What does it take for a company to reach a level of safety excellence so significantly high that they are recognized as one of America’s Safest Companies? It’s not annual revenue—this year’s winners are small, medium and large-sized companies, some earning less than $50 million and others well over $1 billion. It’s not the industry sectors they operate in—the 2026 class of award winners run the gamut from construction, manufacturing and telecommunications to facilities management and public utilities. So what then makes a company one of the safest in the country?

EHS Today launched the America’s Safest Companies competition back in 2002 as a way to answer that question. We set out then, and continue to this day, to identify, publicize and ultimately celebrate those companies that are standard-bearers in their pursuit of world-class safety excellence.

To be considered for the America’s Safest Companies award, organizations must demonstrate excellence in the following areas: support from leadership and management for EHS efforts; employee involvement in the EHS process; innovative solutions to safety challenges; injury and illness rates lower than the average for their industries; comprehensive training programs; evidence that prevention of incidents is the cornerstone of the safety process; good communication about the value of safety; and a way to substantiate the benefits of the safety process.

This year the awards will be presented during a special webinar produced by EHS Today on Tuesday, September 22: “How to Create and Sustain a World-Class Safety Culture: Insights from America’s Safest Companies of 2026.” Go to www.ehstoday.com/webinars for all the details and to register for this free webinar.

The 2026 Class of America’s Safest Companies are:

• AFL,
• Cushman & Wakefield—Global Occupier Services,
• Douglas Machine,
• Enerfab Power & Industrial,
• Forest Electric NJ,
• Greenfield Global USA,
• Rummel Construction and
• West Wind Reinforcing.

In the 25 years since EHS Today began the America’s Safest Companies awards program, we’ve handed out more than 300 awards, with some companies having won the award more than once. We hope that these safety profiles will inspire you to consider applying for the award yourself in 2027.