An EHS manager is responsible for assessing a company's workflow and determining what practices are necessary to keep employees safe on the job. The EHS manager, in conjunction with members of the senior management team, implements policies for the use of personal protective equipment. He or she also details procedures for potentially dangerous tasks, so that employees know how to do their jobs with the least risk of injury.
EHS managers conduct ongoing safety training for all employees and assure that new employees receive orientation and introductory training. These professionals are well versed in the requirements of the regulations that protect the health and safety of workers, and they know how to identify which regulations apply to a particular company or industry. EHS managers lead routine safety meetings to review new policies or procedures. These meetings give staff members the opportunity to share their observations of safety issues or to make suggestions for improvements. EHS managers also review posted safety information to be sure that it is up to date and accurate.
In the event of an employee injury, the EHS manager conducts an investigation of the incident. He or she reports his or her findings to the senior management on the cause of the injury and suggests how it can be prevented in the future. If the injury was caused by an unsafe act, the EHS manager might schedule retraining for the employees involved in order to reinforce proper safety procedures.
For industries where employees work in potentially hazardous environments such as mines and refineries, the EHS manager is responsible for the regular assessment of the work environment. Air quality, noise levels and sight hazards are subject to routine evaluation. The focus is on maintaining the health of employees. EHS managers who work in industries that handle hazardous materials instruct employees in safety and communication requirements and the proper handling, storage and disposal of hazardous materials.
For companies that store reportable quantities of hazardous materials, the EHS manager will maintain and update the company's plan for preventing spills and the actions that must be taken after a spill. He or she will assure that the proper cleanup supplies are kept on site and that employees have been trained to use them correctly. In transportation companies, EHS managers oversee the required training of employees who package, mark, label and ship hazardous materials or hazardous waste. They ensure the proper completion, distribution and retention of hazardous materials or hazardous waste shipping documents.
If a company discharges exhaust gas or liquids, the EHS manager will oversee testing to confirm that discharges are within the appropriate limits. These limits are based on the company's discharge permit. Ensuring compliance with these limits usually requires sampling and testing on an ongoing or periodic basis.
Companies that aspire to be better environmental stewards invest in strong environmental, health and safety management, otherwise known as EHS. From an environmental standpoint, it involves creating a systematic approach to managing waste, complying with environmental regulations, or reducing the company’s carbon footprint. Successful EHS programs also include measures to address ergonomics, air quality, and other aspects of workplace safety that could affect the health and well-being of employees.
What does an Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) manager do?
Management-level environmental, health and safety, and sustainability leaders are the environmental stewards of the corporate world, working behind the scenes at many of the country's largest companies to comply with regulations, advocate for progressive environmental policies, and protect workers' safety.
Engineers or scientists by training, EHS Managers bring a highly specialized skill set to their work, marrying technical expertise with management skills to translate corporate policy into practice.
How does EHS relate to sustainability?
With the advent of sustainability, our members’ skills and experience are more important than ever. EHS leaders are increasingly responsible for designing and implementing strategies to take companies beyond compliance.
These initiatives involve tasks such as:
- Developing and leading a formal sustainability program
- Creating successful internal partnerships to integrate EHS values and practices across the business
- Communicating enterprise risks associated with environmental, health, or safety failures
- Establishing global corporate EHS standards and practices
- Publicly reporting progress on a full spectrum of EHS and sustainability initiatives
- Responding to stakeholder inquires about their company’s EHS and sustainability performance
- Working with supply chain
- Global auditing
- Ensuring safe and healthy workplaces around the world
What is the history of the EHS profession?
The corporate EHS function, which oversees environmental, health and safety compliance began to merge at the management level around 1990.
The first area is environmental management, which emerged as a profession in the 1970s, following the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other state-level regulatory systems. As companies began limiting waste to prevent pollution, they needed engineers to adapt scrubbers, filters, and other process changes to existing manufacturing systems. Workplace safety and occupational health also grew in importance during this time, with the passage of legislation such as the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970.
Over time, companies developed systematic way of complying with environmental, health and safety regulations. Corporations began tracking key measures and looking for ways to improve their performance. Then, in the 1990s, improvements in data technology management made it easier for an organization to analyze its operations. Around that time, corporations began to merge oversight for environmental, health and safety programs through a new management role called EHS. The newly appointed leaders, who began their careers in one of the three sub-disciplines, started to create systems to drive EHS progress across all operations.
Today, with the advent of sustainability, EHS professionals are leading corporate efforts toward sustainability. Building on their decades of experience, EHS leaders are striving to meet this challenge, creating systems to reduce energy use, conserve water, and better communicate with stakeholders. Indeed, a 2009 NAEM survey found that two-thirds of the sustainability initiatives at member companies are being led or managed by the EHS function.