Abstract
Commercial business, government, and industrial organizations are under increasing pressure to be cost effective and efficient, particularly with a weakened economy and competitive global markets. In this environment, industrial hygienists are expected to present a balanced picture of the relationship between potential workplace health risks and the costs and benefits of mitigating those risks. To satisfy this new expectation and gain support for health protection, the industrial hygienist will benefit by developing a persuasive value proposition - that protecting worker health creates a competitive advantage for an enterprise by mitigating potential health hazards with effective and efficient solutions. This strategy will foster a perception of industrial hygienists as important partners with business executives in managing enterprise risks. Effective risk management, coupled with business case analysis of solutions for executive decision making, will increasingly represent the collective competitive advantage of our profession.