Month: August 2024

Sometimes, you need an extra set of hands to get work done. But, what if you can’t add to your headcount? For numerous reasons, our clients find they can’t always hire the environmental, health, safety, and sustainability (EHS&S) professional they might need. Antea Group offers an easy EHS Staffing Solution for situations like this. This temporary staffing solution, also known as Resources-as-a-Service (RaaS), was introduced in 2020. What sets this solution apart is that it’s flexible, tailored to our client’s needs, and it meets the client where they are.

RaaS matches our clients with Antea Group personnel that have the technical skills and knowledge needed for many projects, while also ensuring they’re a good fit for the culture of the organization. With this solution, you can temporarily hire a variety of professionals, from entry-level to seasoned experts.

Flexibility is the key here. So, whether you need full-time assistance for a few months, just a few hours with an EHS professional a month, one individual, or a whole team, we work to ensure you have the right Antea Group employee(s) ready to go. Atir Chak, who has completed a RaaS assignment, shares his experience.

My name is Atir Chak. As a Senior Project Manager for Anti Group, I’ve managed multiple project portfolios, internal company initiatives and resources.

A few years ago, I was introduced to a RaaS opportunity with a petroleum client of ours that was looking for a program manager for their environmental liabilities related to their midstream and downstream assets, which included pipeline facilities, retail petroleum stations, bulk fuel plants, and refineries.

What did the day-to-day experience look like?

My day-to-day experience in the RaaS assignment for the petroleum client was primarily working closely with our client senior leadership and internal teams and the selected environmental consultant to manage strategy direction for the entire portfolio. Safety management was a big part of it, financial management, reserve forecasting, as well as any stakeholder, legal, contractual issues that would arise.

What did you enjoy most about the experience?

What I enjoy most about the RaaS experience is being on the client side of the organization was a very refreshing change in my career as opposed to the traditional consulting.

In addition, the direct interaction with various different departments of the client organization was definitely a plus, getting to see how they work internally and getting facetime with some of the leadership was definitely a growth experience and learning for me. Finally, I think the autonomy and freedom to focus in on the actual portfolio work with minimal administrative responsibilities was definitely a key to the enjoyable experience for me.

How do you think it benefited the client you worked for?

I think this Ras arrangement benefited the client in a number of ways. One was they had an immediate need for an experienced program manager, and you know they were able to fill that role with a knowledgeable, qualified professional with the skills and expertise that fit the role right away. It also eliminates the client’s HR responsibilities related to hiring, training, and getting somebody up to speed.

All in all, I think the RaaS arrangement benefited the client and Antea Group and myself in my professional career. So, I would say it’s a win, win for all.

Are you Considering a temporary EHS Staffing Solution?

As EHS&S consultants, our expertise lies in understanding your resource requirements and ensuring that the RaaS resources we recommend are tailored to your specific needs. Through our partnership with the Inogen Alliance, we have the capability to provide RaaS services either locally or globally, precisely where and when you require them. To learn more, contact us today!

Careers with Antea Group

RaaS positions not only address our clients’ staffing requirements but also offer valuable opportunities for Antea Group employees to enhance their skills and broaden their experiences. To hear other Antea Group employee testimonials about RaaS assignments, listen to Jill Hauck here and Michael Zhou here.

If you’re interested in pursuing a career in EHS&S and aspire to gain hands-on experience with Antea Group while potentially filling RaaS roles for diverse clients, explore our careers page for more information.

Providers of public utilities and services who secure high-quality drinking water or provide access to reliable energy sources have a direct link to the communities they serve. However, for many of these organizations, delivering these vital resources is more than just a business operation—it’s a commitment to ensuring the well-being of communities and preserving the surrounding environment. By making the region more attractive and sustaining the performance of local businesses, these companies play a crucial role in shaping the future of the areas they serve.

Organizations and companies operating in the environmental sector have a unique opportunity to engage with local communities and contribute to ecological preservation efforts. Community events and initiatives focused on environmental protection serve as platforms for these organizations to connect with residents, share knowledge and inspire sustainable practices.

Community engagement initiatives have traditionally been viewed by many companies as one-off events or passive activities, such as participating in an annual Earth Day cleanup or supporting a local non-profit organization. However, to truly drive meaningful and lasting impact, businesses must rethink their approach to community engagement and integrate it as a core part of their strategy and values for long-term growth.

