How Marc Built a 15-Year Career in Environmental Compliance (Ultimate Safety Consulting)

Lightly edited for readability.

Lucas James: Hey everybody, welcome to another episode of Green Decades. I'm Lucas James, your host. I'm here with Marc. He and his business partner Dan are owners of a company called Ultimate Safety Consulting, which operates out of Ontario, Canada. They assist companies with all sorts of compliance, not just on the environmental side with regards to chemical lifecycle management, but also with water and wastewater management, and a whole host of other things to make workplaces safer and companies more sustainable as well. So thank you so much, Marc, for being on the show. Appreciate it.

Marc: Yeah, thanks for having me.

Lucas James: Yeah, so Marc, I guess we could just jump right into it and ask a little bit about how you got started and where the purpose of your business came from. What gave you the mission, and why did you get started in this space?

Marc: So I had a background in the environmental sciences, and when I started working in the private sector, I often say that my career path found me. I didn't necessarily find it. I essentially worked in the health and safety and environmental space, which gets lumped together because a lot of organizations are looking at not only protecting their people, or people in general, but also the planet, which is a big emerging sustainability concern for companies and even in the public sector. When I got started in that, I really got to thrive. It was mainly about helping the organization, down to the people, understand how their operations really affect the environment, but also their well-being, their health and safety, and ways to give back. For example, we had an environmental week where we looked at giving back to the community in terms of how our operations affected the community, and giving back from a sustainability standpoint. So we focused on things like reducing waste within the environment, or particular types of community needs, to get the company out in terms of giving back within the community it operates in. But also improving health and safety, like I said, from a chemical management point of view: understanding the impacts not only from a health and safety point of view, but from an environmental point of view. When companies look at, say, taking in new chemicals or processes, how that can lead to negative effects on their operations. So understanding those before you make those kinds of changes. And ever since then, I've been doing that for 15 years now.

Lucas James: That's awesome. Just out of curiosity, what do you think are the biggest areas where companies tend to fall short in terms of compliance?

Marc: I would say a lot of times what I've seen is it's more about understanding the environmental concerns from an obligation standpoint, because it's not like companies necessarily have somebody who is allotted full time to environmental concerns, let's say. I worked in manufacturing predominantly through my career. One of the biggest challenges was wastewater, and that was more in food manufacturing. I helped organizations understand their problems with respect to fats, oils and greases. Waste is another one, and there were also chemical demands, with a lot of environmental concerns from brewing and other organic materials. So it was helping organizations understand what was causing those problems, and then how the organization could change its practices, or change its processes slightly, to mitigate those environmental compliance concerns. Part of it is helping them understand what their obligations are from a compliance standpoint. So it's around water, wastewater and waste. And then what can be done to mitigate those things? It could be slightly tailoring a specific procedure in how the company operates, or changing its equipment or the chemicals it uses. And then doing a lot of training down to the employee and supervisor level, because a lot of the decisions they make day to day can really impact the operation, but can also open organizations up from a legal standpoint. One of the other big ones is fire compliance as well, when you're talking about environmental.

Lucas James: That's super interesting. I'm curious too, for someone who's listening to this and is maybe like yourself, studying to get into this space or just wanting to be part of the potential change in the world to make businesses more sustainable: what's your level of optimism for the future? Are we in a good spot when you see these companies, or does it feel like there are recurring problems that keep making things worse? It's almost like if you had a hundred billion dollars you could fix all of it, but you feel like you're behind resource-wise to fix everything. Is there anything that gives you hope about where we are? Or are you generally optimistic, pessimistic? Where are you on the spectrum of whether this can be solved?

Marc: Generally speaking, I'm very pragmatic, but I'm always optimistic. And one of the things I would preach to those who are looking to get a foot in the door with this is, when you're talking about sustainability, or any problem associated with compliance, put on your business hat and think about it from a business standpoint. If you're talking about driving a change for the environment, that should have a positive impact on the environment, but also think about the ways in which it'll drive change for the right reasons from a business standpoint. For example, my partner Dan was very instrumental in this: we went through a lot of personal protective equipment at some companies, and one of the things he was very instrumental in changing in the organization was a method of cleaning, and I don't want to say reusing PPE, but extending its life cycle. From a waste standpoint, because the company was using so much of it. It was a large employee population, we're talking 500 employees using all of this personal protective equipment. So you can think of how much waste was reduced, not just from a physical waste standpoint, but also the waste of what the company was spending, buying all this personal protective equipment that fit perfectly well and was being thrown out in the garbage after a single use or something like that. So these are the ways in which I would preach to those who are looking to gain a foothold in this space: not only think of it from a compliance standpoint, but also in terms of the change you can drive from a business standpoint. And when you start talking that way, management and decision makers will really start to listen to your arguments.

