Enlarging Sustainable Footprint Through Compliance

Brandon Lucia has been an integral part of the environmental compliance industry for the last 15 years. Starting with the department of defense, he gained a strong hold on the federal aspects of this industry. After serving a significant of time in the government sector, his capabilities were seasoned to manage sustainable solutions that correlate with state regulations. Moving further, Brandon joined one of the largest transit authorities in the U.S., Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro). Currently working here as a consultant for interesting projects, he continues to prioritize industrial compliancy with environmental management systems.

Sustainability: A million-dollar game

In the industrial compliance space today, environmental regulations have become pivotal to healthy operations and production. Increasing acceptance of sustainable measures have flooded the market with innumerable regulations presented in technical formats incomprehensible for several decision[1]makers. These obligations are not cheap, making it nearly impossible for business owners to just meet climate change policies. I have witnessed this struggle among small firms who lack in-house resources to track, update, and manage these regulations. “It should not cost a million-dollars to stay environmentally conscious.” Eyeing the pricey tags on sustainability, I despise that organizations are spending heavy on acquiring up-to-the-minute compliance details.

“On this complex path, we will soon end up with an ocean of regulations that are difficult to gather and decode by every business owner,” points Brandon Lucia, environmental systems manager, Cumming Group.

Access-issues are further doubled with exclusive compliance agencies and outsourced consultants that offer fragmented solutions, compelling organizations to rely on multiple platforms. My primary concern are these incoherent providers, too tedious and financially burdensome specifically for undersized businesses, ultimately spurring their cry for a streamlined service.

Collaboration Transparency for Streamlining Compliance

I promote the notion of sustainability costing collaboration and transparency, rather than thick wads of cash. Beyond an idea, it is a reality. Streamlined communication is the lock, stock, and barrel for integrating compliancy with all decision[1]makers regardless of their business size. The nonstop policy overflow has made me also appreciate the rapid response time of technology. Incorporating software-based advancements, artificial intelligence (AI), has helped me optimize this frayed compliancy landscape. This smart program enables visual projections of distilled information, a holistic tool for managing compliancy.

“The market is going to get wilder with upcoming policies, ringing the bells for automated advancements.” As it can analyze large datasets in a blink, AI saves time and manpower required to decipher the complex diction of regulatory policies. It also organizes these details, and plays a critical role in reducing costs required to outsource consultants or hire multiple platforms, making it affordable.

Harnessing AI’s cost-viability, I am conducting a Programmatic Evaluation of Compliance (PEC) audit for L.A Metro. Prior to engaging with our solutions in 2021, they were operating with 734 compliance obligations. By 2023, I assisted them in identifying over 2700 regulations, covering a huge gap in updated obligations on paper. Despite being an AI rookie, I was able to comprehend the software[1]simplified statistics to offer state-of-the-art optimization.

Youth Empowering Evolution

Stressing on the collaborative model, I encourage the youth’s spirit today which is shifting from a hustler’s mindset to be more inclined with sustainability. This woke, environmentally conscious generation is fostering a life cycle approach that weighs the impact of what they buy and bring into the ecosystem. Holding organizations accountable is one of the critical roles played by the younger customers, forcing business owners double-check their policies. Their sensible behavior is empowered by technology, through which we can further enforce lucidity.

There’s always someone out there who knows the answer. Eventually, awareness and transparency borrowed from open channels of communication are the catalysts of this evolution. Although transforming slowly, technology-driven compliance management is set to create a vast virtual space where small business owners can effortlessly stay sustainable.