2019 EHS&S Management Forum Agenda
The 2019 EHS & Sustainability Management Forum is a four-day conference experience filled with educational programming, a robust exhibit hall, and targeted networking events.
View the educational program schedule-at-a-glance. Continue below for detailed agenda for the whole week.
Educational Sessions
Wednesday, October 16, 2019 |
8:30 a.m. - 9:45 a.m. (keynote) 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. 1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. 3:45 p.m. - 5:15 p.m.
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Thursday, October 17, 2019 |
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8:30 a.m. - 9:45 a.m. (keynote) 10:45 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. 4:00 p.m. - 5:15 p.m. (keynote) |
Exhibit Hall Hours
Wednesday, October 16, 2019 |
7:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m. 9:45 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. 3:00 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
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Thursday, October 17, 2019 |
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7:00 a.m. – 8:15 a.m. 9:45 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. |
Download the PDF agenda.
Tuesday, October 15, 2019
8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. |
NAEM Corporate Member Meeting -- Open to NAEM Corporate Members only. Click here for details. Please email mike@naem.org to RSVP. Contact john@naem.org to become a corporate member. |
8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. |
NAEM Affiliate Council Meeting -- Open to NAEM Affiliate Members only. Please email briana@naem.org to RSVP. |
9:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. |
For the past 50 years, the Toronto and Region Conservation Foundation (TRCF) has been protecting the environment, educating and engaging communities about the 16 miles of waterfront and nine watersheds protected by TRCF. EHS&S Management Forum attendees will participate in a cleanup along the shores of Ashbridge's Bay, a critical portion of the Toronto Waterfront habitat. Transportation and lunch will be provided. The project will happen rain or shine! Transportation leaves at 9:30 a.m.
Cost: $20 per person (includes lunch) Open to EHS&S corporate professionals and sponsors of the Day of Service only.
Sponsored by:
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12:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. |
Join your colleagues and professional peers for a golf scramble at the beautiful BraeBen Golf Course. Registration is required and transportation will be provided. Golf begins with a shotgun start. Clubs are available for rental.
Cost: $60 (includes lunch) Open to in-house EHS&S corporate professionals and Golf Event sponsors only!
Sponsored by:
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2:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. |
Registration Open Metro Foyer Avoid the lines. Register and pick up materials on Tuesday! |
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
7:00 a.m. - 5:15 p.m. |
Registration Open Metro Foyer |
7:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m. |
Breakfast in Exhibit Hall Metro Centre/West |
8:00 a.m. - 8:30 a.m. |
Opening Remarks |
8:30 a.m. - 9:45 a.m. |
Opening Keynote: How Climbing Mount Everest Helped Me to Be a Better EHS Leader Metro East As the first African American woman to successfully scale Mt. Everest, Sophia Danenberg's story is one of extraordinary discipline and determination. Not only did it test her endurance, but it also made her a better EHS leader. She will share her experiences with you and explain how she incorporated her lessons from the summit into her EHS strategy role.
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9:45 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. |
Networking Break in the Exhibit Hall Metro Centre/West |
10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. |
Concurrent Sessions |
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Track 1: |
Session 1: Leveraging the Best Practices in Safety Strategy Harbour A ISO 45001 and Z10 standards are driving a shift in health and safety programs from hazard identification and mitigation to a management systems approach that considers risk, severity and uncertainty. Meanwhile, many corporate safety programs are focusing on serious injury and fatality prevention (SIF) and experts continue to debate the virtues of behavior-based safety (BBS) and the newer approach, human and organizational performance (HOPs). As new ideas and approaches to reducing injuries and illnesses emerge, how do you leverage the best thinking to create a safety strategy that will deliver winning results? This session will examine how different companies set their safety strategies and performance metrics, what management approaches they employed and provide insight on the most difficult nuts to crack.
