Canadian Occupational Safety

12 Canadian Occupational Safety www.cos-mag.com Chemical classifi cation goes global International safety management system also in the works I recently returned from a trip to Las Vegas. No, not to gamble or carouse, but to take a course with the American Society of Safety Engineers entitled Global Environment, Health and Safety Management. Through the course, I gleaned a number of details on recent international environmental health and safety management trends. The interesting thing about many occupational health and safety global trends is that they touch Canada very directly. Canadian health, safety and environment professionals need to be aware of the Globally Harmonized System of Classifi cation and Label- ling of Chemicals (GHS), the Global Reporting Initiative and the develop- ment of a global occupational health and safety management system, also known as ISO 45001, from the International Organization for Stan- dardization (ISO). cHeMical laBelling GHS applies to hazardous materi- als in the workplace. Although GHS has moved glacially slow, it is now set to apply in Canada. The primary reason it took so long was that there needed to be agreement between the American and Canadian regulators to co-ordinate the implementation of GHS because of the integrated nature of the North American economic zone. The implementation of GHS is an important aspect of the Canada- United States Regulatory Cooperation Council, established by Prime Min- ister Stephen Harper and President Barack Obama. The intent was to align classifi cation and labelling require- ments through the use of consistent categories, labels and material safety data sheets (MSDS) throughout North America and around the world. The Harper government recently announced that new regulations to implement GHS in Canada have been fi nalized. The benefi ts of GHS is estimated to be a $400 million increase in pro- ductivity and decreased health and safety costs over the next 20 years. Canadian industry is also expected to start seeing yearly net benefi ts of $82 million within four years, said the gov- ernment. Other jurisdictions that have embraced GHS include, but are not limited to, the European Union, Aus- tralia, China, Japan and South Korea. gloBal ManageMent systeM Another global trend is the exciting, new and long overdue development of an international occupational health and safety management system, an initiative of ISO. Most health, safety and environ- mental professionals are familiar with ISO 14000 and 14001; the envi- ronmental standards under the ISO. There has fi nally been buy in from many North American and interna- tional governments and organizations on the need for an ISO standard for OHS management systems. The American Society of Safety Engineers is taking the lead role in the development and co-ordination of the ISO 45001 standard. Canada has a "mirror committee" that provides insights on the development of the standard. Committee representatives were present at a recent meeting to discuss the draft of the international occupational health and safety stan- dard in Trinidad in January. The importance of this new interna- tional standard cannot be overstated. It takes a risk based approach to health and safety, similar to the approach taken in the European Union, rather than a compliance based approach, based on single requirements, such as rules under the U.S. federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and the OHS Code in Alberta. The risk assessment approach is less prescrip- tive and more performance based but consistent in requiring highly orga- nized management systems to identify, assess, evaluate and mitigate risks in the workplace. The advantage of an international occupational health and safety management system is obvious for organizations that are large, growing or international. It helps to have a framework for the OHS management system that can be used across the organization in many different coun- tries and local jurisdictions. An international ISO standard also performs a valuable basis for estab- lishing the defence of due diligence. Although a management system will not in and of itself be a complete defence to charges under any OHS legislation or regulations, it will go a long way to establishing a company's legal compliance. It is important to note that legal com- pliance, updating and auditing will be part of the international ISO 45001. Therefore, companies should initially conduct a legal compliance audit to ensure local legal requirements are met. sustainaBility The third international health and safety trend is the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) on corporate social responsibility (CSR). As a non-legally binding initiative, the GRI came from the Netherlands and has grown into an international phenomenon. The GRI is a voluntary reporting stan- dard that provides a framework for international organizations to have a level playing fi eld on corporate social responsibility or, as it often is referred to in the U.S., sustainability. In 2014, 80 per cent of the largest 250 compa- nies in the world had signed up to use the GRI. In the same year, 95 per cent of publicly traded companies on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index had participated, to varying degrees, in the GRI. But many Canadian companies that are considering expanding globally, or want to have global acceptability for foreign investors, are not considering registering as a GRI reporter. The GRI has levels of engagement that require different levels of CSR reporting. The GRI is itself evolving to a more stan- dards based approach by measuring environmental compliance, social engagement, safety and labour stan- dards accountability. It is now being considered as an entry point for cor- porations committed to sustainability and CSR around the world. Norm Keith, an OHS lawyer and consultant, is a partner at Fasken Mar- tineau DuMoulin in Toronto. He can be reached at (416) 868-7824 or nkeith@ fasken.com, or visit www.ehslaw.ca for more information. PEOPLE&PLACES NORM KEITH LEGAL LANDSCAPE PEOPLE&PLACES NORM KEITH LEGAL PEOPLE&PLACES LEGAL PEOPLE&PLACES

• Cover