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Environmental Compliance Training 101 for Manufacturers

Posted by Kara Humes on Monday, November 20, 2023

What to include and how to do it.

How does your team learn the overall concepts of your environmental program, including permits, approvals, and requirements, how they relate to your operations, and what needs to be done to maintain compliance?

Almost every environmental permit or plan requires some level of environmental training. For example, SPCC plans require spill prevention and response training, and NPDES stormwater permits require stormwater training. However, environmental compliance training refers to a more holistic, higher-level approach. This training seeks to answer the following:

How do regulations impact your facility?
What benefits are derived from deeper and wider environmental compliance knowledge?
Who is impacted by the facility’s compliance with environmental regulations besides the individuals being trained?
How does environmental compliance fit into the company’s big-picture goals and mission?

What topics should you include in your training?

Hazardous Waste (RCRA)
Stormwater Pollution Prevention
Spill Prevention Control & Countermeasures (SPCC)
Risk Management Program (RMP)/Process Safety Management (PSM)
Air Quality
HazMat Transportation (DOT)
Environmental Management System (EMS)/ISO certification

When should you train? Who should train?

In addition to completing the routine training required by your plans and permits, training should be conducted when you make modifications to your facility or your operations, add new team members, or make any updates to your permits or plans. It is good practice to hold ongoing training on a quarterly or monthly basis. Another great idea to keep environmental awareness high is to include a short environmental highlight as a routine part of all or certain meetings, just as many organizations have a safety minute.

Every organization’s structure, resources, and complexity varies, but regardless, all training should be completed by an expert, whether that’s in-house or a consultant. If you are not certain about what you’re doing and presenting, then do not teach others. We’ve seen many different approaches to providing environmental compliance training succeed, from train the trainer to leading recurring on-site training, and everything in between.

Environmental compliance training is more than just checking a box. It is a chance to enhance employee engagement, to bring value and meaning to their work, and to build a deeper connection as you share and storytell. If you’re looking to get started, revamp, or take your environmental compliance training to the next level, please reach out - we’re happy to help in any way we can!