 
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Track 2: |
Session 2: How to Effectively Assess & Communicate EHS&S Risk to the C-Suite Harbour C EHS&S programs and initiatives often compete against each other's priorities for financial resources; however, unaddressed EHS&S risks can be costly to corporations. To effectively mitigate and manage EHS&S risk, industry leaders need to understand and assess corporate risk thresholds. They then must have strategies to communicate those risks succinctly to non-EHS&S leaders. This will allow the Executive team to fully understand potential negative consequences of not appropriately addressing EHS&S risk. This session will provide EHS&S leaders with strategies to help effectively communicate EHS&S risk with everyone from the non-EHS&S decisionmakers all the way to the front line/facility level.
 
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Track 3: |
Session 3: Growing EHS Professionals Into Leaders Harbour B The "EHS ceiling," or the difficulties associated with navigating up to leadership positions within the EHS&S function, is a very real challenge for EHS&S professionals who are looking to advance. With an immense pool of talent poised and ready to take on greater roles and responsibility, how can EHS&S leaders identify those future leaders and support them as they attain the hard and soft skills needed to become EHS&S leaders? Once they have reached that goal, how do you retain them? Senior and emerging leaders will come together to discuss how they made the jump into leadership, provide a look at EHS employee development programs, and offer insights from emerging leaders about what motivates them to stay with an employer and push towards higher positions within the EHS&S function.
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Track 4: |
Session 4: Re-Visioning EHS Auditing to Add Value and Minimize Risk Pier 2/3 Audits are a time-consuming but necessary practice for EHS&S professionals. Each corporation has their unique approach; however, there is a benefit to sharing best practices that can help to lighten the burden. Attendees will gain valuable insight on what are companies tracking and how they are tracking it (e.g., Excel, software, 3rd party). Attendees will also learn how to take the metrics gathered from audits and translate it from parent company to different locations. It will also examine best practices for how often to perform audits, how to keep auditing programs fresh and relevant, and how to turn the results into action items.
 
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Track 5: |
Session 5: Corporate Sustainability Goal-Setting Pier 4/5 As 2020 approaches and many organizations update their goals for the coming decade, the management challenge for EHS and Sustainability professionals is reading the "tea leaves" and deciding how to put goals in place that will advance their companies' strategic sustainability and ESG initiatives. As the global business landscape changes, and the urgency to address climate change intensifies, how are expectations for companies changing? How is this playing out in the targets and commitments being set for the next 3, 5 or 10 years? Are companies moving towards more science-based targets, toward "impact-based" goals, or staying the course with incremental reductions? What goal-setting tactics are part of the new expectations for sustainability and which are just passing fads? Attend this session and learn about the new ways companies are thinking about goals as well as get a better understanding of what their internal goal setting process looks like.
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12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. |
NAEM Excellence Awards Ceremony Luncheon Metro East
NAEM Excellence Awards recognize and elevate leaders in the corporate environmental, health and safety, and sustainability community, and showcase best practices in corporate EHS&S management.
Sponsored by:
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1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. |
Concurrent Sessions |
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Track 1: |
Session 6: Finding Hidden Value in Your Environmental Liability Portfolio Harbour A Given that EHS&S is becoming more entwined with corporate risk, companies are starting to think more strategically about their portfolio of EHS liabilities, including legacy operational sites. In some cases, they have been able to identify innovative ways to turn traditional liability risk into an enterprise opportunity. This session will focus on examples of approaches taken by companies that have been effective in either mitigating, or completely addressing, these legacy liability concerns when considering their EHS portfolios.
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Session 7: Advance Your Climate Risk and Resiliency Planning Harbour C Does your company have a process for assessing climate risk? How are companies communicating climate risk and preparing for possible disasters and business disruptions that could come from climate-related events? This session will look at examples of how EHS leaders have performed a climate risk assessment and what concrete actions they took because of those efforts. It will provide EHS leaders who have facilities or assets at risk for weather-related disasters with valuable insights on how to identify and communicate that risk effectively within their business and build a resiliency plan that will reduce downtime.
