EHSxTech Takes Dublin: Discussing the Future of EHS in Tech

With health and safety a priority focus for Directors and C-Suite Executives, COVID-19 provided Environment, Health, and Safety (EHS) professionals with an opportunity to get a seat at the table. As the aftereffects of COVID continue to wane, EHS professionals face new challenges as economic issues put pressure on businesses to cut costs. In order to keep their seat at the table and maintain momentum and visibility, EHS professionals need to showcase their value, outweighing cost implications, and present innovative solutions.

The end of March saw EHS professionals from some of the biggest names in the tech industry gather for the Antea Group USA’s EHSxTech® one-day event. Hosted by Salesforce, a world-leading CRM supplier, at their newly opened Salesforce Tower in Dublin, the event facilitated a unique opportunity for industry professionals to collaborate and network with their peers, while exploring health and safety (H&S) practices and EHS trends in this rapidly changing industry. 

Developing and Scaling a Culture of Safety  

You can conduct risk assessments, update standard operating procedures, and communicate your latest Health and Safety policy to your teams. But how can you guarantee that the information you’re communicating, designed to protect both people and the environment, is being digested and implemented in all areas of your organization? 

The answer is, you can’t. 

It’s almost impossible to guarantee 100% that your health and safety policy and procedures are being implemented by every member of your organization, whether they are in the office, at home, or at a client's place of work. How can EHS professionals overcome this? 

Opening the event, our host Michael Flemming, Health & Safety – Director (EMEA & LATAM) Salesforce, outlined the importance of building a health and safety culture that truly integrates and reflects the organization's culture. By developing an integrated approach, EHS teams can help employees evangelize a health and safety culture. 

“The key,” Michael outlines, “is the approach you take to communicating and engaging with your employees, to build a solid foundation for a culture of active participation in health and safety principles. Often Health and Safety teams are very effective in developing policies and procedures, however, without buy-in from the wider organization, the adoption of these principles can stagnate .”

The need for thoughtful communication was further expanded upon by Karl Huntzicker, VP – Global Health and Safety at Salesforce, “The role of communication and marketing in effective health and safety implementation is crucial. You could have the best EHS program on the market. But if it’s not identifiable, relatable, interesting, and effectively communicated, you won’t earn buy-in, and it won’t be effective.”

There was agreement amongst the group that the Health and Safety narrative needs to fit and integrate with the organization's narrative to be visible and effective. 

“Visibility is essential to engage employee communities and have an impact. We need to upscale our workforce and promote community care by every individual within the organization. The development of robust health and safety systems must facilitate the accessibility of employees.” - Stephen Lynch, LinkedIn. 

Tackling Legacy Health and Safety  

Developing, implementing, and scaling an effective health and safety culture starts with an assessment of what already exists. For many EHS professionals, tackling historic health and safety legacy issues presents a major challenge in developing new innovative approaches.  

“Post-COVID, EHS is going through a hard reset. This presents an opportunity to review systems and processes, addressing inefficiencies.” - Jim Clifford, Autodesk. 

Rebuilding foundations is expensive, and in the current economic climate, many EHS professionals are feeling the pinch. 

Adding Value with Health and Safety – in an Era of Expense Reduction 

The technology sector flourished during the COVID-19 pandemic, with some of the biggest tech giants reporting record-breaking revenue and employee expansion at unprecedented rates.  

Like many organizations across all sectors globally, the technology sector is faced with macroeconomic uncertainty. It is no secret the Tech industry has been hit particularly hard, resulting in scrutiny of EHS performance, budget requirements, and visibility of EHS teams at the board level. Changes are underway in this era of expense reductions and realignment with a post-COVID world. Where businesses may be struggling, there is a temptation to cut costs and operate a minimum compliance program. In order to keep their seat at the table and drive momentum, EHS professionals need to demonstrate how their EHS programs add value to their organization.

EHS teams need to adapt to be more efficient, sustainable and cost-effective, and present new innovative ways of engaging teams in a developing health and safety culture.

“Innovation is key to keeping a seat at the table post-COVID.” - Stephen Lynch, LinkedIn. 

EHS leadership at Salesforce is innovating by reframing Health and Safety as a competitive advantage for the organization. Driving home that Health and Safety is more than just compliance. An effective EHS team and established health and safety culture will:

• Drive Productivity
• Protect Trust - Both our team and our clients want to know that we are a reliable supplier who provides a safe and secure working environment
• Enable Sales and Success
• Build Resilience - An effective EHS Management System prevents downtime
• Attract and Retain Talent

EHS - A Changing Landscape  

Staying ahead of emerging issues remains one of the biggest challenges for EHS managers. Here are some top concerns the group discussed.

• Personal Transportation Devices on the rise, presenting very unique risks for EHS managers.
• ESG and Sustainability are beginning to intersect even more with EHS. As ESG moves from voluntary initiatives to compliance obligations like the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), EHS professionals are finding their roles expanding to accommodate elements of sustainability and engage in these corporate efforts.

We are already planning our next EHSxTech® event, with an aim to move beyond networking and knowledge sharing, to collaborating on the development of best practice principles ahead of regulatory changes. With some of the biggest tech companies present at the event, we have an opportunity to utilize their voice and recognized brands to lead industry change, to the benefit of protecting both people and planet from environmental, health, and safety risks whilst considering sustainability and ESG in our operations. 

Learn more about EHSxTech and how you can get involved here. 

About Antea Group

Antea®Group is an environment, health, safety, and sustainability consulting firm. By combining strategic thinking with technical expertise, we do more than effectively solve client challenges; we deliver sustainable results for a better future. We work in partnership with and advise many of the world’s most sustainable companies to address ESG-business challenges in a way that fits their pace and unique objectives. Our consultants equip organizations to better understand threats, capture opportunities and find their position of strength. Lastly, we maintain a global perspective on ESG issues through not only our work with multinational clients, but also through our sister organizations in Europe, Asia, and Latin America and as a founding member of the Inogen Alliance. Learn more at us.anteagroup.com.