In any workplace, whether it’s an office job or a construction site, everyone wants safety to come first. Whether it’s general workplace safety or following water and waste regulatory compliance guidelines, supervisors and their employees are expected to make sure that their company meets the standard. Luckily, for companies who want to be environmentally proactive and keep their workplace safe, environmental health and safety management guidelines are available. This software helps companies meet their environmental, health, and safety goals. The software will also make sure companies are following EHS (environmental health and safety) rules and regulations and minimize all risk to the company. Some EHS software may even help manage compliance with country-specific regulations and schedule audits and inspections regularly. From water and waste regulatory compliance to risk management, you want to make sure your business is covered.
Why Is Following an EHS Compliance System Important? ]
In 2014, almost 5,000 workers were killed on the job and out of these, around 20% were in the construction field. Regardless of what industry you’re in though, your business wants to be focused on reducing the risk of injury of death — it looks better for your company and you can save serious money by investing a little to make the workplace safer for your employees.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics also reports that there were almost three million nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses that private industry employees reported in 2014. That’s around three cases per 100 full-time workers, says the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII). Additionally, over 90% of CEOs who were recently surveyed said that information about risk is critical to being successful long-term. Yet despite this agreement, just over 20% said they thought they had comprehensive information about potential risks to their company. Getting EHS management software can help businesses become more aware of potential risks.
Do People Actually Care About EHS Management Software?
When it comes to personal safety, the answer is definitely yes! Three-quarters of employees surveyed said that feeling safe and secure in their workplace was incredibly important to them. Additionally, around 50% of employees cared about environmental compliance and whether or not their company was noticing their impact on the environment and what they were doing in terms of water and energy conservation, recycling, and carbon footprint. Looking at how your company is doing with their water and waste regulatory compliance might be a good step here.
Yet, despite these feelings, over 70% of employees didn’t even know their company had an EHS function. And almost half of all employees don’t feel comfortable to drawing their peers or supervisors’ attention to potentially unsafe behaviors in the workplace. Perhaps it’s for this reason that over 40% of employees would like the capability to offer feedback to their EHS team — and some EHS software might allow you to make anonymous suggestions and tips as well.
What Are Businesses Doing About Environmental Compliance?
Surprisingly, more businesses could be up to date and more proactive about their environmental compliance policies. Although over half of executives think sustainability (that is: managing environmental, social, and governance issues) is crucial in a variety of areas, under 30% manage their companies’ sustainability initiatives on a regular basis. The latest McKinsey survey suggests sustainability can be particularly important in areas like developing new products, building up a business’s reputation, and general corporate strategy.
More than 50 percent of executives consider sustainability — the management of environmental, social, and governance issues — “very” or “extremely” important in a wide range of areas, including new-product development, reputation building, and overall corporate strategy, according to the latest McKinsey survey. And despite over 75% of executives said that they believe sustainability has a positive contribution to shareholder value in long-term vision and over half think it can create short-term value, only about 35% believe their companies have really sat down and quantified how much environmental and social regulation could impact their business.
Following EHS regulations, such as water and waste regulatory compliance, can be a great look for your business, result in more satisfied employees, and gain you respect from customers. Make it a priority for your company strategy today.
