Management of environmental health and safety at two United States-based multinationals: Drivers, decisions and systems

In the recent decade, the traditional compliance basis of environmental health and safety has been eclipsed by the rise of voluntary efforts and management systems that exist outside the regulatory locus. This qualitative work compares the tenets of the major environmental, health and safety management systems and determines that these systems do not completely represent the actual systems in use at two US based multinationals. In addition, as the influence of regulations has lessened, other external and internal contextual forces are noted to be the major drivers of environmental health and safety (EHS) management. External forces are related to image and public opinion of performance and the EHS connection to that image. Internal forces are the moral and ethical considerations that make a business determine its social effects. In one case study, external drivers are now connected to sector or industry based influences, and the EHS management system reflect this connection. In the other case study, that inhabits a sector that has largely not experienced external forces, the EHS management system reflects the internal values of the organization. The research finds that there are two central aspects of current EHS management systems: First, the level of action that a business pursues is demonstrative of the context the business confronts, and the decision to pursue EHS initiatives, particularly voluntary efforts, are driven by business needs. Second, the style of EHS management reflects its level of integration within the business, meaning that as EHS becomes a part of business operations, it reflects the needs of the business it supports. Finally, the research suggests that contextual forces need to be considered in the creation of future EHS structures, policies and actions.