On February 27, حوإ¼½م½م of America, حوإ¼½م½م of Missouri, MTech Mechanical and Faith Technologies Incorporated (FTI) were recognized by Construction Working Minds (CWM) for efforts to promote mental health in the construction industry. These organizations demonstrated outstanding commitment to fostering supportive and mentally healthy work environments while enhancing overall productivity and success. To learn more about each organization and their efforts, click on the links below to be redirected to their respective award videos. Congratulations to all the winners!
On February 15 and 27, respectively, حوإ¼½م½م along with its partners on the Construction Industry Safety Coalition (CISC) met with representatives from the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) to further discuss the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s (MSHA) proposal to update its existing standards to better protect miners against occupational exposure to respirable crystalline silica and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA’s) proposal to expand who can serve as the employee representative during the walkaround portion of enforcement inspections. The review of the rules by OIRA signals the final step in the rulemaking process before each will be published in the Federal Register. حوإ¼½م½م and its coalition partners used the meetings as an opportunity to reiterate concerns raised in our comments on both the MSHA silica rule and the OSHA worker walkaround rule, while also expressing concerns at the speed of which the rules are being promulgated. حوإ¼½م½م will continue to track each rule as it moves through the process and provide updates as they occur.
Join us on March 6, 1PM – 2PM EST for the next quarterly town hall. The purpose of these meetings is to communicate key safety and health issues and challenges, as well as discuss enforcement, regulatory, and outreach activities at the national and local levels.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that the Commission will meet on Wednesday, March 6 to vote on its proposed rule for public companies to disclose climate-related information in their registration statements and annual reports. Multiple news sources have reported that the final version may not be as expansive as the SEC proposed in 2022. The SEC originally proposed expanding disclosure requirements to include direct and indirect greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as well as the emissions related to the supply chain (so-called “Scope 3 emissionsâ€), if material. The supply chain provision- reportedly absent from the final rule- would have caused many more project owners to require climate-related documentation from general contractors and suppliers. حوإ¼½م½م provided preliminary feedback in 2021 and commented on the proposal in 2022. If the reports are accurate that mandatory supply chain climate-related disclosures are absent from the final rule, this would be a considerable improvement over the original proposal, and in line with حوإ¼½م½م’s recommendations.
Join حوإ¼½م½م, NCCER and Ambition Theory on Monday, March 4 at 12pm EST for a Women in Construction Week Webinar, From Insights to Action Plan: A Toolkit for Advancing Women in Construction. During the webinar, we will share a new actionable toolkit - based off the findings from the 2023 "Building Better: Women in Construction Report" and following a discussion with construction firms during حوإ¼½م½م's Construction HR & Workforce Conference - designed to help companies move beyond recruitment and pave the way for more women to move into leadership positions.
Printed with Permission from Troutman PepperWritten by: Andrea Wortzel, Viktoriia De Las Casas, and Morgan Gerard
The Inflation Reduction Act empowered the federal agencies to explore the use of construction materials that have a lower embodied carbon (lower emissions associated with their life cycle). Pursuant to this, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) have separate requests out for public feedback. EPA requests public comment on their draft approach in developing a new carbon labeling program for construction materials. And GSA would like feedback on low-embodied carbon asphalt and concrete as well as the use of environmental product declarations (EPDs). حوإ¼½م½م has provided feedback previously and will work with members in drafting any response to these current requests.