In this blog post, we’ll explore ways to collaborate directly with your community so that your business can demonstrate its commitment through action, creating a positive ripple effect that extends far beyond individual initiatives. By actively engaging with and supporting your community, you not only contribute to its well-being but also foster a sense of trust and goodwill towards your business.

Elected officials, appointed leaders and volunteers provide a clear understanding of what a community needs. By taking the time to foster relationships with these leaders, you can ensure your company is a reliable and trustworthy partner in the community you serve. Here are a few ways to do this:

Building Strong Relationships with Community Leaders

Elected officials, appointed leaders and volunteers provide a clear understanding of what a community needs. By taking the time to foster relationships with these leaders, you can ensure your company is a reliable and trustworthy partner in the community you serve. Here are a few ways to do this:

1. Actively collaborate with community groups

Direct input from your community is invaluable. By taking the time to collaborate with diverse and representative local groups, you can ensure your business’ solutions are tailored to the specific needs and concerns of your community.

For example, tapping into the expertise of partner organizations helps you collaborate on a forward thinking strategy to support the community. They can provide proven success examples that demonstrate how they have benefited the surrounding community and share any challenges or pain points where your company could provide the additional support.

You can also seek opportunities to partner with a local non-profit to support their mission, like helping organize a community clean up event or nature walk, and use those opportunities to learn more about the communities you serve.

2. Be transparent

Transparent communication is key to maintaining a relationship with the public. Keep community members informed about projects, goals and potential impacts, fostering a clear understanding of your activities and benefits to the community. An easy way to do this is through maintaining an active relationship with local media—don’t save your communications strategy just for times of crisis, but instead provide regular updates and interviews to trusted reporters on a regular basis.

Consider Your Impact on the Environment

Recognizing the growing tension surrounding resource availability, companies that draw from the local environment should consider how their operations impact the area and actively seek opportunities to reuse or recycle resources. This strategy also helps to support the overall quality of life in a community, as it assures more resources are available to residents without disrupting the progress of your business.

1. Take only what you need

Whatever resources you require for your business, be sure to extract only what is strictly necessary, using proven methods and protecting the balance of ecosystems. Through these measures, you can minimize downstream impact, guaranteeing the availability of resources for future generations.

2. Embrace a circular economy model

By significantly extending the life span and usage value of extracted resources through recycling and waste recovery, you can lower your impact on the local environment.

3. Identify opportunities to support biodiversity

Assess areas where you could develop solutions to preserve local biodiversity. For example, you may have fields surrounding your facility that could support local wildflowers—by cultivating this area, you can create a space for local pollinators to thrive.

Resource the Next Generation

Community engagement strategies need to address immediate needs as well as consider the well-being of the community for future generations. This includes supporting education and workforce development in a community, so that the next generation can continue the work you started.

For example, creating internship opportunities with your company or programs that empower young students to explore careers in STEM can provide a closer look at what they could do for a career. Offering tours of your facilities for grade school students also opens the door to introduce students to your company and how they could pursue a career in the same field.

Finally, It’s important to provide consistent training and continued learning for professionals in your field. Developing workforce development programs helps strengthen the overall workforce while committing to the future of individuals looking to advance their skillsets.

At Henkel, water plays an important role along our value chain and we believe that conservation and stewardship is a key sustainability initiative. We use water as a part of our production processes and as an ingredient in our products, and naturally, many of our products require water during the use phase. For this reason, reducing water usage and maintaining water quality during the production and use of our products is important for us.

In celebration of Water Quality Month this August, read on for four ways that Henkel North America and our brands preserve and prioritize water and water quality.

1. Technological Improvements Save Water in Cannon Falls, MN

The Adhesive Technologies business unit’s production site in Cannon Falls, MN launched a cooling system that saves an estimated 4.7 million gallons of water per year. This project replaced individual chiller units – which require fresh water to pass through for use and be sent to the sanitary sewer – with a central, closed-loop circulating system of water and glycol mixture that meets the facility’s needs. Since the project’s completion, water and wastewater discharge from this facility has decreased by 95%, aligning with Henkel’s commitment to reduce natural resource and energy consumption and improve quality.

