Feeling like your world of health, safety and environment just got a whole lot bigger? You’re not alone. Whilst your role might once have been focused on keeping people safe and getting them home in once piece has now expanded to embrace the wider remit of Environmental, Social and Governance requirements and this move from the world of HSE to ESG can feel a little bit daunting, if not outright overwhelming.
You’ve still got to keep an eye on the risk assessments and compliance issues but you’ve also got carbon footprints, supply chain ethics and stakeholder engagement to add to the to do list.
Here's the good news
Whilst there may be new topics and concepts that you’re dealing with, these are not a complete departure from what you know and your core skills of risk management, compliance and looking out for people are skills that are absolutely essential for a strong ESG strategy.
The link between HSE and ESG
You may well have been doing ESG all along without even realising. When we think about the E of ESG we are looking at both the tactical environmental elements such as dealing with the fall out from environmental incident but also the strategic environmental elements such as making sure that we include sustainability in our decision making which might be as simple as thinking about the recycling of PPE.
The welfare of staff is written into law as a duty for employers and the social elements of ESG do align here. Looking at the wholistic welfare and wellbeing of those people who work for you or who are impacted by your activities is all part of the social element of ESG.
And finally, good health and safety is founded on transparency in the way you operate, good contractual relationships and agreements with suppliers and clear and concise record keeping – all elements of good governance.
OK, so now you want to do more ESG…
Well, the good news here is that you can start small. This is the most effective way of increasing your activities to cover ESG without overhauling your entire system overnight.
Think about areas where your existing HSE efforts already overlap with ESG. For example:
· Waste Management: Are you tracking waste more efficiently? That's an "E" win!
· Employee Wellbeing: Beyond physical safety, are you addressing mental health or promoting diversity? That's a huge "S"!
· Incident Reporting: Robust reporting systems (an H&S staple) provide invaluable data for "G" in terms of transparency and risk management.
Even small steps can make a big difference and build momentum. Identify one or two areas where you can leverage your current H&S strengths to address an ESG element. Perhaps it's formalising your approach to employee wellbeing, or digging deeper into your waste reduction initiatives. Every little bit counts, and you'll be surprised how quickly these small wins add up.
