1EHS is a project by Sparrow Risk Management which is aimed to bring insights and future trends for EHS industry in India. EHS industry has shown a tremendous growth in developing countries like India and this report is aimed at providing interpretation of data collected and interviews done by team Sparrow along with interns from Indian Institute of Management, Indore, to gauge, what to expect in the coming years, what changes in the industry we as professionals except and how the demands is going to vary for various services. This report also provides / shares vision of the current demands of the industry directly from the top EHS India leaders, on what they look for in people while hiring, perception about the courses and certifications to grow in EHS industry. The EHS leaders shed light on their plans in near future, they talk about the changes the industry is undergoing due to advancement of technology, Improvement in data collection and management, Analysis & prediction using cutting edge technology in software.
Mr. Pawan
CEO, Sparrow Risk
Management
This insight document comes from the bottom of my heart, and today, a dream comes true for the #1EHS family. When we discussed a similar concept a few years back, it looked impossible regarding resources, cost & time. But the persistence of Team Sparrow did wonders to provide us the growth that personally, I had never imagined.
This insight and research is dedicated to the hard work of my team at Sparrow and on personal front to my family.
In my opinion, the time has come to dream and dream bigger to inspire next gen to join EHS from their early days not merely for a job but as passion !
With this never-ending race towards excellence, we need to keep our heads over our shoulders. Wisdom is to be sought over knowledge. Hence to conclude, “Knowing when to do is equally important than how to do”!
Lets keep dreaming!
I would like to acknowledge under “Atma-Nirbhar Bharat” mission – we are the highest grosser of revenue in India under EHS consulting industry segment without any funding from any foreign identity – A 100% Indian Company!
Environment (E), health (H) and safety (S) (together EHS) is a domain that analyses and applies realistic traits of environmental protection and safety & Health at work. In humble words, it is anything businesses must do to make certain that their actions do not cause damage to anybody or, the environment. A latest report by the American Psychological Association revealed that millennial grade safety as a matter of workplace anxiety over any other issue. From a safety position, it includes making planned endeavors and practices for detecting workplace risks and decreasing mishaps and exposure to unsafe circumstances, materials &
It also comprises training of staff in accident prevention, accident response, disaster preparation, and usage of protective attire and gear. For health, businesses should have the development of harmless, great quality, and environmentally friendly procedures, functioning procedures and systemic actions that avoid or lessen the chance of injury to people in general, workers, or patients. From an environmental stance, it includes making a methodical tactic in accordance with environmental guidelines, such as handling waste or air emissions all the way to aiding sites & all relevant elements of GRI.
Governing prerequisites play a vital role in EHS field and EHS executives must recognize and understand appropriate EHS rules, the consequences of which must be conveyed to executive management so the business can apply appropriate actions. Still, EHS management is not restricted to legal fulfilment and companies should be inspired to do more than what is necessary, if suitable. Also, EHS plans surge customer devotion. Numerous investors nowadays examine EHS elements before selecting which businesses will get their benefits in long run and reputation of great risk management.
Examples of general categories and subcategories in EHS are:
- Air emissions and ambient air quality
- Energy conservation
- Wastewater and ambient water quality
- Water preservation
- Harmful ingredients management
- Waste management (including Plastic)
- Polluted land
- Over all sustainbility
- Biological risks
- Radiological risks
Public health and safety
- Water quality and accessibility
- Noise
- Fundamental safety of project infrastructure
- Life and fire safety(L&FS)
- Traffic safety
- Transportation of risky substances
- Illness avoidance
- Crisis preparation and response
Occupational health and safety
- Overall facility layout and function
- Communication and instruction
- Physical risks
- Chemical risks
- Personal protective equipment (PPE)
- Unusual risk settings
The global Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) Market size is expected to grow from USD 5.3 billion in 2019 to USD 8.6 billion by 2024, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 10.2% during the forecast period. The increasing business demand to enhance operational efficiency and stability is expected to make EHS a dominant model for organizations across all verticals in the near future. At a global level, it is expected that demand for EHS services will reach USD 85.05 billion by 2027, due to its growing penetration in the energy and mining industry. The implementation of strict environmental and occupational health and safety legislation has resulted in a significant increase in demand for pollution control technologies and facilities, water conservation, waste management, protection for workers, monitoring and many other environmental health and safety parameters. In 2019, industrial waste management accounted for more than 50.1 per cent of the global market share of EHS in terms of revenue, indicating the presence of stringent international regulations on industrial waste transport and disposal. It is anticipated that the increasing prevalence of accidents and diseases caused by improper disposal of toxic materials will drive demand in the segment. In terms of geographic coverage, the global EHS market has been segmented into five major regions:
- North America
- Asia Pacific (APAC)
- Europe
- Middle East and Africa (MEA)
- Latin America
APAC i.e., Asia Pacific is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. The region constitutes thriving economies, such as Singapore, Japan, China, India, and Australia, which are expected to register high growth rates in the EHS market. In Europe, the market spending on EHS was estimated to be around €5 billion in 2019 and expected to grow at 4.3% compounded and reach €6.1 billion by 2024. Industries such as food & beverage and water utilities will contribute significantly to EHS consulting. Information management systems support will see a growth of 9% CAGR. In U.S., EHS software are expected to witness rapid rise in demand owing to the presence of numerous IT companies coupled with stringent Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations & the ability of EHS services and software to assist companies in streamlining their waste management process. Companies in the country are increasing their investments to achieve operational efficiency and adhere to the norms established by Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). North America accounts for the highest market hire in the EHS market and the region is anticipated to dominate the global EHS market over the next five years.
When we analyzed our data, we found that most of the companies started their EHS division in 2010-2015 in India
- Many companies which were made after economic reforms of 1990’s attained maturity in their life cycle, completed 20 years at 2010, and thus started giving attention to divisions like EHS.
- There was quite high FDI in years preceding 2010, due to which several new companies were formed, and they demanded EHS division
- Few of the old Indian MNCs companies in multiple sectors also received FDI during 2010-2015, which also encouraged them to form EHS division.
- Many companies which were made after economic reforms of 1990’s attained maturity in their life cycle, completed 20 years at 2010, and thus started giving attention to divisions like EHS.
