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

Lightly edited for readability.

Marc: Lucas James (00:01) Hey everybody, welcome to another episode of Green Decades. I'm Lucas James, your host. I'm here with Mark. His business partner Dan and him 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, wastewater management. and a whole host of other things to make workplaces safer and companies more sustainable as well. So thank you so much, Mark, for being on the show. Appreciate it. Marc (00:40) Yeah, thanks. Great for having me. Lucas James (00:42) Yeah, so Mark, I guess we could just jump right into it and ask a little bit about how you got started and what the purpose of your business came from. What what gave you the mission and why did you get started in this space? Marc (00:56) So I actually I had a background in the environmental sciences, and when I started working in The the private sector, I often say that the 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 in 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 and even in the public. sector. and when I got started in that I I really got to thrive. it was really mainly about helping you know the organization down to the people understanding how their operations really affect the the environment, but also their well-being, their health and safety. and how to kind of in ways to give back. we we assisted organizations to, 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 waste, reducing waste within the environment or even particular types of community needs to get the company out in in terms of giving back within the community it operates in. but also like improving health and safety, like I said, from a chemical management point of view, understanding the impacts from not only a health and safety point of view, but an environmental point of view. When companies look at let's say intaking new chemicals or processes, how that opp can lead to negative effects of their operations. So understanding those before you make those kinds of changes. And ever since then, yeah, I've been doing that 15 years now. So Lucas James (03:04) That's awesome. What do you think, just out of curiosity, are the biggest areas where companies tend to fall short in terms of compliance? Marc (03:17) I would say a lot of times in that I've seen i it's more understanding the environmental concerns from a obligation standpoint because you know it's not like companies necessarily have somebody who is full time allotted to environmental clients, let's say. So you know, I I worked in manufacturing predominantly through my career. One of the biggest challenges was wastewater from a Lucas James (03:48) Mm. Marc (03:48) standpoint. And that was more in food manufacturing. So I I helped organizations understand their problems with respects to fats, oils, and greases. waste is another one. and also there was chemical demands for a lot of environmental concerns with chloroforms and and that kind of thing from brewing on organic materials. So it was helping the under the organizations understand what are causing those problems and then how can can the organization either change its practices, change its processes slightly to mitigate those environmental compliance issues and compliance concerns. Part of it's helping them understand what are their obligations from a compliance standpoint. So it's around water, it's around wastewater, it's around waste. And then what are things that that can be done to mitigate those things? Like I said, could be mm you know slightly tailoring a specific procedure on how the company operates or changes it equipment to the chemicals they they use. and then looking at also doing a lot of training down to the employee level and supervisor level because a lot of the decisions that they make day to day can can really impact their the operation but also f can open up organizations from a legal standpoint. One of the other big ones too is fire compliance as well, Lucas James (05:22) Mm. Marc (05:23) when you're talking about environmental. So Lucas James (05:26) That's super interesting. I'm curious too, what do you think for someone who's listening to this and maybe like yourself, they're studying to get into this space or they just want to be part of the potential change in the world to make it more sustainable, make businesses more sustainable. What do you think about your level of optimism for the future? Are we in a good spot when you see these companies, or does it feel like sometimes there's just recurring problems that are making things worse? And it's almost like if you had a hundred billion dollars, you could fix all of it, but you just 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 at in the spectrum of whether this can be solved? Marc (06:21) Generally generally speaking, I'm very pragmatic, but what I would say is I'm always optimistic. And one of one of the things I would preach to those that are looking to get a foot in the door with this is when you're talking about sustainability or any problem associated with compliance or anything like that. Put on your business hat and think about it from a business standpoint. So, you know, if you're talking about driving a change for the environment, that that should have a positive impact on the environment, but also think about ways in which it'll drive. change for the right reasons from a business standpoint. So one of the things for example my partner Dan was very instrumental in we went through a lot of personal protective equipment at some Lucas James (07:16) Mm. Marc (07:16) companies and one of the things that he was very instrumental in changing in the organization was a method of cleaning and I don't want to say like reusing PPE but just extending the life cycle of it. From a waste standpoint, because the company was using so much of it, you know, 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 that the company was spending Lucas James (07:57) Mm-hmm. Marc (07:58) buying all this personal protective equipment that is perfectly fit and just being thrown out in the garbage, you know, once every use or something like that. So these are ways in which I would, you know, preach to those that are looking to really gain a foothold in this space is not only think of it from a compliance standpoint, but also think of it in terms of the change. that you can really drive from a business standpoint. And when you start talking that way, management, you know, decision makers, they'll they'll really start to listen to your argument or your your your arguments. Lucas James (08:32) And right now, I mean, you mentioned water use is one of the things that you're helping companies with to make sure that they're staying in compliance. Have you seen or worked with any of these companies in the AI space around AI data data centers? I know right now that's really hot issue. And I'm wondering if the use of their data centers in terms of actually consuming water, because it is very according to some of the data. 