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Leveraging Technology to Manage EHS & Sustainability Performance in a Post Pandemic World

March 2, 2021

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Leveraging Technology to Manage EHS & Sustainability Performance in a Post Pandemic World

Today’s EHS and Sustainability leaders face the challenge of fostering a culture led by awareness and shared accountability in the workplace. In a digital first world where almost every other function is tech led, investments in data management functions have increased. The availability of software is great to map performance data and integrate a digitized view across the enterprise. However, making this shift can often be overwhelming, without the correct guidance. 

Treeni Sustainability Solutions conducted a webinar on Leveraging Technology to Manage EHS & Sustainability Performance in a Post Pandemic Worldon 18th February, 2021. With over a hundred years of cumulative experience, the esteemed panel of speakers consisted of  Mahesh Chandak (EHS Head, Bayer), V.C. Mohan (General Manager EHS, Bosch) and Mukul Kumar (VP & Global Head of EHS and Sustainability, Tata Communications). The discussion was moderated by Abhijit Rajput, Technical Director of Environmental Resource Management (ERM). 

The key takeaways from the webinar were as follows:

  1. The role of technology in an enterprise’s EHS response in the Covid 19 era : While Covid 19 presented business leaders with multiple uncertainties and had almost entire organisations change their ways of functioning, one risk was greater than any other, and that was maintaining the health and well being of internal employees and teams. Tech has played a huge role in ensuring that companies operating at scale could get back to restarting operations seamlessly. We have seen a renewed focus on agile governance, internal app development and mobile first connectivity. Digital wellness programs to build team motivation and morale have also become common. Tools like Microsoft teams and other cloud based applications are paving the road for a connected enterprise in a post pandemic world to minimise the risk of contracting the disease.

“Stringent measures for employee safety have been undertaken at every office, and over the last year, technology has been a saviour for us. We are actively conducting eye scans and temperature scans of all who are present at the factories, and getting health declarations uploaded on our internet. Through our in house cloud based apps, we are also able to track the primary and secondary contacts of our workforce, and connect this to our digital dashboard that tracks Covid response in real time.” – V C Mohan

  1. Challenges with technology adoption for EHS during the Covid era: Most businesses have realised that focusing on the physical and mental wellness of their employees is topmost priority right now, EHS has still not come to the forefront of their operations. This is the first challenges sustainability experts face today, but the most critical one that has been observed is the lack of a digital culture that hampers adoption. Rigid regulations and company policies that are age old do not do much to help. Covid 19 has also posed serious budgetary restrictions and lack of investor interest for SMBs especially. Keeping all these in mind, making sure that the right technology is available for businesses is hard, and this is where the need to bring experts on board comes into play. 

We are in a phase of transition right now, and tech is surely going to take the lead for ensuring business growth and scalability. In the age of Industry 4.0, we cannot miss the bus when it comes to integrating intelligent technology within traditional business processes. Moreover, we need to view our products and services with a sustainability lens, in order to build a truly future ready enterprise.”  – Mukul Kumar

  1. Factors to consider while creating a tech based sustainability and EHS strategy: In a poll conducted during the webinar, 43% of the audience members said they were at mid-senior level positions in the sustainability sector, and responsible for integrating tech within pre-existing business models .  When we think of the role that technology plays in this regard, its main purpose is to ensure quick, efficient processes for sustainability managers. But the important question to ask is – who is your audience that will benefit from your sustainability strategy? We also need to keep the leaders in account, who are often primary stakeholders in this entire scenario. If the proposed tech solutions can give rapid, actionable insights to these leaders, bring it in. We also need to focus on creating simple and easy to use reporting measures for the employee, especially for a young workforce in India, who are one of the most tech savvy generations to be working right now. Projects that are driven by these tech first youngsters go a long way, especially if they are linked with a human touch and incentivisation! 

    Sharing the right data with the right people at the right time can work wonders for your business, and act as the anchor of your sustainability strategy. It not only helps monitor the overall success easily, but also builds an effective connect with the organisational leaders. And of course, the most important consideration to be taken into account is if you’re designing effective, emotion enabled technology solutions for your employees. With a young workforce, this becomes crucial to enable”.  – Mahesh Chandak

  2. Best uses and forward looking strategies based on sustainability data: In order to create future first sustainability strategies on the backs of EHS, the end goal matters the most. It is this goal that fuels culture change and the business’s outlook towards internal teams. Hence, first and foremost this needs to be set keeping the overarching objectives in mind. Alongside this, leaders need to ensure that all sustainability related data is being made available across teams for easy access. In terms of the best practices to follow, there are 5 key elements  that make all the difference between a successful EHS strategy and one that be forgotten:
  • Effective measurement metrics to track data in real time
  • Easy to understand and implement policies at the business end
  • Effective training mechanisms for the team, including e-learning, VR based and classroom trainings that focus on the steps and consequences of EHS initiatives
  • Proper leadership commitment to ensure that EHS initiatives are up and running business wide 
  • Creating an appetite for the data at all business hierarchies, and mapping this with team accountability

Over the last few months, we have seen the rising business case for sustainability and EHS. We are in a time where every change counts, and tech can be the greatest enabler of this transformation for the better. But tech alone will not be able to achieve this – we committed leaders from thriving businesses to take this responsibility. There is no cause for complacency. Together with the correct mix of data and its analysis, there is tremendous positive scope for us to grow efficiently in a post pandemic world.” – Abhijit Rajput

Given the current scenario and the fact that businesses are now moving to a phase of growth and recovery, EHS becomes a crucial business function to manage. Integrated responsible practices with EHS practices also reflects a business’s overall approach towards sustainability. Every simple step counts!

To view the complete webinar, click here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqsziHoxDGU


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