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There was quite high FDI in years preceding 2010, due to which several new companies were formed, and they demanded EHS division
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Few of the old Indian MNCs companies in multiple sectors also received FDI during 2010-2015, which also encouraged them to form EHS division.
Leaders Perspective :Growth 1+1 years
57% EHS leaders felt that the growth of the EHS industry will accelerate owing to the fact that it is a growing industry in India as well as the focus on EHS now due to the pandemic. 30% leaders did not feel sure that the industry growth will accelerate but were confident that it will grow steadily at the current growth rate however 11% EHS leaders believe this industry to slow down or grow stagnant. With the ongoing pandemic, the demand for EHS services are increasing. This indicates that the companies will have to spend more on safety, training and equipment to continue their growth while caring about their employees & customers. With more than 75% of the EHS heads expecting an increase in investments related
to EHS such as equipment, sanitization, training, etc. Rest were neutral or rather not elaborate the plans for investments until further developments.
The companies will have to increase the spending on EHS to continue their growth else we as fraternity may loose the pace.
EHS Wings in Companies:India
Skip behind twenty years, maybe not even that far-off back for several big corporations. For numerous businesses, at that moment, EHS management was not a separate function or even a division. It was considered earnestly by some, but for the maximum part it was more of a “good to have” instead of a requirement.
Now, the scene of EHS management has altered radically. We have gone from not even discussing about disastrous accidents, for example, to now exercising software program to document everything and examine mistakes. Businesses have transformed, things have improved and further, it is obvious, that thriving corporations watch after their EHS.
Profitable businesses have comprehended (maybe some the tough way) that it makes absolute commercial logic to consider the field of EHS management as any other essential part of the business. EHS is no longer an isolated silo on its own. In these Successful corporations, it is an equivalent to other divisions.
A few reasons why thriving businesses look after EHS –
- It will make a stronger workforce and a safer workplace.
- It transforms the corporation towards socially accountability. ·
- It will enhance and guard brand impression and worth.
- Output will be better.
- It will increase an employee’s dedication to the business. It will prevent expenditures and company disturbance that occurs when any accident happens.
Apart from the principles of the business, for a progressively well-informed community, safety, health and environmental difficulties are becoming less tolerable. Allowing a weak safety scheme can shape how a company’s creations are seen in the market. No popular businesses want this type of undesirable notice. Sturdy and steady devotion to EHS will pay off in the extended time. We have all heeded the saying “slow and steady wins the race”. For the corporation that is just beginning out on its EHS ride, it is vital for them to understand, the culture of EHS will not shift immediately. once you begin committing to your EHS culture you will see positive changes.
With the Covid-19 Pandemic we asked EHS leaders if they might increase their employee strength in the first year of the pandemic. With the majority, 76% showed no indication of increasing their employee strength in this year of covid-19, 23% EHS leaders felt the need to increase their employee strength to tackle the pandemic.
With world returning to normal post Covid19 pandemic and the economy returning to normal, the numbers change a little and 35% of EHS leaders feel there shall increase their employee strength. Salary growth in EHS industry is another indication of the growth of industry. Though 35% of EHS leaders did not think the salary growth will be more than 8%, a majority of 56% thought that it will be around 8-12%. 7% of the respondents were optimistic enough to give a figure greater than 12% growth.
Data shown in the charts are calculated from the data given by the respondents from various sectors and companies.
Investment of Industries
in EHS
When we talk about investment in EHS, it is more complex than just analysing rupee spent versus rupees saved. Benefits from these investments may not be quantifiable, but they are priceless, such as the value of conserving natural resources, preserving biodiversity, and protecting people’s health and safety. In our research, we asked EHS professionals about their future investment plans in EHS.
Responses from EHS leaders pointed out that majority of them (around 54% ) are willing to increase their budget in EHS even in the coming years with Chemical and Construction industries giving the best responses. This could be because these industries are more prone to accidents and health hazards considering their work environment.
We concluded that certain factors could be the possible reasons why industries should invest in EHS:
- Government will likely impose new safety rules and compliances post covid 19 (or any other industrial crisis). Amendments to the Factories act 1987 after Bhopal gas and oleum gas leak is a classic example.
- There are huge costs incurred from injuries and ill health due to poor working conditions. £15 billion and 4.7 million estimated working days were lost due to non-fatal injuries during 2017/2018. (global data)
- There are huge penalties for nonadherence to compliances with sanctioned fines increasing upto 74% in 2017 . (global data)
- Technologies have been rapidly evolving, and industries must adapt to it to stay in competition
- EHS is growing leaps and bounds with 85% responses admitting that EHS will grow at a faster or similar pace in the coming years.
However, a considerable portion are not willing to invest more in EHS and instead around 40% of the total responses consider decreasing their EHS budget. We can see that there were increase in the investments in preceding years of 2019.
A lot of this investments would have gone towards hiring new people. With the economic slowdown, a lot of companies would have to stop new hiring as apparent from the negligible number of new employees required in EHS function. As the companies had already increased their budgets before, most of the companies doesn’t now consider increasing budgets for EHS – this is alos linked to reduced Industrial Utilisation Index ~75% pre COVID.
Impact of EHS investment in the organization -Perception of EHS professionals
Organizations are awakening to the ability of EHS applications to minimize costs, mitigate risks, and avoid unexpected occurrences. Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) efforts, according to ehs-insight, protect workers across a wide array of industries and help mitigate negative environmental impacts. Scattered across the corporate world, EHS professionals are working hard to keep companies operating within regulatory compliance while safeguarding employee
health and welfare. While many aspects of EHS are governed by government regulations, in the end it is the employer’s responsibility to provide a safe and healthy work environment. In our research, we asked different EHS experts about their views on the impact of investment in EHS division of their company and the benefits that they have realized from it.
Environmental, health & safety are a key component of the strategic business and purchasing software should be regarded as a wise investment to handle business processes related to EHS. There are many factors, both material and intangible, that should be evaluated to determine the overall benefit to your organization from software for the environment, health, and safety.
