Well, this is one of the biggest challenges of most EHS professionals throughout the industry: Getting the executives on board with EHS program implementation!

I think one of the best ways to approach this challenge is to express the potential EHS benefits in numbers. In the manufacturing industry, one of the goals is to maximize the production while minimizing downtown. Effective EHS programs reduce cost and contribute to the continuous success of your business.

Appropriate implementation of the relevant EHS programs in a facility will dramatically reduce the injury rate, downtime caused by injuries and lost days at work, not to mention the workers’ compensation costs.

Also, by ensuring environmental, health and safety compliance, the related potential fines and penalties by the regulatory agencies will be eliminated as well.

Another example would be, by doing an EHS site audit, it’s very possible to discover that the “so-called” hazardous waste by-product that you pay thousands of dollards to be hauled every year is actually  nothing but 99% water with some impurities.

There might be similar cases in your facility. If you take some time, and try to put them in numbers and present your results to your management team, some positive outcomes might be in order!

Good Luck! 🙂