Lucas James: And right now, you mentioned water use is one of the things you're helping companies with to make sure they're staying in compliance. Have you seen or worked with any of these companies in the AI space around data centers? I know that's a really hot issue right now, and I'm wondering about the use of data centers in terms of actually consuming water, because according to some of the data it's very high usage of water. Have you seen any of that yet? Is that something that's coming up for you, or is that not really a space you're working in at the moment?

Marc: I've heard a lot about it, and I've learned about it. No, not necessarily. We've helped organizations understand the impacts and certain opportunities for water reduction, but not necessarily from an AI data center standpoint. I know that's a big topic right now in the US, but definitely something that I think…

Lucas James: I'm curious though, from your perspective on that space in general, what are your thoughts? It has probably only become more of an issue for companies that do environmental consulting, dealing with companies that use a lot of water in the AI space. It's a very high-consumption process. What are your thoughts on that in general? How do you think environmental consultants should tackle the problem? Is this something that should be done at the individual company level, or is it a policy thing, a government thing? What do you think?

Marc: I think it's a lot of both. In the jurisdictions I work in here in Ontario, Canada, if I'm looking at opening up an activity that requires a lot of water taking, that would require a permit, where you would have to work with your water agency and your local authority to take that amount of water to operate whatever the case may be, a data center, a plant, whatever. So those are some of the things I would try to understand: what is the policy framework, what is the requirement around that, because I would think that government and policy need to be strong in order to do that, and to help, from a consulting standpoint but also a compliance standpoint, to regulate and keep that under control to a certain extent.

Lucas James: Really interesting. Well, I'm curious if you could walk us through your work. A recent company you worked with doesn't need to be a specific name, just an example so people can understand the work you typically do in this space, the outcomes or how you measure success, and what the process typically looks like.

Marc: So a lot of times when a company or even an individual reaches out to us, it's related to a specific requirement. We worked with a warehouse that was growing significantly, and it was in an old industrial paper mill. The activity totally changed for the facility; it was operating as a warehouse and not a paper mill anymore. They had a lot of fire concerns because they warehoused a lot of paper materials, books and that sort of thing. They had to understand, from a safety and fire perspective, how they could comply with their growing demands in this old facility and maintain fire compliance, engineering codes and that sort of thing. A lot of times our clients come to us with a problem, and they don't necessarily have the bandwidth, or sometimes the experience, in dealing with those types of problems. We come in and understand what they're looking for. A lot of times, at the end of the day, it's that we need this permit or we need this compliance resolved. We want to understand what the problem is and what success looks like for them. In this case they really needed help with some fire compliance, and they required some permits in order to grow, and we helped them with that. It took some time to understand their complex operation and then put plans in place for them to ultimately grow their business within the confines of the old facility they were operating in.

Lucas James: So I know that specifically around wastewater, for example in the United States, in a lot of areas that are prone to droughts there are government-sponsored rebates in action. I think Nevada or Arizona might have one; I forget which state exactly. That's an impetus for companies to reach out to firms like yours, because they know they have to be in compliance to avoid fines and things of this nature. So when you're working with people, how often would you say they come to you because they need to avoid fines, as part of their process, versus because they're really trying to have a societally positive impact? Proactive versus preventative, I guess, if I'm framing that question correctly. How much of this is because they're being compelled to, versus how much is because they're looking to do, quote unquote, the right thing for the planet at this point?

Marc: I think a lot of times it is because they're compelled to. I think it depends on how well the compliance aspects are broadcast to them in the space they're operating in. If they're working in an environment where there are significant pressures on water taking, generally speaking they understand, or have some familiarity with, what they need to do to keep their operation going while working in a legal manner from a water taking perspective. I would say more often than not, people are contacting us because they are compelled. But a lot of the clients we have also genuinely care and want to do the right thing. I personally love to hear from and work with clients who undertake this work or this challenge because in the end they want to solve the environmental challenge they have, or the operational challenges they have, to really drive change within an organization.

