The need to shift the focus from mere legal compliance to embracing a holistic culture of prevention that protects people both inside and outside the workplace was highlighted at an event entitled “Health and Safety with people at the heart: From responsibility to compliance and prevention”.
The event took place on 15 October 2026 at the Trikala Chamber of Commerce, with GEP executives taking part and providing a basis for an appropriate approach to corporate and social responsibility.
Health and safety as a culture and way of life
At the event, Konstantinos Papaefthymiou, president of the Trikala Chamber of Commerce, welcomed participants and highlighted the importance of dialogue on prevention and workplace safety, as well as sharing expertise.
Giorgos Lamprinos, president of PASYMEP and chairman and chief executive of GEP, highlighted the need for health and safety to go beyond formal compliance with procedures and legal requirements, stressing its fundamentally human dimension.
“Health and safety involves procedures, regulations and legislation, but above all it is a culture and a way of life. It is not confined to the workplace or to corporate obligations. It is a unified concept that accompanies us in our daily lives.
There are far more accidents outside work than workplace accidents, which is why we must adopt this culture as employees and citizens, creating real added value for our society. Our aim is to inspire and inform people so they can take another step forward every day in advancing health and safety for all of us,” he said.
The role of health and safety in business planning
Alexandros Sofianopoulos, GEP’s general manager, focused on the strategic dimension of health and safety, highlighting its pivotal role in risk management, business resilience and the sustainable operation of companies.
He also stressed the importance of fully integrating health and safety into each organisation’s overall business planning, and its contribution to safeguarding corporate reputation and business continuity through active prevention.
Spyros Primikyrios, a mechanical engineer with a degree from the National Technical University of Athens and scientific lead for GEP’s technical safety officers, discussed the practical dimensions of prevention and protection.
He focused on the importance of systematically identifying and assessing risks in the workplace, as well as taking preventive technical measures early in the day-to-day operations of organisations, with the aim of preventing and minimising risks.
The event confirmed that meaningful progress in health and safety is not achieved through the regulatory framework alone, but requires a sustained, people-centred culture of prevention and protection, developed in the workplace and extending into everyday life and society.