The majority (nearly 80 percent) of total respondents claimed that EHS influenced brand value and shareholder preference. With the investment in EHS, more than 80 percent said their company had achieved improved operating efficiency. Nearly 87 percent of respondents said that after concentrating on the EHS dimensions, the number of accidents had significantly decreased. Employee productivity was seen to be improved following health and safety initiatives, said more than 70 percent and more than 75 percent of respondents, respectively.
- Increased employee morale, mostly because of a increasing perception that management is genuinely concerned about health.This can result in tangible benefits such as reduced absenteeism, increased survey satisfaction level, and lower employee turnover.
- Enhanced safety culture, which can benefit from workers viewing EHS processes and services as helpful rather than burdensome, and from the perception that management is concerned. This will result in fewer accidents bringing down costs.
- Increased efficiency of the safety program, due to the willingness of the EHS team to concentrate on individuals rather than paper processes.
- Lower health related costs would benefit from less injury. Costs associated with health typically manifest in lawsuits, including insurance for the worker.
- Effectively reduce administrative burden by using EHS software that can eliminate or streamline many time-consuming manual tasks
- Avoiding accidents at your company or place of work will reduce expensive legal bills • Reducing the number of accidents will result in a lower Experience Modification Rate (EMR), which in turn would reduce the premiums
The graph shows sector-wise, the percentage of respondents who agree with the statements mentioned. In sectors such as Engineering and FMCG, 100 percent of respondents believed that EHS had an effect on the brand image and shareholder choice, led by automotive, cement, pharmaceutical, energy sectors with more or nearly 80 percent of the same opinion from EHS experts. When asked if they believed that investing in EHS translated into better profits and operational performance, more than 80 percent of EHS professionals from sectors such as Cement, Construction , Engineering, FMCG and retail agreed, while more than 75 percent of EHS professionals agreed from the automotive, chemical, and energy sectors.
In general, after investing in safety operations, the number of incidents decreased substantially,with the majority (more than 75%) of EHS experts from sectors such as automobile, chemical, building, oil, pharmaceuticals having the same opinion. The cement, engineering and FMCG sectors reported 100 percent of the EHS professionals experiencing a drop in the number of accidents after inculcating safety measures. When asked if there was an increase in productivity after new health measures and safety measures, 100% of the engineering sector professionals from EHS agreed with more than 60% respondents from almost all other sectors including automobile, cement, chemical, energy, FMCG, retail and pharma of similar school of thought after implementing health measures; while after implementing new safety measures more than 70% of respondents from sectors like automobile, cement chemical, energy FMCG and Pharma said that they witnessed an increase in productivity.
Industrialization, even though it may be important for the growth and development, it can be harmful for the environment, health and safety of workers. And workplace should be a place where employees can perform without the fear of getting into an accident, injury or death. Pollution can be in the form of harmful air emissions, wastewaters like untreated effluents, land pollution, marine and coastal pollution, hazardous and solid waste disposal, use of pesticides, radiation and noise pollution, etc. And each industry is contributing to one or multiple forms of these pollutions.
Industries should focus on the importance of Environment, health and safety in the coming years because:
- It’s the right thing to do. Employers show our employees how much their safety means to them and gain their royalty which in turn affects the customer satisfaction
- Financial benefits are realized from it. The lower a business’s injury rate, the more is the profit realized.
- A more sustainable environment for the ecosystem is provided
In our research, we asked industry leaders to split their expenditures on Environment, Health and Safety in terms of percentages.
Split of expenditures in E, H and S shows that safety is given the most importance with half of the responses from EHS professionals stating that they spend atleast 50% or more of their budgets on safety alone with cement, construction and energy especially focusing on the area.
These are sectors with high risks working environment, so their responses made sense. Environment has around 30% of the responses with the criteria and health comes last with just 10% satifying the criteria. Around 55% of the EHS professionals admitted that they spend only 20% of their expenditure or below on health. Expenditures of every industry besides pharma and retail goes primarily to safety. Pharma and retail spend on environment while a little amount is spent on health.
Next, we asked the EHS leaders again which segment will be more important to them in the coming years Overall safety has always been and will be the area where industries feel should be given importance in the coming years
this area. This could be associated with the high-risk environment associated with this industry. Besides FMCG, every other sector gave a fairly good perception on the importance of safety in the coming years. This is followed by health and environment stands at the bottom. Automobile and chemical industries have good perception on the importance of environment. Construction industries stands last in this regard. When it comes to health, automobile and retail has the best responses with FMCG at the bottom. It is visible that the perception of the importance of health has improved a lot and we can expect industries making investments in it in the coming years. A possible reason could be because of the ongoing Pandemic (Covid-19) where major focus is on the health of the people.
A comparison between the responses who are willing to increase their investments in the coming years vs perception in the importance of EHS shows that EHS professionals felt the need for EHS but willingness to increase their investment is relatively lower. We concluded that industries are facing budget crunch due to economic slowdown and to meet the rising need for health and safety, Industries will further cut down employee size because their employee requirement has considerably gone down. Apparently, they are making it up for their investments in other aspects of environment, health and safety, especially on health given that perception of the importance of health has shown a great improvement.
Services Outsourced in EHS, India
EHS industry has relied heavily on the outsourcing of services. The high costs involved, the expertise required, and the resources required to conduct every required service of EHS domain makes it almost impossible to justify the costs of running a separate division of EHS internally in a company, for each of expertise required. The consulting firms take over when it comes to EHS services and offer a variety of them according to the regulations of that country and various ways of working international standards. These services include mandatory laws passed by the government Basic safety norms, global practices and Environmental norms, educating and training workers for better efficiency and healthy.
The high costs involved, the expertise required, and the resources required makes it almost impossible to justify the costs of running a separate division of EHS internally for each expertise
Worldwide, EHS service providers provide training in workplace safety consulting, process safety, prediction of accidents using analytics, maintenance of machines, supply chain transformation, water waste treatment, sustainable energy solutions, fire and electrical safety audits, etc
From the responses, we can summarize the following:
- Companies prefer to outsource audits regarding fire safety, Electrical systems and Energy management. Such services are performed once in a few years and hence companies do not prefer to have a dedicated staff on standby for such services. These services are generally performed due to mandatory requirements of the government and require experts from different fields which may become costly for the organization to hire full time. Also outsourcing brings more value due to diverse exposure.
