Making safety work
under real operational pressure
You have systems in place, yet incidents still happen
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Procedures are followed, until pressure builds
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On paper, everything works.
In reality, trade-offs are being made every day
For leaders in high-hazard operations who carry responsibility when decisions matter most
“In many of the environments I have worked in as operational and EHS leader, incidents did not happen because people ignored safety.
They happened because people made trade-offs in complex situations, often with the intention to do the right thing.”
150+ countries
o.a. Shell, AkzoNobel
27 years experience
54,000 workplaces
"Joins us on a mission to make 500,000 workplaces safer, healthier, and more human?"
If you recognize this in your organisation, the next step is not another system or procedure, but a different way of leading safety.
We coach and advise EHS teams and operational leaders to:
Apply a human-centric approach and experience true engagement
Drive improvements that make a difference and do stick
Expand their influence and make sure their voice get's heard
Get real support from decision-makers
Learn to operate from a place of empowerment
Why Clients Come To Us
We Understand the Real Struggles.
"It’s all on my shoulders, I feel alone in this."
You’re not alone. We partner with you to share the load and lead from the inside out.
"We say safety matters, but it doesn’t show up in our behavior."
We coach leaders to live what they say, so safety becomes visible and credible at every level.
"Safety talks are routine. They’re not landing with people anymore."
We bring fresh energy and meaning to the safety message, connecting emotionally, not just operationally.
"We’re drowning in KPIs, but we’re missing what really matters."
We reconnect your metrics to real behavior, learning, and impact, not just numbers.
"Safety is seen as someone else’s job."
We embed safety into leadership identity and team dynamics, so it belongs to everyone.
"We're operating across borders, screens, and silos and we're losing connection."
We help you lead safety in a remote world with intention, empathy, and simplicity
"When things go wrong, people hide it. They’re afraid of blame."
We build a learning culture where mistakes spark insight, not punishment.
"We don’t walk the talk and people notice."
We support your leaders in becoming safety role models, not just safety messengers.
"We’ve ticked all the boxes… so why are people still getting hurt?"
We help you move from a paper-safe system to a people-safe culture, built on leadership, not checklists.
"We’ve lost the why. People don’t care like they used to."
We help you re-humanize safety with stories, purpose, and emotional connection.
Develop and motivate leaders to create human-centric workplaces where people feel safe and can work safe.
In person or online. Let's connect to discuss the options.
Services
Background...
In high-risk industries, safety is rarely limited by systems. It is limited by how people think, speak, and act when it matters most.
Be Human Be Safe supports leaders in high-risk industrial environments who want to move beyond compliance and create safety that is truly owned by their teams. Not because it is required, but because it makes sense, is understood, and is lived in daily decisions.
Many organisations have strong procedures, audits, and reporting in place, yet still experience recurring incidents, low engagement, or a gap between what is written and what happens in reality. The challenge is not more rules. The challenge is alignment, trust, and leadership under pressure.
With a background in global EHS leadership and operational roles in complex, high-risk environments, this work focuses on the human side of safety. How leaders create clarity, how teams respond under pressure, and how culture is shaped through everyday interactions.
The result is not just fewer incidents, but stronger teams, better decisions, and safety that holds even when conditions are difficult.
”Marieke is an outstanding mentor who invests time in understanding your needs and provides valuable guidance to help you grow professionally. I personally benefited greatly from her insights and coaching, which have significantly shaped my career.”
Pınar Özyılmaz - Global Head of HSE&S
”Marieke has an innate ability to engage stakeholders, ensuring that safety and environmental initiatives are seamlessly integrated with business objectives. This strategic alignment has driven significant improvements across our operations, reflecting her commitment to excellence.”
Frederic Moreux - VP Operatons APAC
”Excellent keynote Marieke, the story was very well delivered. My compliments”
Erik Peekel - Professional moderator
"Marieke immediately captured the room with her energetic keynote during the Industrial Safety Annual Conference. In a fun and accessible way, she demonstrated the importance of the human side of safety. A strong safety culture is crucial in this. The senses were stimulated, there was laughter and learning, and everyone went home with practical tips to get started themselves."
Joop Hermans - Conference producer
Recommendations
"Marieke worked with me as part of as major organisational change project. She demonstrated outstanding change management skills, coordinating the implementation of a new operating model across multiple refineries in Europe. She quickly mastered the key content of the changes and made the detailed design of several aspects herself. She then worked with refinery leaders and their teams to ensure that they could implement it effectively. Whilst having no formal line authority in this role, she was able to steer, energise and influence at all levels of the organisation to achieve the necessary outcome."
Andy Ray - VP Chemicals Europe - Global Excellence
"Marieke is truly passionate about occupational safety. What stood out to me during her time at Shell was how she engaged contractors as equal partners at the table, actively involving them in discussions on how to reach a higher maturity level in Health and Safety.
From my position as Global HSEQ Manager at Mourik at that time, I found the collaboration with her both effective and enjoyable."
Arend Profijt - HSEQ Management & Consultancy
”Marieke exemplifies what modern safety leadership should be. She combines deep expertise in Human and Organizational Performance with the rare ability to connect authentically across all levels of the organization. Her work creates not just safer workplaces, but stronger, more resilient teams. With Marieke, safety is not a program, it’s a mindset, rooted in trust, learning, and care for people. Any organization seeking to embed Be Human Be Safe into its DNA will find no better partner.”
Remy Wierenga - Group Safety Director at Refresco
Frequently asked questions
What is human-centered safety leadership?
Human-centered safety leadership focuses on how people actually make decisions under pressure, rather than assuming procedures will always be followed as written.
Who is this approach for?
This approach is designed for leaders in high-risk industries such as chemicals, manufacturing, energy, construction and logistics, including plant managers, operational leaders, and EHS professionals.
How is this different from traditional safety programs?
Traditional approaches often focus on rules, audits, and compliance. Human-centered safety focuses on ownership, trust, and behavior in real situations, especially under pressure.
Do you work with corporate teams or individual sites?
Both. The approach can be applied at site level or across multiple locations, depending on the organisation’s structure and needs. You are invited to connect for a free consultation and discuss your specifics.
Is this training, consulting, or coaching?
It is a combination. The work typically includes workshops, leadership coaching, and support in embedding changes into daily operations. You may choose a single intervention are we can design a combined approach depending on your needs.
Be Human Be Safe
Guiding you lead safety from the inside out.
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