Regulatory Registers: Navigating the Complexities of Global EHS Compliance

As organizations expand their operations across multiple geographies, they encounter new opportunities as well as significant challenges. Chief among these are the complexities of understanding local regulations, cultural nuances, and legal requirements. To address these challenges, Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) leaders must acquire comprehensive knowledge of both the regulatory environment and the cultural context within each region.

What is an EHS Regulatory Register?

An EHS regulatory register¹  serves as an essential tool by offering a centralized, precise, and current repository of compliance requirements. This resource not only saves considerable time but also ensures that all stakeholders have access to pertinent compliance details. When strategizing for geographic expansion, the establishment of a regulatory register should be regarded as a fundamental step to facilitate efficient and successful operations.

Challenges

Maintaining regulatory registers can be a complex and resource-intensive task. Here are some common challenges that organizations face: 

• Resource Intensity: Compiling and maintaining accurate, up-to-date regulatory information is a resource-intensive process. EHS managers and their teams often find it daunting to keep track of all the necessary details.
• Variability of Regulations: EHS regulations and requirements can vary significantly between regions and even municipalities. This variability makes it challenging to create a one-size-fits-all register.
• Time Constraints and Language Barriers: Overcoming time constraints and language barriers is another significant challenge. Understanding the local EHS ecosystem and ensuring compliance can be difficult when dealing with different languages and time zones.
• Management System Requirements: In certain instances, maintaining an up-to-date register is not merely advantageous but is also a mandatory aspect of the organization's management system² . This adds an extra layer of complexity, as organizations must ensure that their registers are always current and compliant with management system requirements.
• Navigating Local Nuances: Regulatory registers are particularly beneficial for organizations operating in or expanding into new jurisdictions. However, understanding regional EHS requirements and cultural nuances, while also navigating language barriers, can be challenging.

Advantages of Implementing a Regulatory Register

Registers serve as evidence that requisite programs are in place and supply valuable EHS insights³. They further support the proactive management of regulatory changes prior to their official enactment.
EHS regulations and requirements can vary significantly between regions and, in some cases, even between municipalities. A regulatory register helps to overcome obstacles associated with time constraints and language barriers, thereby enabling a clearer understanding of the local EHS ecosystem and promoting safe, compliant business practices. 
Furthermore, the register provides a universally accessible resource for EHS leaders at all organizational levels, aiding both decision-making and budgetary justifications. Through implementation at the corporate, regional, and facility levels, organizations can obtain a comprehensive overview of their EHS obligations.

• Facility Level: At the facility level, a meticulously maintained register supplies specific, actionable requirements, such as site-specific permit conditions.
• Regional Level: Regional managers utilize registers to gain insight into the distinct EHS programs of various countries. Registers clarify where standardized solutions—such as uniform chemical labeling and storage training—may be adopted, and where unique, site-specific requirements necessitate customized approaches.
• Corporate Level: At the corporate level, registers enable leadership to assess the organization holistically, identify potential EHS burdens, set appropriate budgets, determine priorities for compliance (for example, heightened focus on higher-risk countries), and establish a consistent schedule for global audits to ensure ongoing compliance.
   

Utilizing Local Resources

Regulatory registers are particularly beneficial for organizations operating in—or contemplating expansion into—new jurisdictions. These registers deliver a thorough understanding of regional EHS requirements and account for cultural distinctiveness, while also assisting in the navigation of language barriers. 

Strategic partnerships, such as those with Inogen Alliance, afford organizations access to local expertise from more than 70 Associate companies worldwide, thereby facilitating the creation of accurate and detailed registers.

With over 200 offices situated on every continent, Inogen Alliance enhances global capacity and geographic reach. This network enables organizations to engage local EHS professionals through a singular point of contact, ensuring that the resulting registers are tailored and contextually relevant. Consequently, organizations benefit from region-specific information, fostering a more nuanced understanding of the EHS landscape.

Regional insights permit registers to be refined to the facility level, thus allowing organizations to distill extensive EHS data and retain only the information that is necessary and applicable to each site. This approach renders the final register more manageable and effective.

With more than 200 offices located on every continent, we provide you with an enhanced global capacity and geographic reach. Through one point of contact we unlock global capacity with local EHS professionals who will tailor content to provide you with a customized EHS register. This partnership can ensure that the knowledge and data are specific to the region and will offer a greater understanding of the EHS environment.

Gaining region-specific insight enables the register to be scaled down to the facility, meaning you can take the large pool of EHS data and sort out only the necessary and applicable information, making the final register more manageable.

To find out more read the full blog from our associate Antea Group USA, check out our services or contact us.

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[1] https://www.inogenalliance.com/service/regulatory-compliance-and-registers

[2] https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oZixGIrwGOl6bKPYXs3IWdoDCg9XIUBpZZpsxRQTl0k/edit?pli=1&tab=t.0

[3] https://www.inogenalliance.com/blog-post/2021-ehs-and-sustainability-industry-global-insights

Author: John Ruksenas, Antea Group USA