- Training for employees have to be conducted whenever companies make changes in the work procedures and introduce new technologies. Training is outsourced generally to the companies who provide the new technologies or to third party consultants who specialize in such services, have experience with the new technologies. Labor intensive industries such as FMCG, Engineering, Chemical & Energy.
- Customer facing industries such as FMCG, Pharma, Energy put more emphasis on compliance. These compliance are shown on the labels of their products and hence used to win the consumers’ trust. These industries also need to follow such norms due to stricter regulations from the government as their products are directly provided to the consumers.
- Within the last 2 decades, corporates have realized the impact they are making on the environment. The leaders are pledging to do their bit, giving back more to the nature than they are taking. With such thoughts on the rise and long-term plans to be made, it is expected that such plans will be made by using third party experts as these plans require experience as well as expertise to accomplish. With the time span required to achieve such plans, outsourcing is better way of tackling it efficiently. Energy industry leads the group as they are the largest users of natural resources.
- Process safety management is again very important to high risk industries such as chemical and electrical. There is always high risk involved due to the nature of raw materials and products or services provided by the industries.
- Ergonomics and Hygiene services are growing as space becomes the constraint and productivity needs to improve. CEOs are realizing that small changes in workplaces, methods of working and arrangement of assemblies can make substantial differences. Construction industry can benefit a lot from ergonomics while hygiene has become very important to industries such as FMCG, pharma and chemical due to their nature of products.
Technology advancement has affected the way we perform tasks in almost every sector, industry and teams. The mind-numbing advancement in technology in the last 2 decades has affected EHS industry too. These technologies give the EHS departments timely data and help them predict the accidentprone activities and take necessary action. In theresearch, we asked the respondents about the technologies they currently use in their companies to ensure health and safety
for all stakeholders. We asked them about technologies such as Web based MIS, Artificial Intelligence and IOT & industry 4.0 based Tools.
“These technologies give the EHS teams timely data and help them predict & prevent the accident- and take necessary action.”
Web based centralized MIS was the highest used Technology across all the sectors in EHS with 68% percent of respondents using it in their companies. Web based MIS offer advantages of multiple connections at the same time from different locations. Access to data can be limited according to requirements. The incoming stream of data from various places at once gives the EHS personnel to take real time decisions. Web based MIS can be accessed through cloud. or local intranet without any special applications other than a web browser. With the advent of newer technologies such as artificial intelligence and IOT, some companies, mainly from chemical, pharma and energy sectors are getting onboard and gaining competitive advantage while preparing themselves for the long run.
Web based centralized MIS
was the highest used
Technology across all the
sectors in EHS. But it is
mostly a data management
tool – less or, no analytics
or, machine data.
Cloud technology solves some of the issues associated with traditional EHS solutions without compromising its beneficial qualities, namely by providing customizable options that can be leveraged by companies on their own. Instead of creating a static infrastructure requiring the development or upgrading of a third-party developer, the cloud has allowed a simplified EHS architecture.
The Demands of the industry and the investment plans show significant differences in ratings given by the respondents. Investment plans for artificial intelligence are on par with the demands but the investment plans for the rest of the technologies are lagging the demands of such technologies. From our secondary research we could figure that the widespread availability of cloud technologies has become a long-awaited response to many problems faced by EHS departments, particularly when evaluating progress.
Demands in new Technology
- Average of IOT & Industry 4.0 based tools 3.72
- Average of Web based centralized MIS 3.76
- Average of Remote factory data availability with data analytics (Web/desktop) 3.73
- Average of Artificial intelligence-based tools 3.58
Investment plans in New Technology\
- Average of IOT & Industry 4.0 based tools 3.5
- Average of Web based centralized MIS 3.4
- Average of Remote factory data availability with data analytics (Web/desktop) 3.3
- Average of Artificial intelligence-based tools 3.5
How Different Industries Use EHS Software
Clients within the farming and food & beverage manufacturing use EHS software to combine their environmental and EHS information and confirm compliance— comprising grocery production and delivery, agricultural biochemical manufacture, and raising and delivery of cattle, harvests and seafood. EHS software are a stress-free and quicker approach to gather, trace, control, and report all the numbers wanted by regulators, even across several sites and for regional, state, and central monitoring programs.
Automotive businesses must keep-up with industry- particular, ever- changing EHSQ compliance requirements and consumer requirements. Such requests frequently consequence in auto company, dealer and Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) noncompliance, confrontations, and product shortcomings. These expensive difficulties are a main setback to resources, as retracts result in damaged air bags, brakes, and more. EHS Software help manage business’s environmental actions (from field data gathering to compliance reporting) with an integrated, cloud-based environmental software solution.
The chemical industry is a varied and growing universal market, manufacturing a intricate array of products. Up-to-date customers demand greater benchmarks of product stewardship and environmental compliance, which surges weight to enhance transparency and sustainability attempts. Challenges involve chemical managing, safety & health compliance, and progressively severe environmental protocols. EHS software help to simplify hazard communication, SDS management, and staff requisites.
Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals industries are accountable for supervision and supplying to social welfare and private health. Since the extremely unified and inventive kind of industry, healthcare and pharmaceutical businesses tackle stringent and ever- shifting rules from central, regional, and international authorities. These protocols quickly change, but regulatory compliance is sternly observed – necessitating supple Managing of Change capabilities. Better sustainability, productivity and product stewardship can offer these companies an aggressive advantage in a saturated market.
From cleaning up from years of seeping underground tanks, to chasing licenses for co- production facilities, to overseeing drinking water quality on offshore platforms — the energy, oil & gas businesses need a supple, strong solution for gathering and reporting environmental data.The oil and gas industry meets further demands and intricacies than any other industry. As oil and gas resources decrease, businesses are being pushed to operate in distant and severe environments– consecutively inflating budgets and placing employee welfare in jeopardy. EHS Software aid Decrease operational threat, modernize the conversion of numbers into knowledge, and form a greater compliance.