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 that you're working in at the moment? Marc (09:11) I've heard a lot about it and you know I I've I've learned about it. No, not necessarily. We've we've helped organizations with respect to understanding what the the impacts being and certain opportunities with water reduction. Lucas James (09:26) Yeah. Marc (09:28) but no, not necessarily from a AI data center standpoint. I know that is a big topic right now in the US, but definitely something that I think. Lucas James (09:35) Curious. Yeah, I mean, I'm curious though, from your perspective of that space in general, what are your thoughts in terms of companies? Because it's only probably become more of an issue for companies that do environmental consulting, is 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 how should do you think that should be managed? How do you think environmental consultants should tackle the problem? Is this something where it should be done at individual company level or is this a policy thing, a c government thing? What do you think? Marc (10:12) I I think it's a lot of both. typically where I you know, in the jurisdictions that I I work in here in Ontario, Canada, you know, if I if I'm looking at opening up an activity that requires a lot of water taking Lucas James (10:28) Yeah. Marc (10:29) that would require a permit where you know you would have to work with your your water agency and your govern local authority to take that amount of water to operate whatever the case may be in a data center, a plant, whatever. So, you know, those are some of the things that I would try to understand. Like what is the policy framework? What is the the the requirement around that because I I would think that government and policy needs to be strong in order to do that Lucas James (11:00) Yeah. Marc (11:02) and to help kind of from a consulting standpoint but also a a compliance standpoint to to kind of regulate keep that you know under control to a certain extent Lucas James (11:17) Really interesting. Well, I'm curious if you could walk us through your work, just how maybe a recent company you work with doesn't need to be a specific name, but just maybe example so people can understand kind of the work that you typically do in this space and maybe the outcomes or how you measure success and what does the process look like typically for that. Marc (11:43) So a lot of times when a company or even an individual might reach out to us, it it's related to a specific requirement. we had we worked with a a warehouse that was growing significantly. Lucas James (12:00) Mm-hmm. Marc (12:01) and it was specifically in an old industrial paper mill. And so the activity totally changed for the facility, but it was operating more as a warehouse and not a paper mill. Anymore. And they had a lot of fire concerns because they specifically warehoused a lot of paper materials and books and that that sort of thing. And so they had to understand like from a safety and fire perspective, how can we comply with our growing demands in this old facility to maintain fire compliance, engineering codes, and that sort of thing. So a lot of times our clients will come to us with a problem and they don't necessarily have the bandwidth or sometimes they don't have the the experience in dealing with those types of problems and we'll come In we'll kind of understand what they're looking for. A lot of times it's you know, at the end of the day, we need this permit or we need this compliance resolved, and we'll come in. We'll we'll we we want to understand what the problem is and what success looks like for them. And in this case, they really needed help with some fire compliance, and they required some permits for in order to grow, and and we helped them with that. and it really took some time to understand. their complex operation and then putting the plans in place for them to ultimately grow their business within you know the kind of confines of an old facility that they were operating in. Lucas James (13:36) So I know that specifically around wastewater. I know, for example, in the United States, in a lot of areas that are prone to droughts, there's actually a lot of government-sponsored rebates that are in action. For example, I think Nevada or Arizona might have one. I forgot which state exactly. But that's an impetus for companies to come out and reach out to these companies because they know they have to be in compliance in order to avoid fines and things of these natures. So when you're working with people, how often would you say people come to you because they need to it need it to avoid fines and just as just part of their process versus they are really trying to have a societally positive impact of like proactive versus preventative, I guess. Or if I'm framing that question correctly, I guess it would be How much of this is because they're being compelled to, would you say, versus how much of it is because they're looking to do, I guess, quote unquote the right thing for the planet at this point? Marc (14:43) I I think a lot of times it is because they're compelled to. I I think it depends on how well the space that they're operating in or understanding as well. how the the compliance aspects are let's say broadcasted to them. So if you're you know if they're working in an environment where there is significant pressures on water taking, you know, generally speaking, they understand or they have some familiarity with, okay, what do what do I need to do in order to keep my operation going, but at the same time working in a legal manner, let's say from water taking perspective. I would say most often than not, people are contacting us because they are compelled. But I I think a lot of the clients that we have are looking they because they generally care and they want to do the right thing as well. so I I personally love to hear and love to work with clients that really undertake this work or undertake a challenge because in the end they they want to solve the The environmental challenge that they have, Lucas James (15:55) Mm-hmm. Marc (15:56) or opportun operational challenges they have to really drive change Lucas James (15:59) Yeah. Marc (15:59) within an organization. Lucas James (16:01) So to kind of wrap things up here, you know, with this podcast, we're really focusing on as well is for those who do have their own consulting compliance practices, sort of sharing some tips that might be beneficial or ways that you've maybe overcome any obstacles with your business so that we can all learn and try to improve and and better serve and grow so we can help more companies to. Make the planet more sustainable, more green, et cetera. So I'm curious from your perspective, what's been the biggest challenge that you've had for your business in terms of growing, any obstacles you might have had to overcome? And then afterwards, I'm curious, you know, what what's been working really well for you, for anyone who's listening who's a in the same space who might be facing the same obstacle or might be looking for a way to grow to to help serve businesses more. Like what's been hard that you've overcome and what has been going really well for you so far. Marc (17:09) I would say what's been going very well is you know, working in this space as a consultant, it's it's really shifting gears from, you know, the pandemic, it was really clear what the objectives were for everyone. now shifting out of that, it's like okay, what is what is the next big focus and kind of what you're touching on is for in in those in the environmental space, definitely with respect to the demands of of AI. and data centers. so I think for the consultants out there, it's really around getting ahead of the trends and then kind of marketing and advising your your stakeholders, your network as to you know how you can help them get ahead of the curve to successfully navigate those challenges so that you can mitigate the the impact impacts on their their organizations, but as well you can be a driver of change for organizations and ultimately benefit your your consulting experience as well. So, you know, for for myself in particular, I t I tend to work more on the reactive side. my goal is really around helping organizations react to changes or any kinds of challenges that they're having in in their operations, but as well I would say for those consultants out there, you know, there's a lot to be learned. just like you were talking about. so if if you're, you know, if you can get ahead of the curve, market how you can really drive change with some of those emerging trends, then for sure I can see not just you know emerging consultants but also the the craft in particular really becoming very influential in the future. Lucas James (19:11) And is there any resources, tools, websites that you've been using or find valuable to help your job make it easier? anything you're following right now, getting information from. Marc (19:26) So we we tend to follow any of the legislative impacts within our jurisdictions. So being in Ontario, Canada, we look at kind of like what is the province mandating or what is your region mandating. I also like to look at like what are some of the convictions out there? What is what is the environmental compliance regulators, what are they focusing on? What is their their flavor of the month? So you know if they're talking about water taking. If they're talking about storm water or waste, what are they really looking at? And you know, advising your clients, hey, listen, this is a big focus right now, this is a big flavor of the month right now, this is something you need to get ahead of before somebody knocks on your door or some kind of incident you're gonna have. So that's that's generally how we work. Lucas James (20:18) Right. Marc (20:20) so it's really keeping abreast with with those kinds of things. Lucas James (20:23) Is there a because I've been curious about this as well, is there a s is there a specific software that serves this space that's very useful for identifying these opportunities, or is this more subscribing to the right kind of newsletters or the right kind of websites just to understand? Marc (20:42) I that's That's typically how we have have operated is you really subscribe to those newsletters, subscribe to those publications, Lucas James (20:52) Mm. Marc (20:53) you know, attend any kind of of symposiums to get a real flavor of what's Lucas James (21:00) Yeah. Marc (21:00) what's really emerging. And I think that's the best way, and even word of mouth, like a you know, I'm really old school that way too. Talk to other professionals, talk to, you know, businesses out there, get an idea of what is the real challenges that they're facing and what kinds of adjustments do they have to make. Lucas James (21:19) Well, this has been a great interview. Thank you so much, Mark. I really appreciate it. Is there a place people can go to find more information or reach out to? maybe they can collaborate with you or they might have the need for your services. Is there a specific type of service that you offer that might be useful for them or where can they get more information? Marc (21:43) Thanks, Lucas. So you can find us at ultimate safetyconsulting dot com or dot can dot ca for in Canada. And as you were kind of alluding to, we can really assist organizations in terms of their environmental compliance from we've we've assisted some you know private owners with respect to some water and water compliance concerns to large warehouse environments, like I said, from a fire safety, fire compliance perspective. and then, you know, myself, my my partner Dan, you know, collectively we have close to, I want to say, 40 years of experience working in food manufacturing, chemical, construction related industry where we really have been influential in terms of helping organizations push the needle from an environmental sustainability standpoint, but also driving you know real operational, high-quality, health and safety, environmentally minded organizations. So thank you very much. Lucas James (22:54) Yeah, thank you. And for everybody listening, whether you're looking to get involved more in making an impact around the climate or sustainability, or you already have a business that does that, I hope this podcast was useful and helpful and informative. And if anyone's listening and and knows somebody or would like to come on the show or recommend them, 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, Mark. Appreciate it. And thank you everybody for listening. Marc (23:29) Take care, Lucas. Bye.