Serious worker safety incidents and major operational events with environmental consequences are rare. Most EHS leaders will go an entire career without facing one, which is exactly why so few organizations are truly ready. Understanding how the government approaches these events and how you should respond, before a critical incident ever happens, matters.
First, my usual caveat when I wander into legal issues: I’m not a lawyer, and this is not legal advice. I’m sharing my perspective as an EHS and enforcement-risk professional, so what follows is a compliance practitioner’s read.
Our team at Ecolumix recently conducted an analysis for a group of companies we work with, looking at sector-wide EHS trends over time. The trend lines stuck with me.
Most environmental violations never come close to a courtroom. Permit exceedances are typically self-reported and logged in a public database, and that may be the extent of the matter.
Companies have traditionally tracked supplier disruption risks, such as financial health, single-source dependency, and geographic concentration. Most haven’t built a supplier’s EHS record into that picture. That’s a gap.
The Clean Water Act has done more to improve the physical condition of America’s waterways than any other law or policy I can think of. Before it passed in 1972, many of the nation’s lakes and rivers were unsafe for fishing or swimming.
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Daniel Perry is a sustainability, supply chain, human rights, and procurement technology ecosystem collaborator with expertise in strategic partnerships, sustainability impact, and innovative solution development. He has proven success, helping EcoVadis build an industry-leading ecosystem of partners and grow to become the world’s first Sustainability Tech “Centaur.”
After over 20 years of business experience, Daniel founded IMPKT LLC, providing advisory services to help early-stage companies develop strategic partner-led initiatives, and implement business models that drive positive impact and sustainable growth.
Before entering the world of B2B technology and relocating to the United States, he spent 10 years in the business travel industry in New Zealand, where he discovered his love for international travel – a passion he shares with his wife, daughter, and extended family.