Even the rapid technology industry has to make time for gathering, examining, and reporting compulsory data for services with any environmental effect. Evolving technology changes the way we contemplate about environmental, health, and safety (EHS). As technology continues to swiftly develop, so do the associated challenges. Tech companies often deal with compliance and management risks containing cybersecurity, incessant improvement via superior products, latest rules, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to increase employee comfort. EHS Software help in merging and systematizing business’s workflow in the cloud, so that business can get to the actionable data quicker.
Retaining capable employees and intricate operational chains in an exhaustive industry like mining is a perplexing job. Mining needs water management, complying with rules and matching external issues such as climate and supply charges. It also comprises upholding the health & safety of employees in extremely – dangerous environments.From single-site set-ups to systems of international facilities, the mining industry’s environmental compliance actions can produce huge quantities of figures that rapidly become too difficult for worksheets. EHS Software offer supple, accessible environmental data organization in the cloud.
For public or private water usage, the quantity and intricacy of water testing and analysis of data can be overpowering. Trials to the water industry comprise revitalization of prevailing infrastructure, disaster vigilance, and longstanding supply accessibility, along with several others. EHS Software aid in streamlining the regular observing and reporting activities with cloud solutions for all environmental and compliance- associated data. EHS Software aid you in saving time and funds on water data management and spin the data into actionable insight. EHS Software help to record wastewater and storm water measures, recognize preservation occasions, trace licenses and confirm harmless operational environment.
Regulatory requirements play an important role in EHS discipline and EHS managers need to identify and understand relevant EHS regulations, the implications of which need to be communicated to executive management in order to enable the company to take necessary measures.
Of the total respondents, 42 per cent comply with ISO standards. OHSAS follows, 30 percent. Being ISO certified can be used as advertising point and accordingly pricing the products which in turn helps to get more customers. It helps to manage the market cycle and monitor the company.
Why do the companies follow standards?
- Increased credibility and acclaim.
- Increased Revenues
- Strengthened Consistency
- Increased Customer Satisfaction
- Empowered employees
Does India depends too much on foreign
standards and lacks local customization?”
Only 32 % Diagreed !
Separation at source
Waste producers would now have to now separate waste into three groupsBiodegradable, Dry (Synthetic, Paper, metallic, Lumber, etc.) and Domestic Harmful waste (diapers, paper towel, mosquito repellents, cleansing agents etc.) before giving it over to the collector.
Customer amounts for collection
The latest guidelines have bestowed authority to the regional federations through India to choose the customer fees. Civic agencies will charge user amount for collection, disposal and handling from majority producers.
Waste handling and treatment
As per the new instructions, it has been recommended that the decomposable trash should be treated and disposed of via composting or bio-methanation inside the grounds as much as feasible and the remaining waste shall be passed to the waste collectors as ordered by the regional government department. The developers of Special Economic Zone, industrial park to allocate at least 5 per cent of the whole region of the plot or least 5 plots/ sheds for retrieval and recycling facility.
Promotion of waste to energy
In a not-so welcoming change, the SWM Rules, 2016 stress promotion of waste to energy factories. The directions command all manufacturing units consuming fuel and found within 100 km from a solid wastebased Refuse-Derived Fuel (RDF) plant to make preparations within six months from the day of announcement of these guidelines to substitute at least 5 per cent of their fuel requirement by RDF so manufactured.
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY, HEALTH AND WORKING CONDITIONS CODE, 2019
It includes and swaps 13 labor laws concerning safety, health and employment situations. These laws include: Factories Act, 1948; Mines Act, 1952; Dock Workers Act, 1986; Contract Labor Act, 1970; and Inter-State Migrant Workers Act, 1979. Welfare services, employment conditions and labor hours for diverse kinds of organizations and employees will be recommended by the central or state governments via directives. The Code includes employees hired in organizations with as a minimum 10 employees or more. Organizations covered by the Code are obliged to list within 60 days (of the beginning of the Code) with recordkeeping officers, assigned by the central or state government. Additionally, some organizations such as workshops and coalmines, and those signing employees for instance beedi and cigar workers, may be compelled to acquire extra permits to run.
Responsibilities of companies
Responsibilities comprise: (i) offering a workplace that is exempt from risks that may cause harm or illnesses, (ii) running free of charge yearly health inspections for workers in reported units, (iii) allotting appointment letters to workers, and (iv) notifying appropriate agencies in the event of a mishap at the workplace which had caused grave physical damage to a worker. Extra responsibilities are set for businesses in factories, mines, harbors, plantations, construction work, comprising stipulation of a risk-free job location, and training workers on safety procedures.
WASTE MANAGEMENT RULES,2016
Each waste producer shall separate construction and demolition waste and put at a collection center or deliver it to the sanctioned processing facilities and shall guarantee that there is no littering so as to avoid hindrance to the traffic. Large producers (who produce in excess of 20 tons or more in a day or 300 tons per development in a month) shall present waste management strategy and get suitable permission from the regional authority before beginning building or demolition or renovation work and should have environment management proposal to tackle the possible environmental concerns from construction, demolition, storage, transport procedure and disposal / recycle of C & D Waste. Large generators shall separate the waste into four groups such as concrete, soil, steel, wood and plastics, bricks, and mortar and will have to pay applicable expenses for collection, hauling, dispensation and disposal as advised by the involved authorities
Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017
The forbidden actions in the wetlands comprise change of wetlands for nonwetland usages for instance invasion of any type, setting up new facilities or extension of old industries, throwing of waste and expulsion of unprocessed sewage from factories, cities, communities and other human neighborhoods.The events such as reaping, and dredging can be carried out with prior authorization from the involved authorities.
Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016
First time, accountability of waste producers is initiated. Individual and mass producers like offices, business organizations, factories are to separate the plastic waste at source, deliver separated waste, pay fee as per laws of the regional authority.Generators to keep a list of their contractors to whom they have provided crude substances for making carry bags, plastic sheets, and multi-layered packaging. This is to control production of these products in unorganized segment. Making and usage of non-recyclable multilayered plastic to be shut in two years.
