The new TSCA law not REACH (in data requirements)

After a bipartisan accord, the US Congress overhauled the 40-year-old Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), with legislation to give the EPA greater powers to regulate about 100 hazardous chemicals. This is the first major statutory update to US environmental law that’s been passed in over 25 years. On a 403-12 vote, the U.S. House of Representatives on 24 May 2016 approved bipartisan legislation to amend the key provisions of the TSCA.

Under existing law, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has succeeded in regulating only five toxic chemicals since 1976, prompting public health advocates to decry TSCA as broken. Part of the problem is that the law grants EPA only 90 days to decide whether a new chemical poses “unreasonable risk” before it can enter the market, and agency officials say they rarely get the toxicity data they need to make that call in time.

The compromise legislation will remove those procedural hurdles, require EPA to focus on “high priority” chemicals such as arsenic and asbestos, and give the agency new tools to collect data from companies. It also grandfathers in some existing state chemical safety laws, such as those enacted under California’s Proposition 65, but limits states’ authority to create their own restrictions on chemicals in the future. State pre-emption was a key point of contention between Democrats and Republicans during negotiations.

So how does the new TSCA law compare to the EU REACH program? REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemical substances) is a regulation of the European Union, adopted to improve the protection of human health and the environment from the risks that can be posed by chemicals. REACH also promotes alternative methods for the hazard assessment of substances to reduce the number of tests on animals. Under the REACH Regulation, companies are responsible for providing information on the hazards, risks and safe use of chemical substances that they manufacture or import.

One notable difference between  REACH and TOSCA is how they support downstream users in implementing their chemicals management programs. Regarding knowing chemicals in products, REACH provides clear direction that downstream users must communicate uses up to suppliers and know and publicly disclose (if requested) if their product contains substances of very high concern (SVHC). The TSCA  does essentially nothing to support downstream users in knowing chemicals in products and disclosing them to the public, and its requirements for upstream communication to suppliers on uses are uncertain.

Significantly, REACH requires companies to provide minimum data sets on the inherent hazards of chemicals. This data enables downstream users to evaluate and compare chemicals on their hazard characteristics. TSCA, while expanding the ability of the US EPA to require testing of chemicals, explicitly prohibits the agency from requiring minimum data sets.

While it is important to avoid the unnecessary testing of chemicals, it is also vital to have a data set on chemicals that enable their comparison on a common set of endpoints. The EPA needs the authority to establish a minimum data set on chemicals, although this may differ depending on the specific chemical.

On assessing the hazards of chemicals, the new  US law falls short of REACH and impedes harmonizing European and US requirements for chemical testing. Given that most US chemical companies sell into the European market, and therefore are already meeting those requirements, it is inefficient and wasteful to establish a totally separate testing regime in the US.

To support the use of inherently safer chemicals, REACH provides a clear and more streamlined process for identifying and restricting SVHCs. Over the course of seven years, the Regulation has identified 161 Candidate SVHCs, while over five years, the  US bill only requires the designation of 25 high priority chemicals and with new law extending that number to about 100 chemicals. Harmonization, consistency, and predictability are critical for downstream users, and these elements are all lacking in the new TSCA law.

 

Stanford Board of Trustees issues a statement on climate change

In a statement, the Board of Trustees underlines Stanford’s commitment to battling climate change, highlights university initiatives to address it and responds to Fossil Free Stanford’s request to divest from the fossil fuel industry.

The trustees have concluded that Stanford’s endowment will not divest, based on a review of criteria in the university’s Statement on Investment Responsibility and input from the Advisory Panel on Investment Responsibility and Licensing. The trustees also announce a new climate task force that will solicit new ideas from across the Stanford community for addressing climate change.

Find out more about Stanford University’s new climate change policy.

