10.19.2011

Innovations in EHS Auditing – Breakout Session at the 19th Annual NAEM Forum

EHS auditing is a dynamic process that requires stakeholder input for success. Speakers emphasized this point during a breakout session at the 19th Annual NAEM Forum, which focused on the innovative practices that several companies are using to deliver maximum effectiveness and efficiency.

The speakers presented highlights from the recent International Audit Protocol Consortium’s survey on EHS audit practices: roughly 60 percent of respondents indicated a high rating for detecting regulatory non-compliance; 50 percent for management system conformance; 50 percent for benefit of audit results to the audited operation; and less than 50 percent for benefit to external stakeholders.

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Posted By | in Auditing & Metrics, Emerging Issues, Innovation, Management Systems, Risk Management | Tags: , , , | No Comments »

10.19.2011

EHS/S Management of Change (MOC) at the 19th Annual NAEM Forum

I attended an excellent session this afternoon at the 19th Annual NAEM Forum on management of change (MOC), during which speakers presented sound advice and insights regarding EHS/S MOC management issues. Some highlights are below.

There are various types of management of change. These commonly include changes in processes, regulations, personnel, locations (M&A), and priorities and attitudes. Read More

Posted By | in Innovation, Management Systems | Tags: , , | No Comments »

10.19.2011

Winston Keynote Speech at the NAEM Forum: Green Recovery – Get Lean, Get Smart, and Emerge from the Downturn on Top

The 19th Annual NAEM Forum began today with a morning keynote from Andrew Winston, co-author of Green to Gold.  He based his presentation on his most recent book, Green Recovery: Get Lean, Get Smart, and Emerge from the Downturn on Top. Some key points from his talk are below.

Winston argued that, though it may seem counterintuitive, these challenging times actually provide the perfect moment to double-down and invest in a strong sustainability program. This kind of program can be a catalyst for unbridled innovation. Forward-thinking leaders, he said, understand this and are acting accordingly.

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Posted By | in Corporate Social Responsibility, Emerging Issues, Innovation, Sustainability | No Comments »

10.13.2011

Evolving to Sustainability 4.0, Value Chain Indices, and EHS/S Support with Developing Dimensions of Measurement

Sustainability has evolved from a reactive and defensive endeavor to one that is generative and central to all aspects of business decisions. This was a clear message expressed throughout the recent CR Commit Forum.

Commonly used was the phrase, “Sustainability equals efficiency.” That is, organizations that have a strong sustainability perspective and culture also have improved efficiency, effectiveness, and profitability. Yvon Chouinard et al echoes this sentiment in “The Sustainable Economy” in the current issue of the Harvard Business Review, which presents four sustainability eras: sustainability 1.0. 2.0, 3.0, and ideas for sustainability 4.0, where “sustainability will simply be [come] how business is done.”

The ideas presented in “The Sustainable Economy” are important for EHS/S professionals to understand and embrace. For instance, the phenomena of creating a sector-specific Value Chain Index (VGI) is innovative, cutting-edge, and appears to provide a powerful way to catapult sustainability, not only in an organization, but also more broadly in a market sector. The authors outline a process that Chouinard’s company (Patagonia) and Walmart, with assistance from BluSkye (a strategy consultancy), used to develop a VGI for the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC).

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Posted By | in Auditing & Metrics, Corporate Social Responsibility, Emerging Issues, Innovation, Sustainability | Tags: , | No Comments »

9.15.2011

The Era of Transparency and a Mandatory Reporting Trajectory Point to the Need for a Strong Risk Management Framework

In the sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) “space” there is increasing pressure to report on triple-bottom-line issues through reporting frameworks, such as the GRI G3. There is a trajectory toward quasi-mandatory reporting by value-chain stakeholders and actual mandatory reporting by regulatory-bodies. Quasi-mandatory reporting is seen with the inclusion of GRI sustainability reporting as tracked by Bloomberg’s Index and other financial indices. Mandatory reporting is seen in South Africa, Denmark, and France. Read More

Posted By | in Auditing & Metrics, Corporate Social Responsibility, Emerging Issues, Innovation, Management Systems, Risk Management, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , | No Comments »

9.15.2011

EHS/S and Risk Management Challenges

As part of my research this summer on relationships between EHS/S and risk management, I interviewed a group of EHS/S and risk management executives about various aspects of their activities. Prior to the interviews, the interviewees were given the Redinger EHS white paper titled, “360 Vision for Environmental Health, and Sustainability: Anticipate and Avoid Black Swan Events.” A series of questions focused on the needs and challenges of EHS/S and risk management departments. Some of the responses included:

