Environment, Health and Safety

China's Guangdong province helped spur the nation's economic miracle and remains a powerful engine of growth, generating 11 percent of the nation's gross domestic product. At the same time, the province faces frequent energy shortages and deteriorating environmental conditions.

The Chinese government has set ambitious 2010 environmental, health and safety targets as well as standards for energy use and intensity. However, due to the large number of factories, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, the province's compliance with these regulations lags that of other regions presenting a compliance challenge for multinational supply chains.

The Environment, Health and Safety Academy

In order to help boost compliance, ISC launched an Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) Academy that will expand the pool of qualified EHS managers serving factories in Guangdong Province and South China. Located at Lingnan (University) College in Guangzhou, the Academy marks the first time that Chinese and U.S. experts from major brands have joined together to create a world-class, independent, Chinese-owned and Chinese-staffed EHS training center.

Through affordable and convenient training sessions, managers are learning to apply international best practices in EHS management; enabling their companies to increase compliance with Chinese standards; decrease workflow interruptions due to injury; lower energy consumption; and reduce greenhouse gas and other harmful emissions. These initiatives help companies improve worker performance and product quality, lower operating costs, decrease the risk of fines, and provide a competitive advantage in the global marketplace as well as decrease overall enterprise risk.

In 2009 the Guangdong Bureau of Labor and Social Security officially endorsed the Academy and is working with Academy experts to develop China's professional, government sanctioned EHS certification protocols. The EHS Academy has trained several hundred managers and aims to certify several thousand managers in its first three years of operation, ensuring that the Academy will serve as a vital source of EHS leadership and expertise in South China for years to come.

The objective of the Academy is to build the capacity of Chinese practitioners to meet and exceed the international standards demanded by multinational brands and contribute to the development of future standards. A core group of highly qualified Chinese and international master trainers oversee continual curriculum development, in-step with Chinese EHS regulatory policy as well as mentoring Academy instructors.

The Academy offers an affordable, flexible courses in three successive tiers of complexity. The curriculum is organized into modules 2-4 days in length to accommodate the schedules and demands of working managers. Core courses include:

• Intro: EHS as Management System
• Regulatory Compliance
• Hazard Recognition and Risk Assessment
• Job Safety Analysis
• Clean Production
• EHS Inspections & Audits
• Incident Investigation and Root Cause Analysis
• Business and Climate Change
• Management of Change and Preventive Maintenance
• Project Management for Solving EHS Issues
• Making the Business Case for Good EHS Practice

Course fees are highly competitive, ranging in cost from RMB400 to RMB2000 depending on length and composition. Beginning in September, 2009, the Academy will offer all of the above courses on a rolling basis. For further information or to register for courses, visit www.ehsacademy.org, or send emails to ehsa@iscchina.org or admin@ehsacademy.org for more information.

ISC is actively seeking brand partnerships to further enhance the robust curriculum and potentially expand the demonstrated success of the EHS Academy concept to new regions and industries. For information on how your organization can play a role in future development please contact Matthew DeGroot at mdegroot@iscvt.org.