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Environmental Business Review | Tuesday, August 08, 2023
COVID-19 sent worldwide shockwaves two years ago, forever altering society's functions. This worldwide disturbance affected not only the environment but also millions of lives.
Fremont, CA: COVID-19 sent shockwaves two years ago, forever altering how society functions. This worldwide disturbance affected not only the environment but also millions of lives. The National Center for Biotechnology Information claims COVID-19 significantly halted social and commercial activity. Air quality has improved in numerous cities, and water pollution has decreased globally due to the slowing of these activities.
Due to these encouraging developments, the government's response to the current climate catastrophe has expanded compliance imperatives during the past few years, pressing and enforcing businesses to comply with environmental laws and regulations.
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The following are three ways that the pandemic permanently altered environmental compliance:
Digital Services
The COVID-19 initiative has hastened the digital transformation of numerous businesses and increased demand for digital solutions. Digital technologies are essential and valuable for performing activities like storing patient records or tracking customer data remotely across scattered operations, which industries like healthcare and warehousing have long known. The environmental compliance sector, however, needs to catch up to other industries in adopting digital tools.
Environmental compliance programs have finally realized the need to adapt and develop digitalized solutions to manage compliance data and reporting as other industries have switched to digital.
New Mentality
Beyond simply integrating cutting-edge technologies, digital transformation for environmental compliance and EHS operations goes beyond that. Instead, "going digital" is about utilizing automation, agility, cleverer ways of thinking, and overcoming challenges. The perspective of how things have "always been done" has changed with the pace of digital transformation, according to COVID-19, to one of "how it can be done better." Due to this wave of change, EHS professionals have moved away from the status quo, which includes spreadsheets and other manual processes.
By adopting a new perspective, businesses can more successfully transfer institutional knowledge, simplifying essential information without running the risk of human error, which is responsible for between 70 and 100% of occurrences that lead to non-compliance. EHS executives are more aware of new ideas and are more prepared to adopt them and invest in technologies that will help them streamline and enhance their operations in the long run.
Occupational Safety
Every industry has made public health a key concern over the last two years, which has prompted businesses and OSHA to increase their safety rules in line with COVID-19 guidelines. The maximum fines for businesses that violate these rules are $13,494 per violation. Medical waste has increased as safety procedures, such as social seclusion and personal protective equipment (PPE), have become standard practices.
Although COVID-19 has intensified the PPE issue, it has always been difficult to dispose of plastics. Regulators and organizations now have new PPE disposal programs and rules to oversee efforts. The global pandemic caused significant changes in practically all industries, but it also increased awareness of the environment and how we are constantly affecting it. New technologies and thinking methods will continue to develop as the economic and regulatory environment changes.
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