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What to do when OSHA Knocks on the Door
ArticleGood employers with strong health and safety programs should not fear visits from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). However, when OSHA knocks at the door it can be a stress producing event. OSHA has stepped up inspections in recent years and, although the agency does not have enough inspectors to get to every business, OSHA does have several programs to target specific industries for inspections. -
It's Time to Quantify the Economic Risks of Climate Change
ArticleEarlier this year, a nonpartisan team of business leaders, economists and climate scientists issued the first multidisciplinary report on the financial risks associated with climate change. -
Daily Management is the Key to Successful Compliance Programs
ArticleAuditing remains a foundational tool for verifying a facility's environment, health and safety (EHS) performance, but the real work of maintaining compliance, NAEM members say, takes place every day. -
Integrating Risk Management at Caesars Entertainment Corp.
ArticleAs EHS and sustainability programs continue to mature within companies, they are increasingly being considered within a risk management framework. -
The Fear of Feedback
ArticleWe live in a world of feedback. We get it and give it most of our lives. -
Evolving Your Metrics to Advance EHS Performance
ArticleIf what gets measured gets managed, then setting the right metrics is a consequential task. But what happens once you've achieved a high level of performance and your existing metrics are no longer sufficient to measure improvements? Or how do you maintain performance during a staff transition? And how do you incite leadership behaviors that will reduce incidents? -
Why Values Matter When Selecting an EHS&S Consultant
ArticleAccording to a recent 'quick poll' of NAEM corporate members, sustainability may not yet be the deciding factor for how companies hire third-party consultants. But that doesn't mean the way a consultant conducts its own business is unimportant, says Kelvin Roth, Director of EHS with AMCOL International Corp. -
Customers in Asia Value Product Stewardship, Too
ArticleFor those of you with defined product stewardship programs, have you considered the importance of green products to customers outside of the United States? What is some of the feedback you've received from customers around the world? -
External Sustainability Reporting is Increasingly About Quality, Not Quantity
ArticleMarcus Krembs, Senior HSE Specialist at Newfield Exploration Co., discusses the concept of materiality and findings from a NAEM benchmarking study where a majority of respondents stated they already evaluate or plan to evaluate their EHS&S in terms of materiality. -
Lies Leaders Love
ArticleIn his book, "Impact: Great Leadership Changes Everything," psychologist Tim Irvin suggests that power in some form can breach the containment walls of our value system and sadly, self-deception occurs. From his research there are "Lies" he lists that can ensnare each of us if we’re not careful. -
Ready, Aim, Communicate: Five Tips for Effective Engagement
ArticleTo understand how to effectively leverage communications to build a strong EHS culture, we spoke with Steve David, Senior Manager of Air Strategy at The Mosaic Co. He gave us his tips for making sure the message hits the mark. -
The "True" Cost of Water
ArticleWe live in a time period when the effects of local population growth, poor resource planning, and climate changes can very quickly generate a lot of stress on a region’s existing water supply. As an EHS & Sustainability leader, the question you have to ask yourself is: "Are you prepared?" -
Three Things You Should Know about the Revised Conflict Minerals Rule
ArticleThe Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has made it clear that the recent court decision will not impact the majority of companies' obligations under the Conflict Minerals rule. Businesses that are subject to the rule will still be required to conduct due diligence as laid out in the rule and to report those actions and findings to the SEC as described. The following are the top three takeaways you should remember as you think through how these requirements could affect your company: -
Sustainability 2020: Will Big Goals Bring Big Results?
ArticleWhen many companies published their last set of sustainability goals, the concept itself was still relatively new and external reporting was an emerging practice. What a difference five years can make. -
How Biogen Idec Inc. Uses Materiality Assessments Identify Risks, Priorities
ArticleWhile materiality assessments remain an emerging practice, some companies, like Cambridge, Mass.-based Biogen Idec Inc., have a track record of successfully using them to calibrate their sustainability investments. -
Identifying the Value of Sustainability through Integrated Reporting
ArticleAccording to an April 2013 report by the Investor Responsibility Research Institute, only seven companies on the S&P 500 Index currently publish an integrated report, or one that quantifies sustainability programs in terms of bottom line impact. Doing so, however, holds upside potential for companies who are seeking to integrate sustainability into the strategic plans for top line growth and risk reduction, according to Bill Gaffigan, Senior Practitioner with Geosyntec Consultants Inc. -
What Comes First: Communications or Culture?
ArticleSustainability communications are a powerful tool for changing how employees think about their work, coworkers and company. Learn how NAEM members engage employees and embed sustainability principles into the fabric of their organizations. -
From King to Coach
Article“What we’re seeing now is really the official transition from the “king” style of leadership to the “coach” style of leadership….Now it’s not the top person, it’s the team that’s important.” -
Behind Intel Corp's Conflict-free Commitment
ArticleIn January, Intel Corp. announced that it its microprocessors are now 'conflict-free', meaning the metals used in their computer chips (tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold) are not fueling armed conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Behind the headline, though, is a story of how the company assessed the materiality of the issue and chose to take a leadership position without the promise of clear bottom line rewards. -
Creative Funding for Remediation and Sustainability Projects
ArticleDid you know that there is grant funding available for just about any environmental and sustainability project? -
Using OSHA's Voluntary Protection Program to Advance Safety
ArticleAs companies start to achieve leading-edge performance targets, aggressive goals sometimes give way to behavior-change programs that can take the results to the next level. This is especially true for safety, where the goal for most companies is to create a culture that strives for an injury-free workplace. One of these programs is the Occupational Safety and Health and Administration's Voluntary Protection Program, an initiative to recognize and support leading safety practices. -
Leadership Companies Setting Aggressive Targets for Waste Reduction
ArticleRecycling may not sound like a new idea, but it's the area where leading companies are setting the most aggressive goals, according to new NAEM research. -
Five Tips for Preparing Your First Conflict Minerals Filing
ArticleThe deadline to disclose conflict minerals under the new Security and Exchange Commission rule is coming up in May. Doing anything for the first time can be a bit daunting, and with so much information to sift through, it’s hard to know where to start. To get some advice on how to prepare, we spoke with Kirsten Wallerstedt, Senior Regulatory Analyst with 3E. Here’s what she had to say... -
Conflict Minerals Reporting Yields As Many Questions As Answers
ArticleWhile it's too soon to know exactly how companies will respond to the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) new conflict minerals reporting requirement, experts say this first year was an eye-opening lesson in just how challenging it is to track down quality data across a global supply chain. -
Setting the Sights on Forward-Looking Metrics
ArticleThe problem with most environment, health and safety (EHS) performance metrics, according to Gary Rosenblum, Executive Director of the National Safety Council's Campbell Institute, is that they fail to predict potential risks.