Locus Technologies introduces new calculation engine for GHG emissions inventories

The Locus GHG calculation engine is fully integrated with the dynamic Locus Platform and will automate emissions calculations for large enterprises.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., 20 November 2015 — Locus Technologies (Locus), the leader in cloud-based environmental compliance and sustainability management software, introduces an all-new calculation engine to its newest platform to redefine how companies organize, manage, and calculate their greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories. The Locus Platform offers a highly configurable, user-friendly interface to fully meet individual organizations’ environmental management needs.

With an increased focus on the role that GHG emissions play in climate change, ensuring that companies’ emissions are reported accurately is more important than ever. GHG emissions reports are coming under increased scrutiny from regulators, stakeholders, verifiers, and financial auditors. Choosing the right calculation engine plays a critical part in remaining compliant with these rapidly evolving requirements and regulations.

Locus GHG calculation engine eases compliance burdens for GHG tracking

GHG inventories may be the result of mandatory state, regional, or national reporting programs, such as California Air Resource Board (AB32), U.S. EPA Mandatory Reporting Rule, or European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS). Organizations need a GHG calculation engine that can calculate GHGs automatically and accurately from all emission-producing activities at all of their facilities anywhere in the world. The new Locus calculation engine supports simultaneous calculations using multiple methods so that users can input data once and report to federal, state, and voluntary reporting programs according to each proper protocol.

“The requirements and procedures for GHG reporting are varied, complex, and rapidly evolving. To ensure compliance, companies need a calculation engine that can handle complex equations using appropriate emission factors, conversion factors, and calculation methodologies for each reporting program. The right calculation engine can reduce the stress, time, and potential inaccuracies found in home-grown accounting methods,” said Neno Duplan, President and CEO of Locus.

New GHG calculation engine removes reporting inaccuracies

As a leading accredited GHG verification company in California, Locus observed challenges that many companies experience with GHG inventory calculation, coupled with the gross inadequacy of tools previously available in the market. Informed by the verification of hundreds of inventories, Locus developed the new calculation engine.

“Besides spreadsheets, many calculation engines are proprietary to software vendors and are not transparent. For GHG calculations to pass audits and meet cap & trade requirements, transparency is absolutely required. Some of these ’black box‘ calculation tools have not been sufficiently stress-tested in the market and are generating errors that cause enterprises to fail their GHG verifications. Locus’ calculation engine addresses these deficiencies and capitalizes on the architecture of the highly scalable Locus platform. All calculations are viewable and traceable through the tool to the original data inputs,” said J. Wesley Hawthorne, Locus’ Senior Vice President of Operations and an accredited GHG verifier.

When evaluating carbon management software with built-in calculation engines, companies must ensure that users are able to define both the calculation rules and display of calculated data for the purpose of reporting to various regulators. By giving end users the power to view, analyze, and make changes to analytic model data, Locus helps companies emphasize the transparency of the process and ensure that calculations are correct and that the company meets all verification requirements.

“We listened to industry users and created a configurable calculation engine that is easy to use, dynamically driven, transparent, provides reproducible calculations, and is easy to verify. This calculation engine, along with the Locus Platform, will improve companies’ data collection, analysis, and most importantly, reporting capabilities,” added Duplan.

Locus will conduct live demonstrations of the Locus Platform and calculation engine at the Locus booth at the National Association for Environmental Management (NAEM) 2016 Sustainability Software and Data Management Conference from March 15-16, 2016 in Tampa, FL.

Locus makes ENR TOP 200 Environmental Firms as the only EHS Software company

Locus Technologies Introduces Locus Mobile for Data Access and Input On the Go

Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) leverages new mobile app for its environmental data collection processes

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., 27 October 2014 — Locus Technologies (Locus), the leader in cloud-based environmental compliance and information management software, has announced the launch of a new mobile application Locus Mobile, designed for easy and accurate data collection on the go.

Locus Mobile works both online and offline to ensure continuous access and interaction, and takes advantage of the most advanced technology to provide a variety of options for ad hoc sampling, additional field data checks, dynamic forms, and effective mapping tools. Locus Mobile users can easily configure business-specific data collection needs, enter data offline and upload on-demand, and synchronize data back to Locus’ systems for final review, storing, managing, and reporting.

Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) has awarded a contract to Locus for the new Locus Mobile app, through which users can upload data directly from the field to their data management and compliance system, EIM. By taking advantage of configurable planned sampling and monitoring events, real-time data validation in the field, GPS mapping capabilities, and a complete audit trail of who, what, when and where, LANL expects that it will operate with a significantly higher degree of confidence that its environmental reporting and decision making are based off of the most accurate information possible in real time.

“We are seeing growing customer interest in adding mobility to our full-line of environmental and sustainability information management applications to more efficiently centralize remotely collected information for executive decision-support reporting. The next step is to push information the other way so that remote personnel are empowered with the information and instructions they need to take appropriate preventative and remedial action on the ground, perform real-time data validation, and spot exceedances,” said Locus CEO, Neno Duplan. “As a result of this more frictionless two-way data flow, mobile has the potential to completely transform the way enterprises address their environmental and sustainability challenges and achieve positive outcomes for the environment, brand protection, and their shareholders and customers.”

Locus Mobile is offered as a downloadable app from the Apple App Store to work with Locus’ cloud software systems.

Locus Recognized as a Top Environmental Firm in Silicon Valley

Read about the top environmental firms in Silicon Valley, ranked by the number of professionals in Silicon Valley. Learn more about their specialities, 2013 FY revenue and the number of employees each firm has locally and firm wide.

Monsanto Selects Locus’ Cloud Software for Sustainability Management

Leading Agricultural Products Technology Company Selects Locus for Sustainability Reporting

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., 2 June 2014 — Monsanto Company, a leading global provider of technology-based solutions and agricultural products that improve farm productivity and food quality, has selected Locus Technologies (Locus) to provide a comprehensive, integrated software platform for sustainability management and environmental stewardship throughout the corporation’s facilities.

Monsanto has adopted the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework, a comprehensive sustainability reporting structure that is widely used around the world to more effectively measure, build upon, and communicate its current sustainability efforts. As a member of the GRI G4 Pioneers program Monsanto is utilizing the Locus enhanced data collection process to enable the transition to the new GRI G4 platform.

Locus’ award-winning EH&S and sustainability software platform is already implemented and provides Monsanto with enterprise tools to organize the GRI indicator collection and reporting solution for its corporate sustainability group. Monsanto site personnel are now able to enter GRI Indicator data by site, and produce reports for their sites. Corporate personnel are able to produce reports of data aggregated across the entire organization for use in preparing and automating their GRI Reporting.

“We are very pleased that Monsanto has selected Locus’ cloud-based software to organize its GRI information,” said Neno Duplan, President and CEO of Locus Technologies. “The GRI Guidelines are the world’s most widely-used sustainability reporting framework and we are very pleased to support Monsanto in their reporting requirements. Both Monsanto and Locus are GRI Organizational Stakeholders,” added Duplan.

Locus Expands Software Functionality to Address City-Specific Reporting Requirements

Locus’ EIM software automates the generation of Self-Monitoring Report Forms (SMRFs) for the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ)

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., 22 April 2014 — In response to industry and customer requirements, Locus Technologies (Locus), the leader in cloud-based environmental compliance and information management software, has expanded its award-winning Environmental Information Management (EIM) software to automate the generation of Self-Monitoring Report Forms (SMRFs).

Locus EIM solves the problem of expensive, labor-intensive manual SMRF generation by completely automating the process. SMRFs are required by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, and are meant to meet the monitoring and reporting requirements as set forth by each facility’s Aquifer Protection Permit (APP) or Reuse Permit. An example form may include data such as sample date, analysis date, lab ID, reported concentration or method, and can incorporate other extremely specific information.

Thanks to Locus’ new functionality, once arranged in EIM, companies can generate SMRFs within minutes in the approved formats, using validated data. Companies can set up EIM for all permitted facilities and realize immediate cost and time savings during each reporting period. Relevant data are directly uploaded to the system, reviewed and validated, then reported in the proper regulatory required formats. These new output formats can be easily modified to generate the exact format needed by other cities that are required to submit similar self-monitoring report forms.

