We recently wrapped up the 26th annual NAEM EHS&S Management Forum in Louisville, KY. Our team felt, much like the Kentucky Derby is America’s premier sporting event, the NAEM Forum is THE premiere EHS&S conference, and this year’s Forum was a run for the roses. You’d be hard pressed to find a better conference where you connect with the caliber of global EHS&S leaders and rub elbows with the array of NexGen Leaders that were acknowledged at the Forum. Because of how many amazing leaders and insights there were at this year's Forum, we had a hard time narrowing down our favorite news, updates, and discussions–but we did it anyway. Read on for our top five takeaways:
1. The Future of Sustainability is Through Collaboration
The majority of the sessions we attended focused on how companies are recognizing the benefits of building sustainability into their broader business strategy. But, in reality, we need to think in collaborative groups and address common problems and tackle them together. No one–person or organization–can do it alone. We’ve found this is true in the collaborative groups we lead–BIER, HPRC, EHSxTech, and EHSxRetail–where we bring clients within the same industry together to share best practices and discuss the common concerns that keep them up at night.
2. The Passion Is There, But Staff and Budget Aren’t
People want to make a difference, but they may not have as much staff or budget as they need. The passion is there, but time and money seem to be the limiting factors. It’s not just having to do more with less, it’s having to do more with almost no resources. How do you get your EHS&S needs addressed or your program running when you have no staff and/or very little budget? Find out maximize your partnership with an EHS consultant to get the most value for your dollar.
3. Successfully Leading a Multi-Generational Workforce is a Challenge
Leadership was a key topic and every discussion centered around working with millennials–and other generations–and their associated work ethic. How are we managing the different generations and how they’re doing their jobs? Another aspect of this change is that new leaders are stepping into roles and are realizing there may not have been a succession plan in place, leaving organizations open to instability. Everyone is struggling with leadership and how to be a successful leader across a multi-generational workforce. It seems the solution is transparency: be upfront with information, whether it’s having a crucial conversation about quality or work ethic or setting clear accountability expectations–for both the individual and the organization. Antea Group’s Quality Initiative and Assignment Giving process ensure teams and personnel are clear on assignments and sets the expectation on quality, and we are passionate about creating efficiencies in our workforce. Get more tips on attracting and retaining talent through strong EHS and effective leadership.
4. How Do We Compare?
Benchmarking and metrics–comparing how organizations and colleagues are doing compared to each other, sharing best practices, and setting a benchmark can be critical for an organization’s success. It’s a great barometer to guide organizations in their long-term planning or for correcting short-term issues. The big question; “Do you perform benchmarking internally, or rely on the support of a third-party consultant?” Having an independent, unbiased eye can make all the difference. Discover three opportunities you might be missing out on to maximize your sustainability initiative ROI and keep up with the competition.
5. How to Integrate Your Consultants
With organizations adding or removing headcount, increasing their EHS management staff, or looking for consultants to expand their in-house team the in-sourcing trend may continue to increase. An organization may bring on an external team to work on a large project but not keep them on for full-time work. The demand for consultants to be more integrated with the organization's programs and operations seems to be the way things are headed. For this to happen successfully, companies need a partner the can trust to provide the right resources that will support your culture. At Antea Group, we are always working to make the world a more clean, safe, and sustainable place, and our core values reflect that commitment. If you partner with us, you know you're working with a group of people dedicated to living our values.
The over-arching message seems to focus on more collaborative efforts if we want to continue as a planet, organization, or even as individual people.
We’d also like to congratulate the winners of NAEM’s 2018 Excellence Award Winners: Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, Wayne Balta from IBM; and NexGen Leader awards recipients Budd Batchelder (Comcast Cable), Lesley Clarke (Walker Industries), Janet Evans (CF Industries), Drena Howard (The Estée Lauder Companies), Max Rutz (Delta Global Services), and Rachel Warman (Schneider Electric). Well done, ladies and gentlemen, well done!
All in all, the 2018 NAEM EHS&S Management Forum was a rousing success and we look forward to being an integral part of it in 2019. See you in Toronto, eh?
