Insights From The Verdantix 2023 Tech Roadmap On EHS Technologies

Insights From The Verdantix 2023 Tech Roadmap On EHS Technologies

Verdantix has released the latest iteration of its tech roadmap on EHS technologies . This instalment has 5 new technologies, taking the grand total for 2023’s report to 38. The roadmap ranks these technologies on several factors including maturity level, business value and pace of innovation. From these findings, Verdantix has created a figure displaying each technology’s maturity trajectory over the next few years.

Findings from the tech roadmap demonstrate the continual shift towards developing proactive EHS management strategies that go beyond compliance. In the latest Verdantix global survey, 44% of respondents ranked proactive risk management as the most or second most influential factor in driving EHS budgets. Technologies that demonstrate this include critical event management (CEM) and lone worker solutions, as they improve visibility across the production sites and help to identify risks in their infancy. Ultimately, this can lead to a reduction in serious injuries and fatalities (SIFs), ensuring firms establish a long-term goal of zero-incident culture in the workplace.

New technologies that were introduced comprise continuous emissions monitoring systems (CEMS) technology, carbon management software, digital product passports, digital permits to work and IoT sensors for environmental monitoring. Their inclusion reflects the growing responsibility of EHS functions to manage ESG responsibilities, and the increasingly stringent chemicals landscape. Firms in the EU are now tasked with reporting environmental and social impacts under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), whilst in the US, publicly listed organizations are tasked with reporting Scope 1 and 2 emissions, with Scope 3 set to become mandatory as early as the 2024 fiscal year. Firms now require solutions that will meet these aggressive targets. CEMS technology and IoT sensors provide a solid foundation to monitor greenhouse gas emissions, while carbon management software streamlines this data in a presentable manner for EHS executives to manage their ESG performance.

Chemical compliance has also become a major priority for EHS executives. As the EU continues to expand its substances of very high concern (SVHC) list, firms must ensure that they have full visibility of all the ingredients and materials used in their operations. To accommodate this, some EHS software vendors have launched digital product passports, which disclose key product information, such as raw material extraction, production, composition and disassembly options. This technology ensures that only one exchange between suppliers and manufacturers is necessary: suppliers can provide all the relevant information on the passport, preventing manufacturers from needing to constantly chase to find new product details. Digital product passports will form part of the EU’s Circular Economy Action Plan for Battery Regulation in 2026, which will require information on durability, recyclability, emissions and chemical substances.

A notable finding from the report is a slowdown in the adoption of connected worker solutions, due to a lack of genuine business value for EHS purposes. Augmented reality (AR) head-mounted displays (HMDs) are an example of connected worker solutions that have followed this trajectory. In the last instalment of the EHS tech roadmap, this technology was categorized as having “promising” business value. However, the past year has seen major vendors cut AR development projects, pushing 2023’s score down to “low”. In the pandemic, AR HMDs were useful as they relieved site managers from having to travel to industrial sites. However, cost, ergonomic issues and poor image quality have all contributed to its slow uptake by EHS executives.

To learn more about the EHS technology landscape, please read our latest research here.