Looking Towards 2025 | The Risk Matrix Episode 76
THE RISK MATRIX Cutting-edge podcast on occupational safety and risk management. Hosted by industry titans: JAMES JUNKIN, MS, CSP, MSP,…
An Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) manager is a crucial role in any organization. They are responsible for ensuring compliance with environmental, health, and safety regulations, safeguarding employee safety, minimizing the environmental footprint of the company, and managing risks.
They also play a vital role in maintaining the company’s reputation, saving costs, and ensuring regulatory reporting.
In this article, learn about nine key responsibilities of an EHS manager and how their breadth and depth of knowledge can contribute to a prosperous, safe workplace for all.
Arguably, the most important role of an EHS manager is to ensure the company is in compliance with relevant laws and regulations. This can be a complex task if it’s a global company, spanning multiple jurisdictions.
The manager creates policies and procedures, implements programs to mitigate risks, and consistently monitors workplace conditions. They also shield the company from costly fines, and legal issues, and prevent reputational damage that non-compliance can cause.
Having an EHS manager on your team helps to ensure workers are safe by taking steps to create a safe work environment. By designing and implementing safety programs that safeguard employees from workplace accidents, injuries, and illnesses, this role contributes directly to lowering your incident rate.
This is a key ingredient to creating the foundation for a strong safety culture throughout all levels of your organization.
Did you know EHS professionals are perfectly positioned to manage your ESG strategy? ESG management and reporting requirements are compatible with how safety professionals function across their value-added organizational support and services.
This has created a new, compatible space for safety professionals to take the next step in influencing overall corporate, shareholder, and investment compliance and public perception risk areas. The EHS manager ensures that the company operates responsibly, reducing its impact on the environment and meeting ambitious environmental objectives.
An EHS manager plays a critical role in risk management within an organization. They implement various strategies and processes to identify, assess, and mitigate risks. The first step is identifying risks in the workplace including equipment, processes, materials, and general work environments. Regular risk assessments are performed as new projects arise and work environments change. Assessments help in prioritizing risks based on their potential impact on the company and its workers.
Safety protocols are put in place to help manage and mitigate identified risks and are communicated to employees on a regular basis.
When an incident occurs on the job site, depending on the circumstances, the company’s reputation is at risk. An EHS manager is well-positioned to protect a company’s reputation and strengthen its brand through the following strategies:
Investing in an EHS expert can significantly lower your costs in many ways including the following:
EHS experts have a deep knowledge of local, national and international regulations. And they continuously monitor changes in regulations and ensure the organization complies with new requirements.
They keep accurate records and file the necessary reports with regulatory agencies as required. This helps to ensure the company remains in good standing with authorities, avoiding penalties for non-compliance, which can result in costly fines. They’re also in charge of record keeping, by maintaining accurate and complete records of environmental and safety data as required. These records can be used for regulatory reporting audits.
When a company is committed to continuous improvement, it demonstrates that it is dedicated to evolving and doing better. Learning from incidents can be a humbling experience but with the right collaboration and support, an EHS manager can lead the way to a safer workplace tomorrow. The process must be meticulous and analytical. This detailed process is the only way to truly identify areas for improvement and implement corrective actions to prevent similar occurrences in the future.
Having a detailed and well-defined emergency response plan can mean the difference between life and death. It can also support the business continuity plan in the face of an unforeseen incident.
Emergency response plans are developed to handle potential disasters, from chemical spills to fires or natural disasters. Being well-prepared in times of crisis minimizes damage and ensures the safety of employees and the surrounding community.
An EHS manager is a vital asset to any organization. Their dedication to promoting a safe, sustainable, and compliant working environment contributes significantly to the overall success and well-being of the company and its stakeholders. They are the guardians of the company’s future, and their presence is an absolute necessity in today’s corporate landscape.
The effectiveness of this vital role can be greatly enhanced by leveraging a software solution to streamline compliance, improve safety protocols, and drive proactive risk management. An integrated, easy-to-use solution can be an EHS manager’s best friend. It gives them the ability to make decisions, monitor performance, and ensure the highest standards of safety and environmental responsibility. Allow us to customize a solution to meet your needs.
Contact us today to learn more.
THE RISK MATRIX Cutting-edge podcast on occupational safety and risk management. Hosted by industry titans: JAMES JUNKIN, MS, CSP, MSP,…
THE RISK MATRIX Cutting-edge podcast on occupational safety and risk management. Hosted by industry titans: JAMES JUNKIN, MS, CSP, MSP,…
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