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Finalists:

Atkins’ boss swept to victory in this category for championing the health and safety cause in his own company and the rest of the industry

Keith Clarke, Atkins

If only more chief executives had Keith Clarke’s commitment to health and safety. Since joining Atkins in 2003, he has made corporate social responsibility an integral part of the company’s strategy. By 2005, he had overhauled its health and safety regime, achieved international standards for best practice and pushed incident reporting up. He has also championed health and safety elsewhere in the industry, through lecturing extensively and, since last October, as chair of the Construction Industry Council's health and safety committee. His approach can be summed up in his own words: "Health and safety should not be a market force issue – it needs to be one of leadership and pride in what we do."

Andrew East, Health and Safety Executive

The revamp of the CDM regulations has been one of this year’s success stories, and this wouldn't have happened without Andrew East. While developing the implementation strategy for the new rules, East travelled to seminars and conferences across the country, speaking to and learning from the industry on how best to revise them. His tireless efforts have meant the regulations have received near-universal industry approval.

Transport & General Workers Union

For Bob Blackman, health and safety isn't just about ticking boxes – it's about making sure people get treated right. As national construction secretary of the T&G union, now part of Unite, he has campaigned for a variety of issues, from the raising of low fines for onsite fatalities to the use of custodial sentences for negligent directors. Blackman and his union’s support were instrumental to the success of ºÚ¶´ÉçÇø's Safer Skyline campaign and he continues to ensure health and safety best practice is extended to every worker, whether union member or otherwise.

Andrew Allan, Allan Consulting Engineers

Too many designers think health and safety is something only people on site need to worry about. Andy Allan, however, has spent a lifetime trying to convince the industry that designers can make the greatest contribution to good safety practice in construction. Since going through a long and protracted examination by the Health and Safety Executive for charges he was acquitted of, he has worked to ensure bodies such as the Institution of Civil Engineers and the Institution of Structural Engineers are contributing to a positive health and safety culture.

Kevin Fear, ConstructionSkills

As the training and skills body of the industry, ConstructionSkills had to present it with full guidance on the new CDM regulations, but to produce this it needed all sectors in the industry to contribute. As head of health, safety and the environment for the body, Fear decided to draft in representatives from various sectors to form a cross-industry CDM guidance working group. He then chaired the forum and trashed out the documentation. The result was a Health and Safety Executive and Institution of Occupational Safety and Health-approved resource that will guide the industry through the regulations for years to come.