As an EHS professional, you’re probably involved to some extent in ESG.
Last week we hosted a webinar with Verdantix about how EHS contributes to an organization’s ESG program. A recording of the webinar is available. Here are three takeaways to give you a preview.
EHS is a cornerstone of ESG operations
EHS has a crucial role to play in ESG. Many consider the ‘E’ of ESG the most important part because of carbon emissions and climate change. EHS departments have been managing carbon emissions for years for compliance and permitting purposes. That data can also inform net zero and decarbonization efforts.
Other items under the ‘E’ of ESG that are the responsibility of EHS include water and wastewater management, air quality, and chemical discharges. Also, workplace safety and health is relevant to the ‘S’ of ESG.
If there were any doubts whether EHS is a cornerstone of ESG operations, Nathan Goldstein, Senior Analyst at Verdantix, addressed them by sharing the following figures from a survey of senior EHS decision-makers:
- 44% expect EHS to have full ownership of the ESG strategy
- 36% expect EHS to be a key decision-maker in the ESG strategy
You can see the full survey results in the recording of the webinar as well.
ESG is changing the EHS role
Due to ESG, EHS departments will have to share data with a new set of stakeholders. It’s no longer enough to prepare reports for regulatory authorities and management.
As an EHS professional, you will also have to share metrics with other functions involved with ESG reporting, such as Finance, HR, Legal, Communications, etc.
EHS will have to play a role in breaking down data silos. This puts EHS professionals in a great position to drive cultural change, expand cross-functional collaboration, and highlight their value.
Seize the opportunity
EHS has been seen as a cost-center for a long time. Companies would associate EHS with compliance and reporting obligations. But with ESG, the function can finally be seen a bringing value because EHS contributes to produce superior ESG performance.
EHS is responsible for the data that forms the biggest piece of the ESG pie (the ‘E’ and some of the ‘S’), but also the most important one – carbon emissions. The data managed by EHS plays a big part in your organization’s ESG efforts, which highlights the importance of the function.
This creates an opportunity to secure more budget for software and technology that help improve EHS programs and produce investor-grade and high-quality data used for both EHS and ESG. What’s good for EHS is also good for ESG.
There is more to learn from the webinar. Click here to view to the full recording.
