Manage the risk of changing EHS regulations with better data

Manage the influx of new EHS requirements

Managing the sudden and increasing presence of new EHS regulations requires commitment, knowledge, and standardized effort across a company. 

Claus argues that your business must obtain holistic visibility of regulatory changes as and when they occur. Dedicated teams should be monitoring evolving sources that are applicable to your business and operations. 

Knowing who’s monitoring the changes, how they’re being evaluated for applicability, and where they’re being communicated across the organization is crucial to transforming your business strategy to manage regulations. 

So, how should businesses go about improving visibility, according to the experts? 

• Evaluate your company’s position. Establish a baseline for compliance based on what you don’t know. Find the gaps in your company’s knowledge 

• Equip your teams. To generate efficiency, make sure you identify who in your organization needs access to compliance data, and who’s responsible for communicating the information 

• Establish a global view. Ensure your compliance data is flexible, strategic, proactive, and forward-looking 

• Identify opportunities for efficiency. Evaluate which processes may be taking up more time and reallocate resources to match priorities, such as tracking EHS compliance or investing in strategic growth for more efficient functioning. Create a faster, centralized, harmonious system for all to know what’s coming down the regulatory pipeline 

• Transform your strategy. Once you can forecast changes, your business has more time to prepare. Invest in employees, and dedicate efforts to streamlining your process, Claus says.  

Adopt strategies for risk management

Risk management is more than just the present context: “a lot happens before and after you have identified risks”, Claus says. He describes the process of establishing an effective risk management cycle as follows: 

• Businesses create a risk management strategy 
• They evaluate what they’ll accept from a risk perspective, and those accepted risks are the ones embedded in the strategic approach 
• Teams put controls in place, which are monitored monthly, quarterly, or annually — depending on the type of business — to avoid legislative surprises 
• Businesses put mitigating measures in place to ensure the potential impact of the identified risk is reduced 
• The risk mitigation measures are transferred back into the strategic framework, and the cycle of evaluating risk begins again 

Without a streamlined strategy, businesses can face a number of non-compliance risks triggered by missing legal gaps, such as: 

• Incidents 
• Reputational damage to relationships with customers, investors, and stakeholders 
• Fines and penalties 
• Legal liabilities 
• Further increased and multiple risks that cannot be managed within the current structure

Know the benefits of risk management 

Risk management strategies enhance efficiency — and efficiency keeps businesses ahead of the curve. “Saving time saves costs”, Claus says, “and efficiency is all about cost-saving.” 

With a developed system of controlled and automated regulatory requirement data in place, like Enhesa, businesses can better protect their workers, communities, and the environment while improving organizational efficiencies, like:
 

Better Focus 

With Enhesa, businesses can focus solely on the information that matters, Claus said, whether that’s regional, functional, global, or local data. Legal requirements can be tailored to the most applicable concerns — automatically monitoring these as they change and receive updates and funneling out all the requirements that don’t apply. 

Improved Audits 

Businesses have the ability to create checklists from Enhesa EHS Intelligence that will inform their audit processes. They’ll benefit from forecasted warnings before regulatory developments come into force, offering invaluable time to correct and adapt their processes to meet compliance. These “forward-looking” audits, Claus says, significantly reduce the time burden on teams.

Horizon scanning 

For dedicated EHS team members, businesses can choose how far into the regulatory future they need to scan to stay on top of changing laws in any area where they operate. Businesses can then know exactly what’s coming, plan adaptations in advance, and audit based on upcoming changes. The same is true for other functional groups in the organization that need to stay ahead of regulatory changes, as Enhesa can be used by any role in the organization without increased license costs  

Controlled, easily accessible data 

When businesses utilize a streamlined strategy, they create a “common language of legal requirements” despite all the jurisdictional differences in the ways companies develop, document, organize, and publish their regulatory data Claus says. Regulations are transformed by Enhesa’s EHS regulatory experts into straightforward, clear, plain-language business requirements. This creates a standardized, harmonized view of all impactful legislation. Any role in the company can access data about the EHS requirements, compliance status, gaps, and actions that apply to the business.  

Sustainability advances 

Knowing what’s required, your company’s compliance status, and your process for improvement enables new advances in sustainability, reputation, and business growth.

Our team’s expertise provides clients with the time necessary to focus their attention on high-priority compliance activities and operations, with the assurance that complex regulations are being tracked, monitored, and delivered to the business, via the platform, as clear requirements data, both when they come into force and as new changes and developments emerge.  

“Global regulations are consistently climbing”, says Tamer, “so having a proactive approach gives you time to prepare and manage new risks and challenges.”
 

Enhesa EHS Intelligence solutions 

Enhesa’s EHS Intelligence solutions allow businesses to futureproof their compliance. With over 400 jurisdictions covered, more than 160 in-house legal experts, and 30+ local languages, our timely, proactive intelligence helps organizations identify and mitigate risks with strategic planning.
 

Regulatory Forecaster 

Our Regulatory Forecaster solution allows business to futureproof their compliance by anticipating upcoming requirements to adapt operations ahead of time. The solution shows businesses what’s coming up in the landscape of EHS regulations and how legislative developments may affect their company.  

This tool helps businesses: 

• Identify regulatory changes before they’re implemented 

• Understand how upcoming developments will impact your business and compliance 

• Respond to requirements proactively rather than reactively, reducing time and costs
   

Compliance Intelligence 

Our Compliance Intelligence solution ensures businesses mitigate compliance and financial risk by providing standardized visibility into changing global and local requirements. The solution allows companies to meet EHS sustainability requirements wherever they operate to identify and monitor changes. 

This tool helps businesses: 

• Obtain global visibility into the facilities and jurisdictions they operate in 

• Monitor regulatory changes in a standardized and centralized platform 

• Achieve insights into aligning site-level compliance with global, corporate requirements

Learn more about Regulatory Forecaster and Compliance Intelligence.