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Track 3: |
Session 8: How to Create and Embrace a Diverse and Inclusive Workforce Harbour B Diversity and inclusion are topics at the forefront of most corporate agendas today because it is the right thing to do, and it has also been proven to be a driver for growth and economic prosperity. Diversity and inclusion initiatives need to have corporate support to be successful, but many may be struggling with how to provide this support. This session will help EHS&S leaders understand the concept of unacknowledged privilege and the role that privilege can play in breaking down cultural barriers, promoting inclusive behavior, and changing corporate cultures. It will also examine the different tactics and messages management teams are using to attract, develop and retain a diverse workforce.
 
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Track 4: |
Session 9: Managing EHS in the Current State and Federal Regulatory Environment Pier 2/3 With continued emphasis on regulatory rollback at the Federal level, some states are stepping up their regulatory and enforcement efforts. This session will offer insights into how states are thinking about their role and where they are putting their resources and energy. Panelists will also discuss changes that have or might happen at the Federal level and how they are managing this unique uncertainty as it relates to their corporate EHS&S programs and resources.
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Track 5: |
Session 10: Addressing the Emerging Sustainability Risk of Plastic Waste Pier 4/5 Reducing the plastic footprint is an issue that can easily slip through your materiality analysis. For the most impacted industries – those with single-use plastics and/or single-use packaging – understanding the risk associated with plastics that end up in our oceans and other waterways is imperative. RobecoSAM plans to include single use plastic in their future questionnaires and Greenpeace has already sent out a questionnaire to industry in the U.S. this year. This session will bring participants up to speed with the magnitude of the underlying problem, regulatory changes already happening and those that are on the horizon, risks for industry (regulatory, reputational, supply chain disruptions); and the corporate response to date and outlook.
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3:00 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. |
Networking Break in the Exhibit Hall Metro Centre/West |
3:45 p.m. - 5:15 p.m. |
Concurrent Sessions |
Track 1: |
Session 11: Harnessing Data for Better EHS Decision-Making Harbour A There is no shortage of technological solutions available to help EHS&S professionals collect data; however, once they have implemented the technology and collected the results, how can these leaders sort, analyze and use the data collected to produce actionable business intelligence? This session will look at how innovative tools and processes are used to improve regulatory compliance, integrate EHS&S into existing work streams, advance fleet safety, and move toward predictive analytics.
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Track 2: |
Session 12: Addressing Emerging Health & Safety Risks Around Opioids, Cannabis and Mental Health Harbour C Opioid addiction is at an all-time high and more states are starting to legalize cannabis for recreational and/or medicinal use. At the same time, we are gaining a deeper understanding of how mental health challenges affect individuals both at work and home. What are practical approaches and solutions to managing worker health and safety considering these emerging risks? What policies are companies implementing to stay in line with state and federal laws while addressing the unique needs of their workers. Join this session to learn how companies are maintaining or improving their safety protocols considering these emerging issues.
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Track 3: |
Session 13: Increasing Your Leadership Effectiveness Through Stronger Executive Presence Harbour B Leadership goes beyond the authority you hold and the number of people who report directly to you. Great leaders must understand how to engage, inspire and "own the room" to foster a sense of collaboration and connectedness within their organizations. This session will demonstrate how leaders can leverage their own strengths and what behaviors can grow their executive presence.
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Session 14: Tips and Strategies on Moving Towards Zero Waste Pier 2/3 Zero Waste to Landfill, or ZWTL, is a common term but understanding what it means right now and what it will mean in the future as companies are faced with big shifts in global recycling markets. In the face of this uncertainty, many companies are ramping up their efforts and some are even making new efforts towards ZWTL. This session will provide strategies and best practices from companies at different stages of ZWTL adoption. It will provide practical advice on developing ZWTL goals that appropriately balance the attainment of published goals with the actual intent of the initiative. Attendees will also learn how to identify acceptable offsets on the road to ZWTL, waste and recycling strategies that appeal to the C-suite and how to develop both hard and soft metrics for your ZWTL initiative.
