Leading by Example: European Leather Industry Demonstrates Safety, Sustainability, and Social Responsibility at ILO International Workshop (Press Release)
Turin, Italy, January 28, 2025 – From January 27–28, 2025, the ITC-ILO Turin Campus became the focal point for global leather industry representatives to exchange experiences, share good practices, and explore tools to foster safer, socially responsible, and sustainable workplaces worldwide. The Workshop was a joint initiative of COTANCE and industriAll-Europe, organised and hosted by ILO with the financial support of the European Commission under DG Employment envelope for project regarding decent supply chains.
The two-day workshop, titled “Safety & Health in Tanning and Leather Industries,” brought together stakeholders from 4 continents along with representatives from the Cornell University Global Labor Institute, OSHA EU, ILO, UNIDO, ITCILO, IndustriAll-Global, and national employers organisations and trade unions. Through peer-to-peer learning, group discussions, and presentations, participants explored emerging sustainability practices, global and regional frameworks, occupational safety challenges, and strategies for promoting responsible business conduct and effective social dialogue within the sector.
From the European industry perspective, COTANCE proudly presented the findings of its recently completed Green Deal Leather “Accidents/Incidents at the Workplace” Study. This comprehensive study provides key baseline statistics, establishes industry benchmarks, and showcases best practices from European tanneries to improve health and safety standards in the industry.
Key findings include a 16% decline in tannery-related accidents across EU countries (Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Portugal, Hungary, and Austria) from 2019 to 2021, of which 15% on the way to/from work, and over 90% of recorded accidents being qualified as of "minor" severity. However, with an overall incidence rate of 3.2% in 2021, there is still room for improvement.
COTANCE members contributed significantly:
● Luca Boltri (Vice Director, UNIC, Italy) highlighted best practices in Italian tanneries, showcasing health and safety innovations like 4.0 systems, remote monitoring, solvent-free finishing chemicals, and new-generation drums. He also emphasized the role of social dialogue in advancing safety standards. UNIC recently launched a comprehensive
digital platform detailing the Italian tanning industry's commitment to sustainability: sustainability.unic.it which will be useful for everyone - from consumers to experts interested in leather.
● Andreas Meyer (Managing Director, VDL, Germany) presented statistics on accident types and costs, revealing the leather industry is much safer than what people think. Most accidents occur on the way to/from work, with the majority classified as "minor" severity. Occupational diseases have also decreased, with "Noise" issues being the most reported.
Additional insights included:
● OiRA Risk Assessment Tool: made available for the tanneries through a social dialogue project in 2012 and updated in 2018, this interactive resource provides free health and safety guidance for tanneries worldwide.
● Occupational Safety and Health Aspects of Leather Manufacturing Course: Launched in April 2023 by UNIDO, with contributions from COTANCE, SLF, and IULTCS, the course offers free, up-to-date safety and health advice for leather manufacturing facilities.
● ERICA: An online repository of national Collective Agreements in the European leather sector. The public area offers unrestricted access to general information, agreements in their original language and English, and other Social Dialogue resources, while the private section contains a database with searchable fields on details of every collective sector agreement and the possibility to compare results of participating countries. Couples of Social Partners of the tanning industry of any country can apply jointly to integrate the tool.
● ILO toolkit for Social Justice & Decent Work: a platform that will bring together ILO resources and address the key decent work challenges and opportunities faced by the TCLF sectors, and will be available soon.
For years, a lack of information has fueled speculation about safety practices in the leather industry. These perceptions often stem from outdated practices in tanneries in emerging and developing countries, where poor working conditions and unethical management have unfairly tarnished the reputation of the entire sector.
In stark contrast, European tanneries are modern, responsible enterprises that prioritise their workers' physical and psychological well-being. The ILO Workshop in Turin provided an excellent platform to share EU best practices, inspire others, and demonstrate that a global shift toward safer and more responsible tanneries is not only possible but achievable.
“Since 1999, the European social sectoral dialogue in tanning has driven pioneering initiatives like the Social Code of Conduct, the OiRA tool for tanneries, the ERICA project, and many, many more of which the last was the Green Deal Leather project.; With them we have been improving industry standards in the leather industry. Our goal is to showcase the power of the social dialogue and inspire a global shift toward best practices across the leather industry. We should be aware that our tanneries will be judged not only by their own actions, but also by the industry's collective progress”, - said Gustavo Gonzalez-Quijano, Secretary General of COTANCE.
Throughout the workshop, participants had access to an e-learning platform featuring a range of tools and resources designed to enhance their learning experience and deepen their understanding of the topics discussed, provided by the ITC-ILO e-Campus.
For more information or to request the workshop materials, please contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Workshop secretary, ITC-ILO: Mrs Paola Costantini This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