Hazardous Waste Management Rules 2016
All the procedures under the rules for approval, import/export, filing of yearly revenues, transportation, etc. have been amended considerably, demonstrating the strict style for management of such harmful and other wastes with concurrent generalization of process. The simple need of infrastructure to protect the health and environment from waste treating industry has been proposed as Standard Operating Procedure (SOPs), particular to waste type, which has to be obeyed by the participants and confirmed by SPCB/PCC while permitting such approval. The import of metallic scrap, paper waste and numerous groups of electric and electronic apparatus for re-use function has been relieved from the requisite of gaining Ministry’s approval. The subsequent things have been forbidden for import:Waste eatable fats and grease of animals, or plant source, Domestic waste, Critical Care Medical apparatus, Tyre for straight reuse purpose ,Solid Plastic wastes containing PET containers ,Waste electric and electronic assemblies scrap,other chemical wastes mainly in dilute state.
Battery (M & H) Rules, (Amendment) 2010
Companies shall have to confirm that – (a) The worn-out batteries are gathered back as per the plan against new batteries sold without those sold to initial apparatus producer and majority consumers.(b) The worn-out batteries collected back are of alike and requirements as that of the fresh batteries sold.(c) The worn out batteries gathered are sent only to the authorized recyclers. (d) The essential measures are taken with dealers for safe transportation from collection hubs to the location of authorized recyclers. (e) No harm occurs to the environment when transportingThe companies would also have to establish collection hubs either independently or cooperatively at numerous locations for gathering of used batteries from customers or traders and use the global recycling symbol on the batteries; and purchase recycled lead from authorized recyclers.
More than 70% of senior management prefers PG in Industrial Safety perspective practicality and real time EHS knowledge application. Second most preferable certification is RLI with 62% preference rating followed by CRSP/CSP with 37% vote. Nebosh comes in the fourth rank with 37% preference rating. For a person looking for jobs overseas, it holds values but not so much in India as it is not legally recognized. IRCA comes at the last with 22% perception vote. It is relatively new in India
CERTIFICATIONS
Nowadays Certification has found its way into almost every industry and EHS is not an exception. It helps advance the profession. Professional certifications help employees gain practical abilities for the job focusing on both the knowledge and the skills. It also helps employers while making potential new hires, analyze job performance, evaluate employees, select contractors, market services, and motivate employees to enhance their skills and knowledge.
NEBOSH
The NEBOSH National General Certificate is a UK based examination board providing a broad understanding of key health and safety issues, covering the legal requirements for health & safety in the UK, identification and control of workplace hazards. The course is split into 2 units – one through a question paper and the other through a practical assessment. NEBOSH covers a wide range of areas within the health and safety sector which includes:
• Environmental Awareness at Work
• Health, Safety and Environment in the Process Industries
• Occupational Health and Safety
• Construction Health and Safety
• Fire Safety and Risk Management
• Management of Health and Well-being at Work
Fees:
Breakdown of the current NEBOSH eLearning course prices as per March 2018:
• NEBOSH International Diploma in Occupational Safety & Health = £1,450
• NEBOSH National Diploma in Occupational Safety & Health= £1,450
• NEBOSH National Diploma in Environmental Management= £750
The following NEBOSH certificates are all priced at £450:
• NEBOSH National General Certificate in Occupational Safety & Health
• NEBOSH International General Certificate in Occupational Safety & Health
• NEBOSH National Certificate in Construction Safety & Health
• NEBOSH International Certificate in Construction Safety & Health
• NEBOSH National Certificate in Fire Safety & Risk Management
• NEBOSH International Certificate in Fire Safety & Risk Management
• NEBOSH International Technical Certificate in Oil and Gas Operation Safety
• NEBOSH National Certificate in Environmental Management
• NEBOSH National Certificate in the Management of Health & Well-Being at Work
Designation:
Health and Safety Advisor/Officer, Fire Safety Officer, Risk Assessor, Quality and Safety Engineer, Warehouse Manager, Site Supervisor, Construction Site Manager
PG in Industrial Safety
PG in Industrial Safety is a program initiated by GOI for employees and aspiring students in the field of occupational risks and health issues, it aims to empower them with skills, knowledge and awareness in workplace safety, health and environment which are associated with industries.
Eligibility:
should have bachelor’s degree program (Engineering, B.Sc. etc). This program teaches students all practical aspects of: Risk management techniques, Safety management operations, Monitoring safety and health operations and Improving standard of health of the employees and enhancing general safety measures.
Fees:
Fees charged for the academic program may vary from one institute to another (with an average of Rs 25000 for a 1 year course) depending upon the type of institute (Government, Private, Aided etc), Location of the college, Status and rating of the college and Scholarship status (of student, if applicable).
Designation:
Ample job opportunities are available for candidates completing the course with recruiters from Government Organizations (Fire Fighting Dept, Disaster Management Dept), Manufacturing Plants and Firms, Refineries, Aviation Firms, Heavy Engineering Firms, Chemical Factories, Industrial Warehouses, Ports and Shipping
Agencies, Safety Consultancies and Mining Agencies; into various roles like Safety Officer, Safety Manager, Safety Engineer, Safety Consultant, Safety Inspector and Fire Officer.
RLI(Regional Labor Institute)
This certification requires that students should have two years of work experience as eligibility criteria. They have various centers in India viz, Kanpur, Chennai, Mumbai, Faridabad and Kolkata\
Designation:
Job Prospective are widely open in these fields not only in India but huge vacancies are available in foreign countries where you can be employed as: Safety Inspector, Fire Supervisor, Safety Engineer, Fire Men, Leading Fireman, Sub Officer, Station Officer, Safety Officer, HSE Engineer, Safety Supervisor / Steward, HSE Advisor, Safety Assistant, Health Assistant, Fire Protection Technician, Environmental Engg., Safety Auditor and Fire Officer
CRSP/CSP
This course cover all aspects of Environmental practices, Accident theory, Ergonomics, Health promotion, Fire prevention and protection, Law and ethics, Health, safety and environment auditing, Occupational health, safety and environment systems, Risk management, Occupational hygiene and Safety technology & techniques.