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Session 15: Protecting Your Privilege to Operate Through Effective Community Engagement Pier 4/5 Many companies are becoming more cognizant of how their presence and operations affect the communities in which they operate and the communities where people who buy and use their products live. These savvy companies are taking steps to protect their privilege to operate within those communities. More and more, an organization's brand and ability to attract new and maintain shareholder value are dependent on how they are perceived in the public eye, and whether they are regarded as having a positive impact on those communities. This session will provide best practices to starting or advancing an active community partnership program. It will address questions including "where do you start?" and "what are the strategies and tactics for effective community engagement?" Speakers will discuss their efforts and share the positive outcomes they have generated.
 
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5:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. |
Opening Networking Reception in Exhibit Hall Metro Centre/West
Sponsored by:
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Thursday, October 17, 2019
7:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. |
Registration Open Metro Foyer |
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7:00 a.m. - 8:15 a.m. |
Breakfast, Exhibit Hall Opens Metro Centre/West |
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8:15 a.m. - 8:30 a.m. |
Opening Remarks |
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8:30 a.m. - 9:45 a.m. |
Keynote: Championing Sustainability Into Organizations at Every Stage Metro East Together, business and sustainability have the power to drive and inspire business purpose and meaningful sustainability impacts. Targets and improvements on energy, waste and water are common; while these are necessary fundamentals, will they solve our global climate crisis? The time has come to see sustainability as the catalyst for business growth, resiliency and leadership, instead of a "nice-to-have." This lens will inspire and benefit profitable growth, attract and retain the best employees, and ensure license to operate across markets and industries.
This session highlights different companies' quests toward deeper purpose and sustainability integration — internally and externally — by exploring hurdles overcome, actions taken, and movement from values to impact. Attendees will come away with insights about incremental and transformational opportunities to leverage their efforts as EHS&S professionals in shifting their own organization's sustainability paradigm.
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9:45 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. |
Networking Break in the Exhibit Hall Metro Centre/West |
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10:45 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. |
Concurrent Sessions |
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Track 1: |
Session 16: How EHS Leaders are Responding to Changing Consumer Demands Harbour A How do changing consumer and stakeholder demands impact EHS&S strategy? How is EHS&S connected into the Value Chain? What new programs or activities are being developed to address these changes? This session will offer a practical look at how corporations can protect their reputations and bottom lines while balancing consumer needs and expectations.
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Track 2: |
Session 17: From Due Diligence to Post-Merger Integration: Managing EHS During M&A Harbour C Once the deal is inked, EHS leaders must integrate programs, cultures and people from the two companies and work with EHS and other functional teams to support the due diligence process effectively. This panel discussion will share tips, strategies and examples of ways to approach both due diligence and post-merger integration and highlight things to watch out for as you navigate the process. The session will also look at how you go about keeping the best from both organizations and managing the challenges that come with this process.
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Track 3: |
Session 18: Sharpening Your Leadership Influencing Skills Harbour B EHS&S leaders are often in a position where they must influence others within their company who do not report to them. This session will provide creative strategies to help you drive results and become a leader that others will want to follow. Come learn how to create a vision people want to get behind and how to influence stakeholders internally and externally.
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Track 4: |
Session 19: Trends and Innovation in EHS&S Training Pier 2/3 One of the most persistent management challenges in our field is developing effective and engaging training programs that are appropriate for multinational organizations, corporations with high turnover and those with an intergenerational workforce. From micro-training to gamification to incentive-based programs, what are the different approaches companies are taking to make training effective? This session will explore the latest and greatest trends and innovations in training.
 
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Session 20: Big Wins and Ambitious Targets in Energy Reduction and Renewables Pier 4/5 From swapping in energy efficient lighting to achieving 100% renewables to executing a virtual PPA, this session will examine case studies from corporations in different phases of implementing energy reduction strategies. Through case studies, insights and strategies, attendees will learn the role that EHS & Sustainability professionals can play in helping their corporations meet energy reduction and renewables targets. It will also highlight strategies to achieve and demonstrate cost-savings associated with renewables and energy reduction.
