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Most major companies today espouse a commitment to the environment through marketing efforts and written and verbal communications to employees and the public. Publicity related to Global Warming from a variety of sources, reports on CNN about the ‘melting of Greenland’ and the strong possibility of rising water levels globally, pressure from the European community’s attention to the environment, as well as, vocal environmental groups such as Greenpeace and others have brought environmental concerns into the forefront for many.

There are ‘future forward’ companies that have been proactively addressing the concern over air, water and ground pollution for years. Some level of resources have been allocated to provide greater environmental safeguards for equipment, written procedures and training for employees, and adherence to programs such as Responsible Care for neighboring communities and consumers. With all of these efforts, does a ‘Green Wall’ still exist?

We believe it does and whatever environmental inroads we have made individually and collectively, the urgency to reach the next level of environmental protection appears to be greater than ever! 

In December of 1995, a survey of North American businesses conducted by the Arthur D. Little Consulting Company, asserted that a "green wall" existed between the environmental and business staffs of many companies, which created a major roadblock to managing corporate environmental issues successfully.

There were two critical problems, cited by managers of the environment, health, and safety (EHS) at 185 corporations in the United States and Canada, representing a broad cross section of products and services that often impeded their ability to improve their companies' environmental management:

The 1^st was due to a lack of integration between environmental and business issues in the company, and the 2^nd was their own failure to convince management that the environment is an important business issue. A 3^rd key factor was insufficient resources and/or an unwillingness to supply the resources necessary to address these issues adequately.

Many EHS managers have commented to us that despite their own belief that good environmental management can be a competitive advantage and an important contributor to a company's overall business performance, the EHS function is often viewed as an outside operation whose sole mission is to "keep the company out of trouble."  We have found that many “safety efforts” still do not include both health and environmental issues. They are often seen as separate issues that require their own attention and initiative though not as important as safety.

When implementing our EHS improvement initiatives, we use Webster’s definition of ‘safety’...“Free from injury and harm”. From the Topf perspective, this applies to safety, health and the environment. Obviously to most today, but not all unfortunately, we can be harmed by accidents and incidents, as well as from the air we breathe, water we drink, food we eat and so on.

Even though the consensus among key executives is that environmental concerns are issues to be addressed, our findings are that this 'green wall' still exists today. The evolutionary process that has brought us to the point where environmental concerns are being addressed due to their value and benefit to the health and well-being of the men, women, and children affected by them is in gear and gaining momentum. Even with today’s efforts, global and personal “value” and “what’s in it for me/us” needs greater emphasis and understanding.

When we first entered the field of safety in 1983, safety was to a large degree compliance driven and behavioral management was a relatively new concept. Now it has become 'an idea whose time has come' and most companies have either begun or are thinking about what they can do to improve their EHS culture and the attitudes and behaviors of their employees further.

Today, due to concerted efforts by EHS professionals, organizations and individuals such as ASSE, NSC, AIHA, ACC, internal and external safety consultants and others, preventing accidents and resulting injuries, as well as, property loss is viewed as effective business management and makes good business sense. Much of this is due to the tremendous educational effort that has occurred over the past few decades for all levels of management and labor to understand the value and benefit to themselves and others to improve safety performance.

Depending on the person, the value and benefit may be different. Some may only value the benefit of having all of their employees available for work or the financial benefit to the company due to lower worker compensation costs or avoiding litigation. To others, the value is derived from preventing human suffering, or from the belief their company owes their employees the opportunity to come to work and go home in the same or better shape then they came in with and stay that way on the weekends and holidays.

Whatever the reason, there are more business leaders that understand the benefits of safety and lead, manage, and hold others accountable for results in this area.

The same kind of shift in awareness and commitment to health and the environment is occurring and evolving, though it is not at the same level that safety is in most companies, yet!  Health issues are being brought into the fold resulting in more and more companies merging safety, health and the environment into a united effort. We have spoken at Health Symposiums conducted by ASSE and AIH on the attitudinal and behavioral aspects of creating breakthroughs in safety, health and environmental performance. Many of the same attitudes and behaviors from all levels of employees (management and line) that effect safety performance also affect health and environmental performance as well. We applaud any effort to raise awareness and provide educational programs relating to health issues and creating a greater experience of well-being in everyone.

It is evident today that most companies want to change and improve not only their safety performance but also their environmental and health performance as well. As with safety, the motivating factors and perceived value and benefit may and do vary. These range from avoiding fines and litigation to improving the health and well-being of employees, their families and people of our communities. Preventative measures include the reduction of pollutants and contaminants in the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat.