Lucas James: So to wrap things up here, with this podcast we're really focusing on, for those who have their own consulting and compliance practices, sharing some tips that might be beneficial, or ways you've overcome obstacles with your business, so that we can all learn and improve and better serve and grow, so we can help more companies make the planet more sustainable and green. So I'm curious, from your perspective, what's been the biggest challenge for your business in terms of growing, any obstacles you've had to overcome? And then, what's been working really well for you, for anyone listening in the same space who might be facing the same obstacle or looking for a way to grow and serve businesses more? What's been hard that you've overcome, and what has been going really well for you so far?

Marc: I would say what's been going very well, working in this space as a consultant, is shifting gears. During the pandemic it was really clear what the objectives were for everyone. Now, shifting out of that, it's what is the next big focus? And what you're touching on is, in the environmental space, definitely the demands of AI and data centers. So I think for the consultants out there, it's really about getting ahead of the trends, and then marketing and advising your stakeholders and your network on how you can help them get ahead of the curve to successfully navigate those challenges, so that you can mitigate the impacts on their organizations. As well, you can be a driver of change for organizations and ultimately benefit your own consulting experience. For myself in particular, I tend to work more on the reactive side. My goal is really helping organizations react to changes or any kinds of challenges they're having in their operations. But for those consultants out there, there's a lot to be learned, just like you were talking about. If you can get ahead of the curve and market how you can really drive change with some of those emerging trends, then for sure I can see not just emerging consultants but the craft in particular becoming very influential in the future.

Lucas James: And are there any resources, tools or websites you've been using or find valuable to make your job easier? Anything you're following right now, getting information from?

Marc: So we tend to follow any of the legislative impacts within our jurisdictions. Being in Ontario, Canada, we look at what the province is mandating, or what your region is mandating. I also like to look at some of the convictions out there. What are the environmental compliance regulators focusing on? What's their flavor of the month? If they're talking about water taking, or stormwater, or waste, what are they really looking at? And then advising your clients, hey, listen, this is a big focus right now, this is the flavor of the month, this is something you need to get ahead of before somebody knocks on your door or you have some kind of incident. That's generally how we work. So it's really about keeping abreast of those kinds of things.

Lucas James: Because I've been curious about this as well: is there a specific software that serves this space that's very useful for identifying these opportunities, or is it more subscribing to the right newsletters or websites to understand?

Marc: That's typically how we've operated: you really subscribe to those newsletters and those publications, and attend symposiums to get a real flavor of what's emerging. I think that's the best way, and even word of mouth. I'm really old school that way. Talk to other professionals, talk to businesses out there, get an idea of what the real challenges are that they're facing and what kinds of adjustments they have to make.

Lucas James: Well, this has been a great interview. Thank you so much, Marc. I really appreciate it. Is there a place people can go to find more information or reach out, maybe to collaborate with you, or if they have a need for your services? Is there a specific type of service you offer that might be useful for them, or where can they get more information?

Marc: Thanks, Lucas. You can find us at ultimatesafetyconsulting.com, or .ca in Canada. As you were alluding to, we can really assist organizations with their environmental compliance. We've assisted some private owners with water and water compliance concerns, and large warehouse environments, like I said, from a fire safety and fire compliance perspective. And collectively, my partner Dan and I have close to 40 years of experience working in food manufacturing, chemical and construction-related industries, where we've been influential in helping organizations push the needle from an environmental sustainability standpoint, and also in driving real operational, high-quality, health and safety, environmentally minded organizations. So thank you very much.

Lucas James: Yeah, thank you. And for everybody listening, whether you're looking to get more involved in making an impact around the climate or sustainability, or you already have a business that does that, I hope this podcast was useful, helpful and informative. And if anyone's listening and knows somebody, or would like to come on the show or recommend someone, please send them in. We'd love to interview them and share those insights, tips and tricks to help us all achieve our goals. So thank you, Marc. Appreciate it. And thank you, everybody, for listening.

Marc: Take care, Lucas. Bye.