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12:15 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. |
Business-to-Business Lunch Metro East |
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2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. |
Concurrent Sessions |
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Track 1: |
Session 21: Show Me the Money: Communicating Your Successes in Reducing EHS Costs Harbour A EHS&S teams perform very specific functions that save corporations money in the short- and long-term; however, the perception of EHS&S as a cost center remains. Many EHS&S professionals have difficulty illustrating how their programs and strategies are crucial to the bottom line. Join this session to hear specific, replicable examples from EHS&S leaders on how they calculated and communicated cost savings on various EHS projects and demonstrated the value their teams have added to their organizations.
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Track 2: |
Session 22: Strategies for Managing Chemical Risk in Products and Supply Chains Harbour C How do you manage the diversity of requirements regarding chemicals? How do/will you manage potential business disruptions from chemical suppliers? Are global chemical restrictions challenging the management of products, operations, and responsibility through the life cycle? This session will provide case studies from a trading company, an automotive firm, and a polymer manufacturer with strategies for optimizing chemical management in automotive, chemical & electronics, metal, mining, paper, cosmetic, food, ink and other diverse applications. The panelists will offer lessons learned, tools, effective practices, and elimination opportunities at various stages of a product’s value chain. The discussions will provide insights of the global implications and opportunities to minimize the impact of "chemicals of concern" throughout the life cycle of products and services.
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Session 23: Keeping the Focus on Safety Culture Harbour B How do you determine and measure a strong safety culture? What are the specific tools, messages, training and incentives being used to engage all employees – from the front line to the executive offices – in a safety culture. Come away with practical tools and tactics you can experiment in your own safety culture efforts.
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Session 24: Innovative Ways to Address EHS&S Organizational Design and Resource Needs Pier 2/3 "Doing more with less" seems to be a mantra for many EHS and sustainability leaders. This session will look at ways EHS&S leaders have designed their programs and organizations for maximum efficiency and effectiveness. It will provide examples of EHS&S organizational design and resourcing that address the ever-growing demand on the EHS&S function. Gain insights into ways EHS&S leaders are able to leverage other functions and parts of the organization and get practical advice to help manage the relationships between corporate and facility responsibilities for executing day-to-day requirements.
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Session 25: Circular Economy: Moving from Big Idea to Implementation Pier 4/5 How are companies addressing the demands of a circular economy? What are actual steps they can take to get started down this path and what program areas are getting the most focus? How are they communicating and connect the dots between traditional EHS and Sustainability program efforts (like waste, water, packaging and energy reductions) to a circular economy effort?
   
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3:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. |
Networking Break Metro Foyer |
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4:00 p.m. - 5:15 p.m. |
Keynote: Global Citizenship — Change Your Mind, Change Your World Metro East National Geographic Explorer Chris Bashinelli, using real-life visual examples from the slums of Haiti to the fields of Uganda to the Mongolian Steppe, will illustrate how the key to productivity, meaning and connection lies in transforming not our external conditions, but our internal ones.
Hear Chris explain how Global Citizenship, using our everyday work and lives as a vehicle to grow inwardly, helps us become the best version of ourselves. When we embody the qualities of a Global Citizen — presence, empathy and inspiration — then we can truly inspire those around us.
With the mindset of the Global Citizen, every challenge in our work and lives — from a disagreement with a coworker to the loss of someone we love — becomes fuel for us to grow inwardly and reach our potential. It begins with realizing we already have everything we need to be happy right now. You'll leave this session with a better understanding of the Global Citizen concept and how it can help you.
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5:15 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. |
Closing Remarks |
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6:30 p.m. - 10:30 p.m |
Dinner and Networking at the Hockey Hall of Fame Brookfield Place, 30 Yonge Street Enjoy a great night of food, drinks, entertainment and interactive games at the historic Hockey Hall of Fame!
Transportation will be provided beginning at 6:00 p.m. Buses depart from the front entrance of the Westin.