Eligibility:
- Current Employment – Must have over 900 hours/ year projects in occupational health and safety
- Educational Qualifications – College or university education in health and safety
- Work Experience – at least four years in the field of occupational health and safety
Fees:
- Application fee: $ 525.00 (+GST/HST as applicable) (non- refundable)
- The examination fee: $ 175.00 (+GST/HST as applicable)
- Annual renewal fee: $ 250.00 (+GST/HST as applicable)
Designation:
Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) Coordinator, Health and Safety Manager, Executive Director, Safety and Security, Occupational Health & Safety Manager, Safety & Licensing Analyst, Occupational Safety Officer, Safety Advisor and Health & Safety Specialist
IRCA
IRCA is a certified Quality Management Systems (QMS) Auditor Training course which will equip candidates to assess the conformance and performance of an organization’s QMS. This course covers the process approach to quality management systems and auditing, the requirements of ISO 9001, the eight quality management principles, how to plan, complete and report the audit of an entire quality management system. This course includes a 2-hour written examination and successful completion of this course is required to be certified as an Auditor on IRCA’s QMS Scheme.
Fees:
Application for (AA/A/LA/PRA grades) – £73 Application (for IA grade) – £46 Regrade – £43 Display certificate – £16
Designation:
Manager Internal Audit, Lead Auditor, Product manager and quality control.
In our research, we asked various EHS professionals about their perception of the various certifications. Figure below gives the percentage of responses who gives 4/5-star ratings.
More than 70% of senior management prefers PG in Industrial Safety perspective practicality and real time EHS knowledge application. Second most preferable certification is RLI with 62% preference rating followed by CRSP/CSP with 37% vote. Nebosh comes in the fourth rank with 37% preference rating. For a person looking for jobs overseas, it holds values but not so much in India as it is not legally recognized. IRCA comes at the last with 22% perception vote. It is relatively new in India.
From the findings, we concluded that Candidates with proper educational qualifications and practical experience of working in the industry is preferred for hiring at least in Indian context as we can see that RLI and PG in industrial Safety are diploma programs where students have to complete full time courses while the rest are mostly certificates earned through online training and giving exams.
From the responses, a candidate should at least complete his graduation before applying for Safety functions. Graduation with RLI certification is most preferred across all industries. This is followed by Graduation with NEBOSH and Graduation showing similar preference by industries. Surprisingly, Masters with NEBOSH certification comes last in the wishlist with just a staggering 5% of the total responses and industries like cement, construction, chemical, Energy, FMCG and telecom having no requirement for it at all.
Although certifications and qualifications are key factors for a candidate to get hired into an EHS function, however, when it comes to factors responsible for better career trajectory in EHS domain, company’s performance and the Key Responsibility Areas of the employees overall tops the list with a fairly equal spread across all industries. This is followed by experience although different industries have different perception ratings. Thus, the kind of industry a person gets into, the role he lands, and experience will help an employee climb up the ladder quickly in EHS function.
Number of Employees required by companies in the coming year in EHS (% Companies)
54% of them responded that their method of evaluation is primarily need based, while 43% responded that they follow a scientific method to calculate the number of personals required. Retail industry has their staffing done totally need based followed by Pharma, Engineering and Automobile whose responses pointed that these industries evaluate staffing method majorly on need basis. On the other hand, industries like Cement and Energy follows a scientific method to calculate the number of personal required.
Major EHS disasters and their effect on share price
DEEPWATER HORIZON OIL SPILL
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill was an industrial tragedy that started on April 20, 2010, in the Gulf of Mexico on the BP run Macondo prospect, believed to be the greatest marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill is observed as one of the major environmental catastrophes in U.S. history. The American Government report, issued in September 2011, indicated to faulty cement on the well, criticizing predominantly BP, but additionally rig operator Transocean and contractor Halliburton. In September 2014, an American District Court judge pronounced that BP was chiefly accountable for the oil spill because of its overall carelessness and irresponsible manner. In July 2015, BP settled to pay $18.7 billion in penalties, the biggest corporate settlement in American history.
GEORGIA SUGAR REFINERY EXPLOSION
The 2008 Georgia sugar refinery blast was an industrial catastrophe that happened on February 7, 2008, in Port Wentworth, Georgia, United States. Fourteen individuals were killed and forty wounded when a dust outburst happened at a sugar factory owned by Imperial Sugar. The plant was big and timeworn, containing out-of-date construction systems, and these reasons are alleged to have furthered fire’s severity. The U.S. Chemical Safety Board published its statement on the event in September 2009, pronouncing that the blast had been ” completely avoidable “.Inquiries by Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also determined that sugar dust was the fuel for a blast that could have been averted. By September 2010, 44 suits had been filed in Chatham County Court versus Imperial Sugar and/or its cleansing contractor. Eighteen have been paid.
BHOPAL DISASTER
The Bhopal calamity, likewise, mentioned as the Bhopal gas disaster, was a gas leak event on the night of 2–3 December 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide factory in Bhopal, MP, India. It is believed to be world’s gravest industrial catastrophe . Over 500,000 individuals were subjected to methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas. A government document in 2006 declared that the leak caused 558,125 injuries, counting 38,478 short-term partial injuries and about 3,900 severely and eternally incapacitating injuries. Others reckon that 8,000 died within two weeks, and another 8,000 or more have subsequently died from gas-related illnesses. The cause of the calamity continues under dispute. The Indian government and community advocates claim that relaxed supervision and delayed maintenance made a condition where standard pipe maintenance caused a back flow of water into a MIC tank, causing the disaster.
Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) claims water came in the tank due to an act of sabotage. In June 2010, seven Indian citizens who were UCIL staff in 1984, counting the previous UCIL chairman, were sentenced in Bhopal of causing casualty by neglect and condemned to two years imprisonment and a penalty of around $2,000 each, the utmost sentence authorized by Indian law. All were free on bail soon after the judgement.