“Incorporating the automatic generation of SMRFs within our EIM software is a testament to the true flexibility of Locus’ software platforms,” said Neno Duplan, President & CEO of Locus Technologies. “It is our goal here at Locus to automate reporting by providing as many off-the-shelf standard reports as possible. SMRF reports are just one of many examples. By automating reporting our customers streamline their management processes, so that they increase operational efficiencies and lower reporting costs.”

Locus Introduces New Platform for Environmental Enterprise Resource Planning

The new Locus platform offers a highly configurable, user-friendly interface to fully meet individual organizations’ environmental management needs

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., 21 October 2013 — Locus Technologies (Locus), the leader in cloud-based environmental and sustainability management software, introduces its newest platform to redefine how companies organize, manage, visualize, and report their environmental, sustainability, and compliance information.

Today, environmental, sustainability, and energy managers for organizations of all sizes face myriad options from software suppliers offering various single-domain applications. Challenged with an ever-evolving regulatory landscape, these managers must select a software provider that can adapt to new compliance constraints and the constant changes of existing regulations, often with multijurisdictional requirements; unfortunately, most software suppliers have rigid platforms or applications that fail to keep up with constantly changing needs, are hard to integrate, and are often obsolete before they are even implemented.

To address this industry challenge, the company designed the new Locus platform to provide rich functionality in a simple way so that it would be easy for customers to make the most of their data management and reporting requirements. In addition, the new platform helps companies avoid many of the costs generally associated with implementing traditional software systems thanks to its simple setup, navigation, and configuration options, thereby eliminating the need for expensive implementations, user training, and customizations.

Locus addressed common barriers to using environmental management software when designing the new Locus platform. Specifically, Locus conducted a gap analysis of current software offerings. It identified challenges through feedback from its end users and other industry professionals, and through customer surveys conducted by several industry research analysts’ firms over the last two years. Specifically, users were wary of complex and expensive systems and implementations; a rigid regulatory environment for businesses that made adapting to new systems costly and complicated; and integration of a new platform with legacy systems.

The resulting Locus platform offers an intuitive interface with the immense flexibility to incorporate features such as drag-and-drop forms creation, visual business-process modeling, Excel import/export integration, and a rich and configurable user dashboards and reporting interface. Locus created every feature with the end user in mind to promote quick and easy data capture and task management. Finally, customers should see significant savings over traditional software offerings both at the time of implementation and over the long term. Because the Locus platform’s system, upgrades, and maintenance are cloud-based rather than configured on individual user workstations, while users can configure the way they use the software, they do not need to pay for customization at the individual level.

“We listened to industry users and created configurable dashboards that are clean, dynamically driven, easy to read, and easy to access. This platform will improve companies’ data collection, analysis, and most importantly, reporting capabilities,” said Neno Duplan, President and CEO of Locus. “The new Locus platform will make the required compliance and EH&S reporting expected of most companies more streamlined. The end result is the mitigation of regulatory risks and fines.”

The launch of the latest Locus platform follows the same guidelines and goals that the company established during the original inception of ePortal in 2000. This version is the latest embodiment of Locus’ industry differentiation: to offer an integrated solution so that companies can manage all of their environmental, energy, water, waste, carbon, air, health and safety, and compliance information in one place.

“We’ve updated the platform based on industry wants and needs,” remarked Duplan. “This isn’t a product of different solutions pieced together to look like one; it is the ‘whole solution.’ We have always created our products in this same vein because it means less time to configure, less time to implement, and far fewer support requirements. And it means a dramatically lower cost than customers have seen in the past with the ERP providers or point solutions from different vendors. Budget has long been a barrier to implementation and we are stepping up to the plate to solve that problem.”

Locus will conduct the first live demonstrations of the new platform at the Locus booth at the National Association for Environmental Management 2013 EHS Management Forum from October 23-25 in Montreal.