The Coega Development Corporation (CDC) is aiming to achieve a double first by September this year. “In addition to the ISO 14001 environmental certification which we have just achieved, we plan to qualify for ISO 18001, which focuses on health and safety,” says CDC executive manager environment, John Raimondo. “We will be one of the first – if not the first – industrial zone in the world to meet the stringent requirements of both these international standards,” he says. Worker health and safety and the environment go hand-in-hand at Coega, says Dr Raimondo. “Our holistic approach to development and the environment means that we consider all the potential effects of the project, and that includes the health and safety of everyone employed in the Coega Industrial Development Zone (IDZ),” he says. The CDC is integrating the monitoring of compliance with both the ISO 14001 and ISO 18001 standards into a single set of rules and regulations that are already being enforced by CDC officers who are on site at all times.