Cost: $95
Sponsored by:
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Friday, October 18, 2019
A Morning of Professional Development and Networking Opportunities
8:30 a.m. - 9:45 a.m. |
Grab & Go Pastries & Coffee Pier 2/3 Foyer If you are joining a Friday morning session, pastries and coffee will be available to take with you. This is included in conference registration. |
8:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. |
Professional Headshots Pier 2/3 Foyer If you are looking for a new position, recently changed your look or are still using the same photo from 20 years ago, it's time to get a new headshot! NAEM will have a professional photographer onsite to capture your new professional image. The best part… it's complimentary! Opportunities are limited. Please email kaitlyn@naem.org to sign up. |
8:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. |
Women's Leadership Networking Breakfast Pier 4 Each year, the Women’s Leadership breakfast provides EHS&S leaders with a much-needed opportunity to unwind and reconnect with peers at the end of the Forum. This year, you’ll hear from two EHS leaders as they share their experiences implementing holistic wellness programs within their organizations. They will explore the roads that led to these holistic programs, strategies for getting stakeholder buy-in and advice to help the everyday EHS manager implement or influence holistic wellness strategies within their organizations.
Cost: $50 Open to Everyone
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9:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. |
A Conversation With an EHS&S Headhunter Pier 7/8 The EHS&S profession is constantly changing, and many positions vary by industry; however, headhunters have unique perspectives that can help you stand out above the crowd and provide valuable insight into the EHS&S salary landscape and the most in-demand skills for the future of EHS&S.
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9:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. |
Maximizing Your Communication Style Pier 9 Whether your goal is to engage employees or strategize and obtain buy-in from the C-Suite, effective communication is an essential skill for the successful EHS&S leader. Everyone has a different communication style and responds to situations differently but what if you knew how your staff reacted to different events and could change your communication expectations or strategy accordingly? Come to this session to learn how you communicate, the characteristics of other communication styles and how you can apply these techniques from shop floor safety talks to c-suite presentations.
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10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. |
Toronto Old Town Walking & Food Tour Discover Toronto's roots on this two-hour walking tour that traces the city's journey into the multicultural metropolis it is today. Departing from the Westin Harbour Castle hotel attendees will walk past the bustling Union Station and financial district, iconic landmarks of Old Toronto and head to the St. Lawrence Food Market.
We will stop into a few classic establishments in the market and enjoy some local delicatessen along the way. Attendees should wear appropriate walking shoes and clothing for the local weather conditions.
Cost: $30 Open to Everyone – 30 spaces available |
12:00 p.m. |
Conference Adjourns |
Program
Track 1: Driving Business Value
Sessions in this track will help you quantify the business value your EHS&S programs are generating. You’ll learn specific examples that can be modeled and adopted for your own efforts.
Track 2: Risk & Resilience
To make the business case to your executive leadership, you need to elevate the EHS&S risks that need the greatest attention as part of the enterprise risk discussion. This track will give you strategies to make your organization more resilient and less vulnerable to business interrupting risk.
Track 3: Skilled Leaders, Strong Culture
Skilled leaders and a strong EHS and sustainability culture are the underpinnings of world-class organizations. Don’t miss the chance to delve into conversations about how to create strong cultures and attend sessions that will sharpen your own leadership skills.
Track 4: Foundational EHS&S
Sessions in this track will focus on evergreen EHS&S business management programs and challenges and how you can prepare yourself to meet those expectations. Join the discussion to learn new strategies and fresh perspectives on how you can build a program that will withstand the test of time.
Track 5: Planning for a Sustainable Future
Dramatic sustainability gains can only be achieved through innovative programs and thinking. Come explore the emerging issues and leading programs your peers are adopting to truly create a sustainable future for their businesses and the planet.
About NAEM
The National Association for Environmental, Health and Safety, and Sustainability (EHS&S) Management (NAEM) empowers corporate leaders to advance environmental stewardship, create safe and healthy workplaces and promote global sustainability. As the leading business community for EHS&S decision-makers, we provide engaging forums, a curated network, peer benchmarking, research insights and tools for solving today’s corporate EHS&S management challenges. Visit us online at www.naem.org.
