What is EHS?
EHS is an acronym for Environment Health and Safety. In business, EHS is the discipline of limiting or reducing a company’s operational impact to the environment and protecting the health and well being of a company’s employees, service providers, occupants and the community..
What is the Role of EHS?
The role of EHS is to ensure companies operate in compliance with the applicable environmental and occupational health and safety regulations. Beyond compliance, EHS also concerns itself with the promotion of an environmentally responsible corporate culture and the creation of a workplace that values safety and worker well being.
Why is Environmental Health and Safety Important?
Business activities can damage the natural environment and can also put human health and wellbeing at risk. The discipline of EHS looks for economic ways to limit or reduce a company’s impact on the environment and ensure that adequate training and protective measures are in place so employees are not exposed to harmful chemicals or activities.
From an investment perspective, non-financial metrics related to EHS, ESG and governance have gained significantly more importance as indicators of sustainable companies capable of navigating climate change, business risks, market risks and social change. Companies displaying these attributes are more likely to attract investment capital, while also attracting and retaining talented resources.
The Objectives of Environmental Health and Safety Programs
Environmental programs consist of policies and procedures that minimize the potential for a company’s operations to adversely impact the environment. This can include making sure chemicals are properly stored so they don’t spill and looking for safe alternatives to hazardous materials.
Health and Safety programs protect worker safety by:
- Identifying workplace hazards.
- Taking steps to reduce accidents, injury and damage.
- Limiting exposure to harmful substances or situations.
- Training employees on proper use of protective equipment and to ensure they respond safely to emergencies when they happen.
The difference between EHS, HSE, OHS, SAE
There is essentially no difference between EHS, HSE, EOHS, SAE.
EHS is Environment, Health and Safety.
HSE is Health, Safety and Environment
EOHS is Environment and Occupational Health and Safety
SAE is Safety and Environment.
Each of the above acronyms describe the same discipline of protecting the environment and human health and safety.
The Importance of Environmental Health and Safety in Real Estate
From an environmental standpoint, EHS programs ensure that the operations at the site do not impact the environmental quality of the property. This includes issues like preventing spills that could impact the soil and groundwater quality at the site, which in turn can degrade the value of the property, as cleanup of soil and groundwater contamination can be very expensive.
Health and Safety in real estate is important to ensure that employees, service providers, tenants and visiting customers enjoy a secure experience when they work at or visit a property.