2. Water Reclamation Has Strong Quality Impact in Warren, MI

A water reclamation project at the Adhesive Technologies production facility in Warren, MI allows the integration of previously unused water from the region’s Reverse Osmosis filtration process into the plant’s water stream, while maintaining commitments to quality and meeting customer expectations. It allows for the capture and reuse of around 1.4 million gallons of usable rejected water from the treatment process per year, eliminating it from storm drains. The water necessary for Henkel’s production was previously drawn from municipal water sources, meaning that this project has resulted in a 40% reduction in water consumption per year. The design also digitalizes the connection of the new units to a central control system, allowing online monitoring of the energy consumption and water flows visible at various locations in the plant, contributing to the improvement of overall efficiency in the process.

3. Community Impact Projects Preserve North America’s Watersheds

Henkel believes that in addition to improving the quality and usage of water in our own production, it is important to contribute to the water quality and safety of the watersheds in the communities where we operate. For example, a group of over 400 employees participated in the ‘Suits on the Sand’ program at Dockweiler Beach in the Los Angeles area, in partnership with Heal the Bay, an organization that facilitates beach cleanups, educational programs, and more. The group picked up 329 pounds of trash in an effort to safeguard the local marine environment, preserve biodiversity, and raise awareness about the importance of environmental conservation. Henkel also made a donation of $10,000 to Heal the Bay to further aid in their mission of protecting the Los Angeles watershed.

4. Formulations Help Consumers Improve Water Quality at Home

We are committed to ensuring that our consumer products do not cause any microplastics to enter the environment. Microplastics are synthetic polymer microparticles (SPMs) that are solid, insoluble, and non-biodegradable, and that are five millimeters or smaller. These can enter rivers and oceans via wastewater and accumulate there permanently, which can have detrimental effects to water quality and safety. Several years ago, Henkel stopped using microbeads in cosmetics, detergents and cleaning products in an effort to preserve water quality on behalf of partners, customers, and consumers who use our products.

Water is a key resource for the planet, and it is important to recognize and act on changes to formulation, production, or community initiatives that can have a widespread impact on its quality, safety, and availability. Henkel is committed to continuing to seek ways to play a positive role along with our partners, customers, consumers, and local communities.

For further details on the above initiatives or Henkel’s Sustainability 2030+ Framework, please visit our Sustainability Reports from 2022 and 2023.

Originally published in Hershey’s 2023 ESG Report

Hershey believes passionately in supporting youth development to ensure that young people have the skills they need to succeed in all aspects of life.

We were proud to deepen our support for youth development programs through two social impact campaigns. Together with our nonprofit partners, we found new ways to create authentic and meaningful collaborations that allowed the talent and unique contributions of young people to shine through.

Empowering Young Women

Beyond our collaboration with Girl Up and Girls on the Run for the Future CEO program launch on International Women’s Day, we supported them by:

Sponsoring and showing up for Girls on the Run 5K races in five communities across the U.S.Providing 11 Hershey employees to serve as mentors for Girl Up’s first-ever alumnae mentorship program, an intensive three-month initiative

Celebrating Creativity

Hershey continued its partnership with Memphis Music Initiative (MMI), as part of KIT KAT®’s Black Music Month campaign. The campaign expanded its geographic focus to include partnerships with five additional creative youth development nonprofits in cities across the U.S.

The campaign:

Celebrated the next generation of Black creatives 105Connected participating organizations, staff and young people to build relationships and learn from one anotherConvened young people from each organization to join a national youth advisory council that met regularly with Hershey employees to advise on the campaign, packaging design and amplification strategyShared insights from Hershey employees on careers and how to plan and execute creative marketing campaigns

The participating organizations were:

Memphis Music Initiative of Memphis, TennesseeWe Are Culture Creators of Detroit, MichiganDC Strings of Washington, DCUrban Word of New York, New YorkThe Harmony Project of Los Angeles, CaliforniaTrombone Shorty Foundation of New Orleans, Louisiana

“The young people were deeply impacted… It’s hard to capture the singular experience of a young person seeing something they contributed to making in the public eye. For them to go into a store and find a product that was informed by their feedback and feature young people that look like them — is a powerful moment of representation.”

Kathy Lindenmayer, Director of Development,

Memphis Music Initiative

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