  • “I need to know as much as I can about the risks my company faces. I wrestle with having confidence that my team and I have a good understanding about risks that will bite us. I am not sure we have a good understanding about our EHS risks.” Read More

Posted By | in Emerging Issues, Innovation, Risk Management, Uncategorized | Tags: , , | No Comments »

9.15.2011

Risk Management, EHS/S, Business Continuity, and the 360 Risk Management Check-Up™

It has been a while since I’ve posted. The  summer has been full, working on developing the 360 Risk Management Check-Up™, a high-level diagnostic to measure the EHS/S and risk management function in organizations. Associated with this work, I have been conducting research on the evolution of organizational risk management and growing attention on non-financial risk management (NFRM).

Organizational risk management (RM) concepts and practices have been evolving from a singular focus on financial risk to a more broad focus on enterprise-wide and non-financial risks. Approaches such as enterprise risk management, strategic risk management, value risk management, etc. have been evolving into what is being called NFRM. Read More

Posted By | in Emerging Issues, Innovation, Risk Management, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | No Comments »

6.30.2011

Integrated Quality, Safety, and Environmental (QSE) Management System in the Hospitality and Convention Space

I have been seeing the increased use of integrated management systems in the hospitality and convention industries. While quality and environmental are most commonly combined, I was intrigued to see a report in the June 2011 issue of ISO Focus about the inclusion of health and safety in the Cannes Convention Center’s management system.

The Cannes Convention Center began to develop its integrated quality, safety, and environmental management system (QSEMS) in October 2008. The system incorporates ISO 9001, OHSAS 18001, and ISO 14001 and was certified in December 2009. With the integrated QSEMS in place, the center reports a reduction in its carbon footprint, a reduction in waste, and a reduction in water consumption. Read More

Posted By | in Emerging Issues, Innovation, ISO News, Management Systems | Tags: | 1 Comment »

3.18.2011

Reintroducing EHS/S in Your Organization

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you will see that there are many exciting advances in our field that go way beyond our compliance and technical roots. With the evolution of CSR, sustainability, and systems thinking, for example, there are many ways EHS/S can contribute and make a difference in organizations, beyond traditional compliance and risk management.  There is a new context evolving; a new EHS/S space is available for capture.

To do this, at some point you will need to think about how you will reintroduce EHS/S.

Let’s face it, the EHS/S department, function, and staff is not always popular. With our background in regulatory compliance and with a technical focus, we can be viewed as enforcers, cops, nags, etc., and we don’t always do a good job in communicating purpose and value. This history needs to be addressed and the evolution from it needs to be demonstrated. Another challenge is that even within a new context for EHS/S, there are very real compliance and risk management requirements that must be met. Even so, there are ways to do this and provide leadership. Read More

Posted By | in High Performance Teams, Innovation, Strategic Thinking & Planning | Tags: , , , , | No Comments »

2.28.2011

Getting Your EHS/S Risk Management Metrics Right: Taking a 360-Degree View

At its core, EHS/S (environmental, health, safety, and sustainability) management is a risk management endeavor and there are numerous ways these activities can be described and reported. Even though many companies have robust EHS/S risk management practices, it is sobering to hear risk professionals continue to report pessimism about their organization’s overall risk management efforts.

The February 2011 issue of Internal Auditor reports on three studies that indicate while there is continued focus on the importance of robust risk management, more times than not, it is not being done well. Research conducted by the Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Institute at North Carolina State University found that only 28 percent of 460 ERM professionals surveyed described their current state of ERM implementation as “systematic, robust, and repeatable”; 42 percent described the process as immature; and 60 percent described the process as mostly informal and ad hoc.

Corporate board oversight of ERM is hit or miss. The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) reports that while directors give their boards high marks for ERM, less than one-half of the boards have ERM accountability assigned to a board subcommittee. Further, a survey of directors, conducted by Protiviti Inc., showed that only 13 percent consider ERM robust and mature. Internal Auditor reports that both of these studies point to challenges with risk reporting to the board. Read More

Posted By | in Auditing & Metrics, Emerging Issues, Innovation, Risk Management, Strategic Thinking & Planning | Tags: , , | No Comments »

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