Le Hunte pleads: All hands on deck to save environment

MINISTER of Public Utilities, Robert Le Hunte, is making a heartfelt plea to every citizen to get on board and make the change they want to see where the environment is concerned.

He was delivering the feature address at the opening of AmchamTT’s 23rd annual Health and Safety, Security and the Environment (HSSE) conference and exhibition at the Hyatt Regency on Wednesday on the theme: Advancing the HSSE Transition.

Le Hunte questioned business executives on the energy efficiency of their buildings, whether their employees are encouraged to conserve energy in their day-to-day activities, and whether they have done an energy audit to determine how they can better optimise their energy resources.

“These are the steps that help shift public perception and attitudes in the right direction. And that is not just the government’s job, but the responsibility of everyone who resides and works in this country.

“I have often said the citizens of a country must move from being spectators to being actively involved in moving the country forward. You have the responsibility not just of participating in that movement, but of leading it.”

After congratulating AmchamTT on the role it has played and continues to play in establishing best practices for health and safety, he said the government, in its national development strategy (Vision 2030), had established five overarching development themes to focus and guide TT’s transformational agenda. He said this is to specifically place the environment at the centre of social and economic development, in keeping with a number of sustainable development goals, as outlined by the United Nations.

On responsible energy consumption and production, he said: “Contrary to the misinformation and the memes being circulated in social media, there is much more to the programme than the handing out of LED bulbs. The programme entails: energy audits for government buildings, a reduction in energy usage for schools accompanied by the requisite retrofitting, the use of more energy-efficient vehicles, the installation of solar water heaters in all new HDC housing developments, and the eventual conversion of our major city centres into smart cities.”

To this end, he said, there will be collaborations with the private sector, academia and international organisations to explore different applications of hydrogen in the local economy.

Le Hunte also said: “It is envisaged that this programme, when fully implemented, will result in energy cost savings of $1.2 billion over the next five years, while creating over 4,000 jobs and reducing our carbon dioxide emissions by six million tons. That last figure is expected to increase to almost 18 million tons by 2030.”

He also spoke of the importance of water conservation, as well as the government’s Workplace Reuse and Recycling Programme geared towards changing the way organisations manage their waste by making it easy for them to recycle.

To date, he said, 96 private-sector entities, including 11 commercial banks and 41 insurance companies, have signed on to the programme, and he encouraged everyone to do the same.

He said from a long-term perspective, it is the right thing to do.

Earlier, president of AmchamTT Patricia Ghany talked about looking at the new and emerging trends and topics to help her organisation further advance the HSSE transition that will be useful to various organisations.

Quoting from recent statistics from the Occupational Safety and Health Agency (OSHA), Ghany said there had been a 33 per cent reduction in fatalities in 2017-2018 as compared to 2016-2017. However, there has been a 54 per cent increase in non-critical accidents over the same period, which is cause for concern.

She said AmchamTT is also very concerned about the progress that OSHA has made over the years as compared to equivalent OSHA bodies in other countries.

“The OSHA Act was passed in 2004 and amended in 2006. It is based largely on the UK’s Health and Safety At Work Act 1974."

So, she said, the legislation is outdated.

"It seems we have become stagnated.

“We all conduct business differently, our processes have changed, our job designs have changed, and so too should our legislation. Amcham TT is calling on Government to pay attention to this very important regulatory organisation. Safeguarding the lives of those working in TT is of utmost importance.”

Ghany also said senior management and the C-suite (comprising CEOs, COOs, CFOs and chairmen of public and private sector companies) should take it upon themselves to: own and understand the key issues involved in HSSE, make decisions on how to communicate, promote and champion health and safety, allocate enough resources to manage risks, set targets and design clear goals and objectives, and maintain monthly reports to review with an aim to decisive and immediate action on health and safety performance.

On disaster resiliency, she asked: “Where is the disaster management resiliency plan, and is it working?”

She then offered: “Our nation needs a comprehensive disaster resiliency plan that integrates climate-change considerations into priority sectors to allow for the appropriate interventions.”

It is in this light that an MOU was signed between Amcham TT for the private sector’s Alliance Resilient Societies (ARISE) project initiative, with the UN office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), an initiative that is expected to raise awareness and share knowledge in order to co-ordinate an efficient disaster risk reduction proposal for TT.

Ghany applauded the government’s recent policy of banning styrofoam and reducing the cost of energy-saving bulbs, but said everyone has a part to play as well with regard to climate change.

Dr. Philip Mshelbila, CEO of title sponsor Atlantic, also addressed participants on the increasing demand for cleaner energy alternatives and how his company can play a part in this area.