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 »

10.13.2011

Leveraging EHS/S Expertise for Non-financial Risk Management

Organizational risk management has evolved from a singular focus on financial risk to a broader perspective that includes enterprise-wide and non-financial risks. Approaches such as enterprise risk management, strategic risk management, and value risk management are morphing into an area called “non-financial risk management (NFRM).” A paradox in this arena is that even though risk management is important, it is fragmented, siloed, and poorly integrated in companies. NFRM frameworks are weak or non-existent.

A solution to this paradox can be found right down the hall in the EHS/S (environmental, health, safety, and sustainability) department. But because of the historic focus on regulatory compliance, the decades of risk-management experience that the EHS/S function has often goes unnoticed.

Click here to read full post on the NEAM Green Tie Blog.

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

10.4.2011

First Look: Highlights from the 3rd Annual MIT/BCG Sustainability & Innovation Global Executive Survey

Initial findings have begun to surface from the 3rd Annual MIT Sloan Management Review and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Annual Sustainability and Innovation Global Executive Survey, which had over 4,700 respondents. In an earlier post, I discussed some of the findings that Martin Reeves shared last week at the CR Commit Forum 2011 in New York City. The current issue of the Sloan Management Review presents more findings and indicates that the full report will be available next winter.

An important finding is that while sustainability is an important issue in organizations, it is not a top near-term priority. As Reeves indicated in his keynote, companies are concerned about short-term volatility and, to some extent, survivability. The top three challenges reported for the next two years are: innovating to achieve competitive differentiation (46 percent); growing revenues (45 percent); and reducing costs and increasing efficiencies (41 percent). Fourteen percent indicated that responding effectively to threats and opportunities of sustainability was a challenge. Read More

Posted By | in Auditing & Metrics, Risk Management, 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

Risk Management and Business Continuity with an Integrated Management System

In my previous post, I briefly discussed the integrated quality, safety, and environmental management system (QSEMS) at the Cannes Convention Center. The trend toward integrated management systems, including ISO’s movement toward a generic management system model for wide application, will provide a new tool for organizational risk management.

As evolved as risk management methods and models are, organizations struggle with integrating risk management practices. A silo phenomenon challenges risk managers as it has EHS managers for many years. In current non-financial risk management writings and research, the need for risk management integration and “silo-busting” is highlighted. An integrated risk management system can provide a way to bust silos in an organization. Read More

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

5.27.2011

EHS/S and CSR Career Management and Growth in an Evolving Field

A goal of business functions such as quality, EHS/S, and CSR is to become embedded in the core business. This is also talked about in terms of becoming fully integrated in the business. A small research project I conducted in 2007 examined issues and challenges associated with “integrating” EHS/S in a company. Several of the EHS/S executives I interviewed at that time expressed concern that if EHS/S was fully integrated in a company, it would disappear. This possibility concerned them; the challenge, they said, was to integrate, but to also maintain visibility and evolve.

Over the years, EHS management system experts have voiced a similar concern with the development of generic, or fully integrated, management systems that include EHS, sustainability, security, quality, etc.

The Spring 2011 issue of the Corporate Citizen contains an article that touches on the integration/disappearing phenomenon associated with CSR and its professionals. Several interviewees suggest that CSR might go away in a company since its goal is to become fully embedded in the core business. This sounds familiar. Read More

Posted By | in Corporate Social Responsibility, Emerging Issues, Personal Mastery, Risk Management | Tags: , , , | No Comments »

5.25.2011

Supercharging Your EHS/S MS Management Review – Developing a Strategic Risk Management MS

Many EHS/S management system experts believe that one of the most important components of an integrated MS is management review. Management review is the time during which the overall strategy of an integrated EHS/S MS is assessed. Said differently, it is a time to see if the MS’s purpose and desired outcomes are being fulfilled. Management review is commonly framed as a performance evaluation activity. While this is correct, I would suggest that there is much more available through management reviews—that is, these are strategic opportunities to impact an organization’s Strategic Risk Management (SRM) process, and possibly start developing an SRM MS.

Enterprise Risk Management and the evolution of Strategic Risk Management are relatively new in the domain of organizational and management science. While strong frameworks for financial risk management have evolved, this is not the case for overall non-financial risks and their management. In particular, there is an absence of a universally accepted management system approach in this arena. Yes, the ISO 31000 standard on risk management goes a long way toward helping, but it is not a management system, per say. Rather, it is intended to augment an existing MS framework. Read More

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

3.31.2011

Is Biodiversity the Next Big Environmental Issue for Business?

The McKinsey Quarterly reported earlier this year on environmental management-related findings from a McKinsey survey conducted in June 2010. The 1,576 responses from executives in a wide range of industries, regions, and functional specialties indicate climate change and energy efficiency as the most important environmental matter in their companies, but also indicate an increasing concern about biodiversity.

The article titled, “The Next Environmental Issue for Business,” suggests that biodiversity may be the next large environmental issue for companies.  The June 2010 survey found that 9 percent of the respondents think biodiversity is an important issue. This finding is similar to what a survey in 2007 found related to climate change and energy efficiency. The suggestion here is that if biodiversity has the same trajectory as climate change and energy efficiency, then by 2013, biodiversity will be a significant strategic and management issue for companies.

A significant number of respondents indicated they felt that in the next one to three years, they would have increased pressure to change operations, products, and services to reduce impacts on biodiversity. Read More

Posted By | in Emerging Issues, Management Systems, Risk Management, Sustainability | Tags: , , , | No Comments »

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