Five leadership approaches to sustainability There are five C-Suite personas when it comes to sustainability action, according to Rajeev Peshawaria, CEO of Stewardship Asia Center (SAC) Singapore, and Founder President of the Leadership Energy Consulting Company, Seattle WA. Steward Leaders: Fully understand what’s at stake, and strongly believe it is their responsibility to address the threats. Rather than customer or…
EPA strengthens new chemical safety reviews The EPA Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) announced on October 14, 2021, action to strengthen new chemical safety reviews. OCSPP’s New Chemicals Division (NCD) has engaged in a top-to-bottom effort to catalogue, prioritize, and improve its standard operating procedures (SOP), decision making, and recordkeeping practices related to review and management of new chemicals…
Wildfire smoke harms more people in the Eastern U.S. than West, study shows On July 20, a haze blanketed the sky across the eastern half of the United States. People from Washington to New York snapped pictures of the abnormal hues — only to learn that the cause originated from wildfires nearly 3,000 miles away. As large fires smolder in the…
OSHA issues 2021 Top 10 Most Frequently Cited Standards OSHA has announced its preliminary Top 10 most frequently cited workplace safety standards for fiscal year 2021. The Top 10 most frequently cited workplace safety standards for FY 2021 are: 1. Fall Protection – General Requirements (1926.501): 5,295 violations 2. Respiratory Protection (1910.134): 2,527 3. Ladders (1926.1053): 2,026 4. Scaffolding (1926.451):…
Cal/OSHA can issue citations for two new categories of violations A new law (SB 606) significantly expands the enforcement power of Cal/OSHA by creating two new violation categories: “enterprise-wide” violations and “egregious” violations. Enterprise-Wide Violation: This bill creates a rebuttable presumption that a violation committed by an employer with multiple worksites is “enterprise-wide” if Cal/OSHA determines that the employer has…
Global supply chains at risk of possible collapse? Global supply chains are at risk of collapse unless governments worldwide restore freedom of movement to transport workers and give them priority over vaccines, a coalition of international business leaders has warned. Workers such as seafarers, truck drivers, and airline workers have endured quarantines, travel restrictions and complex COVID-19 vaccination and testing requirements just…
EC begins targeted consultation on endocrine disruptors The European Commission (EC) is holding a targeted consultation on potential revisions to the Annexes to Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) to introduce information requirements to improve the identification of substances with endocrine disrupting potential. The EC has developed two different options that would amend the…
California lawmakers approve bill to ban toxic ‘forever chemicals’ in food packaging and straws The California State Legislature has approved Assembly Bill 1200, which would ban the toxic “forever chemicals” known as PFAS from paper, paperboard or plant-based food packaging, utensils and paper straws starting January 1, 2023. The bill cleared the state Assembly floor with a bipartisan and unanimous vote of 60-0,…
OSHA issues heat illness enforcement guidance On September 20, 2021, OSHA issued an updated heat illness enforcement initiative to guide the agency’s enforcement of heat illness inspections and to inform employers what is expected of them from a heat illness prevention standpoint. The initiative prioritizes inspections of work activities on days when the heat index exceeds 80℉, On these days, OSHA Area…
OSHA to issue ETS mandating vaccines at businesses with 100 or more workers President Joe Biden‘s call for an employer vaccine mandate has put short-staffed OSHA in a tight spot. The agency is to issue within weeks of the September White House announcement an emergency temporary standard that fulfills Biden’s directive for all companies with 100 or more workers to ensure employees are…