopt multi-level, evidence-based interventions that are and focused on preventive strategies for global impact.
4
Water Safety
Globally, drowning is one of the leading causes of accidental death.
Parameter
Globally, drowning is the third leading cause of unintentional injury death totalling over
360,000
a year
Source: WHO
In our effort to reduce and eradicate accidental drownings, we aim to provide swimming and water safety educational materials that can help save countless numbers of lives. UL Education and Outreach focuses on developing global partnerships and collaborative approaches to address accidental drowning.
5
Resilience
Extreme weather events are increasingly more costly and more dangerous to human life and critical infrastructure than ever before.
Parameter
Average number of extreme weather events by decade, 1900-2010
Source: WHO
Engineering resilience is a fundamental key to ensuring safe and strong cities and communities. From policy makers, to educators, to engineers, the UL Education and Outreach program leverages UL’s rigorous scientific research and unmatched engineering expertise - along with worldwide partnerships - to create innovative, locally specific engineering resilience programs.
6
Human Health and Wellbeing
The evolution of safety must also take into account the topic of human health and wellbeing.
Parameter
Worldwide deaths from unintentional injury are expected to grow by 40% between 2015 and 2030, from
3,400,000
to
4,700,000
Source: WHO
At UL Education and Outreach, we contribute to the protection of human health and wellbeing through our scientific research, data development, and education and outreach, while maintaining our focus on both immediate and long-term threats to health and safety.
7
Battery Safety
Batteries enable many aspects of daily life, However, with improper use and handling, batteries can cause serious injury from fires, explosions, and other critical failures.
Parameter
In the U.S. alone, over
3,000,000,000
batteries are produced, many of which are thrown away
Source: WHO
Considering the necessity and large-scale dependence on safe and reliable portable energy, UL Education and Outreach focuses on delivering important battery safety educational materials, which rely heavily on research conducted by UL’s leading scientists and engineers. The distribution of this knowledge is critical to help educate the our tech dependent society. ever-growing population and consumer base of battery users.
8
Cyber Security
Over half of the population of the world, about 3.5 billion people, access the internet.
Parameter
With the rise of internet use and internet connected devices, an equal rise of
cybercrime
has increased
Source: Global Cybersecurity Index
