Reduce waste ......................................................................................
Unless your environmental health and safety risk assessment process has
accounted for the ways your business treats and manages waste, you still
have work to do. An optimum program centralizes waste management such
that the master data for the by-products of your business processes are
clearly visible, ready to answer any logistics, service management, reporting,
and compliance concerns that may arise. This master data includes details
on waste approval and disposal sites as well as all waste tracking documents,
including waste manifests, consignment notes, transport notes, and data
from any biohazard detection systems (BDSs) that may be in place.
Are your storage, disposal, and treatment facilities on- or offsite? Do you
know exactly how much waste you generate, along with when and where it
comes from? Have you reckoned your costs according to areas and types of
waste? If you have satisfactorily asked and answered questions like these, it
is probable that your waste management program is in good hands. If not,
it’s important you consider making some changes.
Deal with hazardous substances ......................................................
Managing the hazardous waste bugaboo so that these substances don’t sneak
into places where they aren’t wanted should be one of your greatest concerns.
Establishing an efficient hazardous substances management system entails
targeting the ways and means by which your company uses hazardous sub-
stances in its daily business. This, in turn, requires instituting documented
ways to handle, store, transport, and dispose of them safely, and to track
them systematically. For a more complete discussion of this subject, please
see Chapter 12.
Like hazardous substances, your dangerous goods must be kept under strict
observation at all times. This subject, too, will be thoroughly discussed in
Chapter 12.
Optimize occupational health ..........................................................
A program that enables you to successfully prevent occupational illness and
injury includes creating a health center with qualified staff able to access
vital information on demand, health surveillance protocols appropriate to
each employee’s personal exposure situation, available physicians, and qual-
ity first-aid training. For a complete discussion of the subject, please see
Chapter 10.
210 Part III: Going Green