JAIPUR FIRE
The Jaipur oil depot fire broke out on 29 October 2009 at 7:30 PM (IST) at the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) oil depot’s huge tank keeping 8,000 kiloliters (280,000 cu ft) of petrol, in Sitapura Industrial Area on the outer edge of Jaipur, Rajasthan, taking life 12 citizens and hurting over 300. The fire lasted to fume rampant for over a week after it began and through the period 5 lakh people were sent away from the region. The oil storehouse is roughly 16 kilometers (9.9 mi) south of the city of Jaipur.The event happened when petrol was being moved from the Indian Oil Corporation’s oil storehouse to a pipeline. There were no less than 40 IOC staff at the depot (located nearby the Jaipur International Airport) when it caught fire with a blast. The Met division noted a tremor gauging 2.3 on the Richter scale about the time the first blast at 7:36 pm which caused in smashing of glass windows almost 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) from the mishap site.
VISAKHAPATNAM GAS LEAKAGE
The Visakhapatnam gas leakage, also mentioned as the Vizag gas leakage, was an industrial disaster that happened at the LG Polymers chemical plant in R. R. Venkatapuram village near Gopalapatnam on the peripheries of Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India, during the daybreak of 7 May 2020. The subsequent vapor cloud draped over a radius of around three kilometers (2 mi), distressing the neighboring regions and villages. As of 5 p.m. (UTC) 8 May, the death toll was 13, and over 1,000 people befell sick after being subjected to the gas. inquiries established that the calamity was possibly the consequence of inadequate maintenance of units storing the styrene monomer, inappropriate storing and operation mistakes. The Andhra Pradesh government declared an ex gratia of ₹1 crore each for family of the dead as well as finances for the hurt, allotting a budget of ₹30 crore for the reimbursement of all those distressed.
| Company Name |
Share Price Before Disaster |
Share Price After Disaster |
% Change |
| BP |
$60.57 |
$29.2 |
51% |
| UCIL |
Rs 33 |
Rs 11 |
66% |
| Imperial Sugar |
$20.81 |
$19.62 |
5.7% |
| IOC |
Rs 81.4 |
Rs 76.74 |
5.7% |
| LG Polymer |
KRW 354000 |
KRW 338000 |
4.5% |
Colleges and Perception of Quality of candidates
NITIE tops the Perception Survey.
Environment/Sustainability/Safety Manager, CSR Manager, Sustainability / EHS Consultant, Consultant (SAP – EHS), Health and Well-being Manager, Risk Consultant, Green Supply Chain Management related job profiles are offered after successful completion of the course.
The course, Post Graduate Diploma in Industrial Engineering, is designed to cater to the growing need for EHS specialists in the Industry. It furnishes the students with critical aptitude to oversee mechanical security and ecological issues, thereby efficiently paving the way for a cleaner and safer industrial practices. Apart from classroom teaching, the emphasis is laid on industrial visits, practical case studies, industrial guest faculty, presentations, and management games, and six months of Internship to gain industry experience might be the contributing factors for the companies preferring NITIE over others.
EHS branding compared to other company functions
Management wants us to deliver business value every day. Value of any function including EHS will correspond to its financial performance viz. increase in the revenue, decrease in the expenses, number of new customers brought in, increased revenue from existing customers, increase in shareholder/taxpayer value
EHS is a supporting function/department in any organization similar to Productions, Research and Development (often abbreviated to R&D), Purchasing, Marketing, Information Technology, Human Resource Management, Accounting, and Finance, etc., While EHS is regarded as a separate function, everyone in the organization is part of the safety culture, and all the corporate functions share the same objectives for safety, health, and environment.
Such a comprehensive, integrated approach that integrates data from various functional areas provides a holistic picture of EHS performance and creates the ability to monitor operational excellence and safety performance on a near-to real-time basis.In our research, we asked different EHS professionals on what they think about EHS branding compared to various functions in the company.
Majority of the professionals(Around 61%) think that EHS is valued below par. This is because growth is still expected in EHS in every industry. EHS has far moved away from being just a mere procedure for legal compliance to one of the most critical functions in various industries. The purview of EHS keeps increasing, and it has now become essential for emerging companies like OLA, Zomato, and Big Educational Institutions, etc.While comparing it across various industries, EHS’s importance in a company depends on the risk profile of the industry. Companies related to Industries like Oil and Gas, Chemicals, etc. are more prone to the risks than others. Therefore, the importance of EHS is more in such industries and if the EHS function is valued at par with other top functions in the company.
To improve the EHS performance, companies should respond to driving forces such as growing public expectations for EHS regulatory requirements, more direct stakeholder monitoring of EHS performance, and efforts to integrate EHS with business management to avoid or reduce EHS related costs.
Following factors might contribute to the increase in the value of EHS compared to other functions as expressed by the EHS professionals
- Economic benefits resulting from improved EHS performance
- Corporate commitments and core values
- Reputation enhancement
- Meeting customer and stakeholder expectations
- EHS issues and their contributions towards strategic differentiation of the company Improved employee relations
Placing an economic value on EHS functions increases the managements’ involvement in EHS. Other functions get management attention by aligning their tasks with business value drivers which management always wants. Managers are uncomfortable with arcane language and acronyms associated with the EHS profession, so it is critical that EHS managers take the time to show the top management what you do in terms of business value drivers.
Above 50% of the EHS professionals in each sector believe that the EHS budget may change, keeping health in focus. This is much expected as the health of the employees is under significant threat during this situation. Companies have already started spending on Personal Protection equipment like goggles, face-shield, masks, gloves, coverall/gowns (with or without aprons), headcover and shoe cover, sanitizers, etc. keeping in mind of the employees’ health. EHS personnel are responsible with maintaining compliance with permits and other legal requirements such as monitoring and reporting requirements during a high flux time. Safety professionals must implement a plan to deal with the virus in the workplace in the light of the declaration of COVID-19 as a worldwide pandemic by the World Health Organisation. Employees in some job sectors may be at increased risk of exposure to COVID-19. By understanding what groups of employees are at greatest risk of infection, necessary steps can be taken to hold the spread of the virus further.
- Workers with increased exposure risks include those involved in:
- Healthcare (first responders, healthcare providers, clinical laboratory personnel, and support staff)
- Airline operations
- Waste management
- Frontline workers
Safety professionals should determine if employees could be exposed to work areas or materials (such as laboratory samples or waste) that have been contaminated since the transmissibility of the virus from contaminated surfaces and objects is not fully understood at this time.