The EHS professional, as well as, key decision makers and influencers from labor and management today must be educators and internal "sales persons" to enroll both corporate and site employees in having them understand the value and benefit of investing in health and environmental improvements for their employees and private citizens, and that it makes good business (and moral) sense in how it can benefit the company. In a meeting with the CEO, President and Executive VP’s of one of our clients where we implemented our safety, health, and environmental attitudinal and behavioral improvement process, we were asked to assist them in taking their EHS culture to a new level by designing an executive training session to help educate key business management in how to lead and support their commitment to safety, health and the environment. Part of the presentation was intended to tie in their Responsible Care efforts, associated with the former CMA (now ACC), with emphasis on Safety, Health Environmental and Product Stewardship to all of their business functions. They wanted all of their leaders of their business functions, such as, sales, marketing, Human Resources, Operations, R&D, Purchasing, and Law, to see their role and responsibility in integrating safety, health and the environment into everyday business interactions and activities.

We suggested a variety of strategies to insure that a higher consciousness of EHS was present in the attitudes and thinking of candidates to be hired, the environmental practices of the companies’ products were purchased from, determining whether raw materials  used in the development of new products as well as, product continuation were environmentally sound, and so on.

Employees must learn that managing health and environmental issues today must be an integral part of how they do business and this practice has both short and long term benefits and profit, but the benefit and profit is there!  They must learn that they have a social and moral obligation to themselves and others to responsibly handle their safety, health and environmental issues. The EHS professional must do his/her homework, mount their horse, and ride forward with their banner and message. More and more converts will follow. Some fast and others slower, but in due time with the necessary perseverance, they will come over. Will there be resistance?  Yes!  So, techniques and strategies to deal with resistance from wherever it comes from need to be learned.

Health and environmental incidents must be reviewed and explored to determine their true causes. It is essential today to understand how attitudes, behaviors and other human factors contribute to and through their improvement help eliminate accidents, injuries and environmental incidents.

Factors relating to inattention and loss of focus, along with conscious factors such as taking short cuts or bypassing procedures must be addressed. Attitudes that place other priorities over allocating necessary resources such as time, money and personnel for health and environmental improvements must be changed. Involving line and management together in joint training sessions, problem solving, and strategic and tactical planning to improve performance is key!

Key executives along with the EHS professional have an opportunity to make a greater difference in the lives of their employees and private citizens while ensuring the viability of their company or site. Some strategies to help accomplish this are:

• Meet with key management, labor and safety leaders to discuss the various causes of health and environmental incidents and their tie in with safety incidents. Invite appropriate corporate EHS and business managers for their understanding and support. Use specific concrete examples to build your case.

• Have key plant management learn to discuss the need and benefit of addressing EHS issues as priority items in their meetings with department heads. Have them “sell up” to corporate leaders when they don’t see the need or if their attention and resources are diverted with other priorities.

• Participate in production, scheduling and safety meetings. Know the products and manufacturing issues. Discuss health and environmental implications along with those relating to safety.

• Use non-traditional metrics. No one wants to get hurt, develop ill health, or pollute the environment as a result of work. Show reductions in incidents as both a way to maintain a healthy work force, as well as, maximize profit. With lean staffing today, you need every person in the best health possible to support your business and production goals. Bring in local or national Wellness experts to incorporate a wellness initiative for all levels of employees.

• Talk in human terms relating to incidents and their severity, not just rates. Incidents and their severity can be translated into human terms, as well as dollars lost in both direct and indirect costs.

• Make sure safety teams or committees have clear direction and focus. Have them develop a team mission that defines their purpose and goals. Insure that it includes health and the environment.

• Look for ways to use what is already working. Work health and environmental education and training into existing safety and other operator, technician or maintenance training and education programs. Insure that increasing awareness and messages regarding the value and benefit of health and environmental improvement are built into your process. Once people's attitudes change, they begin to look for ways on their own to improve EHS processes and prevent incidents from occurring.

• Set annual objectives and goals for EHS improvement. Then share progress with all employees, often most effective done in person at employee meetings.

• Set annual objectives and goals for EHS improvement. Then share progress with all employees, often most effective done in person at employee meetings. 

Teach management and labor/line leadership how to participate in the EHS process. Their support is essential and their direct participation demonstrates commitment. For example, ask them to lead parts of discussions on EHS performance.

• Conduct walk arounds or inspections focused on EHS in the workplace. Ask them to conduct informal discussions with employees they encounter to convey their commitment to EHS and elicit employees view on pertinent issues and suggestions to resolve them. Ensure feedback is given to employees on their suggestions.

• Set clear behavioral objectives regarding specific activities that if carried out properly will positively improve performance. Review these periodically for proficiency.

• Have management attend training sessions with line personnel for EHS improvement.

Consistency and on-going support of EHS objectives is essential. The message needs to be communicated and managed as an integral part of the productivity process. Buy in  needs to flow from the top down, yet also needs to be supported from all levels upward. The educational process must start with the person(s) willing to pick up the banner, do their homework, and educate key influencers and decision makers who will provide the resources and accountabilities that will insure the commitment for the process to stick.

Easy?  No!  Challenging?  Yes!  Valuable?  You bet!  The pay off comes to each of us. Direct or indirect, we all win.