The Enhesa Regulatory Forecast: International H&S regulatory trends in 2010 and beyond

As we enter a new decade, public and government attention remains focused on environment and health and safety issues and regulatory activity continues to grow. EHS leaders are trying to prepare for the new decade by identifying the global trends in EHS regulation that will impact their businesses. The Forecast 2010 project reviewed Enhesa’s database of over 30,000 regulatory developments to identify the emerging EHS trends that companies will face in 2010 and beyond. Enhesa has identified a strong upwards trend in EHS regulatory activity over recent years. In 2009, Enhesa monitored more than 2000 regulatory developments. This represents 50% more regulatory developments than in 2008, and 72% more than in 2007. We are witnessing an impressive increase - across the globe - in the number of new or changed EHS regulations impacting business. The major developing countries like Brazil, Russia, India and China are among those undergoing the most regulatory change. Enhesa used its regulatory database to identify the issues that governments across the world are focusing their attention on. The Forecast 2010 project team also surveyed businesses to identify the specific EHS issues that will be keeping them busy in 2010 and beyond. Amongst others, the main H&S issues identified by the Forecast 2010 include chemicals management, product safety and corporate responsibility.