Managing the extensive list of environmental, health and safety regulations that manufacturers must comply with is a daunting task according to AMR analyst Simon Jacobson. In a recent article he examines compliance issues.
Simon starts with a list of regulations: Reduction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS), Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), ISO 14001, EPA Clean Air Act Title V, EPA Clean Water Act, EU Emission Trading Scheme (ETS), US SARA 313 and Canadian NPRI Reporting, Health & Safety Management (OHSA 18001, COSHH), Social Accountability (SA 8000), Risk Management (AS/NZS 4360) and Information Security (BS/ ISO 17799). Additionally companies must spell out conformance in sustainability reporting.
Consequently, companies incur increased costs as in the example of the chemical industry which spends as much as 3.4% of total revenue on environmental health and safety complaince according to the American Chemical Council.
Regarding manufacturing operations, companies have to consider compliance aspects across equipment, processes, employees, storage and distribution methods. To achieve this requires "tracking levels of emissions and waste created during the full spectrum of operations throughout the entire lifecycle of their products and facilities, from R&D through transportation to customers -- and increasingly to end of life and disposal," explains Simon.
Manufacturers are turning to software applications to handle compliance. According to AMR Research's report, "Spending in an Age of Compliance," nearly 40% of firms surveyed plan to address EH&S [environmental health and safety] compliance in their software spending this year. "While still not the lead line item in the overall compliance budget, it's certainly a much higher priority than ever before," the report said.
To view the article, which is part of a series, click here.
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